Labtop for video manipulation

[easter98]

Hello,
I know very little about hardware. I’m buying a laptop I buy DELL as their support has proven to be excellent. Mainly I work with videos. Do I need the second at $500 more? Do I get more bang for my buck and is it needed?
(1)Vostro 3700 processor
Intel® CoreTM i5-430M (2.26GHz base, up to 2.53GHz, 2C/4T, 3MB/L3)
Windows® 7 Professional, 64-bit, English
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ, 2 DIMM
Nvidia® Geforce™ GT 330M, 1GB Graphics


Or for $500 more the
(2) Vostro 3700 processor
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM (1.6GHz base, up to 2.8GHz, 4C/8T, 6MB/L3)
Windows® 7 Professional, 64-bit, English
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ, 2 DIMM
Nvidia® Geforce™ GT 330M, 1GB Graphics. For Quad Core Processor

Both have the LCD 17.3 inch High Definition LED Display (1366 x 768) with Anti-Glare

 

[enzo matrix]

Do I need the second at $500 more?

Up to you. You will get better performance if your software can utilize multiple CPU cores or needs more memory. I think a lot of video editing software can make use of the more cores in the i7.

Do I get more bang for my buck

I don't think it's worth the $500 more.

The bottom line is, would you like to spend $500 more for maybe a 20% time savings when editing videos or would you rather keep that $500 and use it for something else? Both systems are capable of doing what you want them to do. One will simply do it slower.

 

[MarkG]

The bottom line is, would you like to spend $500 more for maybe a 20% time savings when editing videos or would you rather keep that $500 and use it for something else?

Yeah, if you're doing this for a living then the extra $500 will repay itself pretty quickly; but if it's for a hobby then you can probably live with the slower system.

 

[ksampanna]

Well for video editing, in case of RAM, the more the merrier. As MarkG says, if you're a professional, then get the more expensive one w/ 6 GB RAM, otherwise if you're an amatuer/hobbyist, then get the lesser one.