Do you think this laptop would be up to the task of occasional video editing?

almightygoodgod

Hello all

I'm going to be purchasing a new laptop this weekend, unfortunately I'm not going to have any longer to make a decision as I need it for a work trip next week.

Predominantly it is going to be used for work (general office tasks) and web browsing but I will be doing the occasional bout of video editing.

I have a GoPro Hero 6 and record plenty of videos when we go away as a family or do some other sort of activity so I would be wanting to edit in 4k (using Powerdirector) probably every 1-2 months. My main concern is that the programme won't crash,  I'm not too bothered if it takes a while to export at the end as I won't be editing often.

The specs of the laptop are HP Envy 13, i7 (8th gen), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and Intel UHD Graphics 620.

There is a higher spec model that comes with 16GB RAM and NVIDIA Geforce 150 but that would cost me about an extra £200. If it's the case that I won't be able to edit on the lower spec machine then I'll get the upgraded model, otherwise I'll get the cheaper model as it is hard to justify the extra cost just to speed up a process I'll be doing less than 10 times a year.

Any guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

MarkE19

The listed specs here show the laptop should be enough to edit 4K video - Customer Support - What are the minimum system requirements for CyberLink PowerDirector 12?  | CyberLink
More RAM would be an advantage, and not just for video editing, but is not needed and the 8Gb is more than the minimum recommended.

Mark.

almightygoodgod

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.

12harry

FWIW, I'm wary of so-called "Minimum Specs" as folks often think this is nearly the same as good-enough.  What it means in reality is that it will work.
  I guess OP has said it all, with not wanting to spend £200 for 10 edits/yr - but this "£20/each" might be good value, if the overall spec is rising ( battery worries included!). Since he may find ( as we most do) that having watched our film - - - - there is a little tweak here-or-there that would make it better . . . .  so the 10 edits quickly becomes 30, etc.
Also, as the bug catches-on he may find other uses for the GP  and that will mean more Editing.
BTW you should copy/Save your files as soon as possible - ideally to an external HDD via Laptop/USB3 . . .  something over 2Tb for 4K movies, would be OK( about £200). Do not rely on Card-memory - or the HDD in a laptop. Keep the ext-HDD separate, ie somewhere safe, cool, out of harm's way.​Good Luck...    let us know how the GP Laptop Editor match your developing needs.

almightygoodgod

Thank you, much appreciated. I ended up going for an i7, 16GB RAM laptop. It was actually a fair whack above my budget, the zenbook flip s. Looking it so far, though, looking forward to doing something with the videos when I get a chance next week.

With regards to back up, I have an office 365 account so all my files automatically back up to Onedrive, the only files to be kept on the device are those I'm currently editing.

12harry

Good for you, at least this choice won't be regretted, even if the price hurts briefly.
Don't know about your storage facility, other than to say that having your files under your own control/possession is often mighty convenient - and requires no internet access.
Good Luck.

almightygoodgod

I'll bear that in mind. Might pick up an external drive just to be double safe.