Ahh. Didn't even bother to read his entire post. Hence the 'especially if your master...' A decent Dell? That is a surprise to me. I am going to be getting an IBM this fall when I start taking computer classes at the college.

What kind of computer do you have?

my workaday laptop is an ibm x30 which is waiting to be replaced by either a T60 or an x60-- or an m65 if i have to. it all depends on various factors including location of the video editing tower (see description below).

i also have a self-built p4 on an intel 765 chipset (asus board) and about a terabyte of storage in various raid/non-raid configurations, all inside a lian-li all-aluminum full-tower. this one is the video editing/ video encoding machine, configured to run avid, which is a bitch with hardware.

and then some other stuff in the junk room-- a transmogrified p3, a bondi green imac, hm, and half of a compaq p-1 (200mhz) laptop... and boxes and boxes of parts. some of those used to hang on the walls of my old bathroom. notice:

!@#$%!, thanks for your help, I just had a few questions:

I was looking at the Dell M65, and it seems like it comes with the good video card, but not too much else. The $1700 one comes with a 1.66 processor, a 15" screen, only 512 memory, no DVD burner, and a 60 GB hard drive. I guess I could get it up to a 1.83 processor, 1 GB of memory, and an 80 or maybe 100 GB hard drive for around my price range, but it feels like i'm getting a lot less.

I'm sort of looking for what's most essential, how important is the 512 MB video card? Is the business class really that much better than the consumer line? The one I was looking at before was the Inspiron E1705, with the 17" screen, 1.66 processor, 2 GB memory, 100 GB hard drive, and then the video card is the 256 MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400 HyperMemory. That's coming in at $1979, and then there's also the option of upgrading to the 256 NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS for another $150 (is that worth it?).

My major won't be involving computers I don't think, video editing is just an interest of mine, so it's not my complete priority. This is all very frustrating...it seems like these things are always just a little bit out of your price range.

Business class Dells? Yes. They are much better than the consumer line. Mostly because they aren't loaded with useless applications and are built to not break down. Dell can make money from fixing consumer line computers. That's why they build them like shit.

If you are editing videos I would say a 512 MB video card is a MUST.

What a fabulous picture. So colorful!

Word 'round the 'hood is that Rock, a UK company, builds high-end laptops with desktop capabilities. A computer geek friend of mine worships them; says they build fabulous laptops for gaming & video editing. They can be pricey depending upon the options you select, but he also says their customer service is unbeatable, which I personally consider a major factor in purchasing a computer.

Two things you should absolutely avoid:

- 4200 rpm hard drives (they suck, it's so fucking slow I replaced mine with the new 7200RPM Hitachi 2"5 drive, which is unfortunately not yet integrated in laptops)
- Nvidia Turbo Cache (TC) or ATI Hypermemory graphic cards as they don't have their own RAM memory

As for your needs I'd recommend an Intel Core duo processor (around 1.8ghz), with 1gig of RAM, a 100gig 5400 RPM HDD and at least an ATI X1600 or a NVIDIA 7600 as a video card.

Regarding Alienware they're purely for gamers and quite expensive in my opinion.

The 512MB are not worth the price in my opinion, A 256 MB card such as a X1800 or a 7900 is fine.

Yes it's worth it, the 7900GS is much more powerful than a Hypermemory X1400.

the 512 mb card is not necessary unless you're into CAD and VERY graphics-heavy shit (3D animation etc). video editing per se does not require much as it's only 2D.

if video editing is NOT a priority i would recommend you get an IBM/Lenovo, as they are the most rock solid durable secure and unkillable little fuckers in the industry, besides the panasonic toughbook-- but thoughbooks are priced at a whole different level and you can't buy them i think unless you're into mining or volcano exploration.

the x60 for portability, the t60 for performance

why business class laptops you ask? because in laptops you're not just looking for performance, you're looking for portability and durability. a monster alienware with a toaster for a processor might do some tricks for a month or two until is craps out. similarly, a consumer laptop is nice but the battery will last you 40 minutes and if you carry them around much the lid will come apart the day after your warranty expires. guaranteed.

it boils down to the chassis, the chassis, and the chassis. made of titanium.

and then battery life.

you can always build yourself a tower for cheap if you want a performance machine or really want to do video editing. video editing on a laptop is difficult, frustrating, and above all else, pricey.

does anyone know what one dead pixel means on laptop screen? does it mean that the screen is dying?

i was gonna buy a laptop, fairly decent one but the uy says its got a dead pixel on it so would you?

doesn't mean much really as dead pixels are a standard kind of failure in many LCD screens-- when you get too many it is a problem. but it's one bad transistor out of millions so basically shit happens.

but it's a good opportunity for you to ask for a discount. oh yes.