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I need some computer recommendations!

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  • #1

    I need some computer recommendations!

    I need to buy a new computer, and am looking for something really good but also trying to get a good deal. I know a little bit when it comes to the configurations, but I know some of you know much more and can help me avoid some stupid decisions.

    I'm looking for a computer to use in the home. For the most part, it's going to be for personal use. I don't play any computer games. I'll be doing a little bit of editing, mostly through Adobe Premiere. Right now, it runs very slow and it's just annoying to use overall. This is a major concern, so I'll need a computer that is capable of running multiple programs at a decent speed. Idealy, I want to be editing, and go back and open up other videos/images/music, and juggle everything at once, while posting on HyeClub.

    I'll need a DVD burner, which I hope by now is standard on computers. I'm also debating a Blu-ray burner. My Adobe Premiere is capable of burning Blu-ray discs but I don't currently have a player. I have a lot of HD work I edit with, so I'd like to burn the final discs on both DVD and Blu-ray. If we can get a computer with such a drive, it'll be good, but I'm assuming an added expense. Obviously, I want speed and space. I like having space and I love having speed.

    Also, I don't want a monitor nor do I need speakers/keyboard/mouse. I simply need the computer itself. I wish this could save me money, but looking online, most computers come with keyboard/mouse, so I'm really saving a couple of hundred by skipping the monitor.

    Most importantly, I would love to get a Mac but they're out of my budget. I'm looking to spend under a $1,000. I'm thinking of making my switching over to Mac after I graduate, so I can finally edit on Final Cut and be a Mac owner for good. So, before making this recommendation, understand that I'll be purchasing that next. I did a basic configuration on HP, with something that I assumed would be good, and added some stuff based on the little that I know and here's what I got:

    HP P6270Z Series

    Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

    Processor: AMD Phenom(TM) X4 945 quad-core processor [3.0GHz, 2MB L2 + 6MB L3

    Memory: 8GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM

    Hard drive: 500GB 7200 rpm

    Graphics card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G210

    Primary optical drive: Blu-ray writer & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner

    Networking Integrated: 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet

    Front Productivity Ports: 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, audio

    Sound Card: Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports

    Productivity software: Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

    I was forced to add the graphics card to get the Blu-ray writer. I believe the Sound Card was included in the price. I don't know too much about the configuration, so if anything looks good/bad, let me know. I might have added some stuff I don't necessarily need so that could potentially save me money. Also, I don't want to buy used, or even consider a used Mac. I don't want some no name brand, despite how good it is or how good your "friend" can configure it. Currently, this computer comes out to $1,074.99, which is primarily because of the graphics card/Blu-ray writer.

    I'd appreciate any recommendations or advice. I'll consider another brand, but I don't really like Dell or Gateway, although I've owned all three. Sip and Crimson, I'm looking at you guys to come save the day. This isn't something I need ASAP, but I keep putting off this purchase. It'd be nice to go through with it. Thanks for those who help!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: I need some computer recommendations!

    Looks pretty decent. The 8Gig ram will definitely help. The more the better but 8 gig is definitely good. 64-bit is also what you want in terms of the OS. Windows 7 is the right choice.

    Hard drive, you might want to go bigger as 500Gig is not much these days, especially if you are going to edit video. But that's something easy to add later on if cost is an issue. The thing is, 1TB drives are less than $100 these days so I can't imagine it adding too much to the price to go 1TB or more (1TB is 2x as much as 500Gig).

    Processor wise, intel i7 or i5 would be my choice currently but I can imagine cost being a concern. The quad core will be good for what you want to do but it will probably be power hungry (I am not quite familiar with that processor as I have mostly messed with new laptops recently).

    They are forcing you with a better graphics card as not all of them will be able to decode blu-ray smoothly. Although for recording you probably don't need the video card, you will need it for playback. Again, I am not up to date with the latest and greatest video cards but what you have there seems fairly decent

    Dell is not too bad ... don't hesitate to at least compare. The other vendor I really like is lenovo though I have only looked at their laptops (IBM Thinkpads are now lenovo). They do have desktops.
    this post = teh win.

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    • #3
      Re: I need some computer recommendations!

      Thank you, Sip, for your reply.

      I wanted to bigger in terms of the hard drive, but for this current configuration, 500 GB was as big as I could go. I'm thinking of keeping the computer fairly clean and using external hard drives for much of my work, so 500 GB might be sufficient.

      Also, I'm thinking of skipping the Blu-ray writer. I'm editing a film right now, which was shot on HD, and would ultimately benefit from being burned onto a BD, but I can always export the file, save it on a drive, and burn it elsewhere, right? I can just do this instead of being equipped with the Blu-ray.

      I'll check out Dell right now. What do you think is a good budget for what I need? Do you think I'll be spending too much if the computer comes out to about $1,000? It's a vague question, I know.

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      • #4
        Re: I need some computer recommendations!

        I was wrong about the hard drive.

        The computer with a 640 GB hard drive and no Blu-ray comes out to $899.99.
        The computer with a 750 GB hard drive and no Blu-ray comes out to $949.99.
        The computer with a 1.5 TB hard drive and no Blu-ray comes out to $1,049.99.

        In this case, what do you recommend?

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        • #5
          Re: I need some computer recommendations!

          Hmm I had typed a reply but lost it. I'll try to recover what I was trying to say:

          As far as blu-ray, it really depends on how much you think you'll need it. You can certainly move data off and burn somewhere else but blu-ray requires a lot of data so that might not be very convenient. There seem to be external blu-ray writers now for less than $150 so that might be an option to record disks down the line. Downside might be that you might not be able to play back blu-ray smoothly. My personal feeling is blu-ray is kind of a dead technology but that's a whole different topic

          As far as the hard drive choices, I don't understand the $50 more for the 750gig jump. That seems expensive. The 1.5TB jump seems ok but that's also kind of expensive. You can buy a whole 1.5TB disk and install it into the PC yourself later. They go for less than $150 these days and installing is a matter of attaching the disk module to an internal bay of the PC and plugging in 2 cables: power and data.

          Overall, if you don't absolutely need blu-ray, going with 8gig of ram and a 1.5TB drive might be a better overall option in the long run. It will allow you to do more things with the PC (such as editing larger and more complex video files as well as storing more temporary things on your pc while you work on them). If you have other means of playing back blu-ray, adding an external blu-ray recorder might be the cheaper and more versatile option as you can use it with other PCs as well.

          I have to say though I don't know much about blu-ray recorders.
          this post = teh win.

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          • #6
            Re: I need some computer recommendations!

            Thanks, Sip. I'll give this some thought.

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            • #7
              Re: I need some computer recommendations!

              Initial amds were a pain I think. I got one (98) to save a few bucks but had issues with it not being compatible with graphics card and crashing all the time. I switched to Intel and haven't ever considered amd again. I would hope that issues like that are rarer now, but it just left a bad taste. The computer people I know who work in that field always recommend intel too.
              Also... Have you priced a Dell?

              Another consideration to keep cost down is to buy the case, parts, and software an build it yourself.
              [COLOR=#4b0082][B][SIZE=4][FONT=trebuchet ms]“If you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
              -Henry Ford[/FONT][/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]

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              • #8
                Re: I need some computer recommendations!

                I don't want to build it myself. I took a look at Dell but didn't really like what I was seeing, plus it looked like it was coming out to be more expensive with the same options. The HP looks good becauses I've been keeping it close to or under $1,000. I'm just thinking of going with the biggest memory/processor, and not worrying too much about the hard drive (settling with 500 GB). I'm thinking I can make it up with external drives, which I was going to do anyway.

                Good idea?

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                • #9
                  Re: I need some computer recommendations!

                  You can mount more than one drive. You can pull the drive in your current computer and use that as well. Some external drives (the bigger ones) are just a hard drive in a case and you take off the case and mount those as internal. *shrugs* You can also wait and if the 500 gb isn't enough you can later add a 1tb one or another 500gb, etc.

                  Same goes for the bluray burner, you can add that later.
                  [COLOR=#4b0082][B][SIZE=4][FONT=trebuchet ms]“If you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
                  -Henry Ford[/FONT][/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]

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                  • #10
                    Re: I need some computer recommendations!

                    Aces.

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