Desktop or laptop for 4K editing

aldo12xu wrote on 5/13/2015, 4:49 PM
I am looking to get a new system that would be more efficient at editing 4K footage than what I currently have. I do multi-cam shoots with one two 4K camers and two 1080p cameras, rendering the final result as 1080p.

Here are the two systems I'm deciding on, both priced at roughly the same level. Would the laptop be able to do as good a job as the desktop. I'm willing to use proxies but would prefer not to.

Thanks in advance!

Desktop:
Lenovo K450E Desktop
- Intel Core i7-4790 3.6 GHz, 12GB DDR3, 2TB HDD
- DVD RW, Nvidia GeForce GT 720 Graphics
- Windows 8.1

Laptop:
ASUS ROG G771JM-DH71-CA Gaming Notebook
- 17.3" FHD
Intel i7-4710HQ (2.5GHz)
12GB DDR3 750GB HDD
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX860M 2GB
DVD-RW BT W8.1

Comments

astar wrote on 5/13/2015, 10:19 PM
I would do more searching on the forum. No where does anyone recommend Nvidia with Vegas. Even though the 860m is the latest mobile gpu, that hardware is below the vegas minimum recommendation. Nvidia is selling snake oil by naming the mobile gpus close to desktop.

Proxy editing is probably the best solution to 4k at this time. With proxy editing you can edit on almost any modern laptop.

Maybe when the next gen of desktops and video cards come out, 4k may then become as easy to edit as HD now. DDR4 based systems with some thing like the new 390 may handle 4k streams with less frame rate dipping. What I mean is playback of multiple streams at 50% opacity, with color correction, and graphic overlay without dropping frame rate. Current desktops are to slow for the way vegas handles video. Maybe the new engine in catalyst will be more optimized for 4k. The 4k minimum specs are just that minimum specs, and your system should be above that.



NickHope wrote on 5/14/2015, 1:05 AM
Have a quick look at this thread I started a few months back. For non-proxy editing of 4K on a laptop you probably want to be looking at least at something like this.

If you get a desktop, think about getting an AMD R9 290 or 290X graphics card, even if it means going self-build. As things are, it's "better" for Vegas than current Nvidia GPUs.
aldo12xu wrote on 5/14/2015, 11:40 AM
Thanks guys, that's really helpful. Nvidea is what I use now mainly because of Magic Bullet Looks. But I see the AMD series 200 cards are also compatible with it. So I'll hunt out the appropriate laptop.
aldo12xu wrote on 5/14/2015, 5:56 PM
Hey Nick, did you end up getting that TOSHIBA Satellite P55T-B5262? Despite some of the negative reviews, it seems to be a good machine for editing on the go.
NickHope wrote on 5/15/2015, 12:11 AM
No, aldo12xu, I came to the conclusion that, for me, editing 4K footage on the move is not realistic with the current laptop offerings available here in Thailand. I believe you would need a very high spec custom laptop for that. So I ended up saving money/weight by getting a Dell Inspiron 15 5547 as a capturing and general purpose laptop. As expected, playback of my GH4 4K footage is pretty hopeless. I intentionally got an AMD GPU (Radeon R7 M265) rather than Nvidia, with the idea that it might be better for occasional use of Vegas. I have no idea if it actually is.

Have a good read of the Newegg/Amazon reviews on that Toshiba before you buy it.
aldo12xu wrote on 5/21/2015, 5:16 PM
I decided to get the Toshiba laptop. It just came in yesterday. I got it because of the i7 processor, 12 gigs of ram, AMD Radeon R9 M265X video card and 4K display. It also includes Photoshop Lightroom and a blu-ray burner. All this for $1100 cdn ($900 US) was too good to pass up for me. A comparable desktop would've cost me more.

The concerns that were brought out in negative reviews I read were:

1. 4K display makes non-4k compliant programs small with text and icons hard to see (this includes Vegas)
2. The heat vent is on the right side where most people would be plugging in their mouse. And the fan is supposed to be loud.
3. The touch screen and navigation pad are finicky.
4. Short battery life, max 3 hours.
5. Windows 8

I've yet to put it through it's paces but as far as the above goes:

1: I changed the display resolution to 1920 x 1080 and adjusted the font size, so all is as normal looking as can be. If I want to watch or show my 4K videos to others, I'll change the resolution back to 4K.

2 & 3: I always use a mouse and wouldn't bother with the touch screen or pad. My mouse hand is below and away from the vent, so no heat for me. The fan doesn't seem loud to me at all.

4: 80 percent of the time, I will have it plugged in.

5: I just ignore the Windows 8 applications/tablet type interface. I use the explorer-type folder as normally on Windows 7.

I'll post an update once I've done some heavy multi-cam editing.