Messages posted by J_Palmer_Cass

I am pricing things out two ways. Desktop and a cheap laptop, or just a better laptop. The same thought process should apply to either form factor.

This system will not be used as a full time dedicated video system. However, today I am running a P-4 2.4 GHz desktop. I can capture MPEG-2 quality just fine, but rendering and options like upscaling are slowwwwwwwww. Perfect for everything else that I do. Video stutters at times, but I do not watch movies on a PC.

A new laptop will smoke what I have now as far as video rendering and video enhancement options that PowerDirector performs. We are talking about 6 or so videos a year!

Anyhow, the two video boards that I mentioned are too new to be listed on the video board benchmark list above.

I suppose we should talk about video boards on this thread. That will put everything on one thread for people in the future.

The two options are:

Nvidia FeForce GT 550M 1 GB graphics with Optimus

Nvidia FeForce GT 555M 3 GB graphics with Optimus

Now there is a $150 jump to go the GT 555M.

There are more Cuda cores on the GT 555M and more video memory. However, is that overkill? From what I have read, this will not change rendering speeds.

What do I gain with the higher priced board? I do not play video games. 17" display.

Quote: Just one comment about memory, I have 6 gig of ram in my machine and rarely and I mean very rarely ever get over 4 gig used let alone the full 6 gig.

This may change as software gets better and better at utilising the available memory but I think 6 gig is the sweet spot at the moment.

Yes, I was wondering about that issue. I am looking at the memory options. The base setup is 4 gig. Every 2 gig added is $60. A mosest amount as compared to adding more memory later on.

Are you running Windows 7 64 bit?

Thanks a lot.

There is a modest upcharge to go to an i7-2720QM. Either quad core should be more than adequate for my needs.

I am going to purchase a new PC in the near future, but I am getting confused about processors. My base line choise is between two processors at the moment. Money wise it is not a big difference.

1. I7-2630 QM quad core processor

2. I7-2620 M dual core processor

The quad core (QM code) has a clock slower speed relative to the dual core (M code), and both have a turbo mode.

Any advice on what processor PowerDirector 8 and 9 are optimized for?