Buying a new laptop help

[kylonewton]

Hey everone, I'm just posting this on behalf of a friend. I can't give him much advice because I know little about laptops, more of a desktop person, he wrote this out himself, but posted it in some crap forum and got no response:

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I am going about purchasing a new laptop, a HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition, and would like some advice regarding graphics cards.
I'd like to be able to do some HD video editing and I'm seriously struggling with my 4 year old not so powerful laptop.

Processor:
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor (2.6 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)+$175.00

Graphics Card:
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 630M Graphics with 1GB GDDR3 memory [HDMI, VGA]Included in price
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]+$75.00
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 memory [HDMI, VGA]+$125.00

Memory:
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) Included in price
12GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) +$100.00
16GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) +$200.00

Hard Drive Acceleration Cache:
32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache +$50.00

So my question is, for quick and easy HD video editing, photoshop usage, Good quality Blu-ray playback on a HD screen, and use of CAD programs(AutoCAD, solid works, etc), what would the best combination of the listed upgrades be? I'd like to point out that I really do use my laptop 80% of the time for day to day usage of word, internet/email etc, so the compromise is to come to the best value machine that will be capable of doing the heavier tasks fairly well (not the best on the market!) without breaking the bank. I dont want to pay for a machine which is extremely expensive for little added performance where I want it, and I lack the knowledge to know how upgrading one without another, or vice versa would effect the system. (and graphics cards I dont have a clue about).

The only constraint is that you can't upgrade the memory to 12GB if you opt for the 32GB mSSD.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I'm fairly stumped





I'd also really like to possibly get some feedback on whether I could get an ultrabook for ~$1000-1200 that would be fairly well capable of doing moderately heavy HD video editing. I will be on the move alot this year, and was hoping to tap into the ultrabook trend of 13.3''-15.6'' super thin yet powerful machines. If anyone can recommend to me a good ultrabook, or even certain specifications to look for as a base line, keeping video editing in mind. Not sure if I want to make the leap down to a 13.3'' screen, as for video/photo i know I'd be making a compromise for its mobility
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Thanks for any help.

 

[hafa]

It seems that the first question to ask is, "do you want an ultrabook, or a desktop replacement?"

For a desktop replacement:

I'd personally NOT recommend the HP Pavilion dv6t-7000. I've worked on several of the machines in this particular HP line and found the design (esp. cooling) and build quality to be not-so-great. Instead, take a look at the Lenovo W series. If you prefer HP, take a look at the Elitebook series.

For an ultrabook:

The upcoming Lenovo T430U, along with the Ausus Zenbook, is one of the few ultrabooks with the GeForce GT620M GPU; a big benefit for the usages you outlined.

For me, I'd go with Lenovo in any case. The availability of comprehensive service manuals online for for all models, their top-notch build quality, and warranty service are all compelling reasons. One last bit: Get an SSD. The most profound performance improvement you'll ever experience for any PC.

 

[txus.palacios]

It seems that the first question to ask is, "do you want an ultrabook, or a desktop replacement?"

For a desktop replacement:

I'd personally NOT recommend the HP Pavilion dv6t-7000. I've worked on several of the machines in this particular HP line and found the design (esp. cooling) and build quality to be not-so-great. Instead, take a look at the Lenovo W series. If you prefer HP, take a look at the Elitebook series.

For an ultrabook:

The upcoming Lenovo T430U, along with the Ausus Zenbook, is one of the few ultrabooks with the GeForce GT620M GPU; a big benefit for the usages you outlined.

For me, I'd go with Lenovo in any case. The availability of comprehensive service manuals online for for all models, their top-notch build quality, and warranty service are all compelling reasons. One last bit: Get an SSD. The most profound performance improvement you'll ever experience for any PC.

He nailed it. Oh, BTW, when you buy a laptop, order it with as less RAM as possible, and without an SSD. After you receive it, order some memory and a SSD from Crucial and you're done, not to mention it'll be times cheaper.