Looking for a "video editing" computer

[rmemedic]

I currently have a 3 or 4 year old HP Laptop, 4mb ram, 500gb hard drive, 64 bit windows 7. Not sure what I have for a processor but, since the computer was only around $900 when I bought it, it was nothing special.

I've been making motocross films using my GoPro and a Sony HandiCam and some DSLR footage.
I have Adobe Premier Elements 10 and Photoshop on the computer. I can hardly run elements once I get more than a couple clips in the program to start working with them... It's so frustrating that I don't even edit now. With race season coming up, it's also video season.

I would prefer a laptop simply because I'm always on the go, and would like to be able to edit when I'm not at home, which is lots. But, I will consider a PC if I have to.
Price... Looking for under a grand for sure. Even 900 is stretching it.

I'm not too tech savvy, but I think what I'm looking at is a minimum 8mb with an i7 chipset, but that's just from reading some info. Graphics cards, I have no clue, but I see some with something like 1gb dedicated memory when refering to them, so I guess that is something I should be looking for?

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=45065c36dd78b4386acd20c12ad2374aen02
Not sure about the graphics on this one:
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=9c3d10a62c62eb249de83671fe7354c4en02

Are these roughly what I should be looking for? I don't have lots of media, so I'm not too worried about storage space, and I'll just throw it on to external hard drives anyways.

Thanks guys!

 

[boarder360]

i would try and find a used mac.

 

[mmmnaked]

Get yourself a used or refurb Macbook Pro and simplify your production with built-in iMovie.

 

[rmemedic]

How comparible is iMovie to premiere elements 10?
i was using windows movie maker, but it's basically cut and paste basic is all you can do with it.

 

[jay-d]

I don't know why people are suggesting a Mac when they are the most costly because everything is proprietary. An old Mac will be outdated and you can't upgrade any of the parts because well, it's a Mac!

If you want the best video editing computer that will have top notch parts and well under your $1000 price range, you'll be best suited going the PC route. Windows laptops that have the processing power to edit HD video are just as expensive as Macbook Pro's.

I personally would go the PC route. You can get really cheap parts from www.canadacomputers.com and put it together yourself. Hell, I will help you build it, computers are so easy and cheap to assemble.

I put together an AMD Phenom II Quad-core overclocked to 3.9ghz, 8 Gigs of DDR3 Muskin 1600mhz RAM, a 120gb Vertex II Solid-state drive, a Blu-ray burner, a RAID box and two 24" IPS panel monitors for about $2000. My brother is a Mac advocate and I'm a PC advocate. His 24" i7 Mac is only slightly faster than my PC but cost him almost twice as much.

If you really really want too.. shoot me a PM and I will help you build your computer for under a $1000, after taxes.

 

[optionfa]

First off, forget futureshop or bestbuy they dont have the most current models and their laptops are lower-end and overpriced.

I picked up this a few months a go:
http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_369&item_id=044604

Very happy with it, its one of the best windows laptops out there right now I would highly recommend it.

Other windows options are the dell xpsz and the Hp envy 15

Any of these will be great for movie editing, dedicated 1gig graphics all with solid 3DMark scores, i7 processors and 8gigs of ram.

Macbooks are great laptops but very expensive, a comparably specced macbook pro will cost you $2000, that being said the OS is superior for movie editing and a lot of people love mac OS, I personally don't, but the build quality is great and they will last forever and can take a beating (I dropped my GFs brand new MBP out of the back of my F150 and it barely made a dent in the aluminium case, tho she was pretty ****** )

 

[RockerGuy]

I don't know why people are suggesting a Mac when they are the most costly because everything is proprietary. An old Mac will be outdated and you can't upgrade any of the parts because well, it's a Mac!

If you want the best video editing computer that will have top notch parts and well under your $1000 price range, you'll be best suited going the PC route. Windows laptops that have the processing power to edit HD video are just as expensive as Macbook Pro's.

I personally would go the PC route. You can get really cheap parts from www.canadacomputers.com and put it together yourself. Hell, I will help you build it, computers are so easy and cheap to assemble.

I put together an AMD Phenom II Quad-core overclocked to 3.9ghz, 8 Gigs of DDR3 Muskin 1600mhz RAM, a 120gb Vertex II Solid-state drive, a Blu-ray burner, a RAID box and two 24" IPS panel monitors for about $2000. My brother is a Mac advocate and I'm a PC advocate. His 24" i7 Mac is only slightly faster than my PC but cost him almost twice as much.

If you really really want too.. shoot me a PM and I will help you build your computer for under a $1000, after taxes.

+1 for building your own PC, u get to put whatever you like.

 

[toshison]

I strongly disagree with the idea of buying a used macbook but its probably because I think Macbooks are overpriced and I would never even consider buying a used laptop.

rmemedic, I have a Toshiba i7 laptop that is pretty similar to the one you linked from future shop for $799. I paid more for mine late last year and it has an Nvidia graphics card in it which is better than the stock Intel chip in that machine but similar specs as far as processor, memory goes.

My opinion is that it is a very solid machine. Performance and build quality is top notch. The new i7's with at least 8GB ram will allow you to do pretty much anything, cut any videos and run any software no problem. I also cut HD video from my Canon T2i dslr, and it can handle it easy. Something you should be aware of given your needs is screen resolution. Both linked laptops you provided do not have full 1080p screens. The Toshiba, like mine is only 1366 x 768. If you are editing HD video, this means a full HD 1080p video will not fit on your screen completely unless it is minimized to fit the screens resolution. This is not that big a deal for me but it can be if you are editing your videos with after effects and such and want to see the full 1080p fitted to your screen. If you want to get more involved and you are willing to go over budget, I would look for a laptop with better screen resolution. For example, here is an Asus G-series laptop. Look at the screen resolution - you will see it says 1920 x 1080 compared with the Toshiba's 1366 x 768.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=1da119817d89327b46453718163d625cen02

My opinion is the current i7's in the 800-1000 price range are great value and can do anything you need them to do. Brand wise, I am partial to Asus and Toshiba as build quality and overall value for money is excellent.

 

[Pan]

i bought this during boxing day i think was 200 bucks cheaper than the current listed price.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1470718&Sku=A50-11037 CA

i know its over your budget, but i just throwing it out there if the price happens to come down within your budget sometime in the future.

this is a great laptop, i bought it for games (and its meant for games) but i also put together game clips/montages sometimes and it is greati use AE and vegas. you will have no problem in these programs and the render times will be lighting fast compared to your current laptop

 

[Nixel]

As has been stated, a Mac of any kind will cost you more than simply building a Windows machine and, unless you're swimming in money, really isn't worth it for one piece of software (iMovie). A windows machine will also afford you more options with its usefulness and options for future upgrades.

If you decide to build something you'll want an i7 and at least 8gb of RAM for video editing. It's usually very CPU and memory intensive.

 

[mmmnaked]

Macbook is worth it for OSX alone. Once you cross over you'll never look back.

And we're talkin about laptops; beyond a hard drive or RAM upgrade theres no other "upgradeability" to discuss.

 

[toshison]

i bought this during boxing day i think was 200 bucks cheaper than the current listed price.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1470718&Sku=A50-11037 CA

i know its over your budget, but i just throwing it out there if the price happens to come down within your budget sometime in the future.

this is a great laptop, i bought it for games (and its meant for games) but i also put together game clips/montages sometimes and it is greati use AE and vegas. you will have no problem in these programs and the render times will be lighting fast compared to your current laptop

Nice machine. Those 17in Asus G-series laptops are beasts - they can handle anything. Only thing is they are heavy! Nearly 10lbs.

 

[silverbullet132]

Macbook is worth it for OSX alone. Once you cross over you'll never look back.

And we're talkin about laptops; beyond a hard drive or RAM upgrade theres no other "upgradeability" to discuss.

You can upgrade the CPU on some windows laptops, and sometimes even the graphics card.

 

[mmmnaked]

You can upgrade the CPU on some windows laptops, and sometimes even the graphics card.

By the time you need to upgrade the CPU in "some" laptop that can actually facilitate it, the motherboard is outdated!!! You gonna put an i7 in your old C2D laptop? :lol: please

Pointless jargon.

 

[Xhumeka]

lmfao @ Mac.

Spend the money on a cpu and SSD (solid state drive). That's where you'll see the biggest advantage for video editing. Obviously you should have 8 gigs RAM, but RAM is so cheap these days who WOULDN'T get 8 gigs.

If you're into overclocking an i2500k is a great value and can be overclocked to the moon.

 

[Nixel]

By the time you need to upgrade the CPU in "some" laptop that can actually facilitate it, the motherboard is outdated!!! You gonna put an i7 in your old C2D laptop? :lol: please

Pointless jargon.

Your argument doesn't help your cause. By what you're saying, if he can't update the hardware then he should maximize the return on his purchase by purchasing a laptop that gives him the most power for his money. By definition that is not Mac.

 

[TwistedKestrel]

HP laptops can be pretty badly crippled by all the crapware they come with. You might be able to eke a little more out of it if you clean house ... you can try starting with http://pcdecrapifier.com/ and also removing anything that starts with "Norton".

The laptops you have linked should be alright - note that the video chipset is basically irrelevant. Any laptop GPU is not really going to be powerful enough to make a difference in video rendering.

lmfao @ Mac.

Spend the money on a cpu and SSD (solid state drive). That's where you'll see the biggest advantage for video editing. Obviously you should have 8 gigs RAM, but RAM is so cheap these days who WOULDN'T get 8 gigs.

If you're into overclocking an i2500k is a great value and can be overclocked to the moon.

"Laptop"

 

[mmmnaked]

Your argument doesn't help your cause. By what you're saying, if he can't update the hardware then he should maximize the return on his purchase by purchasing a laptop that gives him the most power for his money. By definition that is not Mac.

What are you talking about? My argument is that you can upgrade all the same things in a Macbook as you can any other laptop. The hard drives and optical drives, and memory can all easily be upgraded. Those 3 things (2 really, who upgrades an optical drive?) are the only things anybody with a laptop should/would upgrade. This suggestion that PC laptops are more "upgradeable" is mouth-foamingly stupid. Upgrade a processor in a laptop? :lol: dumb beyond words

Not to mention that when working in an Apple environment, hardware upgrades are less often necessary. I've been using the same Macbook Pro for a few generations of OSX upgrades and it flies along the same as the day I got it.


REGARDLESS, I just saw that his budget was under a grand so unless he wanted a 13" screen, Macbook Pros are out of his budget. Carry on!

 

[Xhumeka]

I would prefer a laptop simply because I'm always on the go, and would like to be able to edit when I'm not at home, which is lots. But, I will consider a PC if I have to.
Price... Looking for under a grand for sure. Even 900 is stretching it.

"Laptop"

I don't think he should consider a laptop - if you want to spend $900 or less for a video editing machine, get an atx or even mini-atx sized machine. Trying to edit video on even a $1000 laptop will drive you crazy quickly - and besides, are you really going to be editing clips in the back of your truck on an mx day?? Editing that stuff is best left for later with a beer in your hand

Look on RFD/newegg for deals on decent motherboard/cpu combos and build from there. Check Toms Hardware for charts on video editing rendering times and depending on your budget go from there. eg ( http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...ideo-Editing-Adobe-Premiere-Pro-CS5,2428.html )

I will agree that if you're not opposed to Mac's that is definitely their strong point (video editing) - but I still think better value would be had in buying PC especially if you already own the software.

 

[rmemedic]

Thanks guys... Guess I'll go the PC route, and just use my laptop at the track like I usually do for getting the footage off my cameras through the weekend.

I usually do just edit it through the week anyways.

I know absolutely NOTHING about building a computer. I know it needs certain parts, but I never know what is compatible with what, or what to do about getting the OS software on it etc. So this will be a good learning experience I guess, and kinda cool to build your own stuff anyways.

So I'll take Jay-d up on the offer for some assistance, and I'll get around to building it up once I'm back from Norway and my MX bike is all put back together.