Advice on a new laptop please

[andrewr]

Afternoon all.

I'm in need of a new laptop which will enable me to do some video editing. I'm not talking about the next episode of Jurassic Park, but more along the lines of creating online courses and related videos. I'm guessing that I don't necessarily need to be creating 4k video at the moment, but on the other hand, I'd like the laptop to last for at least a few years, so a degree of future-proofing would be good.

I've got a budget of around GBP1700.

So, two questions:
1. What's the minimum spec you'd recommend? I'm thinking 16GB RAM, a 4K screen and non-integrated graphics chip. But what are your opinions, both on these specs and on broader hardware requirements? I'm not that worried about portability, so weight isn't the critical issue.
2. Given the above, are there specific laptops you'd recommend? I'm really not wanting to go down the route of a Mac...

Thanks a lot
Andrew

[Grapes]

1. Minimum 16GB definitely 4K screen is however pointless at 15.6" (or even at 17" for that matter) so if you have the option save that money for more RAM or storage and get something like an external 28" 4K monitor by the tie you really need it.
For minimum I'd go with something like 16GB RAM 1TB SSD (avoid HDD all together) CPU+GPU
2. Wise decision, on your budget I'd definitely not go the fruit route I'd recommend anything along the lines of a gaming computer or work station. So basically something like an ASUS ROC or a Lenovo ThinkPad. Also definitely check refurbished options. Maybe you can find a 2 year old £3000 laptop that fits your budget. Will probably still smoke the newer £1700 options you can get.

[andrewr]

1. Minimum 16GB definitely 4K screen is however pointless at 15.6" (or even at 17" for that matter) so if you have the option save that money for more RAM or storage and get something like an external 28" 4K monitor by the tie you really need it.
For minimum I'd go with something like 16GB RAM 1TB SSD (avoid HDD all together) CPU+GPU
2. Wise decision, on your budget I'd definitely not go the fruit route I'd recommend anything along the lines of a gaming computer or work station. So basically something like an ASUS ROC or a Lenovo ThinkPad. Also definitely check refurbished options. Maybe you can find a 2 year old £3000 laptop that fits your budget. Will probably still smoke the newer £1700 options you can get.

Thanks for your feedback - that was good to have.

After various conversations with both IT people and creatives, I've ended up buying a Dell XPS 15, with 32 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, and a 4GB GPU. I'm wanting to run Davinci Resolve, and that seemed to be their recommended specs. The only place I've had to "skimp" is in buying the 9th Gen i7 CPU, but the wisdom seems to be that this should be enough and is less important than spending the cash on RAM / GPU, so here's hoping. The 10th Gen i9 would've been an extra £550. I did look around a lot at refurbished options, because that was a good idea (and I usually buy refurbed versions of most things - it's the only way to guarantee that someone's actually tested the equipment and made sure it works! ) But there's currently an offer on this laptop of 11% off, and I was able to swing an additional 10% off voucher, so ended up paying £1386 + VAT.

Thanks again for your help.

[Grapes]

Sounds like youve gotten yourself an excellent deal there, well done and good luck with the edit!

[TimStannard]

Agreed, that spec sounds great.
Are you buying Resolve Studio? Apparently that really opens up the GPU accelleration - possibly depending on what chip. I'm still wavering over it as I'm not sure whether it will have the desired effect on my 3yer old ATI R9 390X 8GB.

[Brimmerer]

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) is on of the best.

[Grapes]

That is highly subjective. More importantly however, and please don't take this the wrong way, that's specifically the opposite route that the OP wants to go.