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| lannisport June 07 2012 15:00. Posts 675 | Profile # |
So I need to upgrade my laptop. This will basically be a desktop replacement but I would like to be able to haul it around (especially for presentations). I will mainly use it for video editing with the usual suspects; Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Avid and using Pro Tools, Logic and Audition for audio. So I need something with at least a 15 inch screen, i7, a 2 gig nvideo video card, something sturdy and reliable and something that comes with a good SSD drive or an extra sata slot at least. Multiple monitor inputs are a bonus too.
What I do like about Alienware is the financing that they offer. And it seems to be relatively cheap (Around $1100).
Also on a tangent, I'm still new to audio editing. Is it better to edit audio with a really good headset or with really good speakers? I'd love to hear recommendations for both from you audiophiles/editors. |
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 Womwomwom June 07 2012 15:07. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
| Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications. |
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| lannisport June 07 2012 15:57. Posts 675 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 15:07 Womwomwom wrote:
Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications.
I was thinking of getting a Lenovo Thinkpad but those things are just too damned expensive. I don't think the investment in a workstation GPU would be worth it. A Thinkpad with a Quadro 1000m graphics card and no SSD drive is already $1300 bones. I don't think I really need a Quadro GPU for what I'm doing. I'm a little ignorant on those so could you explain why I would need that for Premiere or After Effects when they are primarily 2d programs with no complex geometries? The Alienware comp that I want is only $1100 and includes a NVIDIA 460M GTX. I think that's good enough to handle Skyrim raw HD footage. Last edit: 2012-06-07 15:57:59 |
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T.O.P.  Hong Kong. June 07 2012 16:01. Posts 4472 | Profile Blog # |
On June 07 2012 15:07 Womwomwom wrote:
Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications.
Workstation GPUs just come with different drivers.
460M? You're buying an older model? IMO, you should get the newest model with Ivy Bridge and 600 series graphics.
Use Headphones for audio editiing. |
| | Oracle comes in, Scvs go down, never a miscommunication. |
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| lannisport June 07 2012 16:30. Posts 675 | Profile # |
That is true...It's only $200 more anyway or $41/month. Worth it I think.
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| Womwomwom June 07 2012 16:41. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
On June 07 2012 16:01 T.O.P. wrote:
Show nested quote +On June 07 2012 15:07 Womwomwom wrote:
Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications.
Workstation GPUs just come with different drivers.
Which is entirely the point of getting a workstation card. Drivers are everything in the workstation market.
For software such as the Mercury Playback Engine (Adobe Premiere), you will get zero CUDA support unless you have the top end Geforce cards (GTX570/580 level) or workstation cards. I'm fairly sure Avid Media Composer is the same maybe even more stringent in driver locks considering the minimum specs are Quadro cards.
On June 07 2012 15:57 lannisport wrote:
Show nested quote +On June 07 2012 15:07 Womwomwom wrote:
Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications.
I was thinking of getting a Lenovo Thinkpad but those things are just too damned expensive. I don't think the investment in a workstation GPU would be worth it. A Thinkpad with a Quadro 1000m graphics card and no SSD drive is already $1300 bones. I don't think I really need a Quadro GPU for what I'm doing. I'm a little ignorant on those so could you explain why I would need that for Premiere or After Effects when they are primarily 2d programs with no complex geometries? The Alienware comp that I want is only $1100 and includes a NVIDIA 460M GTX. I think that's good enough to handle Skyrim raw HD footage.
Depends on what you're doing with it. Companies such as Adobe, Avid, and third party software developers who make relevant plug-ins like to lock features to drivers. So for software like the Mercury Playback Engine, you will get zero CUDA support unless the software can see that you're using an extremely high end GPU or workstation card. If you were doing something in the Mercury Playback Engine, a GTX570 will run laps around a GTX560 Ti despite the two having CUDA cores.
If they didn't do that, there would be close to no reason to buy Quadros and Firepros. Pretty dirty but its how these companies make money. I've been somewhat out of the loop, and finding information about software is difficult, but this has been the case for a while for a lot of software in the past.
If you're just doing video game videos, then don't bother with a workstation. I just assumed from the software that you needed a work-only sort of machine and you will make you megabucks. Last edit: 2012-06-07 16:54:12 |
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| Outsited United States. June 07 2012 22:03. Posts 183 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 15:00 lannisport wrote:
So I need something with at least a 15 inch screen, i7, a 2 gig nvideo video card, something sturdy and reliable and something that comes with a good SSD drive or an extra sata slot at least. Multiple monitor inputs are a bonus too.
What I do like about Alienware is the financing that they offer. And it seems to be relatively cheap (Around $1100).
good luck getting all that for 1100 from ailenware |
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| anobi Finland. June 08 2012 00:50. Posts 17 | Profile # |
Pro Tools or Logic? You're gonna need a macbook pro for that, which is a good choice anyway for video and audio editing. Otherwise go for the business laptops, as others have recommended.
My work laptop (for software development though) is an i7 HP elitebook and I've been more than happy with it, very sturdy and powerful workhorse. |
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| Thezftw Finland. June 08 2012 04:06. Posts 116 | Profile # |
On June 07 2012 16:01 T.O.P. wrote:
Show nested quote +On June 07 2012 15:07 Womwomwom wrote:
Go for a business laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu are the big boys) if that's what you're looking for. They also tend to come with workstation GPUs which are typically faster than consumer GPUs in such applications.
Use Headphones for audio editiing.
Last edit: 2012-06-08 04:07:02 |
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| CatNzHat United States. June 08 2012 04:38. Posts 1305 | Profile # |
Headphones are your best bet with a laptop, as you want mobility and most likely won't be able to carry around and properly setup studio monitors.
As far as hardware goes, the Mercury Playback Engine runs on pretty much any Nvidia desktop card out there (I have 2 gtx 460's in SLI, and it's smooth as butter with R3D 2k and 4k playback and color grading). As far as laptop cards are concerned, nothing within a reasonable budget is going to get you the performance you want.
Now here is where I'd like to offer my solution to your problem:
Your "problem": Don't have good enough desktop solution for editing work, or a mobiles solution for presentations.
My solution: Build yourself a desktop rig that will meet or exceed your needs, and cost about $500 less than the laptop equivalent, and offer an upgrade path for the future.
With the $500 you save, buy yourself a tablet or netbook to use for presentations, I don't know what kind of presentations you'll be doing, but my personal preference here would be a Transformer Prime from Asus.
Hopefully you'll at least consider this option, as it's way more practical than trying to get all your needs met by a laptop without going over budget and ending up regretting your decision 12 months later when a new cheaper faster piece of hardware comes out and you can't upgrade.
Edit: I don't think i made myself clear enough about how mis-informed the poster above me is regarding CUDA support of the Mercury Playback Engine: There is literally a little text file in the premeire pro install directory that has a list of the "supported GPUs", just add whatever CUDA card you have to the list and it will use it for hardware acceleration. You don't need a top of the line gaming or workstation card, all you need is cuda supporting card with performance you require and a text editor. The workstation cards are really meant for people doing heavy 3d work in programs like Autodesk Maya or Autocad, where the drivers really make a big difference in performance, look up benchmarks if you want your detailed info.
Last edit: 2012-06-08 04:43:28 |
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| Womwomwom June 08 2012 09:47. Posts 5557 | Profile Blog # |
Not seeing how I'm misinformed. What I said was 100% right. Just I had no idea about any workarounds so I would consider myself ignorant rather than misinformed. But OK whatever you say.
Also are you certain that workaround accelerations works for the majority of Adobe software from Speed Grade to After Effects? I'm not entirely convinced. Last edit: 2012-06-08 09:59:26 |
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| Strafe578 Canada. June 09 2012 11:33. Posts 66 | Profile # | |
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| CatNzHat United States. June 09 2012 13:07. Posts 1305 | Profile # |
On June 08 2012 09:47 Womwomwom wrote:Not seeing how I'm misinformed. What I said was 100% right. Just I had no idea about any workarounds so I would consider myself ignorant rather than misinformed. But OK whatever you say.Also are you certain that workaround accelerations works for the majority of Adobe software from Speed Grade to After Effects? I'm not entirely convinced.
Their entire suite of hardware accelerated effects are run through the mercury playback engine, and therefore any CUDA card will work, as the mercury playback engine is hardware accelerated through cuda. The reason that Adobe doesn't say "this works with all cards" is because they want to thoroughly test each card and the performance gains to make sure there are no bugs. Cards that they didn't test, or had minor bugs or lower performance than expected didn't end up on that list. They did however make it so that you could easily add your own card to the list and use it if you found that it worked for your purposes. |
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| benalmeer United States. January 14 2013 18:49. Posts 1 | Profile # | |
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