My laptop recently died and I’m looking for a new PC laptop to run Avid Media Composer.

After working for years at a company as a special effects editor on major films, I’m now editing smaller films on my own.  Problem is, I’m out of my depth making hardware decisions, having been spoiled by a company IT Department handling all that. 

After struggling quite a bit over what to get, below is what I’m considering.  Current cost is about $2,700.

I’d appreciate any opinions about whether I’m spending wisely, or should spend more or less on any feature.  (My dead laptop could be ridiculously slow, and I’m determined to avoid that.)

HP ZBook Power G8 15
  i7 processor (2.3 GHz, 24 MB cache, 8 core)
  NVidia T1200 Graphics
  32 GB ram
  1 TB PCIe-3xr 2280 NVMe TLC SSD
  15.6" FHD LED IPS display, 400 Nits

It has one Thunderbolt port with this spec:
  Thunderbolt™ 4, pass through support DisplayPort™ 1.4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, with BC 1.2

...as well as these ports:
  Three USB 3.1 Type-A
  HDMI

Thanks for any input,

Bill

I love the HP Z books. Had 2 now.

I'd go with 2 NVMe drives. 1 for the OS (512gb) and keep the 1TB for media. The laptop supports 2 NVMe drives.

I'd also push to 64gb. The maximum it supports.

The 2.5ghz CPU would give you a bit more edge over the 2.3 as Avid relies on CPU speed. 

Seconding the HP Z Book and agree about going with a faster CPU. I have a G6 with the T2000 card, 64GB RAM and the 2.6gHz 6 core. I upgraded the RAM from 32 to 64 after the fact (much cheaper) and added a NVMe SSD drive additionally to the existing SSD boot drive and transferring between the two gives me read speeds of over 3GB/s. I thought something had gone wrong the first time I copied a large file to see it complete in seconds but it is insanely fast.

Only thing about that "Power" version is it is limited to 64GB memory and the "Fury" line go up to 128GB and add in more video memory and additional TB ports which might be something to think about if you want to use any other programs that can make use of those resources. 

Andi

Another one here who can vouch for ZBooks. Agree on the 64GB and extra NVMe too. 2 Thunderbolt ports are very useful. I have the G2 dock and basically it's a desktop replacement. The only thing I would add is if you do anything with other programmes like Resolve then a more powerful graphics card might be needed. I started with the 6GB Quadro P3200 and was getting 'GPU full' warnings in DaVinci (only for 4K), so I then swapped it out for the 16GB P5200, which is possible on the bigger ZBooks. They're, tough well designed and run cool even under load if you keep them clean.

Thanks all for the excellent advice.

Will be following it and upping the ram, etc.

I would have preferred to order the HP ZBook Fury, which can handle even more ram and internal storage, but HP can't deliver a customized Fury till March 18, 2022!

As it is, the delivery date for a customized Power model is January 21, 2022.  (Groan)  And every day I'm noticing that their delivery dates slip by another couple days.

Will be trying to get my order in today.  Thanks again for all your help making the final decision,

Bill 

There are some previously enjoyed ones on ebay but you can't customise of course. 

There are professionally refurbished ones too. A G6, like Andi has would be a good choice IMV. Since they can take the newer RTX Quadros and up to 128GB ram (the G5 will too despite what HP say). You can upgrade/customise these ZBooks yourself since their tooless design is one of their great strengths. The only real advantage of brand new, apart from latest gen tech, is the 3 year onsite warranties, which could be an important consideration.

That's a good point about the onsite warranty. Despite loving the power I have had to have HP come out before and they were quick and professional about it, they actually replaced a G5 with the G6 simply because one of the TB ports wasn't working, so Ive been happy with their customer service so far.

They are quite easily upgradeable, but the GFX card is locked in place so if you think you'll need the extra video memory then go for the best GFX card you can - you can upgrade the other stuff later if you want.

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

but the GFX card is locked in place so if you think you'll need the extra video memory then go for the best GFX card you can - you can upgrade the other stuff later if you want.

Not on the G5 and G6 Andi, since it is an MMX card - I easily upgraded from the P3200 to the P5200 on my ZBook. Therefore it is a good point that it is best to get the Fury (not MMX but still a card) or the older G5/6 ZBook's if you envisage doing this down the line.

Really?! I did not know this! Will be looking in to this. Does this mean you could potentially get an RTX card in the G6?*Googling intensifies*

Hmm, I'm not sure my model supports replacing the GFX card. The maintenance manual states the only way to replace it is to replace the entire system board (which also contains the CPU) and in order to do that you have to basically take apart the entire PC. It's listed under the "Removal and replacement procedures for authorized service provider parts" section of the manual.

So I don't think mine will let me do an easy swap. You got my hopes up! 

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

Really?! I did not know this! Will be looking in to this. Does this mean you could potentially get an RTX card in the G6?*Googling intensifies*

Yes you can install up to, I think an RTX3000 in the G6 15 or upto RTX5000 in the G6 17. Bear in mind they are new or upon ordering horrendously expensive. I managed to find a brand new HP P5200 for £600 on eBay. The laptop cost me new £2100, if I'd ordered it with 64GB ram and the P5200 it would have cost nearer £5000!

ripvanmarlowe:

Hmm, I'm not sure my model supports replacing the GFX card.

That is very interesting Andi - I think you're right. Yet the the G6 is identical to the G5 in body. They must have changed the motherboard. I know the Fury has a changeable graphics card, since I remember looking at the service manual when contemplating buying one.

I know for a fact there are HP MMX RTX5000 Quadro cards available and I further know that they actually work in the G5 too together with 128GB ram, though HP don't like that to be common knowledge since they like you buy new. In any case I would still go for the G6, firstly, as there are 8 core 10th gen procs available on it.

I saw someone mention the NVIDIA RTX card. I was going to keep my mouth shut since its not certified. I have a RTX2060-S in a uncertified ASUS ZenBook DuoPro and in my main certified HP Z840, both work like a charm. I was going to get a P5000 or something like that was crazy expensive, but my business, or lack-there-of, couldn't justify it. You could get pretty much any of the RTX 2XXX or RTX3XXX cards, which look to have increased in cost lately. GPU UserBenchmarks - 666 Graphics Cards Compared is a handy resource. If you use Resolve you should look at CUDA cores, which I think the RTX 2/3s pass muster on.