(FOUND)Help me pick a Laptop......

Matt,
I re-read your desktop specs.
You are going to be hard pressed to get anything that will outrun that system in a laptop at any price.
And very unlikely at less that $1000.
Other than video production, (and gaming) almost any deceit laptop will do all you need.
But I again want to suggest that a laptop that needs to be sent in for warranty work - is going to put you out of business for like 30 days.
If it’s your only system, that could be a hard thing to live with.
If you have a backup system - and keep current external backups of your data - then all is well.
Not that laptops are all that unreliable. But computers tend to crap out when you most need them.
Just before tax time is always the busiest time for repairs in my shop.
All the Best,
Jeff

Good advice—Always have a spare —when it comes to work place—two of every thing (at least) of essential work items —I’m a retired carpenter and I use to keep 7-8 saws and guns for a crew—I’ve seen days when it pours bad luck and you go through them all—- :person_facepalming:

Just received an email flyer with this one —looks close to what you’re looking for

@Souichirou Yes, gaming/consumer laptops provide better price/performance “value” but how do you think that is achieved? By cutting costs on quality and support.

If you need a strong dedicated GPU, it increases costs a lot. That is why I previously had a gamer laptop. While it was good in hardware, I can tell you from general and annectodal arguments that the quality and support are highly underrated factors that come back to bite you later.

My gaming laptop’s BIOS did not support the full capabilities of the hardware, only the “max” specs they listed at product launch, and it was tremendously frustrating that Asus refused to address this. Meanwhile my now 5 year old Latitude has had over two dozen BIOS updates, from major vulnerability issues to more minor improvements like battery management optimization for improved longevity.

Additionally, the high performance parts combined with the drive towards thin chassis means that temperatures are often high, causing performance reduction via throttling and longevity concerns. That is less of an issue in enterprise gear.

In general, I would say most people overestimate their performance needs and underestimate the value of quality. Until recently, CPU performance was pretty stagnant over about a decade and people were fine.

@xevious I got an ultraportable a year ago from this Canadian wholesale enterprise refurbisher https://www.bauersystems.com/ I don’t know if they ship internationally, but there are many other similar companies. I check their inventory from time to time, but I’ve noticed that the selection is sparse lately.

About GPU modularity (MXM GPUs), in principle it sounds great. But upgrading requires BIOS updates to support new hardware, which, you guessed it, does not happen. Also, replacement GPUs of the same model in case your GPU dies are so exorbitantly expensive that it does not make sense to spend so much to revive an old laptop. So unfortunately, in practice they offer little to no benefit.

@jeff51 Yes, backups are essential no matter what device is used. Maybe you’ve encountered this fun and famous parable on the importance and types of backups: http://www.taobackup.com/

Has anyone thought of the new Ryzen 4000 series laptops?
Been keeping an eye out on those and so far, rather impressive for what ya get for the money.
With these new APUs, ya may not need a dedicated graphics card within them, especially if you do not game. These have some cores of a graphics chipset already within them if ya need some 3D capability.

HERE is one example from NewEgg.

One factor I think many have not thought to think of: Laptops these days, especially the new ones, are practically non-upgradable. They solder just about everything down hard and getting anything beyond their “standard” is going to skyrocket the price.

Had not seen that before.
I used to ask my customers (in days before the Web). How important is your data and the ability to get going quickly if something goes amiss?
Usually it was most important.

OK, says I. I’m going to turn off your computer and put it under my arm and walk out the door.
I’m also going to take any backup media I can find too.

How long will it take you to get up and running?
That always caused and uncomfortable pause.

Remember, I would tell them, I can replace anything in your computer - Except Your Data!

Most still didn’t backup in a timely manner or keep offsite copies.
All the Best,
Jeff

That might have been the case in the past but as of now the quality and support has been pretty spot on depending on company whom provides it.

That is also false, you can get a solid dedicated GPU combo with a CPU with relatively low cost now, obviously it wont perform as well as a desktop system even at the top end but that’s a given by physical limitations.

Like I stated previously the major vulnerabilities that were recently patched were hardware vulnerabilities and the patches to fix them were baked into the OS running while the bios update was ONLY a partial fix which still required the OS to be patched, general bios updates are required for running “new” hardware released and being installed just clarifying a bios upgrade wont have any battery management optimization its more OS that would be optimizing the battery and like all things batteries will need to be replaced so no matter how “optimized” a system can be. Just like cellphones most if not all laptops now have internal batteries which are only good for so many cycles and need to be replaced depending on charge cycles.

That is generally a misconception as the temps are only at those levels if you A.) running synthetic bench marks B.) running software that the system isn’t designed for specifically. The reason its “less” of an issue with enterprise gear is cause they generally run underpowered x86 processor and cant perform in comparison.

I also agree that mobile performance hasn’t improved by leaps and bounds but the improvements are not in performance BUT in TDP which means same or better performance at a far lower energy consumption which translates to longer battery life. In my books laptops are not meant to be a full on workstation but a stop gap to get work done while away from main computer.

If you want a good video card, you probably should get a gaming laptop.

I haven't researched them in years, but it used to be hard to find ones that don't have overheating problems.

My gaming laptop doesn't overheat, but I hear it's difficult to do upgrades on a laptop compared to a desktop so keep that in mind.

I have an Asus G75VW, which was pretty good back when I bought it, but it could use some upgrades that I don't feel comfortable doing because laptops are fairly fragile.

Thanks. I did check them out and there’s no indication of shipping policy… I’m presuming it’s just Canada.

Ryzen 4000 (both mobile and desktop) definitely grabbed my attention. I think some of the stronger integrated GPUs can almost catch up with entry level dedicated graphics like MX250. It looks like a very good bang for the buck.

Yes, the Ryzen 4000 with 8 cores is what you are looking for.

Video editing is CPU intensive, and the more cores the better. The Ryzen 4000 series have currently the best price/performance ratio.

I was choosing between a laptop and a desktop and bought the latter. A Desktop and Laptop can't really be compared.

I’m a liar.
I didn’t realize that Ryzen 5 and 7 were in laptops for less than a grand.
A 5-4600U with 6/12 Cores/Threads or better a 7-4800U 8/16 Cores/Threads.
The additional thread count will, I believe, be a noticeable improvement over your 4/8 count i7.
This is also some what dependent on how peppy a video card you currently have. And what software you are using.
These are some gaming rigs that hover around the 1K$. There are even some Dells in that range. 15.6” screens for that price.

All the Best,
Jeff

This is basically right. In order gain ALL if the specs I mentioned in the OP (meet or beat my desktop CPU/Ram/Graphics card) This is the closest thing I found in a 17”
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KBBKQ8X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_12?smid=A2HR3WADFB8IU9&psc=1
A great option, but that means going $100 over budget on something I will only utilize part of the time.
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I have decided that since I don’t absolutely have to edit video on this that instead of going over budget I am going to drop the bar just slightly.
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17” was my original thought, but it looks like there are more “deals” on 15-15.6”. If I drop the “need” to edit video to “can survive” editing video, that means I can also save cost on either the CPU or the GPU. Right now I am considering shooting for one of those Ryzen 5 4500U and dropping the video card. Or going for a slightly less powerful CPU and getting the card. According to pass mark that 3rd gen Ryzen is equal to my i7-7700 3.6GHz in single thread performance and beats it in cross platform!
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-4500U-vs-Intel-i7-7700/3702vs2905
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This is one I am considering. I’m not really familiar with newegg though. If order that and take the ram upgrade from the dropdown menu, is that going to come installed or just in a package with it? If I did take one of the 16gb options what is the difference between the two?
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The Ryzen 4000 series is remarkable. If you can live without dedicated graphics, that could be a good option. To know what hardware you need, stating the intended software and tasks would help.

The integrated Vega GPU might perform well enough, considering it beats some low-end recent GPUs, or even mid-tier GPUs from a few generations back.

Since you mentioned 1080p video editing, you probably want to restrict your search to 1080p screens, which that Acer does not have.

This looks like a really good deal if you can find it at that price: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Benchmarks - Previously Unimaginable Performance For Sub-$600 Laptops Review - Phoronix

Memory upgrades come pre-installed. Be careful, because many are soldered, in which case upgrades are not possible after purchase.

NewEgg is effectively like Amazon, but dedicated to Computers. Incredible customer service to boot as I have bought parts from here for years when MicroCenter did not have what I need.
Personally, I would go with the dual-stick options to allow the multi-channel memory to function properly. The higher DDR4 number is simply faster.
Frankly, I’m surprised the Acer lappy I linked to allows memory and SSD/HardDrive upgrades, since many manufacturers are following Apple’s lead to make them as disposable as possible.

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I’m glad you caught that. It never crossed my mind that anything being made in the know universe in 2020 would have anything less than 1080p. I’m not really sure if thats a deal breaker or not though. It would run 1080p content just downscaled right?
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At this point I’m sort of on the fence. Still considering the Acer
https://www.newegg.com/acer-aspire-5-a515-44-r4m5/p/N82E16834316900?Item=N82E16834316900
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Or I found this Asus for a hundred bucks less, that has the full HD 1080p screen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQB7552/ref=twister_B08BXRBDK1?\_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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The processor on the Asus would be a downgrade for sure, but I’m really liking the price….

Yeh. A friend of mine was losing access to her cloud account, her (only) computer was going wonky more and more (probably drive issues), and she was faced with losing all her pix and other important stuff. Talk about being boxed into a corner…

I’ve been ranting forever about not keeping anything on your desktop/laptop/anything that you’re not willing to lose or have fall into enemy hands. Keep it offline on, say, external usb disks, and only copy it locally when you’re using it. And back up the externals, preferably encrypted, and keep off-site if at all possible (hence the encryption on both disks).

I don’t trust “clouds” except for throwaway data, and in her case, the pay-by-the-month service was pulling the plug shortly or going to skyrocket their monthly rates or whatever. And if they go bankrupt without warning (at least without warning you)? Goodbye data.

My in-house network is on a physically separate router, not connected to the net, and I prefer wired-only (ie, wifi turned off). And I keep the NASes physically turned off unless/until I intend to use them. Less wear’n’tear vs idling forever.

But leaving behind a laptop, or having it stolen, or just dropping it, and there goes everything on it. So any data on it other than the OS, better be secure.

Matt, before you settle on a less than 1080p screen.
Open a low res window on your current system with about the same res as the laptop and see how it looks. Run the editing software.
The extra pixels let you have more of the timeline editing stuff open at a size thats easier to use.
All tht Best,
Jeff

I tried that just now. I can live with the change in shape/placement of things. When I did this on my 1080p shop monitor (resized to 1280x768) it made everything look very soft. Softer than whats on my old square monitor in the house. Is that just a side effect of using those dimensions on my 1080p monitor, or is everything going to look marshmallow soft on that laptop screen too?

Were you set on AMD for the processor and the Acer ? if not would you consider this MSI laptop at $699 slightly more than the Acer you were looking at runs a 9th gen i5-9300u and has a GTX 1650 dedicated GPU compared only onboard listed on the Acer.

MSI GF Series GF63