4K video editing: Asus ROG GL752VW versus Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming (7566)

[Vlado7]

Hi guys,

Asus ROG GL752VW:
https/www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EKZRM74/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3IZ0E8IFV1QAB&coliid=IEHEL76X9RLA0&psc=1

Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming:
http/www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-7566-laptop/pd?oc=cn56603&model_id=inspiron-15-7566-laptop

I'm now looking for a week now, so hopefully you can help me choose one!
There is little information on the Dell laptop - looks like it hasn't been released yet.
What I am looking for:

• 
  ■Mainly for video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, 4K, high fps (>60) and hopefully in RAW
  ■I will be using one big external 4K monitor, so not really concerned about small laptop screen
  ■Workstation is not an option as I have to be mobile
  ■ Price range ~$1400

Both laptops have Intel i7 6700HQ, 16GB DDR4 RAM, GeForce GTX 960M.

What I like about the Dell: 512GB SSD via PCIe, 4K screen (though not sure makes sense on 15" screen).

What I like about the ASUS: hm, not sure. 17" screen maybe, and that it has some reviews on Amazon, which gives me good feeling I guess.


What do you think guys?
Anything I missed that would be beneficial for video editing, but is not obvious?
From the research I've done, the graphic card is not that important with most video editing software, but the i7 6700HQ usually comes with some GTX 9xx card anyway.

Thanks a lot!

 

[jaguarskx]

Well if you are editing 4k video I would assume it is best to have a 4k resolution screen. When high resolution videos (and graphics) are forced to be displayed on a lower resolution screen there is a small loss in quality due to something called interpolation which estimates where certain pixels in a 4k video will fit on a 1080p screen. Since it is physically impossible to display 4k resolution on a 1080p that means only 1/4 of the actual resolution will be displayed on the screen and it is that reason why there is a small drop in quality.

It certainly is not as bad as taking a lower resolution video / graphics and stretching it to fit a higher resolution screen. For example, if you were to play back a DVD movie (720p resolution) on a HDTV you will notice that the video is not as sharp as watching on an old "regular" TV before 1080p HDTVs became the norm.

A small screen helps offset any loss in video quality due to the fact that the pixels are small and packed pretty densely together say compared to a 65" HTDV.


If you are using Adobe Premier Pro, then I believe you can actually benefit from having a dedicated nVidia graphics card because it should be able to take advantage of CUDA Cores (nVidia only) to accelerate the encoding process. You should Google on how to activate that feature.

A 15" laptop is more portable (lighter & smaller) than a 17" laptop. But then again you are dealing with a smaller screen. You need to decide for yourself if having a larger is worth a bulkier laptop. !7" laptops generally tend to have much shorter battery life then 15" laptops. And keep in mind that manufacturer's stated battery life is under the most optimal conditions where the CPU and GPU are not being stressed. My rule of thumb is that whatever the manufacturer states the battery life is, knock off 25% - 30% to get a more realistic battery life based on "average usage" which excludes anything that is CPU and GPU demanding. The is superseded by actual professional review of the specific laptop's battery life based on testing methods used.

 

[Vlado7]

Thanks for the detailed reply.
So OK, it does make sense to edit 4K video on 4K screen (or 1080p on 4K screen at least, but not the other way around).

95% of the time I will be editing it on an external 4K monitor, so the actual size or resolution of the screen doesn't matter that much to me I guess.

I also just googled that Adobe Premiere does benefit from good GPU, but still not as much as from strong CPU, so I guess GTX 960M is good "companion" to i7 6700HQ.

Battery life is important, but not that much as I guess. I see it as a working station which I can easily move to another location, so whether it will last 2h or 4h unplugged, doesn't matter that much I guess.
Weight is worth considering though.

What I would be interested in is how much of a factor is the size of SSD and it's interface. I've read that PCIe is better than SATA.

That leaves us with "soft" factors like Dell vs. ASUS support, build quality etc., which are quite difficult to judge since there is not much information about Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming (7566) yet.

 

[jaguarskx]

If the laptop is going to be connected to a 4K monitor 95% of the time you are working on video editing, then I would say a 4k screen is not really necessary. Plus it also consumes more power than a 1080p screen.

Yes, the PCIe interface is a lot faster than a SATA interface. But the difference is only noticeable if you are working with very large files. Since you are working with 4k video files I believe that qualifies. The below quote is a reply to a Reddit thread about this topic.

https/www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/49undz/ssd_connected_to_sata_versus_pcie_do_you_notice_a/

You will start noticing a difference when working with sustained throughput applications such as an NLE streaming multiple clips to the timeline. For example: You're using Adobe Premiere to stream 4k video at 1/2 res from a preview drive. If that drive is being read and written to over SATA III you'll be able to stream 1 or maybe 2 clips, but with a PCIe SSD, that can jump to 3 or 4. This is all considering the GPU has enough CUDA/GPU cores to process OpenCL/CUDA accelerated effects which still stands @ 192 minimum.

Overall both Dell and Asus have good quality laptop if you exclude the ones built for the budget conscious. As for customer support, I have actually read several complaints when Asus is concerned. The problem seems it is actually very difficult / time consuming to speak with an actual human being. I recalled a few instances where people stated it took a few weeks of e-mailing before being able to speak to a human. I suggest you do your own research though.

 

[Vlado7]

Thanks a lot. I have decided to buy the Dell one. 512GB PCIe SSD was the main factor, plus the fact that I was able to easily get the accidental damage cover.