So I have to get a new laptop since my desktop setup is getting quite old and I have to be more mobile. I was thinking of purchasing a 13", 14" or 15" Ultrabook.
Now there are some lightweight powerhouses out there, for example the Asus u500vz or the Gigabyte U2442F. Which are two of the most performance delivering ultrabooks at the time.
But my question is will it be enough? Does After Effects CS5 rely more on GPU power or is it a combination of SSD, CPU, GPU and RAM?
I’m mostly doing Motion Graphics in Adobe After Effects on FULL HD(1920x1080) resolution. When I set the quality on ‘Half’ or ‘Quarter’, real time editing/rendering is possible on my current desktop setup most of the time.
Will I be able to edit in real-time HD(with settings on half or quarter quality) with an Ultrabook like mentioned above?
These ultrabooks seem to be great! (I mean, what it offers compared to size.) However, you need to make sure you have enough RAM for after effects. I’d definitely choose the Asus one, but only if it’s possible to extend the ram to 16 gigs. Or 8 at least. Asus has 2 - 2.5 times faster cpu than the Gigabyte one, fast enough to make some solid graphics in After Effects. First half of my projects were made on slower cpu than this Asus has. My summary:
Gigabyte - slow cpu compared to asus. Asus - everything perfect except - 4gigs of ram is not enough + trustworthy notebook manufacturer
After effects’ working speed relies mostly on cpu and ram, but there are a few exceptions where speed relies on graphics card:
If you are using CS6, the built in raytraced renderer needs a good (nvidia cuda) graphics card, on cpu is very very slow
Element 3D (doesnt work at all without a graphics card)
Some Trapcode Plugins can profit from a good graphics card, but work okay without
Some Plugins like shapeshifter and freeform
I’ve heard this about CS6 and nvidia cuda indeed. So when I upgrade to CS6 I hope the 650m will be enough for AE to rely on.
It’s good to finally know After Effects CS5 relies mostly on CPU and RAM, I 've always thought this to be true, but was never sure about it. I won’t be doing much Element 3D work nor am I a frequent user of Trapcode plugins yet. So that would already rule out the need for a heavy dedicated GPU. So with buying this new ultrabook I guess I also have to make a decision whether to stick with CS5 for a while or go to CS6.
Anyway, I’ve read they’re releasing new ultrabooks in Jan/Feb and in June/July(already with the new 4th gen Intel chip) So maybe I’ll wait just a bit long to see what more is coming out and at the time these ones mentioned above might get a bit cheaper.
These ultrabooks seem to be great! (I mean, what it offers compared to size.) However, you need to make sure you have enough RAM for after effects. I’d definitely choose the Asus one, but only if it’s possible to extend the ram to 16 gigs. Or 8 at least. Asus has 2 - 2.5 times faster cpu than the Gigabyte one, fast enough to make some solid graphics in After Effects. First half of my projects were made on slower cpu than this Asus has. My summary:
Gigabyte - slow cpu compared to asus. Asus - everything perfect except - 4gigs of ram is not enough + trustworthy notebook manufacturer
Thanks for this comparison. So my best bet would be getting that Asus with some extra RAM. Hope santa is going to be nice to me this year, since it’s pretty expensive
But would you say that the Gigabyte one is a ‘no go’ in terms of performance? Will it not be able to do the things properly/smoothly in AE, as described in my first post?
I’ve been using HP Pavilion dv6 for about 6 months now. I do all sorts of motion graphics and those 3D stuff, works smooooth for me. Its also very comfortable, as you can just lay down on your couch and do your work compared to desktop machine. So yea go ahead, those two notebooks look good.
But would you say that the Gigabyte one is a ‘no go’ in terms of performance? Will it not be able to do the things properly/smoothly in AE, as described in my first post?
That depends…on what kind of animations you want to create. If you want to keep making simple kinetic stuff (like your two projects), it will be enough, if you want to create some complex 3D projects, asus will be far better. Also you can tell us what configuration you use now and maybe I’ll be able to compare it to these netbooks.
I’ve been using HP Pavilion dv6 for about 6 months now. I do all sorts of motion graphics and those 3D stuff, works smooooth for me. Its also very comfortable, as you can just lay down on your couch and do your work compared to desktop machine. So yea go ahead, those two notebooks look good.
Yes thats my ultimate goal! Working on the couch or in the living room once in a while. Working in different places stimulates creativity!
But would you say that the Gigabyte one is a ‘no go’ in terms of performance? Will it not be able to do the things properly/smoothly in AE, as described in my first post?
That depends…on what kind of animations you want to create. If you want to keep making simple kinetic stuff (like your two projects), it will be enough, if you want to create some complex 3D projects, asus will be far better. Also you can tell us what configuration you use now and maybe I’ll be able to compare it to these netbooks.
I’ll probably stick to the more simpler animations since 3D is not really my thing. My current desktop setup is:
AMD phenom II x4 955 3,2ghz (quad core)
4gb ddr3 ram
Sata hdd
Nvidia gtx 275 (896mb)
AMD phenom II x4 955 3,2ghz (quad core)
4gb ddr3 ram
Sata hdd
Nvidia gtx 275 (896mb)
It’s about 3,5 years old now.
You have the same cpu I had before the current one. All these CPUs have been benchmarked so according to results you can see what’s the difference in the performance:
AMD phenom II x4 955 3,2ghz (quad core)
4gb ddr3 ram
Sata hdd
Nvidia gtx 275 (896mb)
It’s about 3,5 years old now.
You have the same cpu I had before the current one. All these CPUs have been benchmarked so according to results you can see what’s the difference in the performance:
Thanks a lot! So the Gigabyte would be a good pick since it’s very like my current system.
Although it has a little less CPU power, this ultrabook doubles in RAM and has an SSD instead of an HDD and also the GPU benchmark is pretty much equal to what I have now(a mere 30 point difference).
So that answers my question! I’ll probably get the Gigabyte U2442F, since that will save about $600 to $800 on the Asus u500vz. Now I only have to wait untill it becomes available. They are shipping by the end of this month or early January. Thanks againDoubleX and others.
You also can check out this one Samsung np700z5c or Samsung np700z7c both very good machines second one is more powerfull but both will do the job with fast renders . it it has good expresscach function wich allows computer to operate faster because it has 16-8 GB SSD or The Asus n64vz also a very good choice .
