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GH4 laptop Requirements?
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  • NickBenNickBen

    @mpgxsvcd Thanks for the feedback. I like the flexibility of having 10 bit 4K over displayport on set, like on the HP Z series, whenever I need it in a pinch.

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    @NickBen

    Sorry I don't have the answer to most of your questions. I don't have a 4K display yet so I can't test that.

    The 870 is overkill for what I need and I don't ever plan on selling this computer. Believe it or not. This was actually the first laptop I have ever purchased for myself. I have bought many laptops for my kids and wife. However, I always just used what the company provided for everything I needed to do.

    This laptop is specifically for my needs in editing the GH4's 4K footage. I will probably only render to 2.7K or 1080p because rendering to 4K isn't really that useful right now.

    It has "Mini DisplayPort 1.2". I haven't tried it so I have no idea if it is thunderbolt compatible or not. Sorry.

    This computer is big and heavy but it really does what it is designed for well. It is FAST. Really FAST. The audio sounds great on it and Windows 8.1 is now my new favorite operating system. I can't believe M$oft ever put out Windows 8. Windows 8.1 is what Windows 7 was to Windows ME.

  • NickBenNickBen

    @mpgxsvcd

    QUESTION: Does your laptop GT70 have Thunderbolt/displayport port or simply displayport? Have you output to a 4K external display yet, if so how does it perform?

    Also, the 870M is way more powerful than the 860M in cuda cores and performance, and will have much better resale value when the time comes for you to sell.

    I am on the fence between this GT70 and an Asus with Thunderbolt right now, but the Asus is much more expensive. Love to hear your continued feedback, much appreciated...

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    @Arquer053

    Here is the MSI - GE70 Apache Pro-012 17.3" Laptop for $1299 with slightly different specs. If this one had been available last week I would have bought it instead. It is a much lighter computer than the MSI model I got and $100 less. The 870m graphics card I got is overkill.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ge70-apache-pro-012-17-3-laptop-12gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive/5185102.p?id=1219113400430&skuId=5185102&st=pcmcat138500050001_categoryid$abcat0502000&cp=1&lp=3

    Product Features 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4700HQ processor

    Features a 6MB cache and 2.4GHz processor speed with Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz. Intel® Core™ i7 processor

    Delivers efficient multiway processing for ultimate smart performance. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't. 12GB DDR3L memory

    For multitasking power, expandable to 16GB. Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive

    Lets you create custom DVDs and CDs. 17.3" high-definition widescreen display

    Presents your favorite media in stunning clarity and helps minimize reflection. 1TB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm)

    Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics

    Feature 2GB of dedicated video memory for lush images. An HDMI output enables flexible connectivity. Built-in high-definition webcam

    Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends in 720p resolution. Multiformat media reader

    Supports Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity and SDXC formats. 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports

    Enables quick and simple wired Web access. Weighs 6 lbs. and measures just 1.5" thin

    For portable power. A backlit keyboard allows comfortable typing, even in dimly lit areas. Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit operating system preinstalled.

  • Arquer053Arquer053

    Congratulations on your purchase :) I'm late to make a suggestion, but if anybody is interested in a nice 17" laptop you can check out the MSI GS70 Pro for $1799 which is about to become widely available:

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1035165-REG/msi_gs70_stealthpro_024_17_3_notebook.html

    The "Pro" model is the 2014 model. It has the newest gen quad core i7, gtx 870m, dual fans, primary ssd plus 1tb hard drive, and it's thinner than a Macbook pro. I have the 2013 model (non "pro") and it rocks. It doesn't break my back unlike the old Hp Envy I had. In xoticpc.com they have this machine with 3 ssd's in raid for the c drive plus a 1tb hard drive for $2099. The screen is 1080p and as far as I could find is IPS and can show 90% of the NTSC gamut, so that's also nice.

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    Honestly, after using the 17" display all weekend I would take it over a 3K or 4K 14-15 inch display anytime. Bigger is better in this case.

  • karlkarl

    If you want a notebook with a calibrated 3840x2160 pixel display, look out for the Toshiba Satellite P50t.

    According to some German news article I read it will start shipping in April and is likely to cost < 2000 USD.

  • kendallozkendalloz

    I have an ASUS N55S with i7 quad, 7200rpm HD, 8 RAM, and Nvidia GT 555M Cuda 2GB card. Quicktime and drivers for Nvidia just updated. I have downloaded two 4K files from Vimeo. They both play but not smoothly. Pretty good but not quite. Nothing crazy in the playback....just some micro pauses here and there. I have put both files into Sony Vegas movie studio (not pro) and edited and cropped and rendered to 1080 with no issues at all. The 4k files look killer and the 1080 renderings look really really good as well. I also tried playing the 4k files from a 7200rpm external USB3 drive and the playing was the same as on the internal 7200 drive.

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev Eurocom laptop looks interesting. I'm not familiar with them - do you know how reliable they are?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @rabbit2

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/9636/gh4-computer-and-post-production-question#Item_2

  • rabbit2rabbit2

    Do you have any suggestions for a PC (not laptop) that handles 4K editing?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    What is the point of getting a very high resolution display if it is only 13-15 inches? 1080p is fine for a display of that size. 1080p is probably all you need for 17 inch displays as well.

    It is not screen size, it is viewing distance that counts. Plus it all look super smooth :-)

    I have phone with FHD screen and it looks nice :-)

    From utility POV best resolution for Windows at 10-13" is 1280x800 or max 1366x768 :-)

    But 3200 screen looks good, plus it is seems to be 100% sRGB and calibrated :-)

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    A couple of things here. What is the point of getting a very high resolution display if it is only 13-15 inches? 1080p is fine for a display of that size. 1080p is probably all you need for 17 inch displays as well. Really I think the small screen 4K laptops are a waste of money right now.

    I am not using this laptop for color grading. I am going to setup the color in camera to get the look I want. This laptop is for fast editing on the road. I need VERY fast processing power and a large screen. I need tons of storage space but that can be on external hard drives.

    I just got the MSI machine I mentioned on the page before. It is a beast of a computer. It weighs a ton and barely fits in a large backpack. However, it does the one thing I want it to do. It absolutely screams at encoding 4K content.

    What took hours before will take minutes. I tried some GH4 sample videos last night and I did have trouble getting them to load at first. However, in the end I got one of them to load in my editor and the editing process was perfectly smooth.

    My old laptop played 4K content back at about 2 seconds per frame. It was hopeless for 4K editing. It was really old though. This new one easily played the 4K @ 25 FPS videos and encoded them in what appeared to be almost real-time. For less than $1500 that is exactly what I wanted.

    I know a giant PC is not for everyone. However, for those of us that the $1600 for the GH4 is a stretch spending over $2500 on a MAC just isn't a financial option.

    For the money I think this MSI is just about the best thing for this very specific job.

  • itimjimitimjim

    Partially agree. It's a moving target, but my own personal experience has been better value from Apple products on sale at end of life as there's a market for them. Less so with PC laptops. Again, it's market dependent, and I suspect there's a lot more brand drones here in the UK.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    And I reckon, MBP depreciates about 25% YoY, where as high end PC around 35%. It does depend on the geography though. So $2,500 MBP end of year 4 is likely to fetch around $800, but the $1,900 PC around $350.

    It is not fully accurate calculations. While resale price for MBP will be higher, PC resale price do not drop so fast, really.

    It is also good to remember that Mac resale prices have much in common with finance bubbles - they also 99% depend on people believes and perceptions, as soon as they will be shaken it'll be all gone.

    Today progress slowed down significantly and such drops are unreal.

    And if you ask me, today more generic brands are better choice if you work (like one that I referenced above that that cost 50% of BM price with better screen and overall config).

  • itimjimitimjim

    And I reckon, MBP depreciates about 25% YoY, where as high end PC around 35%. It does depend on the geography though. So $2,500 MBP end of year 4 is likely to fetch around $800, but the $1,900 PC around $350.

    I'm fairly agnostic when it comes to platform choice...just in case anyone things I'm rose tinting this. I use PC, Mac and Hack :)

  • itimjimitimjim

    Furthest on the right http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/ $2599

    Retina display: 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors

    Native resolution: 2880 by 1800 pixels (Retina); scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200, 1680 by 1050, 1280 by 800, and 1024 by 640 pixels

    2.3GHz 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache

    16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory

    512GB flash storage

    Dual GPU Intel Iris Pro Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching

    Thunderbolt digital video output Native Mini DisplayPort output DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (sold separately) VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter (sold separately) Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately) HDMI video output Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz

    720p FaceTime HD camera

    SDXC card slot Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter (sold separately) Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (sold separately)

    Wi‑Fi 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking;3 IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible

    Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology

    Up to 8 hours wireless web Up to 8 hours iTunes movie playback Up to 30 days standby time Built-in 95-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @itimjim

    How about calc showing same specced MBP prices?

  • itimjimitimjim

    I know you say you're a PC guy, but what about top spec MBP with Bootcamp and Windows 8.1. Much better residuals and a smoking ergonomic machine too. Appreciate it's above budget, but the resale value in 3 years will be likely 3x than your PC counterpart. Just a thought.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Btw. not bad and quite cheap laptop with 3200-by-1800 screen, 4 core CPU, etc

    Can be configured and can come professionally calibrated (at small premium).

    http://web.eurocom.com/ec/ec_model_config1(1,249,0)x

  • inqb8trinqb8tr

    Now I see it's different desing, my post might not be relevant to the fastpack series.

  • inqb8trinqb8tr

    I have Lowepro 400 AW and the laptop space is very tight.

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    Funny, I was just looking at the Lowepro Fastpack 350. I believe I am going to get the regular one and not the video one.

  • MarcioKMarcioK

    I have a Lowepro Fastpack 250, like it a lot. But it is for a 15'' laptop, the 350 is for 17'' laptops.

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    I went ahead and bought the MSI GT70 Dominator-895 computer last night. I couldn't find anything that was significantly cheaper with the same specs. It should be plenty of machine for when the GH4 gets here. It is a beast though(Huge Laptop).

    I have a backpack that I will carry it in. I might try to find something that can carry both the laptop, lenses, and the GH4 though. Any suggestions?

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