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BEST MAC LAPTOP FOR EDITING SOFTWARE
This test uses software from video-effects titan Maxon to spit out a proprietary score based on how quickly the PC can render a 3D image. (For a broader overview of laptop CPUs, check out our deep-dive guide on understanding the CPUs that go into notebooks.)įor a bird's-eye view of how a higher processor core count increases performance, you'll want to check out how well the laptop you're considering fares on our Cinebench benchmark, which is listed in the performance section of each review. High-end laptop chips can support up to eight cores and 16 threads. Any chip that you are eyeing for serious video work should have at least four cores and support multithreading for eight concurrent threads of processing.
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To find out more about the CPU in the laptop you're eyeing, look it up in Intel's product directory or an AMD's Ryzen CPU product pages. Multithreading, which enables each core to handle two processing threads simultaneously, is also important. Most applications are optimized to take advantage of modern multi-core CPUs, which usually means that the more cores you have, the better.
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The two most important laptop components for video editors are the CPU and memory. The Key Engines of Editing: CPU and Memory Neither will you get much use out of a touch screen or a convertible laptop that doubles as a tablet, unless you're looking for a machine that you'll also use for web browsing and watching videos after the end of a long day of shooting and editing. If editing on the road is a must, you might want a spare power adapter for hotel rooms, and make sure your flight has in-seat power outlets before you buy a ticket. Chief among them is battery life, since video editing consumes so much power that your laptop will probably spend most of its time plugged in. A comfortable keyboard is a must, too, since keyboard shortcuts help streamline many editing tasks, from starting and stopping playback to adding keyframes.įinally, there are a few features common on laptops that you don't need to worry about when buying a mobile video-editing station. So is weight, since even a few extra pounds could push your already heavy bag over an airline's weight limit or make your carry-on too fat to fit into an overhead bin.ĭisplay specs are especially important, especially if you plan on using your laptop for more advanced editing tasks such as shading and color correction. This model has four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, a Mini DisplayPort 1.2, an ethernet port, a connector for a dock, a headphone jack, a 34mm ExpressCard slot, and an SD card reader.Devoting most of your budget to a powerful CPU, a buffed-up graphics card, and many gigabytes of memory is a safe bet, but ancillary features such as storage, input/output options, and the operating system are far more important factors for you than they are for the average laptop shopper. Even so, the performance and outstanding display are worth the additional weight when deadlines are right around the corner.Īnd if you need lots of external storage or additional displays, you’ll be well-covered with the P70. It does weigh over 7.5 pounds, so that does hamper portability quite a bit. Coming in at over $4,300, you end up with a 17.3-inch ultra high definition (3840×2160) display, a 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Xeon Processor E3-1505M v5 CPU, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and an Nvidia Quadro M5000M graphics card with 8GB of GDDR5. With the top-end configuration, it can go head-to-head with just about any other laptop. Lenovo certainly isn’t out of the game, and the P70 Workstation proves it.
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It’s impossible to recommend just one laptop to fit every editor, so here is a selection of four laptops that offer a variety of features at different price points. Your budget, your existing workflow, and the needs of co-workers or clients all come into play here. But more than anything, you need to pick a laptop that fits your specific on-the-job needs. But what exactly should an editor look for in a work laptop? The processor, RAM, storage, and display all play an important part of the equation. Gigantic towers aren’t the only game in town anymore. Instead, they can actually join the rest of the world, and edit on the go. No longer are editors lashed to desks while working on a new project. However, that’s been changing in recent years as laptops have become much more powerful. Dark and musty rooms crammed with tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment have been par for the course in the realm of high-end editing for decades. Digital video editing has long been associated with massive machines packed with the most expensive components on the market, and with good reason.