Difference in Video Editing, ect.?

I found HD editing to be a fairly miserable experience on my MBPs and once I started using my i7 920 desktop, I never looked back.

That said, the i5 is more powerful clock for clock and it hyperthreads, which will help it feel more responsive.

I think you are going to be a lot happier with the new i5 laptop, but it still can't compare to a desktop with their 130watt processors and large fast desktop harddrives.

So, you're still in the middle somewhere of what is possible.

Take a look a the Sony Vaio F as it has a quad core i7, 1GB 330M, and HD screen and is around $1300.

 

So which do you recommend when it comes to HD editing on a Laptop

The new MBP i7 or Sony Vaio F ?

Sony specs look impressive but is it better and how much better are they? and does it justify to spend an extra £400 on a MBP ?

 

Sony has the quad core, the 1GB 330M and runs Windows 7 and you'd prolly have to edit in Premiere Pro CS4 or CS4 or Avid or maybe Sony Vegas. The Sony also has an eSATA port so you could attach a large desktop hard drive, which, would be quite an advantage.

Apple has a better screen and runs OS X and Final Cut Pro.

The quad core runs pretty hot. Nothing you can do about that, it's a hot chip. The fan will be on. The Sony does a good job of cooling, but if you are working the fan is going to come on - that's life with a quad core in a laptop and that is why Apple does not offer the quad core.

If you absolutely have to have Final Cut Pro, then there is your answer.

The Sony is made of plastic, but it's well built and I think it's pretty good looking. The Apple has the unibody Aluminum, and is definitely good looking. The Apple will get you more cool points in the coffee shop, but the Sony Vaio is no Dell and some people will think it's pretty cool in its own right.

I did return my Vaio F because, while the screen looked good, it had awful vertical viewing angles. Supposedly Sony updates their lineup frequently, and the screen caused a big enough stink in the US that I think they will upgrade it. I heard this may happen in June. What sucks is, the European market got Sony Vaio F screens that are supposedly awesome.

If you are in Europe, and can live with editing with Windows and windows based software (I liked the CS4 workflow and do most of my work in After Effects anyhow, mostly assembling cuts and mixing audio in Premiere) I'd say the Sony is a much better buy.

If you are in the US, go to Best Buy and look at the screen in person. If you can live with the vertical viewing angle, then it's hard to beat that for $1350.

I think Windows 7 is pretty solid. I use OS X and Windows 7 every day and really have no real preference at this point.

For editing, the quad core and the eSATA are two real advantages in the Sony's favor.

Good luck.