Laptop for Recording

[Jpudify]

Hi! For the past few months, I've been putting my 2010 HP Pavilion DV6-3257cl through its paces recording gameplay via an Elgato Game Capture HD. It blue screened for the first time today and while it seems fine, I'm looking into retiring it. Your suggestions would be fantastic

Current specs: http/www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-dv6-3257cl-15-6-core-i3-370m-windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-4-gb-ram-640-gb-hdd-series/specs/

1. What is your budget? $500 - $600. Lower would be nice but I'm doubtful. I can go slightly higher but not too far - I need to pay my rent as well I also won't be making a purchase for a few more weeks, at least.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15.6 inches.

3. What screen resolution do you want? 1080p would be great but not required - 720p is just fine..

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop as it isn't going to be leaving the house - weight isn't a factor. I just need to be able to move it up and down stairs without taking a tower with me.

5. How much battery life do you need? 3-4 hours. Doesn't really matter - it'll be plugged in 99% of the time anyway.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? I plan to record with the Elgato Game Capture HD. MInimum system requirements for that:

• Windows 7, Windows 8 or later for version 1.x of Elgato Game Capture HD software.
• Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows 8, or later for version 2.0 (or later) of Elgato Game Capture HD software.
• 2 Ghz (or higher, before any boost or burst mode) dual core CPU, or 2 Ghz (or higher, before Turbo Boost) multi-core i3, i5 or i7 CPU
• Sound card (if your laptop can play sound, then it meets this requirement)
• 4GB Total Installed RAM (or higher)
• Built-in USB 2.0 port

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Just recording at the moment.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 240 GB minimum (I use external HDD and transfer between computers with about 2tb between them)

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. N/A

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 5 years, if not longer.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? None, as far as I know.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. No Dell suggestions please. Just not a fan of them. I'd like to look into getting away from HP as well but I won't shoot down suggestions. Intel preferred.

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

Literally all this laptop will be doing is recording gameplay. I'd like to stream in the future but that won't happen until a faster internet provider dares venture towards my area. After I have a new laptop, I'll retire my Pavilion to the easy life of uploading videos to YouTube. I'll also need to watch videos back, probably multiple times. I have a cooling fan that should help with any heat issues (as long as it isn't a death sentence).

I looked around and didn't find any suggestions that were live links (or available products).

 

[hang-the-9]

Unless you are going to be playing low quality games you need to almost double your budget for a laptop good enough to record and play at decent settings. Need more details about what you are playing and recording.

 

[Jpudify]

Unless you are going to be playing low quality games you need to almost double your budget for a laptop good enough to record and play at decent settings. Need more details about what you are playing and recording.

Recording PlayStation 3/4 gameplay - Assassin's Creed/Kingdom Hearts/Call of Duty for example. I already record on a laptop that barely meets the minimum requirements and it was just over $500.

 

[hang-the-9]

Unless you are going to be playing low quality games you need to almost double your budget for a laptop good enough to record and play at decent settings. Need more details about what you are playing and recording.

Recording PlayStation 3/4 gameplay - Assassin's Creed/Kingdom Hearts/Call of Duty for example. I already record on a laptop that barely meets the minimum requirements and it was just over $500.

Ah, if you are not recording from the same system you are playing on, then it does not much matter what you use. I'd just keep using what you have till it dies, maybe do a factory restore on it to refresh Windows and get rid of any errors.

If you are playing on games on the laptop and also trying to record that gameplay is when you need a strong system.

If you want a sturdy and portable system, get a used Lenovo X220. Cheaper and better built than any new low to mid-range non-business model laptop. I am pretty sure it comes with USB 3 ports for fast capture card/box use. Easily removable battery so you can leave it plugged in wall power without killing the battery too quickly.