I need some computer recommendations!

[Icy]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

Buy any mac, they are well worth it my friend.
I know if you're a windows user, but try a mac at the Apple store
and you'll fall in love.

You can buy an iMac G5 Intel Core Duo 2007 for $500 or Less.
Or the macbooks new is $1000 but refurbished is around $500-600.

If you have any other questions on what kind of mac you would need,
let me know I know a lot of sites you could buy them from. Or if you
live in California I could give you the addresses of many used mac dealers.

[One-Way]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

Did you not read my post? I clearly said I don't want to buy a Mac right now, despite loving their machines. I also mentioned I didn't want to buy used. Did you just decide to skip everything after the first line?

[One-Way]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

Sip, I have one last question.

I don't want to buy a Mac unless I can get the Mac Pro and fill it up to the brim, which is at least $2,500. Is it worth taking a look at a Mac Mini? If not, disregard my configurations below. I just want your opinion on the following. What do you think I should go with? Most importantly, are the price jumps worth it?

HP E9210t Series

Intel Core 2-Quad Processor (2.5 GHz)
8GB Memory
640 GB Hard Drive
$779.99

HP E9250t Series

Intel i5 (2.66GHz)
8GB Memory
640 GB Hard Drive
$879.99

Intel i7 (2.8 GHz)
8GB Memory
640 GB Hard Drive
$1,029.99

Mac Mini

2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
320GB hard drive
$799.00

2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
Dual 500GB Hard Drive
$999.99

[Sip]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

Macs ... well that could start a thread that could go on and on and on ... Apple makes fine products but they are almost always overpriced and they lock you into the Apple world of doing things. Some people really seem to like that but to me, that's like buying a car that you can only drive a certain way, at a certain speed, you have to buy gas only from a certain gas station, and if you ever want to change the tires, you have to ship the entire car off back to the manufacturer

The apple laptops are pretty sexy these days but as some of my friends have, you buy them and put windows 7 on them and you have the best of both worlds! ... but we digress.

About what you have posted, any of those is a fine choice. I haven't done an up to the minute price comparison to tell you exactly how good those prices are but I can tell you a bit about the differences.

Realistically, under most conditions you will not be able to tell the difference between the core2 quad, i5, or i7. They will all be very fast. The i7 will actually show up as 8 different processors in windows (it is quad core with hyper threading I think which will make windows think there are 8 different processors). The other two (i5 and core2 quad) will seem like 4 processor cores ... what does this mean in regular day to day life? Nothing much

However, as you can expect, the i7 will probably blow the other ones out of the water in terms of sheer performance numbers. Your videos might render just that much faster but you are paying a significant price for it. When buying new computers, I personally tend to pick the middle (i5 in this case). This usually results in a very very acceptable performance and a very good value. This means your pc won't be obsolete in 2 years but you are also not going broke right now. With the price difference between the i5 and the i7, you can then buy more hard drives or an external blu-ray recorder etc.

If cost is really an issue and you don't plan to do too much video editing (or are fine with it taking a bit longer), the core2 quad will also be fine. The important thing here is you are getting 8 gigs of ram which is what will make most of the difference IMO.


One other thing about Apple ... if you go that route, adding optional peripherals (like adding internal hard drive or a blu-ray recorder etc) are just that much harder if not sometimes really really painful (or expensive).

[One-Way]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

Cool, Sip. Thank you once again.

I was leaning toward the HP with the i5. It seems like a good value, and it really is that middle ground computer. I don't want to shift into Mac without really doing much research on it, especially if I can't get that powerhouse computer just yet. I will make the transition next time though because everything film related relies on Mac. It's just a must for editing and that's all we use anyway.

I think a PC is the way to go, all things considered. Thanks for your help!

[Icy]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

The HP is also a good choice, but since you already have a monitor,
a Mac Mini would be another good choice. When it comes to the Mac Mini
it's all about your budget bro. If you have the money and wan't it then go
ahead,if you wan't to save some flow then go with the HP.

[Sip]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

I don't think the Mac Mini is anywhere in the ballpark of what One-way wants. He is talking at least quad-core with 8 gigs of RAM

[One-Way]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

I can only imagine how less stressful it would have been to edit on the HP, considering its capabilities. It's too bad that I'm already done.

[Sip]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

What did you get? Also, what do you recommend as far as video editing software?

[Pazooki]

Re: I need some computer recommendations!

If you want cheap super fast computers go to

ibuypower.com