Advice on multimedia laptop

[Spectralis]

Hi, I want to buy a laptop for video and audio editing using After Effects, Sony Vegas Pro, Photoshop, Cubase and other editing software. I currently use a desktop with an AMD X6 1090T CPU, 16GB RAM, NVidia GTX 470 which is very capable of handling any editing jobs I throw at it. I've got a couple of questions about configuring a laptop:

1) An i7-2860 adds £145 to the cost - is it worth this extra amount compared to the cheaper i7-2760 in terms of increased processing power? I think there is only 10% difference between them.

2) I've chosen a 500GB Momentus HDD as my primary drive. I need 1TB extra storage space for audio and video samples. If I add a second drive will it use up battery power more than an external one? I'm thinking that a second internal drive will be more convenient. Will this add a lot to the weight of the laptop?

3) I'd like to be able to take advantage of CUDA acceleration. The NVidia GTX 560M seems pretty powerful but I'm tempted by the 580M which adds £371 to the price. Is this a worthwhile cost vs processing power upgrade? I've looked at 560M vs 580M comparisons and the processing power difference isn't as great as say 560M vs 555M for example.

4) Is it worth waiting for the new Ivy Bridge CPU's and NVidia cards due in about 6 months or get the best specs I can now? I've read that Ivy Bridge will be more about saving battery power than a significant increase in processing power compared to Sandy Bridge.

I've researched these laptop specs and they will be more powerful than my current desktop. The advantage of going mobile so I can edit on the fly at college and at events is why I'm upgrading. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our fourms

1. This is a subjective question - if the increase in performance is 10% you need to decide if you're happy to pay the increased price for this extra performance. The actual increase in processing power is 4.1% per core and you will have four cores that will benefit from the increase.

2. Internal notebook drives weigh (as a rought estimate) around 100 - 150 grammes and won't really be noticeable in a notebook. If an external hard drive is powered by a seperate source, this will be beneficial to battery life when compared to a second internal drive.

3. Again this is a subjective question, and depends on whether the additional performance is worth the extra cost in your opinion. The GTX 580M is the fastest notebook graphics card available and will give excellent performance. Given that you intend to carry out a lot of video editing, I would recommend you consider the GPU performance with higher priority than the CPU performance.

4. 6 months is the bare minimum wait for Ivy Bridge - expect 7 - 8 months realistically before stock starts to materialise at which point you'll only be 12 months away from the Ivy Bridge replacement. My advice is to ignore new technologies unless they're about to be released, otherwise you'll constantly worry about the next model being released in a few months time. I can't comment of the performance at the moment as we've not had chance to test any samples.

 

[Spectralis]

Thanks for your reply. I've read a review comparing the 560M with the 580M which claims that the 580M is 59% more powerful than the 560M so I take your point about prioritising the GPU.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-580M-Graphic-Card.57567.0.html

Unlike the GPU, I'm not sure if a 4.1% increase per CPU core is that important considering it will cost an extra £145. But why compromise if it's going to be a long term investment and I'm going to spend a lot of money anyway? Maybe an extra £400 for a i7-9760XM might be worth investing in? Does it provide a significant increase in power? Would it be possible to upgrade the CPU at a later date? In a couple of years time I might want to upgrade again so, unlike the GPU, is it worth spending large amounts for a relatively small increase in CPU performance? I wonder what others think?

Another question I have is whether I should have a glossy or matte screen? I've always used glossy screens and found them easy on the eye and the colour representation is easy to calibrate for printing. Is this the same with matte screens? My only need for a matte screen is if I use the laptop during outdoor events or abroad in a very sunny climate like Australia which probably won't be that often.

 

[PCS]

The CPU can be upgraded at a later date, so you may wish to take this into consideration. The GPU can be too, but this is likely to be much more difficult to source and will require returning the laptop to us.

If you're inside more often, choose a glossy screen as they're the brightest. If you're outside more often, choose a matte screen as they reduce glare.

 

[Kurenin]

The CPU is user replaceable? How difficult is it to get to the CPU and is it easy to source laptop CPUs?

 

[Spectralis]

I've built my own desktops in the past so I wonder if it's pretty easy to upgrade the CPU in a laptop? I thought the CPU might be fixed into the chassis and need to be replaced by a technician. Do you know if the new Ivy Bridge processors use a different socket or will be backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge motherboards?

I'll go for a 580M as that's not so easy to upgrade. Based on usage I think I'll get a glossy screen.

According to Dell their XPS laptop range can output 3D to a 3D capable TV or monitor. I think they use NVidia software to do this. Is this possible with the 15.6" Vortex II 15 with an 580M?

 

[PCS]

1. Apparently Ivy Bridge will be backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge chassis, but Sandy bridge processors will not work with Ivy Bridge chassis.

2. Changing the CPU is much easier than the GPU - most laptops have the GPU soldered down but the Vortex series use an MXM slot.

3. Our chassis can output 3D to a 3D capable TV or monitor, you just need a 3D vision kit (glasses).

 

[Spectralis]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm much clearer now about what to buy.

 

[Spectralis]

One last question, Motherboard News writes:

"According to an article over at the Chinese hardware site, My Drivers, both a firmware and BIOS update will be required in order to ensure that your motherboard will be able to use a new Ivy Bridge CPU. Unfortunately, only the H61, H67, P67 and Z68 chipsets will be “Ivy Bridge-upgradable”..."

http://motherboardnews.com/2011/05/27/ivy-bridges-backwards-compatibility-explained/

Does the 15.6" Vortex II 15 mobo use any of these chipsets?

 

[PCS]

The Vortex II series use the Intel® HM65 Express Chipset which according the that article will be "left behind".

 

[PCS]

Update:

The 17.3" Vortex II, 17.3" Vortex 3D and 18.4" Viper III series use the HM67 Express chipset. This chipset supports Ivy Bridge using the socket G2 (PGA988B) socket.