Shopping for a laptop, need advice

I would get the Lenovo w530 http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPa...ds=lenovo+w530 and this 256gb http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-In...te+drive+256gb and change the hard drive myself also buy a 3TB external drive for storage http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expans...nal+hard+drive all costs around $1500

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

OK, let's move away from the brand discussion and start talking about components.

Thanks for saying this. Also tell the mac guys to piss off.

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

Knowing that Photoshop speed is a big concern, and I'd like the computer to be able to do longer videos composed of lots of shorter clips...

When processing video, you need one thing and that's brute force in terms of clock speed. There's very little that will help out here. Having a lot of RAM will help to a certain point but once you get over 8GB, you get into diminishing returns on video processing. Like I said, you just need a fast CPU to crunch this out.

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

Would I notice the difference going from the i7 3610 to the 3820? What all does the extra 2mb of cache do for me?

The short answer is yes, the long answer is depends on what you're doing. The 3820 scores significantly higher on 3D Mark scores. This, translates into better video rendering performance due to the higher throughput. Aside from the Intel Extreme processors, the 3820 is the best there is.

It would be best to find some good benchmark results on to find your answer to this.

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

Also, how much of a difference would the K2000 gpu make over the k1000? I know Vegas Pro 11 can take advantage of it. Making a half hour long video and processing it, are we talking a minute or two difference in rendering speed? 20 minutes? 30 seconds?

Graphics cards don't contribute much to video rendering performance, it's likely you wouldn't see any difference here unless you're doing special effects and 3D renderings.

Also note that Quadro cards are designed for CAD applications and as such have awesome OpenGL support for 3D rendering. They won't, however, be as good for gaming as some of the other more mainstream (cheaper) cards.

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

What about memory? My guess is it's probably best to order a computer with the standard 8gb and upgrade it myself through newegg for cheaper? Would I notice a big difference from 8 to 16gb? What about 32?

There is diminishing returns after 8GB but 16GB is a good compromise if you can swing it. Surely can't hurt.

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

Thanks for saying this. Also tell the mac guys to piss off.

He asked for opinions and options when he already had his mind made up. I did not say anything too pushy. You could also tell the mac guys to piss of. You annoy me.

Any of the computers with any of the specs that you're looking at will be more than capable of doing what you want them too.

You will see increases- but not massive ones with a move from the 1000 to 2000, etc.

If you plan to keep it for many years you could argue that you should buy the most expensive and capably spec'd machine that you can afford. Or you could save your money because any of the options will get your tasks done with ease.

In general you won't notice a significant difference from one step higher CPU in the same class except for a much lighter wallet. I would opt for the 2nd or 3rd from the top i7. The i7 is already going to be great for video and image rendering due to hyperthreading - I read that somewhere, not based on experience.

I always recommend the best GPU option available simply because you can't upgrade it (unless you're talking about the Intel HD 3000). You can easily upgrade your hard drives, memory, CPU, but not the GPU. It's better future proofing and doesn't cost that much more.

As for RAM, I went with 8GB with the option of upgrading later, but it has never been a bottleneck so that is probably just fine.

The biggest reason I asked about the GPU is because Vegas Pro 11 allows you to use the GPU for additional processing.

For day to day stuff and some photoshop work, anyone think I'll notice a difference in the step up for the CPU? about .5 more ghz and 2mb more cache.

And ZHP, I didn't really have my mind made up, I just failed to clarify in my first post that I wasn't really interested in a brand argument as much as learning about what components I would benefit from spending more money on. Sorry this whole thing got into a pc vs. apple argument, didn't mean for it to go that way. But yes, I'm set on a PC still, but I do appreciate the advice and opinion.

I don't really care what you buy, but if you are planning on using photoshop and video editing, you are doing yourself a HUGE dis-service by not using a mac. There is a reason why anyone who is anyone in the photography industry uses a mac.

Originally Posted by NFRs2000nyc

I don't really care what you buy, but if you are planning on using photoshop and video editing, you are doing yourself a HUGE dis-service by not using a mac. There is a reason why anyone who is anyone in the photography industry uses a mac.

lolwut


What is the difference between Photoshop on Windows and Photoshop on Mac?

Originally Posted by zhp43867

He asked for opinions and options when he already had his mind made up. I did not say anything too pushy. You could also tell the mac guys to piss of. You annoy me.

It was poking fun, the interwebz don't appropriately convey tones in comments. These threads always turn into mac vs pc fights.

Originally Posted by trippinbillies4

The biggest reason I asked about the GPU is because Vegas Pro 11 allows you to use the GPU for additional processing.

GPU clock speed is something that can be found on much cheaper cards than the Quadro, I suggest looking elsewhere. The Quadro card isn't going to do anything extra except make your wallet lighter. You'd be better off with another NVidia card that's cheaper...unless you want to do CAD work.