Worth waiting for Vega M / Ryzen mobile or is UHD 620 ok?

[oscargwilkins]

Hi all

My first thread here so hopefully I haven't done anything wrong!

I'm planning to buy a new laptop, with a particular interest in DAW performance. I want a portable ultrabook and my current first choice is the Lafite III from PC Specialist. It can be specified with either a 8250u or 8550u, both of which seem to be very good processors. However, I'm aware that the UHD 620 graphics on these is pretty weak compared to the new Vega-based graphics in some Intel and AMD processors.

I'm just wondering whether anyone can give me advice on whether the UHD 620 will be suitable for my needs? I'm mainly interested in:

• 
  DAWs: when outputting 1080p running Reaper, my current computer (i3-4005u with HD4400 Intel graphics) often struggles to keep up and is very jumpy. Also when displaying some graphics-intensive VSTs (such as Izotope Ozone and Neutron) it seems to struggle. Better DAW performance is the main reason I'm upgrading.
  
  Photo and very(!) occasional video editing: mainly on GIMP, Adobe Lightroom and DaVinci Resolve

It looked to me like the UHD 620's graphics are about twice as powerful as the HD4400 in my current laptop. This doesn't seem like much of an upgrade really, but perhaps the extra processing power will also help? (If its important, my current laptop has 6 gb of 1600 mhz ram, but the new one would have at least 8 gb of 2133 mhz ram)

The alternative is waiting a bit longer for more Vega-based laptops to come on sale (they seem quite rare at the moment)

Many thanks!

Oscar

 

[ragnar-gd]

Well, this very much depends on your budget.
But, basically, i'd stay away from HD 620, if i were to do graphics.
Any machine carrying an Intel "Iris" type seems quite fast regarding graphics, but such machines are equally rare, and expensive (Dell XPS 13, MacBook, Microsoft Surface, and such...).
I think waiting for more Vega-type is wise for your purpose.