What laptop for video editing?

cookie24 · 28-08-2014 7:36am #1

Hey guys,

Can anyone recommend appropriate laptop specs for the editing and rendering of videos that will be roughly 10 mins long?
Things such as RAM, CPU, and GPU. Are there any other relevant things to consider?

Thanks

Edit: OP request for this laptop link to be added: http://m.dabs.ie/category/computing,laptops-and-tablets,laptops/11105-54950000-501920000-54590000

W0LFMAN · 28-08-2014 10:00am

CPU and Ram are the 2 Main Items, 3rd would be Hard drive speed.

Videos normally top out at 1920x1080 resolution. A 10 min video at that resolution would normally be around 1Gig (1000mb)

There are 2 different 10 min videos with can change the render time here,

A) A simple unedited 10 min video no changes or effects.

A processed video incorporating filters/Masks/Animation applied and effects added to each frame per render

Lets say for argument B takes 4x longer than A for rendering.

Laptop:

4-6G DDR3 ram with a I3/i5 A) 1-2 hours

6-8 hours.
8-16G DDR3 Ram with I3/I5 A) 1-1.5 hours

5-6 hours.
8-16G DDR3 Ram with I7 A) 1 hour

5 hours.

These times are Approx +- 10%. Also assuming your using a normal SSD Hard Drive (500mb Read/Write). If using normal Hard Drive 7,200 RPM increase times by 25%, if your using a Revo Drive (desktop only) reduce time by 10-20%

Desktop

16-24G DDR3 Ram with i3/i5 A) 1 hour B)4 hours
24G DDR3 Ram with I7 A) 45 mins B)3-4 hours
24G-36G DDR3 with I7 A) 30-45 mins B)3 hours

call this one below the Beast

64G DDR3 with H2o cooled Dual Xeons (24Core) A)10-15 mins B)1-2 hours.

This is my Experience.

cookie24 · 28-08-2014 11:16am

W0LFMAN wrote: »

CPU and Ram are the 2 Main Items, 3rd would be Hard drive speed.

..............

This is my Experience.

Thanks for that. Would you mind taking a look at the following link...

edit: cant post links. will ask a mod to post link.

there are 4 laptops in my budget (1st 4). they all have i5 CPU (i7 too expensive), with at least 6gb RAM.
Do you think any of these are suitable. The videos will be largely unedited with the odd transition, and an intro and outro clip made in adobe after effects.

I know its alot to ask so dont put yourself out if you dont have time or whatever.

Thanks

ScumLord · 28-08-2014 2:44pm

A laptop is really not the ideal thing to be video editing on, you're going to be paying through the teeth for a machine that isn't really up to the task.

I know people like the portability but it's going to make your editing life harder in the long run. You could go over to the PC building and upgrading forum and get a desktop that's two or three times more powerful for the money you'd spend on a halfways decent laptop.

W0LFMAN · 28-08-2014 2:48pm

ScumLord wrote: »

A laptop is really not the ideal thing to be video editing on, you're going to be paying through the teeth for a machine that isn't really up to the task.

I know people like the portability but it's going to make your editing life harder in the long run. You could go over to the PC building and upgrading forum and get a desktop that's two or three times more powerful for the money you'd spend on a halfways decent laptop.

What he Said....

Its not what you want to hear, but it is sound advice....

cookie24 · 28-08-2014 3:20pm

i kinda figured as much myself. was just hoping someone would tell me otherwise

W0LFMAN · 28-08-2014 3:35pm

If laptop is only option.

I would go for something with the Best CPU.

then when you can afford it you can upgrade the Ram and HD later

I would get something with a minimum of i5/i7 with 4 cores that multithread.

Also check to see if you can squeeze in two 8G Ddr3 Rams sticks.

cookie24 · 28-08-2014 3:39pm

i'm gonna head over to pc building and see what they recommend and at what pices. problem is console and location for computer are far away so connecting recording device between the 2 could be a problem.

ScumLord · 28-08-2014 4:32pm

cookie24 wrote: »

i'm gonna head over to pc building and see what they recommend and at what pices. problem is console and location for computer are far away so connecting recording device between the 2 could be a problem.

The actual recording probably wouldn't be too much of a problem, although you'd quickly run out of HD space on a laptop and have few options for upgrading outside of external storage or a NAT, which will be expensive when compared to some cheap internal hard drives. It's the editing that will really will show up the weaknesses of the laptop. Editing HD files will require as much ram as you can throw at them, the more power your CPU has the better as well.

With a cheaper desktop option I'm sure there's a way of sending the video feed to a desktop no matter where it is. There's probably some sort of console recording solution that would cater for your situation already on the market.

cookie24 · 30-08-2014 6:07pm

Hello again, not getting any suggestions in the pc building forum, so I wanted to ask your opinions on the following pc:

Acer Aspire XC-605 Core i5-4440 6GB 1TB Windows 8.1

specs:
Processor Intel Core i5-4440 Quad Core (3.1GHz, 6MB Cache, Intel Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit
Memory: 6GB RAM
Hard Drive: 1000GB
Optical Drive: DVD Rom Drive
Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g/n
Interfaces : audio jacks, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet (RJ-45) port, 4 x USB 2.0 ports, HDMI port, 1 x VGA
Expansion: 1 x PCI Express x1 Slots, 1 x PCI Express x16 Slots, 1 x Mini PCI Express Slots
Includes: USB Keyboard and USB Mouse
OS: Win 8.1
Warranty: 12 Month

cost: e493.

monitor not included so about e600 all in.

Would that do the job for video editing/rendering? And is there much better value in building your own versus buying one ready-made?

Thanks very much

Fionn · 30-08-2014 6:48pm

it'd probably do for very light edits without any masks, filters etc. especially something like noise reducing software.

The RAM is under specced, at least double I'd say.

You dont mention a graphics card in the specs! a dedicated graphics card (at least 1 Gb) is very desirable for video editing rather than the onboard integrated one.

think about an i7 processor, would be much better.

The last thing you need to research is a monitor, get one that has a high resolution.
I have a 30" monitor running at 2560 x 1600 and a second 22" at 1680 x 1050 and still manage to clutter it up with some complex edits.

Can get very spendy very fast

cookie24 · 31-08-2014 2:42pm

Hey guys, back again. After doing some research. I have found 2 possible candidates. However neither have a dedicated graphic card, just the integrated one. Could I just buy one and install it myself?

1.
Case : Zalman T3 Black Stylish Midi Tower Case
Power Supply : 500 Watt With Power Cable Supplied
Motherboard : Gigabyte H81M-H
CPU : Intel I7 4790 4th Gen Quad Core 3.6Ghz (turbo 4.0Ghz) CPU
Hard Drive : 1tb Sata Hard Drive
Memory : 8gb DDR3 1600mhz Corsair Vengeance Memory
Graphics Card : Onboard Intergrated (DVI / VGA)
Optical Drive : 24x Dual Layer DVD Writer
Warranty : 12 Months Return To Base (Parts & Labour)
Connections : 6 x USB 2.0 / 2 x USB 3.0 / LAN / Sound
Software : Windows 7 Home 64 bit

cost: e620

2.
Case : Galaxy 3 Modern Midi Tower Case
Power Supply : 500 Watt With Power Cable Supplied
Motherboard : Gigabyte H81M-H
CPU : Intel I7 4790 4th Gen Quad Core 3.6Ghz (turbo 4.0Ghz) CPU
Hard Drive : 1tb Sata Hard Drive
Memory : 8gb DDR3 1600mhz Corsair Vengeance Memory
Graphics Card : Onboard Intergrated (DVI / VGA)
Optical Drive : 24x Dual Layer DVD Writer
Warranty : 12 Months Return To Base (Parts & Labour)
Connections : 6 x USB 2.0 / 2 x USB 3.0 / LAN / Sound
Software : Windows 8 Home 64 bit

cost: e630

only differences are the case and the edition of widows.

Fionn · 02-09-2014 12:12pm

yeah,
it'd probably ok.
Wont be a rocket at rendering long clips, but it'll do all right, the more RAM the better.
Make sure theres enough power in the PSU to run the graphics card and get a card of at least 1 Gb, obviously ensure theres a free PCI slot.

good luck

cookie24 · 02-09-2014 6:03pm

Got some feedback in the building forum so might go with their recommendation.

Robinami · 28-09-2014 12:10pm

Isn't software is more important that Laptop, Yes you would need a good config of Laptop.

What laptop for video editing?

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