Having an I5-520M ... dual core, 4 threads ...
My next laptop is DEFINITELY going to have as many cores as my wallet can afford
I created an hour HQ DVD in about 35 minutes including burn.
Creating a WMV 9 HD HQ from the same project took 4 to 5 hours.
I am sure an I7-740/840 with 4 cores and 8 threads would have kicked in nicely there.
I would definitely consider a bluray burner as it is the future.
A graphics card supported by PowerDirector would obviously be a plus. PD does
not seem to like my AMD 5470.
As much RAM as you can afford. With that being said ... RAM is EASY EASY EASY to upgrade later. If you have a choice of $100 for RAM or $100 for CPU ... I would evaluate and drop the money on the CPU first as you can't upgrade the CPU later.
Same thing with a hard drive. As far as laptops are concerned, they are EASY EASY EASY to upgrade later. 7200RPMs is REAL nice. Size though can be upgraded later if needs be ... or even the utliization of external drives too.
eSata interface is REALLY nice too for external drives ... super fast compared to USB 2.
I hear USB 3 is really slick too.
Edit:
The 17 inchers eat up the battery much faster than the 15 inchers. It might even be fair to say they last half as long as a 15 incher.
If you have it plugged in alot, then that is not too much of a big deal ... otherwise your mobility time will be reduced.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Dec 20. 2010 17:58
Dell Studio 1558 (laptop) * I5-520 * AMD HD 5470 * 4GB RAM - 1066MHz DDR3 * 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive * Windows 7 Pro 64 bit * BluRay Burner