Trying Linux again

Maybe this is not the place to discuss what portable computer to choose, but maybe you can make some good suggestions.

I was having a first look at two ultra/netbooks offered by B&H, quite distant in price, but I'm not sure if too distant in capability:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._392_9890_multi_touch_13_3.html#Specification

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...b01_15_6_notebook_computer.html#Specification

Well, yes, one has 1920 x 1080 resolution and the other is 1366 x 768, but both have Intel graphics, which has some limitations.

It's likely I may find something in between that carries Nvidia graphics. A search at Newegg might be in order.
 
If you take a laptop with a small screen resolution you're going to bang yourself to the head every time you use it. Especially if you get a taste of a higher resolution. I'm running my 15" MBP at 2048 x 1280 but that's only because my eyes are getting old :)

More screen space is always good.
 
That lenovo looks pretty good. It seems to have an Apple type touchpad and if it's similar in function you're going to love it. Of course that GTX840 is not going to be screaming with games but I guess this is not your prime requirement.
 
carlmart said:
Sorry about not explaining things properly, particularly on the degrees of what was happening. I thought I was doing so.

For me it was obvious that what I was looking for was the videos to play smoothly. I thought I did tell so, but evidently I did not, and for that I apologize.

As I was used to these ProRes files playing smoothly on my desktop and in Win 7, trying to see the files on the laptop and not being able to was extremely frustrating. I didn't see it coming, or I might have made tests and all, which I did not.

So let me tell exactly what was happening in Windows 7: playing was choppy, and jumped I don't know how many frames forward every time. In Linux the files play, but in slow motion, with no audio. In XP files play fine with QT player, as long as you update to exFAT with MS and to ProRes with QT. But they do not play smoothly in any program with Win 7.
Click to expand...

Sorry to res an old thread, but I would like to add a few things to this.
First off, if the video plays, but is choppy, the issue isn't your VRAM or GPU, it is the CPU.

In your existing laptop, the CPU, which I'm betting is a single-core Pentium M or similar AMD, is what is holding you back.
An ATI (now AMD) Radeon X1000-era GPU would have been pared with a CPU which was not capable of playing 1080p videos smoothly or properly.

In that GPU, there is very limited post-processing and offloading, if any at all, for the video you are playing, which means the CPU is doing the brunt, if not all, of the work.
As the others have stated, a newer laptop is in order, as your laptop is nearing a decade-old in age, but more importantly, lacks the hardware to drive what you are requiring.

If you are going to use Linux, Intel and NVIDIA drivers work great for video playback, and I've heard that the OSS AMD drivers have improved a lot as well for 2D work.
If you use VLC player under Linux, try to use the X11 video-output, as I've seen the best results from it.
 
Even if late, your comments are much appreciated.

The CPU is a dual-core AMD, not single. So maybe that's why it found a way to play in XP but only with QT. I wonder who was doing the job.

All other combinations, even in Windows 7, didn't work,

And yes, I'm looking for new laptop, to play Windows, with at 4-core Intel CPU, and a separate Nvidia board for the video. And at least 8GB RAM. That should take care of things, particularly with Avid MC.
 
carlmart said:
Even if late, your comments are much appreciated.

The CPU is a dual-core AMD, not single. So maybe that's why it found a way to play in XP but only with QT. I wonder who was doing the job.

All other combinations, even in Windows 7, didn't work,

And yes, I'm looking for new laptop, to play Windows, with at 4-core Intel CPU, and a separate Nvidia board for the video. And at least 8GB RAM. That should take care of things, particularly with Avid MC.
Click to expand...

Which dual-core CPU was it, though?
A dual-core in SMP from that time period would barely be enough to match a single-core Atom now.

Definitely, that would be an ideal system to aim for.
If you aren't gaming, most of the Intel GPUs are on-par with, if not above, most low-end NVIDIA GPUs.
 
^ Nice, that would definitely be worthwhile for video editing.
The only thing I would recommend would be replacing the hybrid drive with an SSD, assuming you can afford the storage sacrifice for the speed gain.

Good luck to you!
 
Oh, yes, definitely SSD. A 500Gb Samsung would be the choice, which I had already bought for the Toshiba and didn't help me there.
 
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