11/16/2010 10:24:25 AM

Is anyone running SSP on a laptop? Any recommended specs? Thanks, ...Randy

11/16/2010 10:41:17 AM

The main thing you want to look for is something with a good video card, preferably with an nVidia chip set and discrete graphic memory. Anywhere from 768mb to 1GB of video memory. Generally a gaming class laptop.

Once you find one of these, the other specs usually fall into place. Get at least 4 gig of RAM. I'd look for more, but I quite often am running photoshop and other software along side.

64 bit Windows 7 is the way to go for OS.

I'd try to make sure the hard drive was at least 7200 RPM and probably 320GB or larger (unless you store all your media on a network server). It would be awesome to have one of those 256MB solid state drives, but I don't think that's in the budget for most churches.

The larger the screen, the easier it will be to control.

The more you pay now, the longer it will be before you have to replace it.

Make sure it has the video out you need to go to your projector / switcher or whereever you are sending the signal.

And if you don't need a laptop, you can save a lot of money by getting a tower.

You don't need a Core i7. An i5 will do fine. The main difference between i7 and i5 are the remote management tools, which are great if you have several hundred computers to watch over, but not necessary for most churchs. An i3 would be ok with a fast enough video card.

I'm not sure what the AMD equivalents are to the Core i series from Intel.

These, of course, are my opinions. Here's the official requirement page.

11/16/2010 11:06:33 AM

And it really does depend on how you are using SSP. e.g. if you are using a lot of motion backgrounds, 3-d transitions and visualizations, or if you are just fading from screen to screen.

11/18/2010 3:21:19 AM

For the last 2 1/2 years I have used a Apple MacBook Pro for all of my SSP needs. I have also used a high specced Dell notebook (which I found to be rather lacking).
I'd HIGHLY recommend a MacBook Pro for use with SSP. It just seems to breeze through anything I throw at it, layering videos, longer and more obvious transitions, huge video files, and just generally taxing it to the max.
I have not had a single 'It's thinking' moment in all that time.

It's specs are as follows.
Core2 Duo, 2.53ghz
4gb of RAM
320gb 7200RPM disc drive. (Please note, I run all of my SSP content from a network share)
nVidia GeForce 9600M GT GFX Card

Kind Regards,

Lucas

8/3/2011 9:02:35 PM

The pastor has asked me to research an affordable laptop that can run SSP for the youth service and ppt for guest speakers. We would use a projector sometimes and an HDMI hookup sometimes. Background would be mostly loops, cinematic effects are optional. It would not be our main projection machine.

This is what I have gleaned from Joel's comments:
Intel processor: i3 or i5 is fine, i7 is more than we need
4g RAM at least
Windows 7 64-bit is preferred
7200 rpm HDD is important
Nvidia geForce graphics card
Discrete graphics memory at least 1 g

We would also need:
Wireless LAN adapter in appropriate config. for our LAN
Optical drive
HDMI port
External video port for the projector

How important is the 7200 rpm drive? I am having trouble finding laptops with the configuration I need. Mostly, I find 5400 rpm machines.
Laptops that carry geForce video cards seem to carry the xxxM models. Are they all suitable?
Where can we safely economize and still get good SSP performance?

I think a refurbished machine might be a good choice here. I will check ebay.
Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks!
Sara

8/4/2011 11:46:32 AM

Hello Sara,

 

Please check out our new GFX system we just released. The systme shoudl fit your budget.  We also developed a Studio Pro Notebook Series. The sytems are custom designed for SongShow Plus.  HDMI and DVI to VGA are available on the systems. 
 
Click Here for the GFX Xpress Sytem Bundle.
Click Here for the Studio Pro Notebook Series.

I hope the information helps and God Bless.

 

8/4/2011 12:16:16 PM

Thanks, Jason. Unfortunately, we really need a laptop, and the Studio Pro is beyond our means. I did check out your products first, though.

8/5/2011 10:00:16 AM

You're very welcome Ms. Thompson.  God Bless to you..

8/5/2011 5:43:28 PM

OK, I found an interesting machine:


IdeaPad Y470 Laptop - 085523U - Dusk Black (with USB 3.0)
Model Highlights
Part number: 085523U
2nd generation Intel® Core ¡5-2410M Processor (2.30GHz 1333Mhz 3MB)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333Mhz
14.0 HD Glare with integrated camera 1366x768
Integrated 2.OMP Camera
Industry Standard Touchpad
500GB 7200 rpm
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
Intel 1000 BGN Wireless
Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
HDMI (Out)
VGA port

Sale price: $849.OO
20% discount through Logicbuy
Final price $680

This seems like a very good deal, with all the features I need for even fairly heavy SSP use.
Opinions?

8/6/2011 10:01:39 AM

Looks good to me. Can the motherboard support more that 4 gig of memory if you need it later? That's going to be a key deciding factor in my next laptop.

8/6/2011 6:46:15 PM

Yes, it does seem to be upgradeable. It somes with 2x2gig and can handle 2x4gig.