Laptop for video editing

LG1234

I need a new laptop for editing my gopro videos. Videos are shot in full HD 1280p and I do a fair amount of editing incl transitions etc.

So I think 8gb ram at a minimum? Or should I go with 16gb? 16gb is way more expensive though and from reading online there doesnt seem to be much difference?

I was thinking along the lines of this. €700 is my max budget.
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-5559-laptop/pd?oc=cn55907&model_id=inspiron-15-5559-laptop

Alanstrainor

If you were to get that machine you could upgrade the RAM yourself to 16GB very easily. The parts would costs less than 50€ and you wouldn't need to decide on it until a few months after you get it.

I wouldn't be the biggest fan of that laptop, purely from an aesthetics point of view. It seems to be a big clunky laptop, but this may not be of much concern. It does have a decent processor, and a 1080P screen which is always a plus.

narda

I was looking at the same laptop and need advice also!

I would be using this laptop for mostly watching films and playing Fifa

Would 8gig ram be the min and I5 processor?

Alanstrainor

narda wrote: »

I was looking at the same laptop and need advice also!

I would be using this laptop for mostly watching films and playing Fifa

Would 8gig ram be the min and I5 processor?

8GB is plenty for most users at the moment. Even playing FIFA I would think you would be more than fine. It's the graphics card that would be the biggest thing that would hold you back I think. But looking at this site:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/FIFA-16-Notebook-Benchmarks.151721.0.html

It suggests that the graphics card would be adequate. I think it would work for you to be honest.

LG1234

Do i need a decent graphics card for video editing. For around €600 or so can i get a better laptop?

This one has similar specs, looks better and is a bit cheaper:

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/asus-x555la-156-laptop-black/328581/396.0.0#details

Also where is the best place to get laptops these days? Have always just bought from Dell, is the outlet worth it?

ED E

It doesnt matter really, you're doing light editing. Theres no 1280p, its 720P(always use the vertical) which is nothing for a modern chip. My phone(18mo old) shoots 2560p which is 8.3MP, your Hero is 0.9MP, easy peasy to edit.

Don't even need that much RAM as the frame buffers will be small. Unless you want to upgrade to the new 4K model soon any old do will do. If you do want to upgrade *AND* use a suite that supports acceleration (PPro say) then having a GPU is a big difference for previewing.

LG1234

ED E wrote: »

It doesnt matter really, you're doing light editing. Theres no 1280p, its 720P(always use the vertical) which is nothing for a modern chip. My phone(18mo old) shoots 2560p which is 8.3MP, your Hero is 0.9MP, easy peasy to edit.

Don't even need that much RAM as the frame buffers will be small. Unless you want to upgrade to the new 4K model soon any old do will do. If you do want to upgrade *AND* use a suite that supports acceleration (PPro say) then having a GPU is a big difference for previewing.

My current laptop, a Dell 1764 with 4gb ram and an i3 (Intel Core M330 2.3ghz) is struggling, using Sony Vegas 10 it keeps telling me there is not enough RAM.

I reckon my next laptop ill keep 3-5 years and therefore Im sure ill start editing 4k in that time. Thinking of this laptop:

Inspiron 15 - 5559

• Inspiron 15 - 5559
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-6200U (3M Cache, up to 2.80 GHz)
• Windows 10 Home (64bit)
• 8 GB DDR3 Memory 1600MHz (2 DIMMs)
• 1 TB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
• 8X DVD+/- RW Drive
• 2GB AMD Radeon R5 M335 Graphics
• Intel® Centrino® Wireless-AC 3160 + Bluetooth 4.0
• LCD Back Cover for Non-Touch Screen - Silver matte
• 40 WHr, 4-Cell Battery (removable)
• 15.6 inch LED Backlit Display with FHD resolution (1920 x 1080)

Alanstrainor

You'll need 16GB of RAM going forward. But as I said, you can buy and upgrade the RAM yourself rather than being charged a lot by Dell.

ED E

Vegas can use acceleration, so you could see a big boost by stepping up to a 940M or similar. Depends on how much you're willing to invest in the unit.

LG1234

ED E wrote: »

Vegas can use acceleration, so you could see a big boost by stepping up to a 940M or similar. Depends on how much you're willing to invest in the unit.

So the laptop I have linked will do and I can upgrade the ram myself? What's 940m?

ED E

The laptop + ram upgrade would be good, but a higher end model with a discrete GPU (Graphics unit) would do a lot better while previewing high res footage.

Halflifept

For heavy video editing I suggest to try to avoid the "U" low voltage CPU's.

duridian

LG1234 wrote: »

What's 940m?

GeForce 940m. It's a Nvidia Graphics card for laptops/notebooks, with low to middling performance level as a gaming card.