Laptop for video/audio production and gaming

MrVoracious

Looking at getting a laptop with these specs for video/audio production and gaming. Hardware has never really been my strong point... I did a lot of reading up on it recently but I don't have any experience with the hardware side of custom computers so I really wanted to see what other people on here thought about it before I went any further:

Processor: Intel i7 7th gen 7700K Kaby lake 4.2Ghz (turbo up to 4.5 GHz) Quad 8 meg cache with HT
RAM: 64 Gigs (4x16gig) DDR4-2400 Sodimm
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB GDDR5X
Video Monitors- LED/LCD: 17.3” 4K QFHD (3840x2160) Display with G-Sync Technology
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Professional 10 64 Bit OEM
Hard Drive: Samsung 960 PRO 2 TB M.2 SSD: 3.42 GB/s Maximum Read Transfer Rate - 2.05 MB/s Maximum Write Transfer Rate - M.2

Sneak

Whats your budget? A laptop of that spec wouldn't be far off 5k euros

Metric Tensor

It's a great spec but probably better suited to a desktop because the amount of battery power required to run that will mean the computer will be a big weight or else not last long unplugged.

It's a long time since I bought a laptop but there used to be a niche area called "desktop replacement" which was basically a desktop spec machine but in a laptop form factor so you could move it around. Mine last 90mins on the batteries on a good day and weighed about the same as a paving slab. It was perfect for what I needed though because any time I was using it I was beside a plug and most times at a desk too.

What you have specified above is what I'd call a desktop replacement. I'm not sure if such a description is still used!

MrVoracious

Sneak wrote: »

Whats your budget? A laptop of that spec wouldn't be far off 5k euros

About €800?.. Nah just kidding. It's actually in the range of about €5-6k so that seems about right. Basically I looked for what I understood to be the absolute best for what I required and then worked backwards until I reached my budget. Given the shear volume of virtual instruments and effects that I use I always hate being limited by the computer so I figured I'd go all out on something that would still be a decent machine in a few years.

Metric Tensor wrote: »

It's a great spec but probably better suited to a desktop because the amount of battery power required to run that will mean the computer will be a big weight or else not last long unplugged.

It's a long time since I bought a laptop but there used to be a niche area called "desktop replacement" which was basically a desktop spec machine but in a laptop form factor so you could move it around. Mine last 90mins on the batteries on a good day and weighed about the same as a paving slab. It was perfect for what I needed though because any time I was using it I was beside a plug and most times at a desk too.

What you have specified above is what I'd call a desktop replacement. I'm not sure if such a description is still used!

The reason for going with a laptop instead of a pc is purely for portability. I'm rarely in the same place all week so it's handy to be able to record something in studio and then be able to work on it on the road. Weight is not a problem though because it will normally be set up like a standard desktop. Totally get that its power will be a massive drain on the battery and it will probably need cooling but as you said I'm basically going for a desktop replacement that I can just put in a bag (or a wheelbarrow depending on weight) and work on at home.

TerrorFirmer

Do you really need those exact specs?

A laptop with identical performance with an 7700K, GTX1080 but more modest ram (16 or 32GB) and SSD (say, 500GB) would nearly cut the cost in half when buying from Dell/PCS/etc.

Be far cheaper to upgrade it later down the line yourself (if even needed) than actually paying for those specs off the bat.

grindle

4K screen'll be a waste on the laptop. Better off with 1080p and get a separate monitor or two for workflow when you're at home.

MrVoracious

Totally understand that some of the componants will go down in price over the next few years but I'd rather have everything in top shape now and not have to worry about changing stuff out when they drop in price. I wasn't really looking for advice on the money side of things just really a clarification on whether those specs are as good as I thought they were. Judging by the reactions some people are having it seems they are. I have the money at the moment (just about!) so I'm not too worried about that side of things.
I realise the specs seem a little on the high side but some aspects of audio production can have a big drain on performance and I'd rather not have to worry about having to upgrade in a few years time when I decide I want to have something like 100 different virtual instruments with 20 different effects on each one all playing at once while I try to record a guitar on top. The reason for going for a laptop instead of desktop is solely because I will need to be able to record in the/a studio and then edit elsewhere without having to worry about transferring everything over 3 to 4 times a week for no reason. I basically see this as being a portable desktop than a laptop. I won't be using it on a train or while traveling so it will just be used at a desk but that desk could be anywhere.

As for the 4k screen, what's wrong with a 4k screen on a laptop? Why would I need to go for a lesser quality one other than budget and maybe battery life?

K.O.Kiki

It's not cost, it's Windows scaling on small screens with 4K & also battery life.

Whatever machine you go for, look up reviews on reliable sites, e.g. Notebookcheck & make sure it has enough external ports & easy access to the hard drives/SSDs.

MrVoracious

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

It's not cost, it's Windows scaling on small screens with 4K & also battery life.

Whatever machine you go for, look up reviews on reliable sites, e.g. Notebookcheck & make sure it has enough external ports & easy access to the hard drives/SSDs.

Ah that's fair enough. I'd imagine with windows you can just change the scaling to something like 200% for day to day but, if watching a film, still have the ability to watch in 4k? In terms or battery life, I can't see myself needing it often in locations where I can't charge it.

I probably should have said that I'm looking at an ADK pro audio laptop which would have a custom setup specifically for DAW. It also would have a TB3 port as well as the standard usb 2,3,3.1 ports. Don't really need the TB3 port at the moment but it's always handy to have the option depending on the hardware I'm using to record. ADK have a great reputation on sites like gearslutz so I'm not too worried about the overall build quality though.

Lu Tze

Dell still do their workstation laptops, the precision brand I think. No doubt lenovo and the other big manufacturers have an equivalent also. Outside of that you are probably looking at gaming laptops and custom built ones from PC specialist. The only concern is with high powered laptops, particularly with high end GPUs, is the fan could be kicking in quite often, which I presume wouldn't be desirable when working on audio projects.

ED E

Are you in a rush to get it?

TBH I'd be sick if I spent that much in 2017 and only got a quad (my desktop is less than half that price and has 16 cores). Thats the only component you'll really stress with VSTs. No DAW is hitting 32GB never mind 64 and unless you're big into 4K Pro Res you probably wont hit it with video either. Coffe Lake Hexacores are just around the corner now and will really make it more desktop-like.

K.O.Kiki

MrVoracious wrote: »

Ah that's fair enough. I'd imagine with windows you can just change the scaling to something like 200% for day to day but, if watching a film, still have the ability to watch in 4k? In terms or battery life, I can't see myself needing it often in locations where I can't charge it.

I probably should have said that I'm looking at an ADK pro audio laptop which would have a custom setup specifically for DAW. It also would have a TB3 port as well as the standard usb 2,3,3.1 ports. Don't really need the TB3 port at the moment but it's always handy to have the option depending on the hardware I'm using to record. ADK have a great reputation on sites like gearslutz so I'm not too worried about the overall build quality though.

I thing I just thought of; Lenovo's warranty service for new Thinkpads is supposedly very good.
https://static.lenovo.com/shop/emea/content/pdf/services-warranty/business/Warranty-including-Expedited-Depot.pdf
https://static.lenovo.com/shop/emea/content/pdf/services-warranty/business/Onsite-Tech-Install-CRU_CB_EMEA_en.pdf

Since this is for a professional machine, downtime should be minimized.
So I'd talk to Dell, HP & Lenovo and see which one can offer you the best warranty/deal.

*edit*: Also, the Thinkpad Retro is due out next month.

MrVoracious

ED E wrote: »

Are you in a rush to get it?

TBH I'd be sick if I spent that much in 2017 and only got a quad (my desktop is less than half that price and has 16 cores). Thats the only component you'll really stress with VSTs. No DAW is hitting 32GB never mind 64 and unless you're big into 4K Pro Res you probably wont hit it with video either. Coffe Lake Hexacores are just around the corner now and will really make it more desktop-like.

To be honest the I'd imagine I will need max 32GB but when I saw the price difference between that and 64 I figured I'd just go all out. 16 is definately too low! I plan on doing a lot of high res video editing over the next year on top of audio production so I'd imagine theres a chance i will need it anyway especially when multitasking.

Is coffee lake going to be much of an improvement other than just a 6 core version of kaby? Have thought about waiting but not sure if I can afford to wait and last time I checked there still wasn't a proper release date.

MrVoracious

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I thing I just thought of; Lenovo's warranty service for new Thinkpads is supposedly very good.
https://static.lenovo.com/shop/emea/content/pdf/services-warranty/business/Warranty-including-Expedited-Depot.pdf
https://static.lenovo.com/shop/emea/content/pdf/services-warranty/business/Onsite-Tech-Install-CRU_CB_EMEA_en.pdf

Since this is for a professional machine, downtime should be minimized.
So I'd talk to Dell, HP & Lenovo and see which one can offer you the best warranty/deal.

*edit*: Also, the Thinkpad Retro is due out next month.

I had a look at Lenovo for a while early on and definately considered it until I saw the reviews for adk pro audio laptops in relation to audio production. Just think I'd be better going with a company that specifically deals with audio/video production.

ED E

MrVoracious wrote: »

I had a look at Lenovo for a while early on and definately considered it until I saw the reviews for adk pro audio laptops in relation to audio production. Just think I'd be better going with a company that specifically deals with audio/video production.

Not really, they're buying the same parts as SaveOnLaptops etc and charging a premium because its "AV".

K.O.Kiki

MrVoracious wrote: »

I had a look at Lenovo for a while early on and definately considered it until I saw the reviews for adk pro audio laptops in relation to audio production. Just think I'd be better going with a company that specifically deals with audio/video production.

They are using an OEM shell; they don't design their own laptops.
e.g.
ADK 8910KL = PCSpecialist Defiance III
ADK 9510KL = PCSpecialist Octane III = Schenker W505 / Clevo P571ZM (review here)

frozenfrozen

XY Problem

You've provided your solution, what exactly is the problem you're trying to solve?

(List of programs you'll be using, formats of video you'll be working with etc. )


a 2 TB m.2 drive, jesus wept