If the cpu speed of your laptop is 1000, you can expect it to take a long time, but I would have thought not that long.

As a Rough guide on my P4 3.0 box, DVDsanta and WinAvi Video Converter will convert at about 2x playing speed (IE a 1hour clip will convert in about 30min), Tmpegenc will convert at about 2/3 playing speed (the same 1hr clip will convert in about 1hr 20min)

Try one of the other converters and see what sort of time frame you get in comparison, if it is similar, you need to be converting on a faster computer.