Is a Dell XPS 15 good enough for pro editing?

popfizz wrote on 6/1/2023, 11:14 AM

Looking to see if I can get some video editing jobs. (if there even are jobs for using Vegas Pro 19 with windows 11, as it seems the pro world still wants final cut or premiere, but that's another conversation........ that I want to have) Would this laptop able to handle lower end jobs....like youtube or other social media content? I currently have the XPS 8950 desktop and I like it. I also need a laptop. Would this handle 4K video?

Looking to save money. Below I will list specs and show what $1500 will buy you. Is there anything I could pare down to save some money? or would it better to just have the extra power. I am considering refurbished, but similar laptops used are only a few hundred less. The one year premium support is worth something. I got the four years for my desktop and although the tech support messed up my computer twice, after sending many emails and making some noise some pretty competent supervisors and high level staff were able to get me back up. Of course, one time I had to re install everything. I'm also open to suggestions. One thing I don't like is such a big mouse track pad. I don't like using them so that's useless for me. But everything else looks pretty good.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

below are the specs for the 1500 dollar setup

Processor

12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H (24 MB cache, 14 cores, 20 threads, up to 4.70 GHz Turbo)

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro, English

Graphics Card

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050, 4 GB GDDR6, 40 W

Display

15.6", FHD+ 1920 x 1200, 60Hz, Non-Touch, Anti-Glare, 500 nit, InfinityEdge

Memory *

32 GB, 2 x 16 GB, DDR5, 4800 MHz

Hard Drive

1 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD

Case

Platinum Silver exterior, Black interior

Microsoft Office

No Microsoft Office License included

Comprehensive digital protection – including antivirus, privacy and identity protections

McAfee® Small Business Security 12-month subscription

Protect your purchase - View Support offers below *

1Y ProSupport for PCs NextBusinessDay OnsiteService after RemoteDiagnosis-for business

Comments

rraud wrote on 6/1/2023, 1:36 PM

I bought a XPS 9550 in 2018 which is fast and works good, but is was not cheap $$...With he mega-deal from @ B&H, it was more than $2k. It basically has a Intel i7, 32 bit RAM, 1TB solid state hard drive, GeForce 960 card, 4k display and a backlit keyboard among other niceties. IMO, the 15" display is too small for editing comfortably with both the timeline and video preview. I use a secondary monitor when I can . The on-board speakers are awful sounding (typical of laptops) and the integrated sound card is consumer level, so you will want a pro audio interface and monitors if mixing sound is important. Otherwise it is great. I do not do much 4k editing, but I have checked it out with the benchmark projects and results were good.

mark-y wrote on 6/1/2023, 1:36 PM

It meets the specifications for Vegas 19 and 20 operating environment.

That said, I question whether sustained editing on a 15" screen is advisable or practical, even at FHD SDR.

Wolfgang S. wrote on 6/1/2023, 3:18 PM

Right. The display is too small. Go for 27 or 32“. And ignore the 500 nits - not enough for HDR and for SDR not necessary.

The GPU could be better - RTX 3060 or 3070Ti is more expensive, but more appropriate maybe if you can afford it. 4GB are at the limit.

What will be the 4K footage? Which camera? Which format?

RogerS wrote on 6/2/2023, 2:12 AM

Dell XPS 15 laptops aren't intended for video editing and overheat under sustained load- search YouTube and elsewhere for this. For editing look at the Alienware m15, x15 or larger models which have much better cooling.

15" screen is usable for on the go though when you're at home it's good to have a second screen.

popfizz wrote on 6/2/2023, 7:01 AM

I get what everyone is saying. I do have another computer (desktop) that has a bigger monitor and is faster so this would be something I would use occasionally. That said I understand about the screen size. I will have to rethink getting this laptop though. I really didn't plan on spending more than 1500, so does anyone have a better model for that amount of money? I am also reading about the cooling issues with this laptop. You can't believe those reviews you see on youtube. Many young people saying how the XPS 15 is THE perfect video editing laptop. Yeah, maybe for entry level or strictly for amateur or prosumer content on youtube.

As of now I don't know what kind of footage I will be editing or what camera it will be from. I would like to be able to handle whatever I get......but perhaps one needs to spend more.

RogerS wrote on 6/2/2023, 10:29 AM

Look for Dell refurbs/outlet to get a better model for less money. That's how I shop.

A 15" HD screen on the go is workable- I'm typing on a Dell XPS 15, afterall.

The cooling issues are severe. If somebody only does basic testing (or tests it in winter months) they may think it's fine as it won't overheat. As a laptop to mainly be used for video editing I learned the hard way that thin and light just isn't fit for purpose (though I did make it work for ~5 years by undervolting it, getting an active cooling stand, doing more editing in winter months and reducing preview quality so it doesn't have to work as hard). As a business laptop it's been great and it's fast enough for photo editing, too.

popfizz wrote on 6/2/2023, 12:04 PM

This is all good to know. Thanks a lot! I really don't know how much I will need to do on the laptop....but I don't like the idea of it getting so hot. Editing in winter months sounds like a very telling workaround. Also I don't need the laptop to be light or portable.....so part of what I'm paying for is it's light weight and slim design. I will only be using it in my apartment.....so I might as well get a heavy beast of a laptop...or something at least not so thin.

Wolfgang S. wrote on 6/2/2023, 12:25 PM

At the end of the day, it is your decision - simply, because it is your money that you spend. But the question is really, what you are looking for in the long run. Beside, what you are willing to spend.

For me, it was also a hard decision - but I decided to go into what I perceive as high end, when I purchased my laptop - and I went in the end for the ProArt Studiobook serie, since I saw here a great combination for the content creator - with a nice processor i9 12900H with i-GPU support, with a powerfull GPU RTX 3070 Ti, with fast M.2 cards but with an incredible OLED monitor, that comes calibrated and can be calibrated again by yourself. Great for HDR grading too. And with thunderbolt 4, what allows me to have the footage on fast external SSDs for editing.

This was not a cheap purchase, but I run on this machine both Vegas but also Resolve - and edit my BRAW 6K 50p footage (in Resolve) in a nice way. And the i-GPU support is import for our video editing in Vegas, too.

The development goes on dramatically fast here. But you will have the laptop for some years hopefully, and the question is what your requirements are really. It may make a difference if you need a business laptop, or if you go for a video editing machine, powerfull enough to satisfy your editing and grading needs too.