With a budget of approximately $1500.00

I'm just talking about the hardware here. I'm looking to purchase a new laptop to do some editing on. It seems that I can get a much more powerful "Intel" laptop as apposed to the more expensive Mac laptops.

Still, I hear that Mac's are great for editing. Not exactly sure why? Maybe someone can explain it to me..., without turning this topic into a war.

I'm going to install Adobe Premiere 1.5 on whatever I purchase since I already own the software.

The [URL=Mac Core Duo]http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6394003/wo/eCrTIYrgMdS22zLtAbl1rbpxaY8/2.?p=0[/URL] has caught my eye.

It just seems that I can get a much more powerful machine if I stick with a non-Mac.
(For the $)

Advice wanted.

Thanks,

Mike

You probably could get a more "powerful" non-Mac for $1500, but it won't work nearly as well, will be far less reliable, and won't last as long. Not to mention, without a Mac you can't use Final Cut Pro/Express, which are among the best editing applications on the planet (and iMovie, which is easily the best free editing app on the planet).

I would suggest getting a Mac and using every penny of the 1500 to get the best one you can afford. If you get a PC you will regret it down the road.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Josh,

pick up the midrange Macbook (white, 2ghz.) It's got a smaller hard drive, but in editing with a laptop, you need to buy an external anyway. You don't need the pro one unless you plan on playing a lot of games, as the graphics card doesn't do anything for video editing. You could upgrade the RAM if you want to.

With a student discount, it should cost you about 1500 after an upgrade.

Josh is right. I just built computers for an Archtecture firm, and for 1500 dollars a piece I built them computers that scream. 3 Ghz Intel processor Pentium D, 2 GB of Ram, onboard audio (they don't use audio so I'm not worrying about this), floppy drive, 640 GB spread over two hard drives, dual DVD burners, Dual headed ATI video card, and 2 LCD screens for around 1400 a piece after shipping. Of course, being that I'm assembling these beasts, it costs them another 250 per computer per assembly, but that's still certainly a lot less than what they'll pay Dell or anyone else for a computer with more than half of a terrabyte of space and two gigabytes of Ram. I would've picked a better processor, but for whatever reason the company wanted the Pentium D, so I was building the machine around that.

Processor - 3 Ghz Intel - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116238

Case (onboard audio/video/6 usbs): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101112

RAM - 2 GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146098

Hard Drives (2x 320 GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144392

Floppy Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821104101

CD/DVD-RW Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129001

The monitors and the video card I didn't buy from NewEgg, so I didn't post them.

I know the machine will work in two to five years because I built their last machines four years ago, and they're still going strong. I go in periodically and check. I taught them how to do Windows update and I set the spyware/virus scan to go when the computers start up, so they're protected from the elements. They also don't use Internet Explorer, and I make sure that they update Firefox. One of the people messed up their computer pretty badly, but I managed to recover everything and fix it up 48 hours later just fine. There's been one major incident in four years with three PCs, so that's not bad. Then again, they're not stupid people.

1500 goes a short way with a Mac, but a lonnnng way with a PC desktop. I say, go either way. The only thing I've regretted about buying a Mac is that I'm going to have to buy Leopard for an operating system that I don't use, so that I can continue to run Windows XP on it.

The only thing is, I already own Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 and don't plan on using any other editing software during the next few years. (I assume that Final Cut Pro is expen$ive.)
This is more of a hobby for me and I'm not sure how much money I want to put into it.

One thing aside, I've worked on PC laptops my entire life. (I'm 37 now and I've owned 5) They tend to last as long as I need them, so I'm not sure what you mean by it not lasting? I tend to upgrade them every 3 years or so. (My work allows this)

Still, I'm very open to switching to Mac, I'm just not into buying less HD space, memory, and processing power, unless it is really worth it!

I wish I could demo one!
This sounds like it is going to be a tough decision. I guess I need more "Mac" info.

Would the one in the link that I posted be a good choice?

Thanks for the advice, I'm really trying to make the right choice here. Thanks again!

Wow! Thanks Paul! I use Firefox myself, maybe that's why I've had zero issues in the past.

I'll take a closer look at what you posted and think about it.

Thanks,

Mike

quote:

Still, I hear that Mac's are great for editing. Not exactly sure why?

Macs are better at everything in general. You will be largely free from bothering with anti-virus or anti-spyware software, your computer will work virtually 100% of the time (I haven't had any crashes requiring a restart in well over 6 months, and I use the computer at least a couple hours a day).

The best thing about a Mac is that you don't have to use Windows. Seriously, the design is much more intuitive and it is far better crafted as software. The integration with the hardware components is also excellent.

Going from Windows to Mac is like going from a Ford Explorer to a Porsche 911.

quote:

Originally posted by Evan Kubota:
(I haven't had any crashes requiring a restart in well over 6 months, and I use the computer at least a couple hours a day).

I'm not trying to argue this point but I think it may be a bit of a "myth gone wild". I'm on my PC laptop at LEAST 10 hours/day. I work on it during the day, and play on it during the evening. I can't remember the last time I had a crash. It's definitely been at least a few months.

I do have Norton running and I use Firefox. I get zero pop-ups and Norton has yet to find a virus on my Laptop since I got it.

Not picking on Mac, just letting everyone know that PC's are not as "flaky" as some people make them out to be. I find the user is usually responsible for most of the problems.

Still, you guys have convinced me to take a very close look at the new Macs. I assume it is Adobe friendly?

Well, as friendly as Adobe is to it. You can run CS2 and all the new stuff.

Even if your PC is stable, Windows is still ugly to look at

As friendly as Adobe is to it? I'm not sure what that means, but Macs are much more Adobe friendly than Windows is, and that's for sure. Adobe designs all their software (with the exception of the now deceased Premiere) for Macs, and always has. All my Adobe apps run like a dream on my computer. I think Adobe makes some of the best software there is - and it's always delightful on OS X.

quote:

Originally posted by Evan Kubota:
Well, as friendly as Adobe is to it. You can run CS2 and all the new stuff.

Even if your PC is stable, Windows is still ugly to look at

LOL!

Thanks for the info.
The Mac's sure are pretty!

Well, I just recently switched to a Macbook Pro and I love it. It's great and FCP (universal build) runs fantastic on it. Way better than Premiere ran on my PC. I upgraded to 1 gig of RAM, but think that I may need to add an additional gig to run all these "pro apps".

I built my computer 2 years ago and if I did a low level format and made it strictly for editing, it would be a video editing beast even now. Technology changes so fast that you just have to get something that does the job and does it fast NOW, instead of worrying how fast it will run something later. Of course you must buy it to last, but that just means getting the best you can afford at the time of purchase.

Paul-what do you mean about having to buy Leopard to keep running XP? I know Leopard is built specifically for the Intel Mac's, but will I have to upgrade to run Boot Camp? I don't mind upgrading to the newer OS, but I just bought this 2 weeks ago, and if they announce Leopard at WWDC I'll be pretty pissed.

-Kegan

quote:

Paul-what do you mean about having to buy Leopard to keep running XP? I know Leopard is built specifically for the Intel Mac's, but will I have to upgrade to run Boot Camp? I don't mind upgrading to the newer OS, but I just bought this 2 weeks ago, and if they announce Leopard at WWDC I'll be pretty pissed.

You can run bootcamp beta for free right now by downloading it. However, they stick you with that 'beta' tag. Supposedly, bootcamp is set to expire in September 2007, which is a good year+ away. Bootcamp will also come standard with Leopard, at which point it won't expire. I could be wrong, but when Leopard is installed, it stops it from expiring.

They're supposed to announce Leopard at WWDC according to a friend of mine. Take it with a grain of salt.

I bought my Macbook in June, so it's going to piss me off if it comes out at WWDC as well.

It's being announced and the developer's kit will be available at WWDC. I'd imagine it won't get released until several months after that, however. This is always what apple does.

You guys shouldn't be bummed, though. My guess is by Sept '07 ya'll'll want to upgrade anyway. Plus there are other apps that allow xp to run besides bootcamp.

More relevantly, why would you want to run XP on your new Mac?

"I'm not sure what that means, but Macs are much more Adobe friendly than Windows is, and that's for sure. Adobe designs all their software (with the exception of the now deceased Premiere) for Macs, and always has."

Well, and with the exception of Acrobat Pro for a couple years. It was very slow to be updated compared to the Windows equivalent.

Adobe is only OK software, anyway. I use Photoshop because it's the most widely used in its category, but I certainly never had any desire to use Premiere when it was still extant. After Effects is one of those things that gets the job done when you need it, but I wouldn't call it a pleasure to use - and thankfully I rarely need it any more.

There are plenty of reasons. Testing websites or other products that might behave differently. Running some of those games we always wish we had. The occasional useful little program you can't find for Mac.

My main reason is for running something like Photoshop, or a program that isn't yet universal. I haven't installed Boot Camp yet because I've been trying to hold off...but I don't think I can handle the sluggishness of these Rosetta programs. Hopefully it'll run faster on Windows.

Hmm, as long as it isn't released for a while I'm fine with that. I just didn't want Leopard to come out right now.

-Kegan

quote:

More relevantly, why would you want to run XP on your new Mac?

I happen to be more proficient in it, in terms of video and graphic design. All of my software is in XP, and it's not all in universal binary in OSX. My email is also there, because I don't feel like porting everything over to OSX.

It's nice to have OSX in case I need to do a tech support job with OSX or I'm working in Mac specific stuff with my partner who uses Mac.

It's just a preference.

quote:

Originally posted by Kegan:
My main reason is for running something like Photoshop, or a program that isn't yet universal. I haven't installed Boot Camp yet because I've been trying to hold off...but I don't think I can handle the sluggishness of these Rosetta programs. Hopefully it'll run faster on Windows.

It will probably run so much better, until they release a universal binary, then it will be identical

For the record, I'm running Photoshop on an Intel Mac and it's still much faster than my previous machine (which was a G4). So the fact that some applications are not yet Universal shouldn't be a deciding factor.