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All About Video and Photo Gear This section is for your video and photography gear questions, comments, and experiences

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Old 03-24-2014, 09:16 AM   #1
DeepSix
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Computer Suggestions

Alright so I'm in the market for a new laptop; the one I'm using is old from 06.
I would like to occasionally mess around with gopro video editing. What should I look for in a computer? I dont want anything too fancy or expensive, just something I can get by with.

I searched for a while but am still confused. From what I've gathered, something that has i5 and 8GB RAM is what I should look for.

I am far from a computer guru so if anyone can chime in that would be awesome.
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Old 03-24-2014, 09:46 AM   #2
jmorton
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Not sure what your budget range is but;
if your looking under 1k your going to have to stick with something with integrated graphics cards. The Intel graphics are not bad for integrated. All of the I series are good but for rendering I would say an i5 is minimum. And 8G ram should be your minimum. Go pro hd video is large so you are going to want 750Gb hd or better. Preferably in 2 separate drives and 7200rpm. Don't pay a premium for solid state... It's nice but unneeded if cost is a factor. I would really try for 12Gb of ram.

$1500 range you could get an i7 with dedicated graphics... huge help for video rendering and 12 to 16 Gb ram. Asus has some great laptops in their Republic of gamers line in this range with 17"screens. Another plus for video editing. They are in fact more like mobile desktops... As such run time on battery not great. Like 2 hours.

2k or better get a nice alien ware or mac if you are an apple fan. Problem with Macs is you pay more for equivalent hardware but worth it IF you prefer Mac os.

Bottom line is Max out your RAM for your money and get dedicated graphics if possible and make the i5 your starting point. The lower you ram the longer transfer time you will have from sd card and longer rendering. And too little ram you won't be able to watch large files from card. USB 3 is a plus also. Hope this helps
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Old 03-24-2014, 09:22 PM   #3
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Thanks for the info. Ill see what I can do.
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Old 04-01-2014, 01:02 AM   #4
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Mac is the way to go! jk, well kind of, its personal preference but if your doing a lot of video or photo editing, mac is great. And a lot better about not crashing.
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Old 04-01-2014, 10:10 AM   #5
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Hmm... after some more digging it seems alot of people recommend getting a desktop over laptop. They can be upgraded and will handle video editing demands better. People also say they are cheaper than a laptop of the same specs. Does anybody know one or two around $500 that will work well enough? Or a laptop that would get the job done? I know very little of computers and its overwhelming browsing them on websites.

Sure a mac or gaming computer is the way to go but I do not plan on getting too involved with editing and hd 1080 videos aren't really important to me. I just want something average without forking out high dollars.
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Old 04-01-2014, 12:15 PM   #6
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Re: Computer Suggestions

If you decide to go desktop (I personally would do the following):
-I probably wouldn't buy one for under $500 (though stuff is way cheaper in America than in aus :P) simply because most will not have a dedicated graphics
-Stick with Intel CPU, i5 is what I'd aim for (maybe an i7 if on sale) (You won't ever upgrade this)
-I'd try to avoid a cheap motherboard as this is the life of the computer. ie stick to a named brand and google the product before buying (you won't ever upgrade this)
-Stick with dedicated graphics [1gb is plenty and they are cheap], though it's easy enough to buy a graphics card later on down the track - check options first
-4gb ram is all you really need, I have 4gb ram and ran 10 clients of my favourite mmo at once^^ (super easy/cheap to upgrade so not a deal breaker)
-The rest you don't have to think about, as its all pretty much standard.

Please don't let the HUGE 8GB RAM! blind you

So pretty much Intel i3/i5/i7 cpu with 4gb ram, 1gb dedicated graphics and motherboard you've checked out yourself. < easy in the $500-700 range
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Old 04-01-2014, 12:22 PM   #7
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Yes as the OP said laptop I gave him suggestions for that, but you can easily get a desktop with the same performance for half the price. 4Gb ram is pretty low however... I don't think I've owned a comp with 4Gb ram in 10 years. Hell my phone has that now
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Old 04-01-2014, 12:24 PM   #8
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Re: Computer Suggestions

check out the mac mini's, they're very reasonably priced and pretty great computers
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Old 04-02-2014, 03:05 PM   #9
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Re: Computer Suggestions

Thanks for the inputs! The mac minis seem cool. It looks like the i5 model can be had for just under 600 and seems that it can easily be upgraded with more ram later on.

Are there any pc desktops off the top of your head, bargain priced, that would serve my purpose?

Or would I be ok getting a laptop such as this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834313594

Is laptop with these specs pointless/foolish? Again I only plan on very simple edits and upload.

Sorry for all the questions but I dont want to make a bad choice that would leave me up the creek without a paddle once I get a gopro
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Old 04-02-2014, 03:56 PM   #10
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Re: Computer Suggestions

I upgraded the RAM in mine to 16 GB it was easy, as far as windows maybe check out ASUS, thats my go-to for windows computers
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Old 04-02-2014, 07:56 PM   #11
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Re: Computer Suggestions

I second the Mac mini. It's a pretty powerful machine for the price. You can get 16gb aftermarket ram for $100 and it just snaps in. Super easy and for the money you can't beat it.
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