Laptop for DaVinci Resolve 1080p Editing

Hey guys,

I know this question, or a variation of it, has been asked before but I have been unable to find a definite answer so I am asking it here.

I'd like to transition from my workstation to a laptop for very specific traveling projects and running DaVinci Resolve is a must.

I will only be editing 1080p footage shot on the BMPCC.

The laptop should be 14" or smaller and be under 3 lbs if possible (I'll have access to large external monitors).

I understand the myriads of limitations I will run into when grading but could you please recommend the name and model of a laptop that will work for my needs? (if one even exists).

The OS is irrelevant to me, Mac, PC, or Linux is all good.

If you don't know of a model can you tell me of a mobile nVidia CUDA GPU that is known to perform well with Resolve?

Thank you so much for your time!

If you're willing to have a proxy workflow then even modest laptops are sufficient.

[Peter Chamberlain]

There are laptops listed in the config guide
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=62582

That's just what I was looking for in the Configuration Guide. Thank you for that!

Btw, a proxy workflow will not be possible for this particular project.

After some research I was considering getting the ASUS VivoBook S S410UQ. Although it does not meet the specific requirements, I think it might work.

Hi.

I don't know if you can wait a few months. On the intenet I read rumors about 6 core 12 threads Intel
mobile CPU's. You can try to Google Core i7-8850H, Core i9-8950HK, Xeon E-2186M and Xeon E-2176M.

Regards Carsten

On a Linux, the best compatibility across distros has been achieved with an Intel CPU and an Nvidia GPU (CUDA 3 compliant). AMD/OpenCL support does exist, but it's proven difficult with distros like Arch/Antegros.

According to BMD, laptop sound output is available through an Ultrastudio breakout box (used via Thunderbolt port). Debian-based distros (Ubuntu, et al) have generally functioned well, once the kinks have been sorted out.

Thanks guys. I just wanted to follow up on my quest to find an ultra-portable 14" (or under) laptop to run DaVinci Resolve on the go.

The ASUS VivoBook S S410UQ was not a good idea when it came down to the GPU. The CPU is plenty fast to run Resolve but the GPU is a NVIDIA GeForce 940MX and that's just not good enough.

Most of the other laptops I was able to find under 3 lbs with a 14" screen were also a wash.

The two most popular GPU on 14" ultrabooks with dedicated GPU cards and CUDA support are the aforementioned NVIDIA GeForce 940MX and the NVIDIA GeForce MX150. These may be good enough to run some modern games but not good enough to create a portable NLE workstation.

Their benchmark performances according to PassMark are as follows:

NVIDIA GeForce MX150: 2,031
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX: 1,280

In my experience, DaVinci Resolve works fine when editing 1080p with cards that perform above 5,000 (correct me if I am wrong, obviously 4k footage is another matter altogether)

The most popular card on relatively lightweight laptops with those specifications is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, coming in at 8,881.

The laptops I was considering were all under $850 but once you introduce a GPU like the GTX 1060 the price jumps to above $1,000 if you want a 14" or under screen.

I have decided to abandon the search... or rather to postpone it to later in the year and to change my search criteria. The two most limiting factors were weight and screen size.

The best thing for me to do is to forget portability and get a proper mobile workstation. There are some good (and very heavy) options out there for around $2,000 with screens of 15" or 17".

Should anyone discover something under 3 lbs with a 14" screen that can run DaVinci Resolve flawlessly for 1080p editing, please let me know!

Have you thougth about the xps15? It's a 15inch screen fitted on a 14 laptop chasis. The newer one might be enough for editing raw 1080p on your bmppcm, goes above the 5000 gpu benchmark you were looking for. Trying to find it out here..

Have you thougth about the xps15? It's a 15inch screen fitted on a 14 laptop chasis.

Hi.

The XPS15 is not a good recommandation for DaVinchi Resolve as it have to few CUDA Cores.

And the new Intel 6 core mobile CPU's share the the same FCBGA1440 socket as the previous 4 core Intel mobile CPU's. So actually the manufacturers can just swap the CPU and a few others components and sell the previous model of their laptop as a new 6 core model. But they have one problem. The 6 core mobile CPU's produce much more heat. so they must rethink the heat dissipation. And I am sorry to tell you that they don't yet. The manufacturers must in the future learn how to handle the extra heat. Personally I don't think Resolve can run very well in a very small sized laptop. You must look at least look into a medium or large sized laptop to get rid of the generated heat.

Regards Carsten.

So basically there is no good "skinny" laptop for 1080p video editing???

It depends.

If you need a lot of effects or computational intensive functions like NR, the 2016 MacBook Pro 13" (with Thunderbolt 3) and the new Blackmagic eGPU might be an option if you desperately want to avoid having a desktop machine too. Together it's not a very portable option any more, but you could work with proxies on the road and connect the eGPU for finalizing at the office.

I'm basically looking to replace my very old and underpowered laptop. I enjoy editing photos and making videos on davinci resolve but I'm not a professional and was just looking for a laptop I can take with me on trips and be able to edit on while on the road.

I enjoy editing photos and making videos on davinci resolve but I'm not a professional and was just looking for a laptop I can take with me on trips and be able to edit on while on the road.

Hi.

In Resolve the CPU is used to run the app, disk I/O and compression and decompression of codecs.
Resolve does all its image processing in the GPU on the graphics card. More CUDA/OpenCL Cores are better.

Suggest you look at one with the new 6 core Intel 8750H mobile CPU in a medium or large size laptop as they only cost little more than the previous 4 core versions.

For 1080p video editing will I recommend you to look at either one with a GTX 1060 6 GB or a GTX 1070 with a Max-Q design. The Max-Q design turn down the heat and noise, but will then give less GPU performance.

Regards Carsten.

Cheers for the info.
Any particular recommendation for said laptop?