Are higher spec machines only important for render, or general use?

[John Kendrick]

I think that laptops use more energy efficient processors anyway, so you wouldnt be able to compare apples with apples (desktop i7 vs laptop i7).

I used a laptop before (core 2 duo) for editting and processing and it was fine, just a bit slower than the desktop.

If you can cope with a lower resolution preview window and things taking a couple extra seconds, then should be fine.

RAM should be high and a SSD can really really help the processing… (also get a GPU that has CUDA) as that can take some processing away from the processor

John

[Clive Mclaughlin]

Thanks for the reply!

‘GPU that has CUDA’ – I’ve no idea what that means!

I’ve been looking mainly at Lenovo, I’ve heard the build quality and lifetime is second only to Apple.

Heres an i5 with 16GB ram and an i7 with 8GB ram, with a £50 ($80) difference.

Any Thoughts?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Z580-15-6-Laptop-Windows-8-intel-Core-i5-8GB-RAM-1TB-HDD-/160958619430?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item2579e19f26

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Z580-15-6-Notebook-Core-i7-3520M-8GB-750GB-DVDRW-Win-8-MM-White-/170975280316?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item27ceebbcbc

[Dave Osbun]

GPU basically means “what video card does it have?” Most higher-end systems seem to have nVidia or ATI Radeon cards nowadays, but you’ll still want to make sure your new system has a good card.

Intel i5 3570K Ivy Bridge 3.40GHz quad core
Asus P8Z77V-LK
16gb RAM
ATI Radeon HD7850 2gb
Crucial M4 SSD + Seagate Barricuda 7200rpm
Windows 7 Pro 64

[Clive Mclaughlin]

Both these one have integrated graphics, I assume you are both telling me I need at least 1GB dedicated?

[John Kendrick]

CUDA – its special cores (chip bits) that make the running of SV run quicker. Its specific to nVidia – the industry standard is called OpenCL.

Vegas will force processing down the CUDA route, freeing up the main processor to do more of the lighter weight stuff.

The ones you have posted seem to be more work machines (no CUDA or nVidia processor is mentioned).

How technical are you?

You could get a laptop with a good processor but not a lot else (skip the nVidia stuff) and then replace the RAM and the HDD with an SSD and a job lot of fast RAM from Crucial.

These make it a lot quicker.

Regarding the rendering – a lot of people will have different views – Intel QuickSync, CUDA and OpenCL all help with the speed but many suggest reduce quality of the footage.

[Clive Mclaughlin]

Thanks John,
What you are suggesting would be fine for me if we were talking desktops. But I’ve never replaced parts in a laptop before. It maybe would be handy enough though.

When you say good processor? Are you talking about the highest end versions of the i7, the i7-3690?

Are you saying the graphics may not matter if the processor and ram are fastest on the market?

Sounds like six of one half a dozen of the other in terms of end cost, no?

[John Kendrick]

“Sounds like six of one half a dozen of the other in terms of end cost, no?”

Yes, completely right…

Swapping out RAM or a HDD is very similar to a desktop – except you’d lift the keyboard (in some instances) for the RAM.

Whats the best option – I would personally, if i was buying, get a light laptop, one with a nVidia GPU and a high(er) resolution screen.
I would get at least a gen 3 Intel core i5.

Hope that this helps.

[Bob Peterson]

For me, the main advantage of a fast processor is a faster preview. As you add video layers and effects to the processing, the load on the processor grows. Also, some file types will require much more processor speed than others. I’ve experienced how a slow processor can virtually cripple the ability to edit a file as the frame rate drops to low levels.

Rendering speed is generally not an overriding consideration. Of course a fast rendering speed is very nice, but you can always go do something else if a render is relatively slow. The same statement is not true for the preview.

[Clive Mclaughlin]

So to clarify:

Get an i7, If you cant afford an i7, get an i5, but plenty of Ram, and graphics card would be helpful, but with an i7 I could maybe manage without one?

Or have I misread the collective advice?

Getting i5 or i7 along with 1gb dedicated graphics put the price firmly above £500, closer to £600.

I had hoped to not spend more than £500 🙁

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

An i5 will be okay for editing on laptops. 8 GB of RAM is fine too. Try to get one with an SSD (like an ultrabook) and it’ll make life much easier. You can connect to your footage via a USB 3.0 port.

This is assuming you are not editing R3D files or the like!

https://www.wolfcrow.com – Workflow information and support for filmmakers, photographers, audiographers and videographers.