@MCK @johnebaker

Hi

As John has stated:-

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.

The Dell you desire has a processor that does include an Intel HD630 iGPU but before purchasing you MUST CHECK with the salesman that this iGPU can be enabled in addition to the Nvidia GTX1650 as some laptops permanently disable the integrated GPU when an Nvidia GPU is included in the design.

Slightly contrary to what John also mentioned:-

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.

I notice you have an old version of MEP - 2016. If upgrading the PC I would definitely upgrade to MEP2021which will utilise the Nvidia (especially) heavily for Preview of multitrack 4K PinPs and Collages ( 70 -90% on my machine) . ie The Intel iGPU is still utilised in conjunction during Preview of the timeline but the Nvidia is doing most of the heavy lifting.

Peter

I notice you have an old version of MEP - 2016. 

I thought I saw @MCK had "MEP 15". The first thing I'd be doing is seeing if MEP 2021 works OK on their current machine before replacing it. I doubt if MEP 15 would work very well with 4k video regardless of what computer is was on. 2016 was a very long time ago in video editor terms.

Performance is what you are happy with/can put up with. My old i5 chugs along happily with HD/high-bitrate MP4 using MEP 2020. I've never had a iGPU nor an external GPU that does anything. It depends on what you are doing and how fast you want the final rendering. I certainly am not going to replace my machine simply because it renders slowly (which I do overnight). For complex previews, I just use Preview Render. I don't even use Proxies.

Hi everyone. Apologies... I use VPX. Maybe my profile needs updating.
My Lenovo 730 15IWL has done a reasonable job of handling the project. At first, the program kept stopping for long periods, but advice from community members helped reduce this. Unfortunately, the screen is going haywire and no amount of updates/troubleshooting makes a difference. I do have the option of sending it for repair - and I am looking at this - but after backing up my files and manually deleting tons of stuff, I was shocked to see that many seemed to have crept back on to the laptop. OneDrive?
I was about to buy a new, sealed laptop on eBay yesterday; the specs were amazing. But someone beat me to it and now there's nothing available offering such value for money. Timing was never my strong point!
The project is a feature film designed to raise awareness of autism. It is a huge project and means a lot to me. So if anyone can recommend anything affordable, please do.

@MCK

Apologies - I guess that is VPX8 then - sorry for the confusion.

My comments still stand but I am suggesting you get the latest version of VPX12. It has the new Infusion Engine 2 which gives a big boost to Preview smoothness with 4K and 8K and with multi tracks on the timeline, in conjunction with 2x active GPU's in the system. It also exports to HEVC faster by using the HW encoder on the Nvidia GPU.

Peter

@MCK

Hi

Personally I would not buy from EBay - twice I have been a victim of fake goods - though I did manage to get my money back - one seller was difficult until I reported the dealer to Sony and also sent them photographic evidence, and included that I had checked with Sony as feedback to the dealer.

I am looking at the Asus range of laptops, replacement for my aging Toshiba which has served well for 7 years and can still handle 4K video albeit slowly.

HTH

John EB

I hadn't thought of Asus. Good suggestion.
I once bought a brand new GoPro on eBay. They sent me - and this is absolutely true - a leaflet flyer for a takeaway Pizza joint.
Yes, I did get a refund.

I will look at VPX12. But I have already spent an absolute fortune (out of my own pocket) on this film (which has already raised funds for charity) and, as they say, the well is running dry!

@MCK @johnebaker

Can a gaming laptop be good enough for 4k video editing?

MSI GF65 Thin 10UE-014UK, 15.6" 144Hz FHD, Thin Bezel, Intel Core i7-10750H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GDDR6 6GB, 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD, 16GB DDR4, Windows 10, 2yr Warranty £1000 at Overclockers website.

Click here

@PATIENT-X

Hi

. . . . Can a gaming laptop be good enough for 4k video editing? . . . .

That depends - almost all gaming laptops have an extra GPU mainly Nvidia , however some AMD, which drives the laptop screen.

The Intel GPU is often disabled in the BIOS, and is not always connected to external monitor output.

A coincidence - the one you picked is on my list of possibles - I would really like a larger 17" screen, my current laptop is a 15.6 and I find it somewhat 'cramped'.

I have raised a query about the MSI laptop you linked to regarding the iGPU, it may move up the list as it is has a 3060 GPU which is better for Blender.

John EB

It only has 16GB Ram. Not enough?

Its to help out @MCK as well, it's reasonably priced with great components, I read an article on the subject of using gaming laptops for 4k video editing and it states with the right powerful CPU,GPU, ram etc it should be fine, more so with the Rtx 30 series.

I have been concentrating on laptops with a minimum of 32GB Ram. Is this not essential?

@MCK

Hello

It's upgradeable to 64gb ram.

Any DDR4-2666 SODIMM will do.

@johnebaker

AHH so when attaching external monitor it's switchable to the Igpu instead of the Rtx GPU.

It seems some gaming laptops have a BIOS setting which allows the Nvidia GPU to directly drive the screen (at the cost of battery life).

A few of them are also set up so the Nvidia GPU controls the external display, but the ones I've seen set up this way always seem to have displayport output.

@MCK

. . . . It only has 16GB Ram. Not enough? . . . .

The program does not load the video into the cache until it is actually needed eg for playback or rendering, once a clip or partial clip has been used it is rotated out of the cache.

With VPX and MEP, by default the video cache is set to 35 MB and holds 10 to 30 frames of video depending on the framerate of the project.

IMO 16GB is more than enough.

@PATIENT-X

. . . . so when attaching external monitor it's switchable to the Igpu instead of the Rtx GPU . . . .

This is where things start to get complicated, as a lot depends on what is connected to where and if it is enabled in the BIOS - the main scenarios are:

1. the iGPU is permanently disabled and may not be connected to any output - older laptops tended to disable it with no method to turn it on.
2. the iGPU is available and connected to the external monitor output.
3. the iGPU is linked to the Nvidia via a hybrid SLI link so both can be used for example for rendering, with only one driving the screen.
4. the iGPU is switchable as the laptop screen driver and renderer

The problem then is a many laptop system specifications do not state whether and how they both can be used.

HTH

John EB

My daughter has an older MSI gaming laptop. But the screen is "matte" and isn't a patch on the glorious 4k screens I've been working on of late.
Having said that, screen failure is the reason why I need a new laptop.

Johnebaker... you wrote:
"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."
How do I access the power management options for my external drives? You are absolutely right: constantly hibernating.

@MCK

Done it!
Many thanks Patient-X.

I think that power management of the USB can also be set in the Windows Power Settings.

Not sure if the Dell 7590 you are looking at is the one I can see but it says the Display Port is accessible via the Thunderbolt port. Which GPU is driving it I do not know.

I agree with JohnEB that 16GB of Ram is more than enough.

I will look at VPX12. But I have already spent an absolute fortune

VPX is often on special, and upgrades are usually much less than buying the program outright.

Peter

You all have knowledge the way exceeds mine. Perhaps if I see an interesting laptop, I could post the specs here? I haven't understand a lot of what has been said and left to my own devices will make a poor choice... again!

@MCK

Feel free to put forward a candidate that takes your fancy. As you can see we are only too willing to collectively advise to the best of our knowledge of the hardware and how it might interact with VPX / MEP.

Peter