New dektop(need suggestions).

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Feta
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New dektop(need suggestions).

Post by Feta » Wed May 04, 2011 4:14 pm

Hello.

I want to buy a new computer for editing, since my desktop is almost 10 years old and it's not ideal for video editing anymore.. I have some basic knowledge on video hardware but it's not the best.

I can spend 1500 Euros (or maybe some more. That's about 2200 USD, right?). I've been collecting the money for a long time, so I don't care if I spend all of it. I might get a new monitor too. (it depends on the cost of the desktop)

I finally want to be able to rip my anime DVDs and the blu-ray movie I have.
Is a desktop better than a laptop when it comes to video editing? (I'm a PC user btw)

Any help or suggestions would be highly appreciated. :)

(I apologize if my english isn't the best, btw. ._. It's pretty rusty lately.. I hope my point was made clear.)

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Re: New dektop(need suggestions).

Post by Kariudo » Wed May 04, 2011 7:59 pm

Your English is rusty you say?
It sounds just fine to me...but that's besides the point, onto the advice

Personally, I prefer desktops to laptops for editing...but since quad cores laptops have become available, laptops have become quite capable of editing. So in the end it comes down to whether you want a laptop or desktop.

If you do get a laptop, I'd recommend getting a separate mouse (and mousepad). Trying to edit with a touchpad is more work than it should be (I don't even want to try editing with a trackpoint, commonly found in IBM Lenovo laptops)
I <3 my Logitech M500

With a laptop, you might also want to get a separate monitor as well. You can never have too much screen space, especially with things like editing where you are probably going to be multitasking a good portion of the time. I like my 24" LCD monitor, but again, this is completely optional.

As far as what to look for...
-Get at least a dual core cpu. A tri-core cpu or quad-core cpu is nice, but for editing alone it'd be overkill. If you also plan to do motion graphics (ie. After Effects) or gaming, then a quad-core is better suited.

-2GB of ram is the minimum I'd recommend. Sure, you could get away with 1GB on windows XP (and maybe even 32-bit Win 7)...but that can cut it pretty close. 3GB or more would be good for 64-bit Win 7. Look for 6GB or more if you plan to do a lot of work in AE. There isn't really a need to concern yourself with the ram speed/timings.

-Graphics card...doesn't really matter unless you plan to play games like Crysis or the like. If you do want to game with your computer, I'd suggest a desktop with a separate graphics card over a laptop. If you do get a laptop, try to look for one with a dedicated graphic card. If you can't find a laptop like that, it's not that big of a deal. The thing we're trying to avoid here is having a laptop that has a graphics card with shared memory. If you have 3GB of ram, and a graphics card with 512MB of shared memory...then you can only use 2.5GB of your 3GB ram (because the graphics card is claiming 512MB for itself). If you end up with over 4GB of ram, it shouldn't matter either way.

-32-bit vs 64-bit OS...doesn't really matter unless you plan to get Adobe Premiere CS5 (which requires a 64-bit OS). Most 32-bit software will still install (and work) with 64-bit Win 7. I found out the hard way that Premiere Pro 1.5 is one of those programs that doesn't like to play on 64-bit Win 7

-Hard Drives. More HDD space = better. SSDs are nice and make for lightning-quick boot times (and program start up times), but a decent 120GB SSD is ~€150 whereas a 1Tb traditional HDD is ~€75 (that's without any VAT...which I don't know if Greece has or not.) You can get the best of both worlds by storing your OS on the SSD and your dvds/blu-rays/clips on a separate HDD (either internal or external).
If you decide to get a laptop with a traditional HDD, you'll want to make sure that the drive spins at 5400rpm or 7200rpm. 4200rpm drives don't really cut it.
If you get an external HDD, try to get one that has an e-sata or usb3 interface (provided your computer has a port for one of those). If you must get a usb2 external HDD, it can work (anything over 5400rpm is a waste if it uses usb2)...but I wouldn't store clips on it.

That said...here's some laptops that I could recommend. AFAIK, newegg only ships to the US and Canada...but there's probably euro versions of these models, I just don't know of any good euro sites for computers (all I know is that UK-based businesses are really bad at giving specs for their products.)

ASUS N82JQ-B2 (quad-core)
TOSHIBA Qosmio X505-Q8104X (quad)
ASUS G Series G53JW-3DE (quad)
ASUS NX90 Series NX90JQ-B2 (quad)
TOSHIBA Satellite A665-3DV11X (dual-core)
HP Pavilion dv7-4280us (dual)
TOSHIBA Satellite M645-S4118X (dual)

With desktops, you can get a cheaper model that doesn't have a blu-ray drive...and then buy/install a bd drive separately
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Re: New dektop(need suggestions).

Post by Feta » Thu May 05, 2011 10:04 am

Thank you for your help. All the info you gave me about hardware was really helpfull.
There was still one part that confused me. The hard drives..
You can get the best of both worlds by storing your OS on the SSD and your dvds/blu-rays/clips on a separate HDD (either internal or external).
Truth is that I hadn't heard of SSDs before. (I looked it up on google now)
I already have an extrenal HDD(1TB). So, should I get a new desktop with an SSD then?

I think I'll end up getting a desktop, btw. Laptops seems too delicate to me.. ._. It's easier for a laptop to overheat, right?

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Re: New dektop(need suggestions).

Post by Kariudo » Fri May 06, 2011 5:52 pm

SSDs are nice, but not essential.
Unless you build your desktop yourself, it probably won't come with an SSD...and disk cloning (to move the OS from the HDD to the SSD) is kinda a pain (though it would be easier if you do it right after you unbox the computer, before you install tons of programs)

Clonezilla is a free program you can use to copy an entire disk (OS and everything) to another disk. Not the easiest thing in the world to use, but it's free.

Yes, it's easier for laptops to overheat, but heat is heavily considered when the companies design the laptops. If you have a laptop, it should be just fine as long as it's on a desk or another hard, flat surface.
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Re: New dektop(need suggestions).

Post by Feta » Sat May 07, 2011 3:52 pm

Ah, I see. Thanks a lot! :up:

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