Precision for video editing?

I'm considering a Precision for our business to use for web development and video editing and I'm not sure how much video card I need. The 15.6" M4500 has a NVidia Quadro FX 8800M, the 17" M6500 has a NVidia Quadro FX 2800M and the 17" M6400 has either the NVidia 2700M or 3700M. Also, in general, is the Precision a good choice? - I rarely take it on the road, so battery life and portability are not primary. If not a Precision, what other notebooks, 15.6 - 17" would fit my needs? My other needs are basic: MS Office, Abobe, and Photoshop.

 

I think video editing is still more or less CPU-bound these days. If you're transcoding video, there are GPU-based encoders. If you aren't using one, though, there's probably not much of a point in getting a to-end video card.

I'd vote for the M4500. You can get a 1080p screen, you can get a quad-core, it's cheaper, thinner, lighter, etc. Unless you really want a bigger screen or a number pad or something like that, I don't really see that much going for the M6400/M6500.

 

You could also check out the HP 8540w and 8740w, same workstation class systems but some added features you may or may not like/need/want.
My preference has been with Precisions so far because of the configurability Dell offers, HP has no custom configs in my country....without instantly doubling the price or something. And Dell's business warranties have been great.
You might want to go for the M6500 as the screen has a MUCH better color accuracy and ofcourse a larger 16:10 screen iso 16:9. It;s heavy but that doesn't have to ba problem. You also get 4 DIMM slots for a cheap 8gb (4x2gb) RAM, space for two HDD's without sacrificing a dvd player and...some others stuff i can't think of right now

 

Only if you take a quad core CPU, otherwise you'll get a board with only two DIMM slots.

The Lenovo Thinkpad W701 might be another alternative for the M6500 or 8x40w.