My First Editing Notebook (=hooray!)

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Hey all,
I just found a great deal on a notebook at Wal-Mart of all places.

Basics:
Compaq Presario 3077WM
P4 2.4 Ghz
256 DDR
40 GB hard drive
16" SXGA screen
4 USB 2.0 ports
1 FireWire port

The skinny: $800 (clearanced, down from $1200). Seems Wally World
won't be carrying Compaqs any longer (or maybe just not Compaq/HP
notebooks).

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2349355&sourceid=13307942544220983995

I listed more detailed specs below. Of course, I'll toss in 512 o' DDR
to bump it up to 768MB... and I would've preferred a mobile CPU. But,
all things considered, it seems a great buy. At any rate, the only
drawback is the HD being a 4200 rpm drive. Ouch. I've surmised that
notebook HDs don't necessarily need to be 7200 (as I assumed they
should, like desktops), but I've also read that some here have
reported success with a 4200 drive.

My dilemma is this: Replace the drive altogether with an 80G internal
and partition OR go external. 80 gigs is enough space as I'll be doing
30 minute programs, usually one at a time. I realize this isn't a
completely original query but, before I spend the better part of a
grand, I thought I'd toss this out there. Aside from that, I'm just so
tickled I had to share.

Thanks in advance,
Brice

The Brice Kennedy Show
http://www.bricekennedy.com


Full Specs:
16-inch color TFT display with maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024
Intel 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 processor
512 KB level 2 processor cache
256 MB DDR SDRAM expandable to 1024 MB
266 MHz memory speed
40 GB enhanced IDE hard drive
8x8x24 CD-RW and 8x DVD-ROM combo drive
SiS 650 UMA 4X AGP graphics with up to 64 MB shared video memory
Integrated 56 Kbps modem (V.90/V.92) with RJ-11 port
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 port
Integrated 54g wireless LAN (802.11g compliant)
Type I/II CompactFlash memory card slot with 32-bit card bus
4 USB 2.0 ports
IEEE 1394 FireWire port
Parallel port
Microphone input
Stereo headphone jack
VGA port (15-pin)
Composite video output for TV
12-cell lithium ion battery

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

> I just found a great deal on a notebook at Wal-Mart of all places.
>
> The skinny: $800 (clearanced, down from $1200). Seems Wally World

Recently, BestBuy.com was doing the Toshiba A45-S120 series for $649
AR. Also, Microcenter.com stores have their Winbook 2.8Ghz Celeron
laptops for as low as $610 on clearance as well (don't forget to apply
for the VISA card and get another $100 off in rebate).

www.fatwallet.com/forums/ -> hot deals for cheap notebook deals

> My dilemma is this: Replace the drive altogether with an 80G internal
> and partition OR go external. 80 gigs is enough space as I'll be doing

I'd go with a dual 80GB system. An external 80GB in a case (eg.
http://www.pcmicrostore.com/ has lots of them cheap) + 80GB internal.
That way, you can easily backup your main system and/or take the video
edit to a PC desktop in case of emergency, need, etc.

For the time being, you can probably get away with just one 80GB
(whether internal or not is up to you) + the 40GB you already have.

although most 2.5" cases can't run a HD off the laptop w/o AC
adapter, there is the Enhance Technology MPD series with built-in
li-ion battery so you don't need any power from the host.

~$80+

http://www.whiningdog.net/Reviews/PC/Drives/20021207-MPD/index.htm

This case has been seen at the usual Video technology shows and it
does work well off a notebook for editing w/o external power for hours.

---

If you don't care about portability of the external HD and can stand
having it AC'd, then a cheap 3.5" HD (eg. BestBuy has 120GB for <$70
this week) in a 3.5" case (eg. PCMicrostore's Hotway 3.5" USB/FW case)
will also do fine, at a lower cost.

---

Keep in mind that Hitachi has already announced 100GB 2.5" HDs, so
you may want to buy just one 80GB today, then buy a 100GB 2.5" later if
you want lots of storage space.

---

5400rpm and 7200rpm 2.5" HDs will noticably speed up your system as
many benchmarks have already shown.

eg http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=10&id=693&pg=