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-   -   The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/67390-laptop-thread-configs-deals-questions-360.html)

I have a query.

Having recently gotten into video editing, i find my MacBook air with 8gb ram below par. I am in no mood to spend 1 lakh+ on a pro model anytime soon.

I have a few options:

1. Sell the air (year old) for about 35-40k with the box and pony up the balance for the entry level pro.

2. Keep the air, and buy a windows machine (sacrilege!) purely for video editing (sub 50k for a super specced machine like the acer a few posts above). I can't do regular work on windows, am too far into the Mac eco system.

I have an IPAD air with a keyboard, so i might not need the macbook air when i travel. But if i travel long term, i will definitely need to carry the video editing machine with me.

Any views? I use davinci resolve and its multiple miles better than FCPX even on a mac.

True to your forum handle name, you seem to be red lining on the computer specs as well!

Did a quick and dirty check on spec recommendation for DaVinci Resolve -

CPU: Intel Socket 2011-v3 Core i7, dual Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 / PC Laptop:

Intel Core i5 or i7 processors (PC). 8 Core CPU for HD and 12 Core CPU for UHD or higher resolutions / Laptop: Intel Core i5 or i7 processors (Mac)

Storage Space: 512GB SSD minimum (PC); 512GB Internal flash storage (Mac)

Recommended RAM: 16GB (Windows), 16GB (Mac)

Graphics/VRAM: AMD or CUDA compliant GPU with at least 4GB of graphics RAM

I don't think 50k would be enough even on Windows system! You may need at least 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, at least a i5/i7 quad core with 8 threads, a decent GPU!

That's at least 80k+ right there!

Check out 2019 VivoBook series:
https://www.asus.com/in/Laptops/ASUS...ok-S15-S532FL/

Don't forget to check the laptop (or monitor in case you buy a desktop) in person because the screen is one of the most important part along with rest of the specs when buying for for media creation. And its not easy to get a 'proper' display which is capable of reproducing near perfect colors.

Goodluck for the hunt. :thumbs up

Haha. You're right.

Hmm. 80k+ for a hobby is a bit of killer.

I think in terms of screen res, nothing beats the Apple's Retinas?

This Asus has a starting price of 67k. Seems okay. I wonder if a full specced out version will cost how much more?

I wonder if I should go the used route - pick up a 15 inch Pro from back in the days which come with upgradeable RAM and a bunch of other things? What do you guys think?

I'll have to labor on with my Air until then. I just dont want to fry my motherboard. Thing gets as hot as the KTM 390 in traffic and I have to run the fan at full spec to keep things in control.

Acer Predator Helios 300 Core i5 8th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/128 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics)

Am fedup of Windows laptops for home use. They age very badly and slow down with time.

I can't risk turning off the anti-virus, that's not an option I'd consider.

Instead, I'm seriously considering my next home laptop to be either a Chromebook or a Linux laptop. My usage is mostly:
- Browser based (Google svcs like GMail, Docs, YouTube, etc; Primevideo, online banking, etc)
- Watch movies on VLC stored on my external hard drive

Which would you recommend? Chromebook? Linux laptop? Or stick with Windows and learn to live with it?

If the first two, then can anyone who actually has an ownership experience with them, suggest a good model/config?

Get an SSD and load Windows and processor intensive programs on to it. Disable Windows updates, these updates slow down the PC and broadband significantly. Get a light weight Antivirus like Avast instead of Mcafee.

By doing all these, my Windows bootup is around 3 times faster. Chrome loads in a second v/s 5 seconds before.

Windows is way better than Chromebook. Software support for Linux devices have been poor especially for hardwares such as Printers, etc.

You can also look into Macbook Air. But its expensive but its fluid and can run graphics intensive programs without any issues.

Hi, i am planning to buy a new dell inspiron 5490 (2019) 14inch with 10gen i5, 2gb graphics, 8gb ram and 512 ssd. I am not able to find much reviews about this 2019 machine. Whatever little reviews i found are pointing towards some issues. One of it being that the vents are so oriented that the hot air flows towards the screen. Does anyone have any experience with this specific model? How is dell quality in general? I am also getting a dell vostro with similar configuration at similar price? Wich is better in general -inspiron or vostro? Should i wait to buy a laptop with a 10th gen intel processor? Thanks in advance.

I'm having a similar use case in my office. The inhouse web based app, and LibreOffice is all we need. All hardware is checked for compatibility before purchase. For printers, we use either PostScript printers (35k plus price range, network printers) or (for desktop) HP's ones. The hplip package and CUPS takes care of drivers. Canons too are compatible, but require non-packaged drivers to be installed. The downloadable files are pretty huge, and create dependency issues during OS upgrades. So, for printers, we stick to HP. (Looking for suggestions on other printers).

At home, have been using Debian for 2 decades now. (Sigh, time really flies.) I Still do a search on the web for linux compatibility - especially for graphics chipset. For laptops, check the wifi and network chipset too.

Have an HP i3 7th gen laptop in the office. It came with FreeDos which was overwritten with debian, and most things worked fine. WiFi was having range issues, which required custom built modules.

So, I suggest you go for a laptop with Linux preinstalled. Right now, that will mean Dell, and maybe, Acer. HP / FreeDOS laptops are recommended only after a good search for compatibility. Chosing linux severely limits customers' choices, most say. For me, manufacturers who cannot build hardware compatible with my choice of OS lost my business.

And do share your experience here. I'm looking a higher end i5 or better < 2kg lap with SSD for home use. Yes, the OS will be Linux.

Just bought this model (with i3 10th gen) a week back. Looks awesome (iced-gold color). Extremely compact. It is more compact than a premium 13.3" HP model I bought 2 years earlier. And it has keyboard back-light too with no extra charge (it is for a first-year college student in IT).

I am a Linux only user and the first thing I did was to dual-boot it with Ubuntu. Had to struggle with various bios settings for two days to install, but finally Ubuntu 19.10 works perfectly!

I have another Dell-5559 15" bought four years earlier and it works perfectly till date.

(emphasis mine in the above quote)
This has been my general observation too.

Thanks guys.

I am planning to stick with my Windows laptop and upgrade its 480GB HDD to a 500GB SSD. Hope thats speeds it up.

I don't want to mess with Windows updates or anti-virus.

For my next laptop purchase, I'll evaluate bween a Chromebook and a Linux based one.

Not all systems will benefit from a SSD upgrade. So beware.

If you insist, you can buy a smaller SSD for the OS, programs and commonly used data folders. Rest of the data can be left behind on the normal HDD.

Uh oh, I thought the wisdom (also amply discussed in this thread, if you look at past posts by GTO, etc) was that an upgrade to SSD is the best thing to do.

I don't have 2 available bays in my laptop. So not sure how I'd do what your suggest. And I don't want to deal with external drives on a regular basis.

This is true. I upgraded my windows laptop from a HDD to an SSD and I see the difference in the speed. There is difference in both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 boot times and general performance. I'm also planning to add an SSD to my PC which is currently on Win 8.1.

I've been using this Kingston SSD for over a month.