Which PC or Mac laptop to get?

[Aaron Reimer]

I need to buy a new Laptop computer to Video editing with.
What do I need to get.
Model or Specification

[Rob Lohman]

Sorry, but that is not enough information:

- what is your budget?
- do you know what program you are going to edit with?
- what kind of work do you do?

And you could add extra information as to what you find important.
Is disc space important or do you have (or want to buy) an
external drive. How about screen resolution etc. etc.

[Rob Lohman]

I just now found out that you double posted this thread (please
don't!). Why not simply add that it can be both a PC or Mac
laptop?

I have moved this thread to a our general forum and renamed it

[Aaron Reimer]

I have not got a budget.

I do not have a program as of yet.

Just looking for Ideas for a lap top the would do the job.

What are the basic's and what are the best.


Open to both Mac and PC have owned them both.

But is must be a lap top.

[Patrick Jenkins]

For a higher end setup, get a Powerbook 17 + Final Cut Express.

For a lower end setup, get an iBook + Final Cut Express.

[John Britt]

This is like asking "Tell me what kind of car to buy." There are too many variables, especially when your only caveat is that it must be a laptop. The PC vs Mac debate has been covered ad naseum here and at other sites -- just a little bit of legwork on your part will turn that up. Without doing your part of the research, we can't really help you. Would you like me to tell you that I started out editing on a P3 750Mhz Windows ME laptop? In comparision to Patrick's suggestion, are you getting any closer to finding an answer? Would you like someone to add Linux to the mix? Are you looking for a turnkey solution?

Either platform can be used for video editing. Even the simplest hardware specs can handle basic video editing tasks (such as my old P3 laptop). You can find basic introductory information here and elsewhere by doing some simple searches. You're asking us to cover both "the basics" and "the best" for Macs and PCs -- wow, you've pretty much just asked us to repost almost all the information available on the web about video editing platforms. You don't even know how much you want to spend on a computer or even what editing program you'd prefer. Do a little legwork before asking others to do it for you.

[Rhett Allen]

Since you have no budget I would recommend:
for Windows:
Voodoo ENVY m:790
Alienware Area-51m 7700
Hypersonic Aviator GX6

and for Macintosh:
Powerbook 15"
The 17" is just too big to carry easily.
You can get an external monitor as well as a LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme. And then of course, all your editing and effects software.

You've got to decide what you want to use for editing FIRST! I've got both systems, I've used both systems, but it wouldn't make much sense for me to go looking at PC laptops to edit with FCP now would it?

[Patrick Jenkins]

John: Sometimes it's better (and a whole lot easier) to make the lowest common denominator assumptions and give vague answers to vague questions :)

Rhett: I had a 17" and it wasn't a problem. The 15" inch felt too small to me. I'm also 6'5" though...

[John Britt]

These sort of questions just frustrate me, especially when they're obviously one of the person's first posts. It just seems like they came here and started posting, without doing any reading/research beforehand.

It just doesn't help anyone -- not the OP nor anyone else. For such a vague question, you could get a different answer from each different member. You end up with a wide spectrum from old Pentium 3s to new Powerbooks and everything in between. What good does that do? And you risk starting a platform war which will just get locked anyway.

When I was looking to buy a new camera, I didn't just show up here and vaguely ask "What camera should I buy?" I did my research and asked questions that were meant to help flesh out what I was already learning on my own, based on my budget and needs/wants. This site becomes pointless if people aren't willing to read through the old posts and do their own legwork.

I'm sorry, this is one of my big pet peeves (and it goes beyond the internet into the real world where people do lazy stuff like this alot, too) -- I find it insulting when people aren't willing to do their own legwork...

[Rob Lohman]

I just can't believe you don't have a budget. Or are you not yet
planning on buying one (ie, I have no budget to actually buy one)?
In that case you are wasting people's time. You didn't even answer
my basic questions (in my first post) to see what is important for
you and what kind of work you want to do.

Perhaps my own list can help you form an opinion, I need:

- a Windows computer
- must have Windows XP Professional
- at least 1 GB of ram
- at least 60 GB of harddisk space
- firewire and USB2 ports
- at least have 100 mbit ethernet connection and wireless 11/54 mbit
- CD/DVD burner
- at least 1280 x 1024 resolution with good quality TFT screen (but higher is better)
- DVI + analog out is a plus

Now I know quite specifically what I want and need. Your list will
no doubt not be as detailed as mine. But you must have some
things that are important for you.

There are laptops out there with dual harddisks (or it may be an
option) so that you perhaps can get by without an external
harddisk (but that also depends on what kind of work you want
to do on the laptop, which you haven't answered).

It matters if you are going to do 2 hour long movies with 200 hours
of footage to start out with or you are going to some shorts or
doing wedding stuff, all have their specific storage requirements
etc. For a wedding an intregrated card reader might be a bonus
so you can easily copy foto's of camera's at the event etc. etc. etc.

[Chris Hurd]

For John (and everyone else who responded):

<< These sort of questions just frustrate me, especially when they're obviously one of the person's first posts. >>

One possible solution which has been discussed "upstairs" around here is to maintain a FAQ which covers some basics. Fortunately, this particular question is not what I would call "frequently asked." However, if we could develop a pre-packaged, detailed response which outlines some basic concepts and pointers to get a person started down the pathway of his or her own research, then I would post that as an article which then justifies not having to answer it every time.

I've been meaning to develop such a package to cover the "what camera should I get" question -- but for the post-production side of things, PC or Mac, laptop or desktop, etc., I would need the help of our senior members. My to-do list is already streaming down past my feet and out the office door.

[Rob Lohman]

Actually this question is asked with increasing frequency, probably
due to the popularity of DV Rack?... who knows!