After Effects Laptop

[James Lynch]

Here’s a link to a reddit post with some information that might help you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AfterEffects/comments/2zc3mj/best_choice_for_new_laptop/

[Jeff Patrick]

Thanks James – I’ve looked at that thread actually, but it only suggests a couple options that both seemed to have a lot issues and flaws in reviews I read about them. I was looking into an Asus ux501 – but I’ve read there are issues with the screen – any thoughts?

[James Lynch]

Well, 4K is definitely a plus. i7 and 16g ram is good for AE definitely. graphics are also pretty top notch. I would say that this laptop is definitely very good for what you need it for.

[Jeff Patrick]

Yeah, those were my thoughts as well initially – but I’ve read that some programs have trouble with icons scaling at 4K and that it would be more taxing on the computer to run 4K – and also that there were potentially issues with the screen displaying yellows in this Asus series. I don’t know if Creative Cloud programs are among the programs that have issues at 4K, but since most of the projects I’ll be producing will only be 1920 x 1080 I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk or the extra battery drain.

Also, this model has a touch screen, but because it doesn’t detach from the keyboard or fold over to act more like a tablet, I don’t think it will be very useful for drawing or anything else. So I’m wondering if I could find similar specs for less money without a touch screen, or if there was a computer with similar specs and a touch screen that detached or was able to rotate so that it could be used more like a tablet for drawing.

If anyone has had experience with these Asus computers or 4K after effects use in general, or similar computers to suggest – I’d love to hear about it.

[Tudor “ted” jelescu]

I switched over to exclusive use of laptops several years ago. I went through a few machines, granted at a higher cost. Alienware, Origin PC, MSI and 3XS, all custom build, with top nVidia cards and the best i7 on the market at the time. The best deal for the money based on how the machine works in field conditions under tight deadlines I found to be the cheapest of them all- the MSI. At 2500 USD, with 970M, i7, 32 GB RAM and 3 SSD’s in SUPER RAID 2 it’s similar in performance with the most expensive of the lot (6000 USD for the Origin). Take a look at xoticpc.com for more ideas. My suggestion is to balance out the specs for a good price. More RAM and fast SSD drives over the top processor (go with the second best – the difference in price vs performance makes it the smart choice) that would be my suggestion.

Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
Senior VFX Artist

[Jeff Patrick]

Thanks Ted!

[Byron Nelson]

I use an Alienware and can’t complain about it. One thing that is important in a hard-working video processing laptop is cooling capacity. My previous HP literally melted down. My Alienware stays cool on similar tasks, seldom getting over 69c. I think Dell has some “black friday” deals on them now.