Music production & video editing laptop

[KevetS]

Hi all,
I'm looking at one of two PCS laptops and need a little help making the final decision.
It would be used for general web stuff, emails etc., but more importantly I will be using it for music production (Cubase), home movie editing (Power Director) and photo editing (Lightroom). I am not a gamer! Is the extra outlay for the 4K Optimus display worth it?
Any comments and suggestions gratefully received.

Spec 1:
Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS 630 - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1100MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 90W AC Adaptor
Battery
2 x Cosmos VI Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM

Price £969.00 including VAT and delivery


Spec 2:
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte 4K LED Widescreen (3840x2160)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 7700HQ (2.8GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1100MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
2 x Cosmos VI Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM

Price £1,224.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[Oussebon]

Although you're not a gamer, the software you use like Lightroom and Power Director can make use of GPU acceleration. So a build with the GTX 1050 ti makes a lot more sense.

I can't speak as to how well worth the 4k screen is for the price. If you're using the laptop at a desk at home most of the time, you could go for a larger 4k external monitor anyway.

 

[KevetS]

Many thanks, Oussebon

I think I'm going to go with the higher spec 4K Optimus.

 

[Oussebon]

Do consider the dead pixel guarantee too

 

[KevetS]

Thanks Oussebon,

I wasn't going to consider it, but now you've got me thinking! Do screens still suffer from dead pixels? I've had a few monitors over the years and I've never been aware of dead pixels in any of them.
I'll check the guarantee's T&Cs.
Thanks again

 

[Oussebon]

Screens can get dead pixels. It's very rare to see it complained of on these forums. But it's still the case that monitors can get dead pixels and there are various complex rules about how many/where these are allowed without the panel being considered faulty, such that the guarantee offers protection above that. I'm sure most people buy without it and are entirely satisfied (or else you'd see that reflected on the forums and on places like trustpilot) but if the screen matters to you to the point you'd spend £100 more on a 4k one, it's worth some thought.

 

[KevetS]

Optimus now ordered... with dead pixel guarantee

 

[Oussebon]

Sounds good - keep us posted with how it all goes, if you have the time