Yo, so basically my home desktop computer is huge, and since I'm going off to college soon I need to get a laptop.

I do lots of basic stuff, watching dvds, browsing the internet, working word processing, you know the drill. However, I need a laptop that is built to withstand the pressures and whatever of video editing. This means, after effects, premiere, photoshop. It must be able to handle high resolution footage, capturing from tape without dropped frames, removing pull down efficiently, after effects without slowing down all the time...

Since I work with HD footage, I MUST use a resolution of 1920x1200, no exceptions whatsoever. I also want to be able to plug in an external monitor I use regularly. I need lots of USB ports and a FIREWIRE PORT is required, and it must be able to play games like Left 4 Dead at medium-high settings with a decent frame rate. Lots of harddrive space, but I'm also using two external USB drives, so it doesn't need to be that big, around 160gb is fine.

And, I want Windows XP. Macs are way too f-in expensive, and Vista just lacks the productivity I require.

I mean, I guess I could just get some GAMERS REPUBLIC ARMY laptop or whatever, but a lot of that is expensive no?

Sounds unreasonable, but I am looking to spend under $1000 USD on this.

Please give me suggestions.

lol

youre gonna need a lot more money

The problem is the resolution. If there are any with that high resolution it won't be powerful enough for your needs, unless you find some out-dated model or a good deal.

lmao... I don't even know what to say. You want an extremely powerful computer for video editing, but then complain about 'macs being too expensive.' I don't see how this will fit into your price range at all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220527

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-alienware-m17x?c=us&l=en&s=dhs

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Display+%28diagonal%29&v1=Over+15.9%26quot%3B&series_name=HDX18t_series

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644588896&parentCategoryId=16154

1920x1200 will be just as bulky as lugging a desktop around almost, plus it will cost you an arm and a leg. You aren't going to find what you want in your price range and it isn't going to be as good as you expect at all. The Sony or the HP will be your cheapest bets. I recommend HP for value.

instead of getting a huge ol'  17inch laptop why not get like a smaller laptop and then the money you save you get yourself a really nice external monitor

instead of getting a huge ol'  17inch laptop why not get like a smaller laptop and then the money you save you get yourself a really nice external monitor

I already have one, 21" 1920x1200 widescreen that I plan on using with the laptop.

My current rig is pretty basic, Geforce 8800GT, AMD Athlon 5600 2.8ghz x2, 2 gigs ram, 160gb hd. I'm not looknig for something super high end, but something along this line... I know next to nothing about purchasing laptops, but I know as a desktop, it is not that expensive. That's what I'm looking for, for a laptop if that sounds more reasonable.

EDIT:
And adding on to what I said on the first post, I play L4D on high, I get no dropped frames during video capture, after effects works and premiere work okay-fine, removing pulldown is no problem, 

EDIT 2:
I'm sorry I don't know jack shit about computers.

Thanks Jeff for the suggestions, the Alienware is definitely way more than I need, the others are more reasonable but I gotta think about it.

EDIT 3:
Man this is a stupid ass question, I should be able to use a higher resolution than the laptops max resolution on the external monitor right? Because then I don't need such a high res and I can just use the monitor.

I like how people posted just to laugh at $1k or less.

You could pay for a courier to deliver your large PC rig to your college place each term for the entire duration of your course for less than $1000.

I like how people posted just to laugh at $1k or less.

What did you expect? They could not reply and leave you clueless, or reply with suggestions for computers over $1000 and have you tell them to read your post.

...

As far as using an external monitor with a higher resolution goes, I'm pretty sure this should work.

I have IMDB, don't fuk wit me.

Yeah forget the 1920x1200 res guys gimme something smaller, widescreen. 1440 or so is fine.

i don't know much about this but uhhh, can't you have a 1920x1200 resolution on a tiny screen? it'll just be... smaller?
maybe look into second hand laptops also.

i don't know much about this but uhhh, can't you have a 1920x1200 resolution on a tiny screen? it'll just be... smaller?
maybe look into second hand laptops also.

The monitor has to support that resolution.

Tall order, and impossible under $1000. However, you can get pretty close with not much over. Also, I'm going to say this right away: get over Windows XP. Vista isn't that much different and you will get a free ride to Windows 7 if you get a Vista notebook now. There are a number of reasons you should move on to Vista over XP, but this isn't the topic for that. Just know this - as of service pack 2, Vista is fast and not prone to the bugs and issues that plagued it when it launched.

Sony VAIO VGN-AW290JAH - $1,349.99
Pros: NICE big screen... Sony has great LCD panels and this screen is no exception. 1920x1080 for your high def needs. Plenty of horsepower with a Core 2 Duo T9550, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 9600M GT. Will play L4D great. 1 Firewire plug. Not a heavy laptop!
Cons: Battery life? Maybe? No Blu-Ray drive. Waah. Also only 3 USB ports, but that's actually pretty average for a laptop.

So that's my recommendation. No it's not under $1000 but it is exactly what you were looking for.

Tall order, and impossible under $1000. However, you can get pretty close with not much over. Also, I'm going to say this right away: get over Windows XP. Vista isn't that much different and you will get a free ride to Windows 7 if you get a Vista notebook now. There are a number of reasons you should move on to Vista over XP, but this isn't the topic for that. Just know this - as of service pack 2, Vista is fast and not prone to the bugs and issues that plagued it when it launched.

Sony VAIO VGN-AW290JAH - $1,349.99
Pros: NICE big screen... Sony has great LCD panels and this screen is no exception. 1920x1080 for your high def needs. Plenty of horsepower with a Core 2 Duo T9550, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 9600M GT. Will play L4D great. 1 Firewire plug. Not a heavy laptop!
Cons: Battery life? Maybe? No Blu-Ray drive. Waah. Also only 3 USB ports, but that's actually pretty good for a laptop.

So that's my recommendation. No it's not under $1000 but it is exactly what you were looking for.

Very nice, I am definitely considering that.

1920x1080 and 18.5 screen might be too much since I want to work primarily with the external monitor (except on travel). 4 gb is nice, I usually work on 2 gb so yeah. Great suggestion thanks alot.

I'm concerned about the choice of OS, my only concern is compatibility with all the software I pirate, but I don't really need to be concerned with this.

ummm yeah how could you think that the laptop resolution would affect an external monitors resolution.  Just buy like a 13/15inch XPS   I mean, how often do you have to edit HD on the go? 

Well, as I said I know jack crap a little bit about computers okay. It's been a long lnog time since I've kept up.

I'm thinking about getting this, it should be fast:
http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/laptop-studio-xps-16/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16&s=bsd&cs=04&ref=lthp

With a uh, T9600 2.8 ghz, 4gb ram... Also could someone give me the Nvidia equivalent of the Radeon 3670?

I will say that if you do you hi-def work on the go then you will probably want a resolution that will allow you to view every last pixel with your scrutinizing eye. In this case, the laptop I posted is ideal.

However, if you can bare with a situation where you would have to work on the go but hook up to your hi-def panel later... that route indeed would be cheaper.

Here's how it works. When you hook up a notebook to an external display, you usually push some key combination (Fn+F4, for example) on your keyboard or the computer will auto-detect the display. From there you can go in the computers display preferences and you can set it up to either
1. mirror your display
2. extend the desktop on to the second screen
3. use the screen you plugged in as the primary display (turning off your laptop screen in the process).

In the situation where you had a lower resolution screen on your laptop (for instance: 1400x900) mirroring would not be the ideal situation as your second screen would - out of necessity - run at 1400x900, even if it can run at 1920x1080.

Your remaining 2 options are extending the desktop on to the secondary screen, or using the screen you plugged as the primary display... both options will allow you to utilize your secondary panel's 1080p capabilities. Which of these 2 options work better for you is a matter of preference.

Thanks for the helpful post, I'm planning on using the second screen as a secondary anyway, it makes for an excellent preview window in my premiere workspace.

EDIT:
My friend who I trust a lot is also recommending this laptop:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=HDX16t_series&a1=Brand&v1=HP%20HDX

Which sounds pretty great from what I'm looking at.

He also says he can get me a $250 off coupon or so.

That is a nice laptop, especially after the theoretical $250 off. Looks to be a really good value. Make sure to customize it with 64-bit Vista, free upgrade to 4GB RAM, free upgrade to 320GB hard drive, free upgrade to Blu-Ray drive, and I would say it's definitely worth shelling out for the 1080p screen upgrade ($175). That should bring your total to a very sweet $1075, and after the theoretical $250 off you've got yourself a steal! Everything you wanted for under $1000.

EDIT: Also you might want the 12-cell battery as it lifts the laptop up about an inch off the table which gives better airflow for games (not to mention you'll have longer battery life). Also here's a review for ya.

EDIT EDIT: Apparently this is the coupon that will get you $250 off: SV2132
Agh makes me wish I had some money to spare because this is a tremendous deal.

I would upgrade the processor as well.