3D Artist/Video Editor Laptop

[iancamarillo]

Hello,
I will be purchasing a laptop soon and would like to get some feedback on which one to purchase. I am a 3D artist and use Lightwave and 3DS Max. I also use After Effects and Final Cut Pro. My goal is to use the laptop to dump dv footage on location and edit minimally if necessary. I need something that will capture D1 with no dropped frames and if possible capture HD with no dropped frames. Is this possible? I would also like to use 3D apps but I realize my workstation at the office is my primary computer. I was looking at a MacBook Pro with Bootcamp and was also looking at a Thinkpad. Thank you in advanced...

Ian

 

[killernotebooks]

I think what you need to consider is the resolution of the HD and that the MAC Book pro only has a x1600 video card. You mentioned droped frames, so I am assuming this is a priority. I think you need to move up to a more serious video card for 1.

Couple questions:

Also, these video files tend to take up A LOT of space, especially HD content. What is the MB per minute of the files you are utilizing and how long are they (what size), how many will you have at any one given time.

Are you going to be using the laptop to do the file manipulation in the field ever?

What are your constraints as far as size, weight, budget?

Are you ever going to need to output to an HD source (like upcoming 1080p televisions or projectors that can accept 1920 WUXGA computer resolution)?

 

[iancamarillo]

Noted about the MacBook and the video card. I didn't know this-THX!
A good question, how much data do uncompressed HD captures take up? I realize an external harddrive(one that runs of my comp power) is necessary.
Little manipulation - more for scrubing through content.
I like the size and weight of the Thinkpads and I would like to stay under $3k. If you know of a setup that costs more, I'd like to hear.
I don't have any current jobs that require HD format but, I would like to familiarize myself by creating my own content.
Thanks

 

[killernotebooks]

Well, $3k is a nice budget. If you need WUXGA (1080p output) AND a killer video card, and by killer I mean nVidia 7900 GTX with 512 MB to beat down these video renders, take a look at my


You can configre with 2 hard drives, and possibly not need the external hard drive, but it would take the place of the optical drive (it is modular and can be swapped).

You may not need this much beef, but whenever rendiering multimedia, 3D or extensive graphics I would always go with the big processor, RAM and 7,200 rpm hard drive minimum. It will make your life so much easier.

 

[iancamarillo]

Thank you! Do you guys finance? And what is the warranty? Killernotebooks.com is great- all you need is Braveheart yelling when the site loads!

Ian

 

[killernotebooks]

K/N No B.S. warranty

I can finance through PayPal I believe, like if I put it on Ebay.