Advice on new Laptop selection

[VrWagz1]

Starting to look for a new laptop. ATM i mainly use my current laptop for the web. Its a standard I3 processor 2.13GHz, 2 GB ram, Win7. Nothing special, a pretty standard low end laptop.

Looking for somthing that is going to easily handle "movie video editing". So somthing thats gonna be able to process largish lumps of media without thinking about it too much. My current laptop starts to slow right up when you start adding a few files together and becomes a little slow to be doing alot of it.

So basically whats peoples recomendations on specs for a new laptop that i should be looking for, or even recomendations on a particular unit.

[TVR-190]

Keep an eye out on your local ALDI, they do laptops every now and then and they are pretty good. i owned one few years ago, it was a kick ass system for the price

on another note. if you wanna do it properly, get a desktop

[neet_wagon]

Price range?

[edals]

Aspire AS5820TG-524G50Mn Timeline Notebook | Dick Smith Online Shopping

You want to look at least getting a i5 Or i7 Chip.
Try and future proof as much as you can. Since soon as you walk out the door with a New PC its outdated lol
Thats not bad specs for the price i guess. With 1GB Dedicated Graphics chip :-)

[dijm8]

if you wanna do video editing...you wanna look at around 6-8gb of Ram..and a decent graphics card around 2gb might aswell get a desktop cause for what u wanna do a decent laptop is goin to be pricey

[dumpedvs]

A price range would help?

[VrWagz1]

Thanks Trev Im pretty sure that laptop is the upgraded version of my current unit.

Cheers so far for suggestions.
Really not fussed on price range. Under 2K would be a bonus. No more then 3K though. But basically im after value for money(arnt we all) i dont wanna pay 3K for features that are way over the top for what i need, when possibly all i possibly need is somthing basic but with a larger memory and HDD over having less useful stuff like, mega bus speeds, latest networking features, built-in camera ect...

[NV-MY-VT]

Ok, here's the rundown.

Macs are a rock solid laptop, they are made from good hardware with a good OS, however, you pay for the "top-of-the-line" mentality. It is overpriced for what it is, but none the less, good at what it is designed to do. I really do recommend Mac's to people going into any sort of creative environment. Not exclusively mind you, but it IS what they are built for.

PCs, I am going to split into two categories, then further down into which models I recommend.

PC-Windows is the widest used OS in the world, and something everyone knows how to use. It will come stock on most laptops. Avoid a netbook. Seriously. The screen is too small, the keyboard is too small, they don't hold #### all in terms of data. Get a laptop, something with a bit of grunt.
My personal laptop is an Asus. They are cheap, reliable and wonderfully middle-of-the-line. Don't expect fantastic things out of it, because you won't get it. Shit heat management combined with middle of the line hardware will be your boon, however, they are very reasonably priced and will still "get the job done". Mine's been soldiering on for years, still a rock solid performer.

HP, a good brand also. You pay a little more for them, but they seem to come with better hardware. They are also loaded with ALOT of shit software, so uninstall that with something like PCDeCrapifier straight away. The built quality of HP is a little higher too, so they tend to be alot sturdier also.

Avoid Acer like the ####ing plague. They tend to be over priced and like HP, come loaded with alot of shit you don't need. Their customer support is run by goons, their hardware breaks like my mates sister when she see's me walk through the door, and well, they're shit. The only positive I can really add here is "impressive battery life" considering they're running windows by default and considering well, they really are shit.

Lenovo, formerly IBM, make a series of business laptops. My ####ing god, some of the best pieces of equipment you can buy...provided you are strong enough to lug them around. They will NEVER fail on you, and if they do, Lenovo customer support is run by the swiss. Or some shit. They will literally courier you out a whole new laptop if you know how to ask them right. Their hardware is rock solid, their software is reasonable, the drivers are strong, the customer support is good and even the battery life is a solid performer. The reason they make such good laptops is because they aim their services at rich executives with expensive suits, fast cars and (probably) small penises. Expect professionalism out of this company, but expect to PAY for it. The lenovo's usually sit around 300-700 dollars above most laptops, but it's a cost you will appreciate down the line. Also, they tend to pay maybe 500g-1kg more too, I would estimate. Just keep that in mind.

Now I'm going to have a plug for Ubuntu. Consider NOT using Windows on your PC. Seriously.

Ubuntu is a free linux distro which comes Jam-Packed full of fun shit which spans right across from hacking tools all the way to free photoshop alternatives. It sports longer battery like than Windows and well, with Gnome desktop installed, is really, really pretty. Got some cool features with facebook integration and automatic teaming up with windows.

Comes pre-installed with OpenOffice, a MSOffice style alternative. Can also rip songs right off ipods, recovery data off damaged hard drives or USB sticks.

Maybe dual-boot it, maybe run it exclusively, just give it a thought, it's a worthwhile OS, I run it in 3/4 of my computers.

Also, try NOT to buy from places like Harvey Norman or Clive Peters or something. Go to wholesale computer stores like MSY or Scorptech. (Avoid Centrecom). You will usually get a better deal. Less service, but a better deal.


I also hear good things about Toshiba, but have never dealt with them personally.

Also, there is some mention above of specs, which I didn't read.

Anyone who says you need 6-8gb is living in 2015. You can happily run Windows 7 along with photoshop and other movie editing software on a Dual-Core processor with 4gb of ram. Unless you KNOW exactly what specs you need for a particular program (Say, you're doing university and you use a particular modelling program or something) then you should stick to something like:

Processor: i3, i5 or the AMD Athlon or Turion.
Memory: For future sake, insist on at least 4gb, but there's not much point going above 6gb.
HDD: Aim for at least 500gb. Unless you are playing hard core high end games and hate loading screens, avoid Solid State Drives (SSD). They are too expensive right now.
Video card: It's not NEEDED, but my advice would be to insist on discreet graphics. Ask for a Nvidia card in your laptop, as in my experience they out-perform most, and are much more reliable. Try for something with about 1gb or ram on the card.
OS: Avoid Vista, it's very shit. Avoid XP, it's coming to the end of it's life cycle. Go for Windows 7, but try to get Professional or Ultimate edition. Might cost a few extra bickies, but it has features which will save your sanity later, like the ability to turn off UAC (Annoying black "DO YOU WANT TO RUN THIS PROGRAM" screen".

Aspire AS5820TG-524G50Mn Timeline Notebook | Dick Smith Online Shopping
Thats not bad specs for the price i guess. With 1GB Dedicated Graphics chip :-)

I have about 600 Acer timelines under my control, various models. In the spreadsheet I have open in front of me, I have a no-shit 10 percent hard drive failure rate. The screens are flimsy, they crack often. The keyboards lose keys like a small child loses teeth. Seriously, you would be MAD if you bought this laptop, Just sayin....

[S.T.K.E]

^^^^^^^

In summary. Get a mac pro

[VrWagz1]

Thankyou NV-MY-VT, nice advice there. Very much in agreeance with NVIDIA video cards, they always seem to be ontop of their game. I was leaning more towards the HP and Toshibas. Toshiba seem to be heavy units though which makes portability a bit more painful, but like you said the HP's come full of crap which is just annoying. I will check out the Lenovos also and see what they have to offer. Cheers for everyones input /

[dumpedvs]

What do you think of a DELL? Question directed at...-> (NV-MY-VT)

[NV-MY-VT]

Dells are alright, a little bit like Asus in that they do what they are meant to do and not much more. I mean, they are a little bit pricey for what you get, but otherwise, they can be a good buy. Personally, I have avoided them, opting to spend a little bit extra and get something I know will go the distance for me.

Also, to whoever suggested he just get a Macbook Pro, I'm not sure that's the best option here. The regular macbooks have more than enough grunt for your everyday home user video editor. I would just recommend getting a regular macbook for that purpose. Save a few hundred dollars while you are at it. That's IF you are intent on getting a Mac. A PC with the same specs will do a similar job anyway, for a few hundred less again.