New Computer

[bfisher]

Hey guys,

I'm just about ready to upgrade to a new computer and dedicate it to editing photo/video. I ran across this and seek a few thoughts from the more experienced. Consider I'm fairly new to this, but am learning.

I need a new computer to do HD when I get to that point so here is what I found. At Circuit City they have an HP m8430n for $904. It looks pretty up to date, maybe more than I need right now, but who knows a couple months from now.

I'll most likely be adding an external hard drive and a 22" monitor.

Check out the computer and give me your thoughts. I'd post a link, but don't know how.

Barry

 

[Marinevisions]

Well, you will probably get a wide range of opinions on this one.
A lot of people are fanatical about the computers they use, whether it's a Dell, HP, Mac, etc.

Although the specs on that computer look decent, I would try to go with a computer that is upgradeable, which means most basic desktops are off the list.

You might look at a basic workstation, which would allow you to add components and upgrade as much as you want to. Or for most of us, untill the money runs out, which doesnt take long.

You should be able to get a basic workstation for around the same cost.

Editing uses up a lot of resources and because things change so often, you don't want to end up with a paperweight in 6 months.

I recently upgraded to a new Dell T7400 workstation, for the same reasons.

 

[Mr.X]

Macs are perfect out-of-the-box solutions for HD editing. They come bundled with software for both photos and videos. One way to an get entry-level mac (inexpensively) is to buy a refurbished unit directly from Apple. You'll save quite a bit this way, plus they all come with a firewire port.

My experience with PC's an non-linear editing was always less than satisfactory with regards to ease of operation & non-bugginess.

X

 

[bfisher]

If I could ever get anything right it would make everybody's life easier. The computer I am referring to above is an HP M8430F.

MrX, I'll check out the macs, but I think I'm going to go ahead with the unit I just mentioned.

 

[scubamickey]

That's a very nice computer. Quad core and plenty of RAM especially since you can upgrade to 8GB. The graphics card has dedicated memory which is great. But you might want to upgrade that. Personally, I like Radeon. But you won't know how much power you need until you start using it.

Great price too. Congrats on your new computer.

 

[Mr.X]

If I could ever get anything right it would make everybody's life easier. The computer I am referring to above is an HP M8430F.

MrX, I'll check out the macs, but I think I'm going to go ahead with the unit I just mentioned.

Best. Let us know how you get on!


On a side note - my experience with a HP, custom-made Laptop computer was less than satisfactory. Seems whatever they bundled together as a multimedia system was inherently flawed from the get go. Almost one year from the incept date it broke down and required a fair amount of cobbling together to make it work. However, they did make a terrific looking screen! My Apples (6) have been reliable to date...with the exception of a Powerbook hard drive dying in minus zero temps. Didn't like the environmental changes too much, and my wife dropping it off an ironing board prior to the expedition probably didn't help!

X

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Best advice I can give you is stay AWAY from Vista!! Mac of course is preferred by most Photogs and Video guys, however PCs do just as well if set up properly. Vista however is nothing but problems. 99% of all the pre packaged systems at the stores have Vista. You would be better suited ordering an HP, better yet, a DELL with XP preinstalled. A lot of hardware, and software are still incompatible with Vista. In fact, Vista is often referred to as the new Windows ME...in otherwords, its nothing but troubles that can't be fixed until Microsoft comes out with a new OS. Ive tried two computers with Vista, both of which have gone back and I ordered a Dell with XP.

 

[bfisher]

Best advice I can give you is stay AWAY from Vista!! Mac of course is preferred by most Photogs and Video guys, however PCs do just as well if set up properly. Vista however is nothing but problems. 99% of all the pre packaged systems at the stores have Vista. You would be better suited ordering an HP, better yet, a DELL with XP preinstalled. A lot of hardware, and software are still incompatible with Vista. In fact, Vista is often referred to as the new Windows ME...in otherwords, its nothing but troubles that can't be fixed until Microsoft comes out with a new OS. Ive tried two computers with Vista, both of which have gone back and I ordered a Dell with XP.

Unfortunately I've heard much of what you are saying about Vista, too. Maybe I'll have to do some rethinking about this. I'm just not in that big of a hurry to buy something that will be a royal pain.

The old computer I'm using for video right now has XP. I haven't had many issues with it except that it's just not enough machine to be doing video efficiently and certainly not HD. It's slow, but it works. 'll do some more research. Thanks.

 

[Empty V]

I'm a Mac guy 100% but I buy PC's occasionally for AutoCAD work, so they have to be super beefed up. I only buy HP's if I'm getting a PC because in my experience they've been extremely reliable. Not so much for Dell, Compaq, Gateway or eMachines. Costco has some awesome deals on HP's with LCD monitors. I'm actually thinking about buying this one next week. Costco - $1099.99 after $100 OFF HP m8407c-b 22"W Q6600 2.4GHz 4GB DDR2 2 x 360GB HDD

It's got lots of RAM, HDD space, and a really phat graphics card which is very important.

Good luck and let us know what you do,

Billy

 

[Empty V]

Just noticed something, it's got Vista, that's not good.

Billy