Octane 15"_configuration doubts

balbo

Member
Hi there!

I am about ordering this portable workstation, (specs below) but I have a couple of doubts.
I use this for Premiere, After Effects and graphic design, every day. I change office often, that's why I need a portable workstation.
I don't play videogames. I have been using Apple until now, and I am excited to move to this portable beast.
• Will my workflow stress too much the laptop with the 9900K? Or should I get the 9700K?
• Considering that I will connect the laptop to an external screen, I didn't pay attention to the 1080p of its original configuration. Otherwise is the 4k screen worth it? (even though is only 60hz and the 1080p 144hz).

Many thanks for your help!

Châssis
Octane Series : 15" 144 Hz 72 % NTSC Full HD (1920 x 1080) + G-Sync
Processor
Processor Eight Core Intel® Core™ i9-9900K (3,6 GHz) 16 Mo de cache
(RAM)
32 Go Corsair 2666 MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16 Go)
GPU
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 - 8 Go de RAM vidéo GDDR6 - DirectX® 12.1
Châssis et affichage
Octane Series : Écran large LED mat 15,6 pouces 144 Hz 72 % NTSC Full HD (1920 x 1080) + G-Sync
Processeur (Unité centrale)
Processeur Eight Core Intel® Core™ i9-9900K (3,6 GHz) 16 Mo de cache
Mémoire (RAM)
32 Go Corsair 2666 MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16 Go)
Carte graphique
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 - 8 Go de RAM vidéo GDDR6 - DirectX® 12.1
1er Disque de stockage
SSD 2 To Samsung 860 QVO 2,5 pouces, SATA 6 Go/s (jusqu'à 550 Mo/sR | 520 Mo/sW)
1er disque SSD M.2
500 Go SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (jusqu'à 3500 Mo/R, 3200 Mo/W)
2e disque SSD M.2
500 Go SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (jusqu'à 3500 Mo/R, 3200 Mo/W)
Cooler Master
 
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balbo

Member
hello, I am about ordering the same Octane, with the 2080 GPU. I would use it only for video editing, after effects, no gaming... Would be ok with the i9900K, in terms of heating, or should I go for the i7900K?
thanks!
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
If you use a cooling pad it would do that sort of work very well. I'm not convinced a 2080 is the right choice for non-gaming though.
 

balbo

Member
thanks! I included the cooling master pad in the configuration! Would you opt for the 2070? My idea is to invest in something and be fine for few years.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
If gaming really isn't your thing I would go for the 2060. The GPU isn't heavily involved in encoding as such, it's only really used for the effects. The main grunt will be done with the CPU.

The lower the GPU the less cooling required and the more that can be put to the 9900k, the heatsink pipes are joined so if the GPU isn't being used as much the GPU cooling system will actually aid the CPU cooling.
 

debiruman665

Enthusiast
If gaming really isn't your thing I would go for the 2060. The GPU isn't heavily involved in encoding as such, it's only really used for the effects. The main grunt will be done with the CPU.

The lower the GPU the less cooling required and the more that can be put to the 9900k, the heatsink pipes are joined so if the GPU isn't being used as much the GPU cooling system will actually aid the CPU cooling.

the iGPU inside the 9900k isn't used for anything except encoding since there is a dedicated GPU.

I personally found the intel iGPU encoded streams far better than the 2080's encoding. This was for streaming games though, so not the exact same user case. I agree with your point though that the 2080 will not be needed for editing.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
the iGPU inside the 9900k isn't used for anything except encoding since there is a dedicated GPU.

I personally found the intel iGPU encoded streams far better than the 2080's encoding. This was for streaming games though, so not the exact same user case. I agree with your point though that the 2080 will not be needed for editing.

I don't think any GPU encodes video to be honest, certainly not with anything I've used. The GPU comes into play when encoding transitions and effects... rather than video.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
• Considering that I will connect the laptop to an external screen, I didn't pay attention to the 1080p of its original configuration. Otherwise is the 4k screen worth it? (even though is only 60hz and the 1080p 144hz).
If you don't play games, you don't need to be concerned about refresh rate (60hz vs 144hz) - unless you edit footage that is above 60fps?

The spec seems fine for your uses. The Octane is a large laptop anyway, so would you be okay with the 17.3" Octane? The cooling may be better, and people have sound the 17.3" Octane to cope well with the 9900k and the RTX 2080.
 

balbo

Member
Thank you!
I have ordered it with the 4k screen in the end and with a RTX2070 instead. I often move with my bike, so a 17", considering other stuff I have to carry looked a bit too big, so I went for the 15". I hope the cooler pad will help for the heating...
 

balbo

Member
thank you guys!!
I have ordered the 9900K with the RTX 2070 and the 4k screen, and the cooling pad... it's under testing atm :)
Yep, encoding/decoding are on the CPU only. The GPU is relevant for effects as you listed, and looking at the tests there is no real difference btw a 2070 and a 2080... So I hope the 2070 will heat a bit less...
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I don't think you'll get any benefit out of the 4k screen at all. It's far too small for a 17" form and by the time you turn scaling on it's lost anyway.

1440p would be the ideal IMO, but I understand it isn't an option. The 2070 is still overkill for your uses IMO but it will certainly do what you require :)
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I moved a load of posts from here to this thread as spec advice getting split between two places gets confusing / hijacks other threads.

When I was typing
If you don't play games, you don't need to be concerned about refresh rate (60hz vs 144hz) - unless you edit footage that is above 60fps?
I got distracted and didn't finish saying what I was going to...

which is that while you don't need 144hz if you're not gaming, if you're not editing 4k footage then there's probably no point to the 4k screen on a 15.6" laptop.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
which is that while you don't need 144hz if you're not gaming, if you're not editing 4k footage then there's probably no point to the 4k screen on a 15.6" laptop.
I'd go even further and say that there are no circumstances in which 4k makes any sense on a 15.6" laptop. As the post linked to by Oussebon says....

Assuming that you are sitting at 30-inches from your display and your eyesight is 20/20, any more resolution than about 220 pixels per inch is going to be indistinguishable. The two most common screen sizes for 4K laptops are 13.3 and 15.6 inch. At those sizes, pixel density exceeds the 220 ppi density by roughly 60 and 110 or more pixels per inch, meaning all those extra pixels no longer add anything to what the human eye can perceive at a normal laptop distance.

If your vision is less than perfect or you find yourself sitting further away from the screen, the pixel density can be far lower [before noticing a difference], down as far as 90 ppi per inch, or even lower if you are sitting on the other side of the room watching a movie.

....which means that even those with perfect eyesight (20/20) cannot see all the 4k pixels on a 15.6" screen.
 

balbo

Member
Unfortunately the only 2 options for the Octane are either 1080p 144hz or 4k 60HZ, so I had to choose one of these, no 2k available. I work with 4K as well as photos so the 4k is more useful. In any case I use external monitors. Per experience I have a 2k screen on my current laptop and I do see the difference compared to a 1080p.
Here another article, more recent https://www.techradar.com/news/best-4k-laptops
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
If you're using external screens you should pocket the savings with the 1080p screen.

Btw, 1080p is 2k (1920 horizontal), 1440p would be 2.5k (2560 horizontal) as 4k is actually 2160p (3840 horizontal). It's a very confusing terminology.
 
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balbo

Member
Yep, I consider to save money there, but I can always play something there as a backup option. you never know and I'll make sure I don't get addicted to videogames as I was ahahah it's therapeutical! :)
Yes, I meant the 1440p 2.5K, though 2k for a 1080p fullHD is a big word in my mind xD
the "k" is the horizontal approximation, the "p" is vertical, as long as you seat on a chair ;)
 
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