Laptop Recommendations

Cliff Etzel wrote on 2/24/2021, 4:38 PM

I have a $2100 budget and looking to upgrade from my aging Dell 13" Ultrabook for editing while traveling/in the field.

Any recommendations on laptops? There are so many options and I've been wondering about whether to switch to Apple's new M1 silicon given the performance users are seeing with optimized Final Cut Pro. I've hit that point in my life where the amount of Tech FOMO has become mind numbing and hoping there are some practical solutions on the Windows side of things to keep my post workflow the same.

I don't like the idea of Apple's non upgradeable obsolescence and I've done some initial research on Windows based laptop options and these are the two I've narrowed down to:

MSI Creator 15 A10SFS-287 15.6" UHD 4K Ultra Thin Bezel - https://amzn.to/2P4jkzf

Gigabyte Aero 15 Classic - https://amzn.to/3dFH1IB

I don't want to haul around a 17" laptop hence my sticking with the 15" screen and I'm not editing 4K YET - but plan on it in the near future and my primary delivery platform is the web.

Any other recommendations within that ball park price range?

Comments

RogerS wrote on 2/24/2021, 6:14 PM

I edit 4K with a Dell XPS 15. It is also my work computer. Only downside of thinner machines is that they lose performance under heavy load due to heat build up "throttling". I would check for that as you research different machines.

I don't get FOMO. If the computer gets the job done you aren't missing anything.

wjauch wrote on 2/24/2021, 8:28 PM

I am editing Red 5k Raw footage on a HP Omen 15.6" laptop, AMD4800H, 16GB RAM, 1660ti 2GB GPU. I may upgrade RAM to 32GB in future. It came with 1TB NVME drive, there is an empty slot so I added a second 2TB NVME drive. I'd check if those laptops can have a second SSD drive added, ideally NVME or at least 2.5" SATA. It is often good to have OS and Vegas on your C drive but video files on another drive