Laptop for video / photo editing

stingray21

Estimable
Aug 29, 2014
4
0
4,510
Hey,
I'm doing some photo and video editing and my current laptop (Sony VAIO T13 (SVT13112FXS), i5, 4 GB RAM) is not suited for HD videos or even large pictures.
So, I guess I need a new system.

1. What is your budget?
I set my limit to about $1500, but spending less money would obviously be preferred if I can still get what I need for a lower price.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
14 or 15 inch

3. What screen resolution do you want?
min full HD 1920x1080

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
not too big, at most 1.1 inch thick,
but no super light and thin notebook, it will be 80% on my desk

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?
Photo/Video editing

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
500 GB to 1 TB HHD
128 to 256 GB SSD for OS
It's good enough if I can upgrade the laptop with a M.2 SSD or use the optical bay for second HD

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2+ years

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I like Lenovo, but I'm not limited to that, I just like the quality of the previous laptops I had from them for work

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
8 - 16 GB of RAM, at least the possibility to upgrade


I looked at the following Laptops:

Lenovo Thinkpad W540
i7-4700MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.40GHz),Windows 8.1 64, 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, W540 NVIDIA Quadro K1100M 2G, 8GB PC3-12800 DDR3L (2 DIMM), 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
~$1243 (after 11% off on Lenovo website, till Monday)
+
MyDigitalSSD 42mm SATA III 6G M.2 (128GB) ~$80
or
optical bay frame & 250 GB SSD ~$170

Lenovo Thinkpad T440p
Intel Core i7-4700MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.40GHz),Windows 8.1 64, 14.0" FHD (1920 x 1080) Display, NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M 1G, 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM, 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
~$1276
+
optical bay frame & 250 GB SSD ~$170

MSI GS Series GS60 Ghost-007
Intel Core i7 4700HQ (2.40GHz) 12GB Memory 750GB HDD 128GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 2GB 15.6" Windows 8.1
~ $1550



I haven't completely ruled out building my own custom desktop PC, but the mobility of a laptop is very tempting.
 
Solution
The Thinkpads are nice, as is the GS60 Ghost/GhostPro. Asus has the N550JK + G550JK, and both of those offer similar specs and are well built and stable laptops.

The Clevo W355SSQ is also a good unit, though it is slightly thicker than what you're seeking (about 1.5 inches).
The Thinkpads are nice, as is the GS60 Ghost/GhostPro. Asus has the N550JK + G550JK, and both of those offer similar specs and are well built and stable laptops.

The Clevo W355SSQ is also a good unit, though it is slightly thicker than what you're seeking (about 1.5 inches).
 
Solution

stingray21

Estimable
Aug 29, 2014
4
0
4,510
I will look at the ASUS laptops

The Thinkpad W540 looks pretty good to me (especially compared to the price of a HP ZBook or a DELL M4800), although I have only seen pictures and videos. But people seem to complain a lot about it
 

stingray21

Estimable
Aug 29, 2014
4
0
4,510
I like the ASUS laptops, although the G550JK seems to be not in stock atm

The N550JK would fit my specs if I replace the optical drive with a SDD

I read that the gpu of the W540 is only good for CAD, but not for gaming. I wouldn't really do either, but gaming is probably closer to my use case (photo/video editing), isn't it?
 

DMGriffen

Estimable
Sep 1, 2014
4
0
4,510
I am not sure on usa prices but in uk lenovo thinkpads qre over priced compared to dell Alienware and new comers like Clevo

My choice is to focus on which gpu provides the best support

The geforce GTX 870M. Or Amd R9 290x or the
 

stingray21

Estimable
Aug 29, 2014
4
0
4,510
Thank you for your input :)

I already ordered the N550JK last night. It comes with a 256 GB SSD and I can replace the optical drive with a HHD.
It's only a GTX-850M, but I think it will be good enough for my purposes
 

DMGriffen

Estimable
Sep 1, 2014
4
0
4,510


After some extensive research in to graphics performance , the 860m came out good paying 100 gbp per 10% total 330 more for the top 880m is not worth it in my opinion

I think my choice i am going with the Amd R9 M290x which on average is good on tessellations which will help in editing your gtx will use cuda cores for rendering video.

It is worth noting that even the £2000 apple mac book pro only uses a GT 750