Thank you. Gonna check it out. Must say that my existing laptop, with the specs mentioned in my original post, coped reasonably well (although I did have to turn to the forum for advice several times). Thanks to kindly forum members, most of the time the editing went smoothly, but not perfectly. Thus, I wonder if the specs were just a LITTLE short of what is needed?

Just seen a laptop with the following specs. Any thoughts? Am concerned about the small storage space.

Intel Core i7-10750H
16GB RAM
512GB SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics, 4GB Dedicated
Windows 10 Home

@MCK

Dell XPS 15 7590

CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H – i9-9980HK processor

Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

RAM: 8GB – 64GB

Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD

Display: 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Anti-Glare Non-touch IPS – 15.6-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) Anti-Reflective InfinityEdge Touch IPS

Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit OS

A good example for 4k editing but this model has audio issues.

@MCK

I suppose it depends on your budget, and future proofing for 6k, 8k etc.

There are so many variations all with pro's and con's.

Within affordability, you will want a laptop that can stand the test of time, and that the components can be easily upgraded etc.

Ideally an SSD drive for faster processing at 2tb and 32gb ram.

It's getting the right balance of GPU, Cpu, SSD storage and Ram for power hungry video software processing.

So, are you recommending the Dell XPS 15 7590? The price is ok, but will stand the test of time? Audio issues?

My inbox suggests a further post beginning "I read this in a forum for 4k video editing and this was the response. A 6-core i7 is too low...", but I cannot see it here!

@MCK

A forum response:

A 6-core i7 is too low to edit 4K footage UNLESS you make proxies, but then when you switch to full-res media, it’ll crawl. You’re better off investing in a desktop with all the trimmings. Ryzen or i9 with at least 64gb of ram, and at minimum a 1080ti.

This was for desktop instead of laptop.

Just seen this... good bet?

Dell XPS 15 7590H Core i7 2.60 GHZ  to 4.50 GHZ

32GB DDR4

1TB SSD 

4GB GTX1650  

4K TOUCH 0KL9Y2

I actually don't have room for a desktop. Laptop only!

@MCK

You said;

Dell XPS 15 7590H Core i7 2.60 GHZ  to 4.50 GHZ

32GB DDR4

1TB SSD 

4GB GTX1650  

4K TOUCH 0KL9Y2

Great specs, I believe this model can upgrade ram to 64gb.

@MCK

Before purchasing any laptop I would research on its reliability and performance etc or any known issues looking at feedback on the internet.

Okay I am finished for tonight, take care.

@MCK

Hi.

Part of the problem with any editing is having the files and the running program all on the same drive and then trying to export to the same drive. The bottleneck then is the files being bounced around back and fourth on the same serial bus and CPU overload of transferring all that data between ram and the drive. It is always best to have programs only on the C: drive. The source files on a second drive, preferably a second internal drive and export to a third drive which can be external but should be using a USB 3 connection and capable drive. I would suggest 32GB minimum for 4K editing for long projects. Also check any laptop is using an Intel processor that has an inbuilt GPU which the program relies heavily on and can be enabled or the nvidia GPU will be of little use.

Ray.

@MCK, @PATIENT-X

Hi

. . . . A 6-core i7 is too low to edit 4K footage UNLESS you make proxies. . . .

On the contrary, I work with 4K video with no proxy files and the lower resolution/framerate options of the Preview monitor turned off with no issues - see my signature for my PC specification - the only time I see anything but smooth playback is when I use collages of 5 or more 4K videos or certain video effects eg De-noising which are extremely processor/iGPU intensive and do cause some mild stuttering on Preview - this cannot be helped even with the use of proxies in some situations.

A 6 to 8 core processor is the sweet spot in terms of bang per buck and performance adding more cores does not increase the performance linearly ie a 12 core is not 2 x faster than a 6 core, the gain is much less.

. . . . You’re better off investing in a desktop with all the trimmings.

I would agree with this for 'full time editing' - I consider a laptop to be an alternative for when mobile / away from home use. As far as trimmings go that depends on what you are referring to.

. . . . . . . . Ryzen or i9 with at least 64gb of ram, and at minimum a 1080ti. . . .

An AMD processor is not going to give you hardware acceleration (HWA) - if you look at the specifications for MEP and VPX - AMD processors are not mentioned at all.

An Intel with integrated iGPU (UHD 520 or better) is required - both MEP and VPX make are designed to make use of this for hardware acceleration where possible.

. . . . 4GB GTX1650   . . . . .

If you do need a Nvidia card for software I would suggest the RTX 20xx series as a minimum, since the release of the 30 series their prices have been coming down and they are IMO much better then 16 series.

Note

1. the RTX 2060 in my system was not added for MEP or VPX - this was a later addition for use with Blender - it does get used for a couple of effects acceleration by MEP and VPX and would be used for Preview acceleration if I was not using the iGPU in my processor.
    
2. At this time MEP will not use a Nvidia or AMD GPU for HWA rendering when exporting - except for the above mentioned effect, VPX will use one for HEVC only.

HTH

John EB

Hello John. Thank you for such a detailed reply.
The problem is that I don't understand a word of it. I have never gotten my head around the detailed stuff.
Also, I would love to edit on a desktop, but for reasons beyond my control, I have to use a laptop. Maybe one day...
So, do you feel these specs would work...

Dell XPS 15 7590
Core i7 9750H 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD 4GB GTX1650 4K TOUCH 0KL9Y2

@MCK

Hi

. . . . do you feel these specs would work...

Dell XPS 15 7590 Core i7 9750H 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD 4GB GTX1650 4K TOUCH 0KL9Y2 . . . .

The Dell has the Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics processor - however you will probably find that you need to connect a second monitor, or use a Headless Ghost (monitor emulator), see image below, plugged into the HDMI port to get the UHD 630 to activate so it can be used for HWA.

I would suggest you contact Dell's Technical support (not sales) to ask about this - I have found them very helpful in the past.

John EB

Unfortunately, just checked and Dell Technical seem only to speak to you if you already own one of their products.

As @CubeAce stated you need an external Usb drive, I agree that having just a large c: drive on its own is not enough as c: drive should be for programs only. I have an external Usb drive for my audio and video files for my music and video editing software.

@johnebaker mentioned don't speak to sales as they will agree with anything just to sell the product.

All of this is great advice. Thanks to all.

@MCK

When so much information and detail is hard to understand, then I would look at YouTube videos where there will be experts or consumers who explain things in layman's terms so that you fully understand in relation to best laptop for 4k video editing.

There is a wealth of information on the YouTube platform.

Great suggestion. Thank you.

@MCK

Hi

@CubeAce and @PATIENT-X have both commented

. . . . you need an external Usb drive . . . .

This I agree with, however, for a different reason and possibly 'modus operandi' - backups.

When using my laptop I am invariable mobile and work on the project from the C: drive on my laptop.

If you do not intend to be working mobile or away from mains power, then the reason 1 below will not apply

1. the USB drive shortens battery run time, sometimes significantly, when I am not near a mains power source.
    
2. USB ports and devices tend to hibernate/turn off after a period of time set in the Power Management options for them. This may result in, at worst, a program freeze/crash or at best an error saying the drive is not available - they can take a couple of seconds to power backup and be ready for file access.
   
   Keeping them permanently on however brings you back to item 1 if mobile.

Once I have finished working on the project for the day I back it up to external USB drive.

HTH

John EB