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Patti5EC5
Participating Frequently
December 17, 2020
Question

Hardware graphics card required

  • December 17, 2020
  • 9 replies
  • 709 views

I am buying a PC laptop and Adobe Premiere Pro for professional 4K film editing. This is work. I will take a class to learn it. Someone told me I  should buy a computer with a "dedicated graphic card."  A guy  at Office Depot insists that the computer he's trying to sell  us has all the right specs. I don't think so. The spec says "graphics card: shared."  Also, it says "Business Laptop" and "Processor Speed 1.8 GHz. I can't afford to be set up for failure because I don't have the required hardware. Request advise. 

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9 replies

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RjL190365
Legend
December 22, 2020

And to follow up on my previous post, those in-store Office Depot laptops will barely handle even 720p video (as in 720p video will stutter when played back in any decent video editing program). 4k is virtually unusable at all in those laptops.

    P
    Patti5EC5Author
    Participating Frequently
    December 28, 2020

    Thank you. I've been on MacBook Pro for 12 years. She wants to put me on a Windows PC because Office Depot doesn't carry Apple Mac. But she also told me Amazon is their vendor too and Amazon has MacBook Pro.   I have not been able to knock any sense into her so I'm going over her head to get an advocate to help get this show on the road.  Given she demands I not get a Mac but have to have a PC, how difficult do you think it will be for me to go from using only Mac for 20 years to a PC and be able to perform. ? 

    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    John T SmithCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 18, 2020

    >PC laptop and Adobe Premiere Pro for professional 4K film editing

     

    Please do NOT let your boss and/or the salesman talk you into buying anything less than the last Office Depot link I posted... you need a really strong computer to edit 4k video

      P
      Patti5EC5Author
      Participating Frequently
      December 28, 2020

      Thank you so much!  You guys are life savers!. Because that Office Depot guy TWICE tried to sell the wrong computer and wrong software, and the buyer is unable to wrap her mind around what I've tried to teach her, through the info here, I am having an advocate look into this matter.  See, I'm disabled and going back to work. I mist. I signed up for Voca Rehab and am supposed to get the equipment I need. I can't use what her friend the Office Depot guy demands we buy (this is with state funds to help the disabled), as it would be a complete total waste of state funds and I can't afford to be set up for failure. In this economy my life depends on it. 

      John T Smith
      Community Expert
      John T SmithCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 18, 2020

      Since you have stated you must buy 'on contract' at Office Depot you need to go online to pick one

       

      The 'regular' PC laptops won't work for 4k video editing, you need a 'gaming' laptop

      https://www.officedepot.com/a/browse/gaming-laptops/N=5+1462024/

       

      Look at all the brands/models and find one that matches the list I posted... when I selected the option for minimum 15" screen size, the only one that is not out of stock is https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/5635836/Asus-ROG-Zephyrus-S-GX502GV-PB74/

       

      You should find out if adding a 2nd SSD drive to that one is possible

        R
        RjL190365
        Legend
        December 18, 2020

        I have just looked at a brick-and-mortar Office Depot store, and they do not stock any laptops at all that meet minimum practical requirements for video editing. None of them that they stock has more than 8 GB of RAM installed, and none of them has a decent discrete GPU at all. And most that they stock still have only dual-core CPUs.

         

        Under those circumstances, it is not surprising at all that the salesperson there suggested just any plain old unit that they had in stock from thin air - even if that laptop is equipped with an Atom-based Intel Pentium CPU with 4 cores and 4 threads (which everybody has found to be almost totally unusable for any sort of video editing, as it is much weaker than even a dual-core Intel i3 mobile CPU).

          P
          Patti5EC5Author
          Participating Frequently
          December 28, 2020

          Thank you so much.  That was very kind of you to take the time to do that. This info will help me make the case of what I need. Can you imagine they tried to buy a deficient laptop with the wrong software? The guy puts Vegas! When the class is in Adobe Premiere Pro? When I complained, he put a different deficient laptop with another wrong software. He put Elements Student and teacher for me to take a university class in Adobe Premiere Pro. What do you make of this?? 

          R
          RjL190365
          Legend
          January 2, 2021

          He doesn't know jack about professional-level content creation software. He's just there trying to make a buck for the company that he works for. Under these circumstances, that's not surprising at all, especially as he knows only cheapo amateur-level software that is very easily outgrown by hobbyists and pros.

           

          I would suggest that you tell your employer that the particular Office Depot physical store that you visited does not stock anything suitable at all, and that the person in charge of its computer department knows little to nothing about the software that your organization is planning to use.

           

          By the way, Office Depot, AFAIK, does not sell Creative Cloud subscriptions at all. No wonder why the salesperson told you what he did. You'll have to subscribe directly at Adobe (on its Web site).

            John T Smith
            Community Expert
            John T SmithCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            December 18, 2020

            Were you able to read the laptop review?

             

            I build my own desktop computers (one for me & one for wife) so I have no direct experience with laptops, but after reading the laptop review article I will attempt to summarize

             

            Intel i7 processor

            nVidia video adapter with AT LEAST 4Gig of VRAM

            Minimum TWO drives, both should be SSD if possible

            Minimum 16Gig ram, 32Gig is better for 4k video

             

            About my saying minimum 2 drives

             

            That would be one drive for Windows and all programs (256Gig is enough... I have a 256Gig boot drive and about 82Gig is used)

             

            The 2nd drive would be for everything else

             

              John T Smith
              Community Expert
              John T SmithCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              December 18, 2020

              https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/best-laptops-for-video-editing

                R
                RjL190365
                Legend
                December 18, 2020

                The Office Depot guy is trying to make a sale, even if he's lying to you. You see, "Shared" graphics is always an on-CPU integrated graphics processor that does not have its own discrete VRAM at all, but actually "steals" a large portion of your planned system's Main RAM for itself. That may leave you with a woefully insufficient amount of main RAM remaining for everything else, including running programs.

                  Peru Bob
                  Community Expert
                  Peru BobCommunity Expert
                  Community Expert
                  December 18, 2020

                  Don't spend any money until you read those articles.

                  Get very far away from that guy at Office Depot.  He doesn't know the first thing about Premiere Pro Hardware requirements.

                   

                  You need a processor twice that speed, a good graphics card, a large and fast SSD (preferably two), and 32 or 64 GB RAM to edit 4K.

                    P
                    Patti5EC5Author
                    Participating Frequently
                    December 18, 2020

                    He's snowing the government contact who arranges for purchasing and he's the only one that contact will give the sale too.  I've complained and I won't sign off until this is sorted out.  Twice he put the wrong software on a computer that's deficient. He put Elements. You think I can get something in $2,000 range?

                     

                    John T Smith
                    Community Expert
                    John T SmithCommunity Expert
                    Community Expert
                    December 17, 2020

                    The guy at Office Depot must have been asking if you wanted to supersize your fries last week

                     

                    https://community.adobe.com/t5/video-hardware/premiere-pro-hardware-articles-to-read-before-you-buy-or-build/m-p/11557686

                      P
                      Patti5EC5Author
                      Participating Frequently
                      December 18, 2020
                      Thank you. I needed the good laugh! I wasn’t able to open up the link on my iphone as I dont have a computer. Hate to bother you with the same question. Re the hardware specs the Office Depot guy insists we buy , the specs on PC he’s trying to sell us says “Graphics Type: Shared.” Doesn’t this refer to the graphics card? Is this a “dedicated graphics card” needed for Adobe Premiere Pro PC laptop to edit 4K video for work? I don’t think so. But I need advise from an expert I can give to the governmental entity funding it. Then it says “Processor speed (base): 1.8 GHz. This can’t be the right thing to buy. Is it? What do I need? Then it says “Business Laptop.” What do I truly need? It’s critical we get it right. Thank you. 🙏

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