Need advice on building a video editing system in a mini ITX case

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520
Hi. I'm looking to build a somewhat portable system. Large enough to have sufficient airflow but small enough that I can fit it in a large backpack or small carry-on case.
Someone recommended this case for me:
SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB-LITE

Assuming I go with that case, or similar — please recommend a good build for me.

Preferences:

  • ■ at least 16GB RAM DDR3
    ■ i7 processor
    ■ USB 3.1 type C (10GB/s) ports on motherboard
    ■ video card with at least 4 GB RAM
Would appreciate help with this : )
Thanks!
 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520


Yes : ) That was what I was originally going to get, but several people persuaded me that laptops for video editing is not a very good idea because laptops don't allow sufficient airflow for the CPU-intensive process when rendering video.
Do you think I would be fine with a laptop instead of this type of set up?

I travel between two locations. Usually twice a year (6 months in one location, then 6 months in 2nd location). Having a laptop would have its advantages, for when I want to travel to other places where I might not have a screen available or if I just feel like having my computer with me outside my home, or on the go.

Would be glad to know what you think about this. Thanks
 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520


Well, I was originally looking for a laptop in the $1500-1600 range.
So let's say $1500. If I can get away with a decent setup for less and with the specs I mentioned, I'd be happy to save the money or spend it on a good cooling system, or better screen : )
 


It's not that hard to find an i7 latptop with 16gb ram and 4gb vram. Might need to dig around bit more for USB type C

Literally the first result came in on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/GL552VW-DH71-15-Inch-Discrete-GeForce-Metallic/dp/B01578ZKPO/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1468965128&sr=1-4&keywords=asus+rog
 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520


About the laptop option — two problems:
1. Some people told me that laptops are not a very good choice for video editing. High CPU + small chassis + low airflow = problems
2. I will be hooking up the laptop to an external monitor in any case, so was looking for a 15.6" laptop. Couldn't find one with those specs and with USB 3.1-C (10gb/s)
 

Oh I see.
 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520


Sorry my mistake. There was a 15.6" Asus ROG laptop i was looking at that i think had the USB 3.1-C 2nd generation port but was advised that due to poor air flow and insufficient cooling that it would throttle the performance and not take advantage of the nice specs.
 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520
What kind of video are you editing. I don't think due to some poor cooling in would be a problem. Unless the video editing is really heavey (something like 3D 4K VR 60FPS) then you might consider getting a small pc instead.
Right now it's just 1080P material. Could be doing 4K in the future.
I'm actually editing on a laptop currently (1080P material) and it seems that rendering is stressing it out. When rendering both CPU (i7 processor) and RAM (8GB) are maxed out. The laptop heats up pretty bad and the fan whirls like crazy. The laptop is less than a year old and it's already performing a lot worse than it did when new and I'm wondering if possibly the strain has been to much.
Of course it could be due to many other things... but when asking around a couple of computer-savvy people indicated that a 15.6" laptop just doesn't have the proper airflow and that I could be damaging the components by stressing it so much and that it's a bit of a waste to spend money on hardware when it won't utilize its full potential due to thermal throttling.
I don't know how much an mini ITX case such as the one I've been looking at would improve performance and/or keep my hardware healthy. And I'm not sure how much it's worth sacrificing the portability of a laptop as opposed to lugging around the mini ITX desktop in a carry-on case. Do you believe it makes more sense to just get a laptop? Is there a good way to minimize heating issues or improve cooling for a laptop which would make it worthwhile going the laptop route rather than getting a mini-ITX?

What program(s) are you planning to use?
Adobe CC products mostly - e.g. Premiere Pro, After Effects (moderately), Audition, Photoshop, Illustrator...

Thanks!
 
What you've been told about laptops is NOT true. You can run a laptop (Intel) CPU at 90 C for years and years and not see degradation. It's very possible that they confuse or don't use the right word when they say "heating issues".

The "strain" you're referring too, is very likely just because you don't use an SSD. An HDD require defragmentation from time to time, and even then it's not even remotely close to the performance of an SSD.

Yes, laptops is confined space, but that doesn't mean cooling is bad. A laptop fan running at near max is a very good sign, because it prevents the CPU from overheating. However, no damage to the CPU, that's a myth. You would upgrade to a new PC many years before the CPU dies from heavy use.

However, with that said. That's only the case with laptops that manage cooling well. A lot of laptops are designed poorly, and end up overheating (throttling), which just means that the performance is massively reduced, not damage. It's still an issue though.

 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520


Hi Suzuki, thanks for your input!
If what you say is right, I would definitely opt for a laptop, but how can one know whether or not a particular laptop is designed poorly or not, with regards to airflow and cooling?

I'm looking for the following:
  • ■ i7 processor (2.6 GHz)
    ■ 16GB ram at least
    ■ SSD drive (size is not a big issue, I'll be mostly using external drives for data)
    ■ 10 gb/s ports (USB3.1-C gen 2, or Thunderbolt 3). One would be fine, but the more the better
    ■ nVidia video card with at least 4GB dedicated RAM
    ■ 1920x1080 screen - I hate glossy screens, but if forced to compromise on one thing I guess that would be it, since I'll be using a second external monitor anyway
Thanks


 

afrank71

Commendable
Jun 3, 2016
18
0
1,520
Hi.
I also just got a quote from Lenovo for a ThinkPad P50 Mobile Workstation
Part #: 20ENCTO1WW

• Intel Core i7-6820HQ processor (8MB Cache, Up to 3.6 Ghz)
• Windows 10 Home 64
• 15.6 FHD(1920x1080) IPS Non-Touch
• 16GB DDR4-2133MHz SODIMM
• NVIDIA Quadro M1000M 4GB
• 720p HD Camera with Microphone
• Keyboard with Number Pad
• 256GB SSD PCIe-NVMe OPAL2.0
• 6 Cell Li-Polymer Battery 90Wh
• Four USB 3.0 (one Always On), one USB Type-C / Thunderbolt 3, Mini DisplayPort,
HDMI, Ethernet (RJ-45) and Dock connector

My intention is to use the 256GB SSD that comes with the laptop as a system and installed applications drive. I also plan to add a second SSD drive (512GB) as a temporary project drive to place media files on it. When I'm done with a specific project, I'll transfer the files from the 512 drive to an external drive for storage and then wipe the internal 512GB SSD to make it ready for the next project.

Please let me know your thoughts.