Video Editing Laptop ~$2500

[Pyrofan]

My current desktop is a beast, but I am on the go alot now and need a good laptop that I can bring around while filming. I currently own a GL752 with the 970m and it's trash when trying to deal with 4k 60FPS footage that's recorded at high bitrates.

 

I asked a similar question awhile back and was really recommended the Aero 15x with its 1070 and all. I like that laptop alot, I just worry about the Gigabyte CS. I know some new laptops have come out now (Looking at you Alienware M15) so I was wondering what yall thought. Has anything come out that's changed? I really need a 4k screen (with good colors) and something better than the 1050Ti Max Q that the XPS 15 has. I dont know if it has to be a thin and light because my current laptop is already pretty large and isnt too bad to carry (Im used to carrying my 35lb drones so laptops are nothing). The cheaper the better. I was looking at the G7 15 gaming from Dell but i cant find any video editing benchmarks and the screen seems bad.

 

I have also looked at workstations from ThinkPad and others but most of them are using Quadros which means more money but they will perform worse in the applications I use so I dont know if they are the best purchase. 

 

Right now, the Aero 15X really seems like the best bang for the buck but Im not sure because Gigabytes CS is so bad but, short of the screen messing up or something like the CPU or GPU, I can pretty much fix any other error. I know that Razor and MSI both have some good offerings too but they are priced higher than the Aero for little to no performance increase. 

 

So, what do yall think? 

[DailyProcrastinator]

I'd agree with not opting for the Razor and MSI offerings but I can't speak for Gigabyte. I have never owned their products. That said my recommendation is the Dell XPS15, it's one of the best performing i7-8750 6 core CPU's, and you get a 1050Ti. I have the XPS 13 and I am absolutely in love with it, I know that it's not a full justification towards getting an XPS15 but as far as quality, usability, and having one of if not the best laptop display out there (good for content creation), and general looks it is one of the best laptops out there. Right now (in Canada) it's on sale for $2,450 for an XPS15, with the 4k touchscreen, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and the 1050Ti.

[Pyrofan]

2 hours ago, JM21 said:

I'd agree with not opting for the Razor and MSI offerings but I can't speak for Gigabyte. I have never owned their products. That said my recommendation is the Dell XPS15, it's one of the best performing i7-8750 6 core CPU's, and you get a 1050Ti. I have the XPS 13 and I am absolutely in love with it, I know that it's not a full justification towards getting an XPS15 but as far as quality, usability, and having one of if not the best laptop display out there (good for content creation), and general looks it is one of the best laptops out there. Right now (in Canada) it's on sale for $2,450 for an XPS15, with the 4k touchscreen, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and the 1050Ti.

I agree but the XPS has knows thermal issues causing the nice 6 core processor you paid for to throttle down and the 1050Ti Max Q is pretty much on the same level as my current 970M and that is already struggling. If they could solve the thermal issues (Which I know you can undervolt) and had like a 1060/70, it would be a no brainer. 

[Pyrofan]

2 minutes ago, SnowWolf370 said:

I think you should go for the Dell XPS too, you won't be disappointed. I think Linus might have some videos on it, apart from putting it out in the rain.

Ive seen pretty much every video online about it. You say I wont be disappointed but from what I have read I am quite worried. 

 

I mean it cost much more than the Aero, for no performance upgrade. 

[genexis_x]

Location? Max budget? Preferred max weight and min battery life? Any special requirements?

[Pyrofan]

7 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Location? Max budget? Preferred max weight and min battery life? Any special requirements?

Location: US

Budget: Not really a budget, just needs to meet my goals but the cheaper the better

Weight: Light is better but I carry heavy camera gear all day so weight isnt an issue

Battery: 4-6 hours would be great, but I know with a 4k screen thats gonna drop hard so as long as possible

Special: Good screen (95-100% color accuracy), 4k, 16gb of ram, no spinning hard drives. 

[LexCalifornia]

I'd take a look at the Lenovo P1 & P52. Reliable, usually good thermals and you got headroom to outfit it until you meet 2.5k.

[genexis_x]

27 minutes ago, LexCalifornia said:

usually good thermals

not for P1 (due to thin and light) and top end model (most powerful) of P52 (too much heat to handle)

17 hours ago, Pyrofan said:

the cheaper the better

XPS 15 has too many issues

 

If you want something good but cheaper and with UHD panel, can consider these:

1. HP Omen 15 dc - $1230, need manual RAM+SSD upgrades

8750H, 1060 6GB, 8GB, 1TB+16GB Optane, UHD, 70Wh

 

Alternate option: HP Omen 15 dc0052nr - $1499

8750H, 1060 6GB, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD

 

2. Dell G5 - $1499

8750H, 1060MQ, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD, 56Wh

 

BTW, don't mix up colour coverage and colour accuracy. They are different things

[LexCalifornia]

3 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

not for P1 (due to thin and light) and top end model (most powerful) of P52 (too much heat to handle)

XPS 15 has too many issues

 

If you want something good but cheaper and with UHD panel, can consider these:

1. HP Omen 15 dc - $1230, need manual RAM+SSD upgrades

8750H, 1060 6GB, 8GB, 1TB+16GB Optane, UHD, 70Wh

 

Alternate option: HP Omen 15 dc0052nr - $1499

8750H, 1060 6GB, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD

 

2. Dell G5 - $1499

8750H, 1060MQ, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD, 56Wh

 

BTW, don't mix up colour coverage and colour accuracy. They are different things

Our guys are usually pretty happy with their P52s.

 

Although we just ordered a HP ZBook Studio to see if it's any better. Specs are looking pretty decent. It's coming with a pretty hefty price tag tho but from my experience, consumer grade laptops aren't that reliable in the long term.

 

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-zbook-studio-g5-mobile-workstation

[Pyrofan]

4 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

not for P1 (due to thin and light) and top end model (most powerful) of P52 (too much heat to handle)

XPS 15 has too many issues

 

If you want something good but cheaper and with UHD panel, can consider these:

1. HP Omen 15 dc - $1230, need manual RAM+SSD upgrades

8750H, 1060 6GB, 8GB, 1TB+16GB Optane, UHD, 70Wh

 

Alternate option: HP Omen 15 dc0052nr - $1499

8750H, 1060 6GB, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD

 

2. Dell G5 - $1499

8750H, 1060MQ, 16GB, 1TB+512GB, UHD, 56Wh

 

BTW, don't mix up colour coverage and colour accuracy. They are different things

So those are all pretty similar to my current size laptop which isnt bad. So any reason to go for one of these over something like a Aero 15X? Im fine with spending more money to get some performance upgrades or better battery. 

[genexis_x]

18 minutes ago, Pyrofan said:

So any reason to go for one of these over something like a Aero 15X?

More battery life, less weight. But worse cooling and more expensive

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, LexCalifornia said:

consumer grade laptops aren't that reliable in the long term

Everyone knows that, but how many ppl have the budget to afford

[LexCalifornia]

2 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Everyone knows that, but how many ppl have the budget to afford

That's a sad truth. But I'd rather go with a used "Pro" laptop (which kinda excludes the actual Apple lineup  ) than a brand new consumer product. But dude's budget of 2.5k isn't that bad of a start. 

[Pyrofan]

3 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

More battery life, less weight. But worse cooling and more expensive

I agree but the price difference of $400 I might would just go for the Aero for the portability and the 1070. 

23 minutes ago, LexCalifornia said:

That's a sad truth. But I'd rather go with a used "Pro" laptop (which kinda excludes the actual Apple lineup  ) than a brand new consumer product. But dude's budget of 2.5k isn't that bad of a start. 

The thing is, most of the ThinkPad laptops are equipped with Quadros so the performance is less than the GTX counterpart in my applications. I can only go up to a P3200 6Gb which wont be able to deal with 4k 60 footage from what ive seen. 

[genexis_x]

8 hours ago, Pyrofan said:

P3200 6Gb

FYI it's equivalent to 1060MQ

[LexCalifornia]

The only thing other than the mentioned laptops that come to mind would be the Microsoft Surface Book 2. You can order it with a 1060. But it's expensive. 

[genexis_x]

2 minutes ago, LexCalifornia said:

Microsoft Surface Book 2

I usually wouldn't suggest Surface products. Personally I don't trust their reliability and I hate their anti-consumer behaviour

[LexCalifornia]

2 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

I usually wouldn't suggest Surface products. Personally I don't trust their reliability and I hate their anti-consumer behaviour

True. But for the same reason you can't really recommend any product running Windows 10 for Microsoft's update policy alone. Actually the realm is pretty messy overall. Apple has to fight with its hardware problems atm and Microsoft has trouble software wise. I don't know which is worse tbh.

And yes, it's always said that just a small portion of customers are affected but if you're one of the lucky 1%, it doesn't matter how many are affected or not.

[Pyrofan]

So right now, is the HP the best option? I just want the most performance without stepping into a $3k laptop. 

[genexis_x]

37 minutes ago, Pyrofan said:

So right now, is the HP the best option?

If you want something cheap with powerful components and UHD display, yes

[Pyrofan]

48 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

If you want something cheap with powerful components and UHD display, yes

What would be the next step up? 

[genexis_x]

4 minutes ago, Pyrofan said:

What would be the next step up? 

I need to figure it out first which consumes some time

[Pyrofan]

Just now, GeneXiS_X said:

I need to figure it out first which consumes some time

Oh ok! I think the only other upgrades would be CPU (so like the Xeon's from the ThinkPads) or the GPU (Mine has the 1070 so really only a 1080 would be better) and both of those would be like sub 15% performance increase for almost 2x the price. The only other option would be one of those Sager or XoticPC laptops with desktop grade stuff but those arent really portable at all. Like I know I said I didnt care, but a 2in thick 12lbs laptop would be annoying. 

[genexis_x]

27 minutes ago, Pyrofan said:

I think the only other upgrades would be CPU (so like the Xeon's from the ThinkPads) or the GPU

It's hard to squeeze more performance on CPU due to thermal limitation. That's why you won't gain much performance even going with something crazy like Xeon mobile and 8950HK. GPU wise, 1070 is still fine for a properly cooled model, but once reaching 1080, you'll notice hot temps/hot surface temps+loud fan, even with the best cooling available.

[Pyrofan]

11 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

It's hard to squeeze more performance on CPU due to thermal limitation. That's why you won't gain much performance even going with something crazy like Xeon mobile and 8950HK. GPU wise, 1070 is still fine for a properly cooled model, but once reaching 1080, you'll notice hot temps/hot surface temps+loud fan, even with the best cooling available.

I guess it's between the Omen with the 1070 for $1700, or an open box Aero 15X for $2k. The only real difference is gonna be battery life.