Cheap Laptop?

The Northern Monkey · January 2012

My old Macbook pro seems to be slowly dying - battery is borked, HD is making all sorts of noises and its being very very slow.

So I need to start to look for something new as a replacement, or find a way of making my Mac mini more useable.

I generally only use it for web browsing and word processing, but also streaming movies, a bit of video editing and photo processing.
I have NO idea when it comes to PC specs, and i'm really not bothered about gaming!

My mac mini is a great computer, but as its a standalone its hooked up to my 37" tv, which is a bit of an issue. At the mo I only really use it for movies.
Its also a pain in the butt to use because the wireless keyboard keeps running out, I have nowhere to put the mouse and I can't watch tv at the same time.
I could set it up with a spare flat screen but I'm not sure if I want to do that tbh as I don't really have the space.

Also, I'm looking to move back to windows as I have an xbox and wp7 phone so it would be good to link everything together (so do I need media centre?).

Any suggestions to improve on the Mini or a new laptop?

Thanks!

Mark909 · January 2012

Dell always seem to have deals going on if you sign up to their mailing list.

I got a studio 16 a couple of years ago and have never had any problems with it/

delcol · January 2012

for video and photo's has to be another mac,,,, macbook pro.
pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing.... i gave up on pc's in 2010 and made the switch to apple i was peed off with loosing hours of my life editing video on my pc for it to crash or drop frames, since i got my macbook pro i never had any troubles....
now to contradict myself ,, i dont know if the i7 processer pc's will be any good for video editiing i guess they would be ok.. i know they kick arse on mac...

camerauk · January 2012

The Northern Monkey wrote:

My old Macbook pro seems to be slowly dying - battery is borked, HD is making all sorts of noises and its being very very slow.

I would get a new Hard Drive and Battery will be much cheaper than a new laptop

delcol · January 2012

have you tried restting back to factory settings i did mine last night was easy..

like camerauk said newbattery and upgrade to a bigger better hard drive would be cheaper.

butcher of bakersfield · January 2012

delcol wrote:

for video and photo's has to be another mac,,,, macbook pro.
pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing.... i gave up on pc's in 2010 and made the switch to apple i was peed off with loosing hours of my life editing video on my pc for it to crash or drop frames, since i got my macbook pro i never had any troubles....
now to contradict myself ,, i dont know if the i7 processer pc's will be any good for video editiing i guess they would be ok.. i know they kick ars* on mac...

A decent graphics card is a must for video editing on a PC. That's one thing that will really cause a computer to bug out. It's rarely anything to do with the processing power...as you say, a Mac and a PC are the same thing in that respect..

Saying PCs suck d1ck is like taking a rigid xc bike on a downhill track and declaring mountain bikes are crap.

delcol · January 2012

Saying PCs suck d1ck is like taking a rigid xc bike on a downhill track and declaring mountain bikes are crap

they did back in the day before suspension,,, :P :P :P :P

pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing,..

if pc's are so good then why do all the pro's use macs for video and photography editing......

butcher of bakersfield · January 2012

delcol wrote:

Saying PCs suck d1ck is like taking a rigid xc bike on a downhill track and declaring mountain bikes are crap

they did back in the day before suspension,,, :P :P :P :P

That's kinda my point though. Obviously rigid bikes are debatable, but you can buy rigid, or you can have 8 inches of travel. And then there's everything in between. But you can't slate it just because you have the wrong one for your needs.

pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing,..

if pc's are so good then why do all the pro's use macs for video and photography editing......

Based on opinions formed two decades ago, Macs are still popular in the design industry, it's true. But those opinions aren't valid any more. They are the same machines running the same software.

I do a lot of photo editing in Photoshop on a fairly low spec PC (with the OEM onboard graphics card!) and I have no problems at all. Our designers at work use PCs. At one time Macs were the only tool for the design industry. PCs were used for little more than spreadsheets and all that crap. Things have come a long way...

Macs are purchased purely on their reputation and ease of use out of the box.

The latter is a genuine advantage however, to those that find themselves intimidated by the massive range of PCs (which is almost 100% of the population). But you pay a premium for it.

And of course, you become a ponce

The Northern Monkey · January 2012

Macs are better for photo and video... no contest.

Will be setting my mini up for now I think and keeping the laptop going for as long as possible.

Need a new mouse and keyboard though

Briggo · January 2012

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Macs are better for photo and video... no contest.

I'm guessing you're, as Butcher put it suckered in by the years of reputation they did have.

Theres little difference with the right software.

The Northern Monkey · January 2012

There's plenty of difference!

I may have been swayed by the fact the the design, art, media, film and technology courses at my uni all used mac's though.... not a PC in sight.

delcol · January 2012

I must be a ponce then cause i stand by my comment,, pc's good for most things everyday users use them for, internet, office work, ect, you can even get away with photo editing..
but for video macs are better,, if it's based on reputation from days gone by.. then why do the majority of profesionals use them for video editing,, from big budget holywood films companies,tv companies independant/freelance companies ect...

I guess i better go get an orange 5 to suit my poncy image, :P

Briggo · January 2012

The Northern Monkey wrote:

There's plenty of difference!

I may have been swayed by the fact the the design, art, media, film and technology courses at my uni all used mac's though.... not a PC in sight.

Go on then what difference.

Do you think that macs have some super duper editing chip installed in them? In terms of mac vs pc theres nothing different, they both have CPUs they both have RAM they both have Graphics cards, both with similar spec would be just as fast as each other.

It's the fact that macs generally are aimed already at the editing market and come pre-installed with the necessary software and DV/firewire capture cards etc needed, for a plug and play they're better. Lets be honest comparing standard software apple iMovie is superior to Windows Movie Maker.

But the same can be built into PCs, now this is a guesstimate but perhaps as the market has been taken up by mac already, why compete, go for the larger market of the everyday user/company.

The only real difference is the software available to either platform and at the end of the day with the likes of adobe available to the PC market that gaps shrunk and so its down to personal preference and when you're taught when doing your degree to use mac editing software companies are more likely to continue that through to the workplace (logically).

butcher of bakersfield · January 2012

delcol wrote:

I must be a ponce then cause i stand by my comment,, pc's good for most things everyday users use them for, internet, office work, ect, you can even get away with photo editing..
but for video macs are better,, if it's based on reputation from days gone by.. then why do the majority of profesionals use them for video editing,, from big budget holywood films companies,tv companies independant/freelance companies ect...

I guess i better go get an orange 5 to suit my poncy image, :P

Briggo pretty much sums it up.

With a similar spec you're talking about virtually identical hardware and software. Especially now that Apple use Pentium chips from PCs. Even their operating system is based on Linux. A Mac, really is a PC. But it's wrapped up in a nice, if a little bit poncey

, brand (sorry), that's easy for the consumer. That's something they are very good at.

They have a long tradition in the design industry though. Where they do still probably hold the majority. But it's only that. A tradition. Opinions passed down the generations. And it's a gap that continually grows smaller.

A well specced PC is every bit as capable, and more customizable. The only difference is the operating system, which comes down to personal preference.

projectsome · January 2012

Go for a tablet, some of the newer ones have enough power etc for video editing.

edit: get a high end anroid phone with 1.5ghz processor. You can edit videos on them no problem.

delcol wrote:

for video and photo's has to be another mac,,,, macbook pro.
pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing.... i gave up on pc's in 2010 and made the switch to apple i was peed off with loosing hours of my life editing video on my pc for it to crash or drop frames, since i got my macbook pro i never had any troubles....
now to contradict myself ,, i dont know if the i7 processer pc's will be any good for video editiing i guess they would be ok.. i know they kick ars* on mac...

He said cheap! while macbook pro's are great, they're a lot more expensive!

Briggo · January 2012

projectsome wrote:

Go for a tablet, some of the newer ones have enough power etc for video editing.

edit: get a high end anroid phone with 1.5ghz processor. You can edit videos on them no problem.

delcol wrote:

for video and photo's has to be another mac,,,, macbook pro.
pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing.... i gave up on pc's in 2010 and made the switch to apple i was peed off with loosing hours of my life editing video on my pc for it to crash or drop frames, since i got my macbook pro i never had any troubles....
now to contradict myself ,, i dont know if the i7 processer pc's will be any good for video editiing i guess they would be ok.. i know they kick ars* on mac...

He said cheap! while macbook pro's are great, they're a lot more expensive!

Editing HD video on an android phone? I'll pass thanks, for numerous reasons.

Not only that but is the editing tools any good?

projectsome · January 2012

Briggo wrote:

projectsome wrote:

Go for a tablet, some of the newer ones have enough power etc for video editing.

edit: get a high end anroid phone with 1.5ghz processor. You can edit videos on them no problem.

delcol wrote:

for video and photo's has to be another mac,,,, macbook pro.
pc's suck d1ck when it comes to video editing.... i gave up on pc's in 2010 and made the switch to apple i was peed off with loosing hours of my life editing video on my pc for it to crash or drop frames, since i got my macbook pro i never had any troubles....
now to contradict myself ,, i dont know if the i7 processer pc's will be any good for video editiing i guess they would be ok.. i know they kick ars* on mac...

He said cheap! while macbook pro's are great, they're a lot more expensive!

Editing HD video on an android phone? I'll pass thanks, for numerous reasons.

Not only that but is the editing tools any good?

pretty decent surprisingly...

Raymondavalon · January 2012

Briggo wrote:

Do you think that macs have some super duper editing chip installed in them? In terms of mac vs pc theres nothing different, they both have CPUs they both have RAM they both have Graphics cards, both with similar spec would be just as fast as each other.

It's the fact that macs generally are aimed already at the editing market and come pre-installed with the necessary software and DV/firewire capture cards etc needed, for a plug and play they're better. Lets be honest comparing standard software apple iMovie is superior to Windows Movie Maker.

But the same can be built into PCs, now this is a guesstimate but perhaps as the market has been taken up by mac already, why compete, go for the larger market of the everyday user/company.

The only real difference is the software available to either platform and at the end of the day with the likes of adobe available to the PC market that gaps shrunk and so its down to personal preference and when you're taught when doing your degree to use mac editing software companies are more likely to continue that through to the workplace (logically).

And the OS is the fundamental difference. A journalled file system vs. quirky FAT/NTFS, a lean BSD UNIX based OS, a very lean kernel and memory management that the likes of Windows can still only ever dream of.
This is due to the OSX kernel being mounted above the BSD File System opposed to Microsoft's "build a GUI and drill downwards" approach, although they are improving it (mainly on Exchange 2010 with the reintroduction of a CLI) and also MS announcing a forthcoming ZFS type FS en route

If you have a look at the history of graphics and animation, it all stemmed from the UNIX era. The early innovations like Max Headroom, Toy Story, Jumanji etc. were all rendered on Iris [SGi] and Solaris [Sun] respectively
Other players were Intergraph, Tru64, NEXT (not the clothing firm) and IBM & Sun (say Oracle) who still produce UNIX based Catia specific workstations using RISC technology. Let's not forget the legendary Amiga systems either..
The same applied with photo editing, Apple exploited with the the first generation iMacs and OSX, which picked up the baton from MacOS9x, but SGi and Sun were also major players in multi layer, ultra high resolution graphics editors long before the early Wintel machines had the CPU or kernel power to keep up.

Each has their merits and shortfalls, but today most mainstream graphics rendering is done on Wintel boxes due to the "oomph" of the Xeon processors, high end GPUs combined with POE cards and the MS OS supporting large amounts of memory.. at last and lastly, the lower cost of a Wintel Xeon based workstation over a costly bespoke UNIX based graphics workstation

Back to the question at hand, Samsung have some nice offerings as do HP. PC World have some bargains in Core i5 / Win 7 trim at under £350!

Muttly1981 · January 2012

The Northern Monkey wrote:

My old Macbook pro seems to be slowly dying - battery is borked, HD is making all sorts of noises and its being very very slow.

So I need to start to look for something new as a replacement, or find a way of making my Mac mini more useable.

I generally only use it for web browsing and word processing, but also streaming movies, a bit of video editing and photo processing.
I have NO idea when it comes to PC specs, and i'm really not bothered about gaming!

My mac mini is a great computer, but as its a standalone its hooked up to my 37" tv, which is a bit of an issue. At the mo I only really use it for movies.
Its also a pain in the butt to use because the wireless keyboard keeps running out, I have nowhere to put the mouse and I can't watch tv at the same time.
I could set it up with a spare flat screen but I'm not sure if I want to do that tbh as I don't really have the space.

Also, I'm looking to move back to windows as I have an xbox and wp7 phone so it would be good to link everything together (so do I need media centre?).

Any suggestions to improve on the Mini or a new laptop?

Thanks!

Just remember that Windoze doesn't recognise the file format the Contour cam records in as it's an apple file type, you can convert it but i lost the GPS data when i did my videos

I need to save up for a Mac

delcol · January 2012

muttley can you not download a codec so windows will recognise the contour file...

i know our kid can edit his footage from his contours on the gay machine sorry pc..

before i seen the light and converted to mac i used to edit footage off my sanyo xacti camera (same file format as the contour) on my sh1tty pc laptop, thats until it dropped frames and frooze up constantly..
it was a crappy laptop though and no were near powerful enough for video especially hd video editing.

try see if you can get a codec pack...

MountainMonster · January 2012

delcol wrote:

muttley can you not download a codec so windows will recognise the contour file...

i know our kid can edit his footage from his contours on the gay machine sorry pc..

before i seen the light and converted to mac i used to edit footage off my sanyo xacti camera (same file format as the contour) on my sh1tty pc laptop, thats until it dropped frames and frooze up constantly..
it was a crappy laptop though and no were near powerful enough for video especially hd video editing.

try see if you can get a codec pack...

So you used an inferior spec laptop to try editing HD videos, and are saying all PC's suck because it wasn't powerful enough? Silliest sh!t i've ever heard.

Muttly1981 · January 2012

delcol wrote:

muttley can you not download a codec so windows will recognise the contour file...

i know our kid can edit his footage from his contours on the gay machine sorry pc..

before i seen the light and converted to mac i used to edit footage off my sanyo xacti camera (same file format as the contour) on my sh1tty pc laptop, thats until it dropped frames and frooze up constantly..
it was a crappy laptop though and no were near powerful enough for video especially hd video editing.

try see if you can get a codec pack...

TBH i'm not sure but from what i've read on the FAQ's on contours site they claim that Windoze movie maker will not recognise the quicktime file, i'm sure there are programes out there that will work with said files but as yet i've not found one as TBH my current desktop is getting on a bit so struggles with HD footage.

I'm going to save for a Mac as a replacement as the ex's uncle has a spare copy of Final Cut Pro that he said i can use (just don't regester) so that'll save me a couple of hundred quid

hopefully my PPI claim will come through as i've just ordered my new bike so thats taken up my savings :oops: otherwise it's a case of waiting with fingers crossed that my desktop will last me about 6 more months.

delcol · January 2012

So you used an inferior spec laptop to try editing HD videos, and are saying all PC's suck because it wasn't powerful enough? Silliest sh!t i've ever heard.

yes my laptop was inferior but thats not why i said pc suck at video editing.. for the 3rd time in this thread if pc's are so good for video editing then why do the film companies broadcast companies and other professional production companies use mac for editing... so what is silly about that ?

muttley
not to sure on windows movie maker i never used it i know sony vegas will allow you to edit contour footage and so will cyberlink power director,

as for final cut cut it's an amazing program to use and a real gem to work with.. it takes some getting used to though and you will probably find it tricky a first,,,
drop me a pm when you get your mac and final cut i have a few tutorial workshops i can pass on to you..
and you only up the road from me...

bluechair84 · January 2012

I record HD footage on the Kodak - 720p@60fps. My laptop with Pinnacle Studio HD was unable to work it on the timeline. Not enough grunt. So I went to my girlsfriend's work to edit it on their macs, they're an art and design college and are very well set up for video editing. The Macs in their design suit couldn't cope with the footage either. And I also learnt that day that when Apple built the macs they missed an important button off of the mouse. Planks.
So, back home, bought Sony Vegas Platinum (waaaaaaay cheaper than Adobe), installed it on the HTPC and Bob's your creepy Uncle that appears anaphorically in conversation far too often! A dual core Athlon, 3.0ghz, 4GB ram fires through my footage with ease. Macs weren't the holly grail, they couldn't cope, and I shalln't be recommending them for anything other than a way of spending money you don't have in the first place.

Pah.

Chunkers1980 · January 2012

"inferior but that's not why I said pc suck at video editing"

Such a generalisation.

If I had a top end gaming pc it would not suck even at 4 x HD.

Do you go in many of the said type companies, things change....

delcol · January 2012

would'nt exactly say i go into said companies.

but i did do a fair bit of research before purchasing my mac. i spoke to a few few professional types and some freelance types and all recomended mac,

Aaron what program was you using on the mac...

bluechair84 · January 2012

adobe

Raymondavalon · January 2012

Muttly1981 wrote:

I'm going to save for a Mac as a replacement as the ex's uncle has a spare copy of Final Cut Pro that he said i can use (just don't regester) so that'll save me a couple of hundred quid hopefully my PPI claim will come through as i've just ordered my new bike so thats taken up my savings :oops: otherwise it's a case of waiting with fingers crossed that my desktop will last me about 6 more months.

Be sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 (Intel) Macs and not Power PC processors.
In the early era of Intel Macs, Leopard and Snow Leopard supported PPC applications as they had a crossover program called "Rosario" that allowed the PPC compiled programs to run on x86 Macs

Apple have now released OSX 10.7 Lion and they've removed the Rosario support in 10.7 so just be doubly sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 Macs

Muttly1981 · January 2012

Raymondavalon wrote:

Muttly1981 wrote:

I'm going to save for a Mac as a replacement as the ex's uncle has a spare copy of Final Cut Pro that he said i can use (just don't regester) so that'll save me a couple of hundred quid hopefully my PPI claim will come through as i've just ordered my new bike so thats taken up my savings :oops: otherwise it's a case of waiting with fingers crossed that my desktop will last me about 6 more months.

Be sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 (Intel) Macs and not Power PC processors.
In the early era of Intel Macs, Leopard and Snow Leopard supported PPC applications as they had a crossover program called "Rosario" that allowed the PPC compiled programs to run on x86 Macs

Apple have now released OSX 10.7 Lion and they've removed the Rosario support in 10.7 so just be doubly sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 Macs

It's like your trying to tell me something important but makes no sense what so ever as i don't understand computer speak

Northwind · January 2012

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

A decent graphics card is a must for video editing on a PC

Nope.

Raymondavalon · January 2012

Muttly1981 wrote:

Raymondavalon wrote:

Muttly1981 wrote:

I'm going to save for a Mac as a replacement as the ex's uncle has a spare copy of Final Cut Pro that he said i can use (just don't regester) so that'll save me a couple of hundred quid hopefully my PPI claim will come through as i've just ordered my new bike so thats taken up my savings :oops: otherwise it's a case of waiting with fingers crossed that my desktop will last me about 6 more months.

Be sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 (Intel) Macs and not Power PC processors.
In the early era of Intel Macs, Leopard and Snow Leopard supported PPC applications as they had a crossover program called "Rosario" that allowed the PPC compiled programs to run on x86 Macs

Apple have now released OSX 10.7 Lion and they've removed the Rosario support in 10.7 so just be doubly sure that the copy of Final Cut Pro is for x86 Macs

It's like your trying to tell me something important but makes no sense what so ever as i don't understand computer speak

Right: As your uncle if his Mac has an Intel Processor
Then check that the Final Cut Pro he has supports OSX 10.6 if so, it will work on a new Mac

Easier?

Cheap Laptop?

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