The age old question from a complete newb. Are these specs okay?

[knockstar]

Hello,  Been tearing my hair out for over a week now trying to select a laptop for the purposes of video editing. Been researching countless forums and youtube best of list and still unsure of what to pull the trigger on in regards to a decent machine. As of last Monday, I knew zero in regards to hardware so I have given myself a crash course in processors, video cards and while I have learned a lot, but apparently I have a lot left to learn. lol I have recently purchased a Mavic Pro drone and one of the many formats it shoots in is 4k. I have ruled out the obvious more logical choice of a desktop because I need the portability. I also would like a 17-inch screen to work with and to ensure correct color judgment, a 4k screen.  To that end, after much searching, I think I found the machine for me, but I would like to ask the experts your opinion. I have been using Lightworks on my severely underpowered 4 year old laptop and was considering Davinci Resolve for the new one, but it is my understanding that iDavinci is extremely resource intensive and even with these specs I am listing, it would probably be wheezing badly with that program.  I would like to try the Adobe line of editing programs, but want to make sure I have something that will keep up before I make the financial investment. I would be most grateful for your valued & honest opinions of the following. Thank you

HP Pavilion 17-ab202na 4K

Operating system		Windows 10 Home 64
Processor
Chipset		Intel® HM175
Processor speed		2.8 GHz
Processor family		7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor
Processor		Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8 GHz, up to 3.8 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB cache, 4 cores)
Drives
Hard drive description				1 TB 7200 rpm SATA
Hard drive (2nd)				256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Optical drive				DVD-Writer
Cloud service				Dropbox
Storage type				HDD SSD
Graphic Subsystem
Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
Graphics	Discrete
Memory
Memory, standard			16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB)
Standard memory note			Transfer rates up to 2400 MT/s
Memory and storage			16 GB memory 1 TB HDD storage 256 GB SSD storage

[Bill_Gehrke]

If I had that system the first thing I would do is clone the OS/Applications to a SATA III SSD and install it where the hard disk drive is installed.  That can be done by getting a temporary external USB 3 enclosure for the cloning operation and then later installing the hard disk drive in it for backup usage.  Use the super speed M.2 SSD for all your project files.

An alternative would be to use a portable USB 3 SSD like the Samsung T3 series for your project files like I do on my laptop.

[knockstar]

Thank you so much for your response Bill.  Taking from what you said the listed specs would be okay, apart from what you mentioned about the hard drive. I read in numerous places, people recommending the same and the external SSD sounds good to me. I'm only in the early learning process of editing, but from what I've read this one seemed pretty good, though some have mentioned a 1070 or /80 Nvidia graphic card. Does everything else sound okay? I suppose I could upgrade the graphics card if I find it is not up to snuff.  I think the processor should be fine. I know I could spec out some mega-Godzilla super editing machine, or go Macbook Pro, but I don't want to have sell the kids for medical experiments to pay for it, that's why I was going with this as it about 1400 UK money. Been reading up on 4k editing and apparently, there are workarounds such as downgrading and proxy workflows, which is the study matter for today. Again thank you ever so much for your expertise and response.

[Bill_Gehrke]

I do hope that for editing on any laptop that you need to have it plugged into AC power/  When they design laptops they build default power-down settings on everything to give "bragging rights" on battery life.

Your CPU is a little better than my three-year old CPU but I have been able to comfortably edit my son's 4K GoPro footage.

As far as the GPU my laptop has a GTX 765M which does have a few more CUDA cores (768), and your newer GTX 1050 has 640 CUDA Cores but it is two generation newer which probably makes it probably equal to mine. What you want to do when you get your laptop is download a GPU tool to increase the memory clock on that GPU and find out how far you can increase it without overheating excessively..  GPU-Z is the tool I use to check the memory clock speed and operating temperature.  Most laptops have soldered in GPU's that are not upgradable.

When you get Premiere and your laptop you might want to run my Adobe Premiere Pro BenchMark and submit the results to me for comment

[knockstar]

Cheers Bill, of all information I have been relayed, I've drawn the most confidence in proceeding with this purchase from yours.  I'm not what you would call hardware savvy, so I just figured a higher numbered card (10 series in this case) would be better than the 960 /70 etc...I've seen in other laptops.  Maybe just the case though like you said that over the course of time it matches up to yours despite less Cuda cores (still trying to figure out what they are lol)  I kinda figured it would be okay for all other sized videos, it was just the 4K stuff I was worried about, but if you aren't experiencing any issues with a 765 I should be able to get by, and like I said apparently you can downsize through proxies and I read something about a program called Handbrake, which helps with working with 4k. I will certainly look into the increasing the GPU and downloading the tool that you spoke of.  It's all a learning process I'm looking forward to undertaking and I am most grateful for the information you have provided. Thank you once again!

[Bill_Gehrke]

Handbrake is a tool for converting variable frame rate video to constant frame rate.  Premiere does not like variable frame rates a tool like MediaInfo will tell you which you have. 

[knockstar]

Thank you, Bill and my apologies for not responding sooner, it has been a hectic few days.  After all this, I have decided that a desktop tower will probably be best for me, in regards to power and future expansion.  To that end, I have narrowed it down to these three finalists as they are ready made and I'm totally confused with building one from scratch. The first seems like a killer machine in regards to the CPU and GPU, but is about three hundred more than what I was budgeting myself for. The other two are more in line with budget, considering now that I will have to purchase a new monitor. I am intrigued by the third one with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 GPU, I'm hearing mostly positive things in regards to it.  I have read there is a slew of cards coming out in the coming months (Intel i9 and a 9 series from AMD) but again they will be $$$ initially. Leaning towards the Ryzen 7 machine with the 1070 card, which I can always update to 1080 if not up to scratch.

[knockstar]

LOL forgot to list the ones I was looking at.

PC Specialist Vulcan Nemesis Extreme Intel Core i7-7700K CPU GTX 1080 Gaming PC

• VR Ready
• Features an unlocked enthusiast grade Intel Core i7-7700K (4.2GHz) CPU for excellent multi-tasking, and video game performance
• Comes with an 8GB GTX 1080 graphics card for excellent performance in AAA games and video editing
• ASUS ROG STRIX Z270H motherboard with M.2 storage, three-way SLII support, high quality integrated audio, and Gigabit Ethernet
• 3D printable motherboard modules for multiple customisation options
• 16GB of HyperX Fury DDR4 RAM at 2,133MHz for better performance from your 3D graphics, multimedia, and internet applications
• 256GB M.2 solid state drive reduces important file and program opening times, and gives you fast file transfer speeds
• 3TB hard drive to store all your other games, work, media
• Stored in an InWIN 703 PC Case with minimalist design and large tinted side panel which shows off your high-end components
• Fully upgradeable pre-built PC
• Includes Windows 10 Home 64 bit

PC Specialist Vulcan Nemesis Elite Intel Core i7-7700 CPU GTX 1080 Gaming PC

• Features a seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7700 Kaby Lake CPU, excellent for high demand gaming and multi-tasking
• VR Ready
• 8GB NVIDIA GTX 1080 GPU for excellent performance in AAA games and video editing
• ASUS H110M-R excellent quality motherboard with 5X Protection II for long-term durability
• 16GB of HyperX Fury DDR4 RAM at 2,133MHz for better performance from your 3D graphics, multimedia, and internet applications
• 240GB SSD to store your operating system and most important games on to get into the action faster
• 1TB hard drive to store all your other games, work, media
• Fully upgradeable pre-built PC
• Includes Windows 10 Home 64 bit

Cyberpower Ryzen Ammunition Ryzen 7-1700 3.1GHz GTX 1070 8GB Gaming PC

• Eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor running at 3.1GHz clock speed
• VR Ready, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 dedicated graphics card
• Built from the B350 platform using the ASUS Prime B350-Plus gaming motherboard featuring USB 3.1, CrossfireX and support for up to 64GB of DDR4 memory
• 16GB of pre-installed DDR4 2133MHz RAM helps you to boost your system for multitasking and high-spec gaming
• Integrated Realtec 5.1 channel audio and Gigabit LAN networking
• 1TB of SATA III hard drive storage gives you plenty of space for your installed games, programs and files
• 120GB SSD makes the perfect location for your operating system or your favourite games for quick access
• Expertly installed into the Corsair SPEC01 mid-tower, windowed gaming case, featuring in-case red LED lighting

[Bill_Gehrke]

My comments on the Ryzen system it is a real bare bones computer (with a $99 motherboard)

PRO

It does have a PCIe x4 M.2 slot for a real super speed SSD upgrade

CON

1. Extremely limited expansion capabilities
2. They do not bother to mention the power supply so you can be sure it/s the cheapest thing they can find.
3. It is the second grade of AMD chipset.  Not the well tested X370 but instead it is the B350
4. You probably cannot overclock that CPU in that case/power supply.
5. Cheap on-board Audio

Ryzen chips are definitely show good promises but big heavy duty video editors have not pushed a Ryzen system to see if there are any problems.  They test good in my PPBM testing but real heavy duty new features are not what PPBM was designed for, it is just a hardware test and not a media test.

More later on the other candidates

Is today's price more important to you than system life time?

[knockstar]

No, I'm in no rush. I would like to get something of reasonable quality that is going to last mechanically and technology wise for a few years. Guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and up my budget to go for a custom build. I just don't understand all the in & outs of motherboards, coolers, etc... Only just started to slightly understand cpu & gpu and already someone else towards me that the Ryzen card I listed here is not a good version of it, apparently there is a different serial number and builds of the Ryzen 7-1700?  Heads pickled at this point, frustrated, it's a big chunk of change that can go downhill quickly with the wrong choice. I'm sure your time is quite valuable, and I greatly appreciate you setting aside some of it to provide guidance to me.

[RoninEdits]

there are three different 8 core ryzen 7 cpu's, the 1700, 1700x, and 1800x, which vary in default/base clock speeds. the 1700 has a pretty low base clock speed of 3.0ghz, so its not necessarily a good choice unless you plan to overclock it towards 3.8ghz. if you don't want to deal with overclocking you may want to pick another ryzen cpu with faster defaults, like the 1700x 3.4ghz. the ryzen 5 1600x is a 6 core cpu, but has a base clock speed of 3.6ghz, and a lower price than even the intel 4 core cpu. the ryzen 5 1600x is perhaps the best value cpu on the market, especially with a budget system with basic parts not meant for overclocking. i wouldn't even consider any of the intel 4 core cpu's for video editing, they are going to offer lower performance and poor value.

the amd b350 chipset/motherboard is fine if you are on a tight budget and don't need a free x8 pcie slot for expansion. however the b350 motherboards won't be as good for high overclocking with the ryzen 8 core's. if you want/need those features the x370 motherboards will be better. for overclocking it would also need a quality power supply and capable cpu cooler.

a gtx 1070 and 1080 are getting into overkill territory for an intel 4 core cpu, but the gtx 1070 might be ok for the ryzen 8 core. davinci resolve will demand more from the video card for grading, but if you are just going to use premiere you might want to consider something like the gtx 1060 6gb. the gtx 1060 6gb would still be ok for davinci resolve if you need to cut costs...  davinci resolve doesn't handle mp4 media very well, so if you are going to try and use that program you may want to transcode any h264/h265 media to dnxhr or cineform, or use its optimized media system. resolve 14 is supposedly going to be better for mp4, so when its out of beta you could give that a try too.

[RjL190365]

Ronin,

Keep in mind that (reference) GeForce GTX 1060's manufactured after March 2017 now have 9000 MHz effective memory clock speed (2250 MHz actual), giving it a reference memory throughput of 216 GB/second (versus 192 GB/second for the earlier GTX 1060's).

[Bill_Gehrke]

Randall thanks for that update.  I imagine the nVidia still down clocks from that Memory Clock speed when running any CUDA application.  For instance my older GTX 1060 super clocked card specification for the virtual Memory Clock is 8008 MHz and if you look at the Memory Clock on the first tab of GPU-Z it says 2002 MHz, but if you run any CUDA application and look at the Sensors Tab of GPU-Z it actually is ~1900 MHz.  But when I over clock it to 2500 MHz, on the Sensors Tab it runs comfortably at 2400 MHz or 9600 MHz virtual speed.