I need a video editing laptop! MacBook Pro Vs Windows-PC Powerhouse!

[mf2385]

MacBook Pro or MSI GT70 (or comparable Windows-based Laptop)

I am looking for a good laptop for video production editing and projects. I have been doing some research and it looks like getting something like the new MSI GT70 laptops with 32GB RAM, GTX 870M 6GB, 256GB SSD/1TB 7200 Data drive is better hardware then the 2599$ MacBook Pro. I also have been using Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects and Photoshop mostly for my editing.

What do you guys suggest, I won't be doing anything like 4K editing anytime soon probably. Smaller jobs now 1080p and lower.

I know there might be a bias here for Windows based computing but I need honesty for freelance jobs and the best quality performance for video editing and I might do some game streaming on it as well (maybe!). Small amount of gaming, if any on this laptop, mostly for video work.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Scatler]

You do understand that notebooks and even the so called "gaming" ones aren't really suited to the type of task you want them to perform. Although, if portability and work on the go is a must for you then i'd say your pick is quite reasonable.
Heck i might be wrong, maybe someone will prove me otherwise.

 

[micropage7]

if you wanna buy notebook for video editing, it will pretty expensive
i prefer pc i mean non mac.
you need i5 minimal, mooore ram and big space
dedicated gpu is nice but you dont need like hardcore level gpu
btw how much you gonna spend?

 

[1nf3rn0x]

Mac. Anything other than gaming, a mac will win. You'll realise once you own one and see the functionality of it over a pc. Everything just works, really well.

 

[oiTREV]

Look for a better storage configuration for premiere- SSD/large HDD is fine but if you want a machine is for video editing you may as well build it for that purpose. Look for a laptop with RAID options - ideally 3 or more drives for performance and redundancy. Also make sure it has USB3 / Thunderbolt connection for when you inevitably run out of local storage

Do you have more experience with windows or mac? Go for that one

 

[Fourstaff]

notApple. You are not using any Apple only program, so stick with Windows. Cheaper bang for buck. Also, the ability to swap in more storage when needed. However, if you truly use a lot of space (eg. more than 1Tb at any given time) Thunderbolt equipped MacBooks should hold an edge (Thunderbolt storage are not cheap though, keep that in mind).

 

[buildzoid]

Mac. Anything other than gaming, a mac will win. You'll realise once you own one and see the functionality of it over a pc. Everything just works, really well.

I have a 5 year old MBP and for the last 3 years it's been nothing but a pain.

As for OP's requirments I'd go for the cheapest laptop with a 4 core i7 and 1080P display. I'd also buy a 2x8GB kit of laptop ram and replace whatever it came with.

 

[kn00tcn]

yeesh, people still think laptops arent suited? desktops a few years ago ran slower than these modern 'gaming' laptops

all you need is cpu performance for rendering/encoding/processing, lots of ram for after effects, dedicated gpu for certain acceleration & general snappiness, hard drive.... like OP said, 1080p, that's not really that demanding

consider this, a bluray video stream would be ~25mbit on the disc, that's barely over 3MBytes/s!

i have an MSI 'gaming' laptop, i7-2670QM + gtx 570m + 8gb ddr3 + 750gb ST9750420AS, it's 1080p but that only matters if you're using it without a monitor, it's quiet, it's sturdy, it has an eSATA port & usb3.... i run cinema 4d, after effects, battlefield 3, no problem...

so my vote is certainly for an MSI or equivalent, the MBP is just not valuable at all to me other than its exterior design, retina, & the various perks of OSX (terminal, perl, ruby, various web dev tools)

OP, what are you currently using to do your videos? we can extrapolate a comparison

 

[Devon68]

Depending on your budget take a look at these:
http://www.adkvideoediting.com/laptop.asp
or
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=13
but if you dont plan on moving the editing rig you might consider building a pc
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mk9S
Here are some PC performance results I found you could take a look:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuE_AZZfskx3dHotTzVGamhiUkIySTUteGlzeG9xMEE#gid=2

 

[mf2385]

I can spend pretty much up to around $3,000 on this new video editing / work laptop. I would like to possibly use it to stream for some gaming too POSSIBLY. I want to keep it mostly work though, which is video production stuff / career-wise. I have a Gaming PC Desktop as it is already. I will be using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, maybe Sony Vegas, and other effects / video editing software programs as well probably. I do small projects right now and hopefully may go more freelance with it soon enough as I feel more and more comfortable with what I'm using. I'd like it to be mobile in case I need to go and bring my work with me. I could also get an external hdd or usb drive as well if storage becomes an issue, which it probably won't. I was looking at something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557

 

[1nf3rn0x]

I have a 5 year old MBP and for the last 3 years it's been nothing but a pain.

As for OP's requirments I'd go for the cheapest laptop with a 4 core i7 and 1080P display. I'd also buy a 2x8GB kit of laptop ram and replace whatever it came with.

I've got a MBP, and ultrabook and a desktop, and when it comes to work I prefer the MBP. Dunno, probably just me.

 

[mf2385]

I just can't justify buying a Macbook Pro for just a very FEW programs like Final Cut Pro and some other exclusive MAC OSX programs. I have and will always be a Windows-PC person.

 

[1nf3rn0x]

I just can't justify buying a Macbook Pro for just a very FEW programs like Final Cut Pro and some other exclusive MAC OSX programs. I have and will always be a Windows-PC person.

Well then you have narrowed it down to a windows machine now..Anything with an i7, 16GB ram, good cooling and storage will be good

 

[mf2385]

I just can't justify buying a Macbook Pro for just a very FEW programs like Final Cut Pro and some other exclusive MAC OSX programs. I have and will always be a Windows-PC person

*Update* Yeah, but I need a decent mobile GPU also for graphics.

 

[Devon68]

I can spend pretty much up to around $3,000 on this new video editing / work laptop. I would like to possibly use it to stream for some gaming too POSSIBLY. I want to keep it mostly work though, which is video production stuff / career-wise. I have a Gaming PC Desktop as it is already. I will be using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, maybe Sony Vegas, and other effects / video editing software programs as well probably. I do small projects right now and hopefully may go more freelance with it soon enough as I feel more and more comfortable with what I'm using. I'd like it to be mobile in case I need to go and bring my work with me. I could also get an external hdd or usb drive as well if storage becomes an issue, which it probably won't. I was looking at something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557

Seems nice, just add another 8GB DDR3 ram stick.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

yeesh, people still think laptops arent suited? desktops a few years ago ran slower than these modern 'gaming' laptops

Uh, no. My computer is five years old and the graphics card (5870 has 1600 stream processors) for sure is better than 99.9% of cards (8870M has 640 stream processors) you can get in laptops today. Mobility has a price and that price is performance.

 

[remixedcat]

Non-mac for editing. Final cut pro is a night mare with the new versions several production houses switched to avid becuase of that mess. Also since apple stopped x-serve raid a few years back all the studios are switching to windows and avid ISIS for that.

Your best bet is a really good PC with an SSD for the OS and some fast good hardware RAID controllers+ drives for the project files. DO NOT GET CHEAP or 'green' HDDs.

Ditto to the i7/i5 comments. Intel is best for production processing. Also if possible get some editing software that could also utilize cuda/openCL as well to make that even better with a nice GPU.

 

[kn00tcn]

Uh, no. My computer is five years old and the graphics card (5870 has 1600 stream processors) for sure is better than 99.9% of cards (8870M has 640 stream processors) you can get in laptops today. Mobility has a price and that price is performance.

because every desktop had a $400 5870 in it? no need to cherry pick like that, i'm not saying desktops suck & laptops rule (you also compared the wrong gpu, you want 8970m with 1280, not that performance linearly scales when they have the same TMUs, ROPs, & CUs... but forget about all that, 8970m is a rebrand, we all know mobile amd sucks)

here are my first hand statistics:

• my 570m gpu built in 2011 is slightly faster than a 5770 desktop card from 2009, plenty of video editors & schools would be on 5770s or even worse cards since video editing isnt crysis
• my i7-2670QM has 8 threads, so it can render faster than my 3.6ghz overclocked q9550 4thread desktop cpu

my point is a good laptop isnt crap & tons of adobe CS or 3ds max or UDK users are on regular mainstream parts instead of 6core xeons

as you go back in time... before opencl acceleration, before quad core, what were professionals using?

specifically 1080p video editing has been around for years, so OP would have no problem feeling snappy & decently fast with a laptop containing an 8 thread i7 + dedicated at least mid range nvidia gpu

 

[erocker]

Seems nice, just add another 8GB DDR3 ram stick.

Yes, that and go with the larger screen version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152554

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Mac. Anything other than gaming, a mac will win. You'll realise once you own one and see the functionality of it over a pc. Everything just works, really well.

You cannot honestly believe what you just said. Sounds like people over at macworld just hacked your account.

 

[PLAfiller]

I'd say windows based PC, mainly due to raw horsepower you are going to need. I haven't owned a Mac product, but one of my friends is a DJ, he used to use windows-based equipment, but wasn't happy with the stability and shared with me, that when he switched to MBP he could play sets all night without a hickup. Still though, for me raw specifications speak louder than anything Apple has to say anytime soon. Additionally, the wide variety of options and configurations for Win.

For а laptop manufacturer, I usually support Lenovo, BUT on this particular case I can't really like anything from they have for this kind of work.

I am not sure about the GPU, is QUADRO optimized for Adobe- products? - that is a whole different section then: http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/tecra/W50/W50-A1500 (just an example), you can easily reach 3000 if you want QUADRO in your laptop.

That MSI GT70 is a very very good offer. But for the money you are ready to spend, there are SO many other options. You could easily go with Ailenware from Dell: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-18/pd?oc=dkcwx02s&model_id=alienware-18 (Q4810/ GT860 SLI)

Or just build one yourself. (can't find the link, but lots of people posted here aftermarket guys like Origin, that will allow you to build one yourself)

 

[callumw]

Current day laptops are plenty powerful enough to cope with editing ... as long as you have to tools inside to allow the data to flow and process.

For example, here's a video from Adobe TV made mid 2012 where a film/tv editor (Christeen Steele) is using her laptop to edit raw 4k RED footage.
It's always interesting to see someone's workflow, but from 14:25 - 18:15 in she talks specifically about her system (HP Elitebook 8760w) and how it performs.

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-aft...ed-adobe-premiere-pro-edit-up-to-5k-with-ease

For around £1700 / $2500, the current Asus G750JZ will outperform her 'old' 4k system, so if you want you could get a lower spec (aka more battery friendly) machine that matches her system performance, but at a lower price point. The money saved could go towards storage

One thing to note though is that the G750JZ comes with a Thunderbolt port... in case that's a must have.
Hope that's useful

 

[P4-630]

Asus ROG laptops, G750xx have great performance and far better cooling solution then most other laptops and it has Thunderbolt

 

[GhostRyder]

Specifically it seems like adobe is your primary program correct?

If that is the case, adobe is using OpenCL and cuda but their new focus is on OpenCL and it is known to be faster. Both GPU sku's can do an excellent job but you might be better off with a mobile AMD gpu for this editing endeavor (unless you have more things that would need the nvidia gpu).

Try one of the following devices to see if they fit your needs:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP8298

You can get a custom notebook to fit your budget and need easily from sager!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834227060&cm_re=M290x-_-34-227-060-_-Product

Basically it's a custom MSI from ibuypower.

Or for nvidia if you really need it try these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4227059&cm_re=Gtx_880m-_-34-227-059-_-Product

 

[P4-630]

Specifically it seems like adobe is your primary program correct?

If that is the case, adobe is using OpenCL and cuda but their new focus is on OpenCL and it is known to be faster. Both GPU sku's can do an excellent job but you might be better off with a mobile AMD gpu for this editing endeavor (unless you have more things that would need the nvidia gpu).

Try one of the following devices to see if they fit your needs:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP8298

You can get a custom notebook to fit your budget and need easily from sager!

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=34-227-060

Basically it's a custom MSI from ibuypower.

Or for nvidia if you really need it try these:

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=34-227-059

Your newegg links are directing to http://www.newegg.com/?FM=1