Media-based laptop recommendations

[Ghakimx]

Well, I'm going to an art college, so obviously I'll need a good computer too! Since I'll be doing a lot of film work, I need to get a capable laptop. I've used a MacBook before and while it's great and all, I do believe I can get a higher-end windows laptop for the same price or less.

Do send me your recommendations and I'll do more research on them.

[Wayward Vagabond]

Bump

[Wafles]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAACWH6

One of my coworkers uses one of these and he seems pretty happy with it. I would never consider a laptop for my primary work-horse unless I had to though.

Im not sure how that compares to the price of a macbook pro but the specs are pretty hard to beat.

[choof]

this laptop is overkill by far lol

[Ghakimx]

Originally Posted by Wayward Vagabond

Bump

Lol thx bae

Originally Posted by Wafles

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAACWH6

One of my coworkers uses one of these and he seems pretty happy with it. I would never consider a laptop for my primary work-horse unless I had to though.

Im not sure how that compares to the price of a macbook pro but the specs are pretty hard to beat.

Hardcore, man, lol. Well, in comparison of price to the MacBook, this definitely seems like a better choice.

Originally Posted by choof

this laptop is overkill by far lol

My first thought is exactly but it's better to be overkill than overpriced *cough* MacBook

[choof]

i don't see any special fans in the technical specifications so that laptop will probably not last very long, especially if you're going to be using it for extended periods of time

[Xiz]

I do film, and I use a MacBook Pro. Never had any problems. Runs all adobe well. I swap to windows when I do a lot of 3D / effects stuff that require more then after effects, but I prefer Mac for work. Gaming? Never a Mac lol

[Zageron]

Honestly, xiz is right. Mac is your best bet, depending on what software you are going to use. Never get a laptop for gaming, you'll always pay far too much and you'll learn that it sucks.

And realistically, for modern unupgraded Mac isn't that expensive for what you get. Just don't upgrade it or you are paying far too much.

You are also guaranteed good battery for many years.

[Ghakimx]

Originally Posted by Xiz

I do film, and I use a MacBook Pro. Never had any problems. Runs all adobe well. I swap to windows when I do a lot of 3D / effects stuff that require more then after effects, but I prefer Mac for work. Gaming? Never a Mac lol

Hey I ran L4D2 on a Mac via LAN network without bootcamp, lol.

I did use Mac for editing and such before but I'm not sure if I wish to go through with it again. I don't exactly have $2000 to spare either. As such, I'm seeking alternatives to the mac in preparation of my upcoming film modules. However, I'm still really attached to FCP7 though Premiere Pro or even Vegas can probably steal my heart.

The essentials I would definitely need for software are of course, FCP7 or Premiere Pro, Photoshop and After Effects.

What would you suggest?

[Izzy]

Originally Posted by Xiz

I do film, and I use a MacBook Pro. Never had any problems. Runs all adobe well. I swap to windows when I do a lot of 3D / effects stuff that require more then after effects, but I prefer Mac for work. Gaming? Never a Mac lol

Gaming on a laptop in general seems pretty silly. You can buy a pretty powerful laptop for $1,000 that can do anything but play games well and then spent another $1,000 on a desktop that can play games really well and still spend less than you would have buying a single "gaming laptop" for $2500.

I have yet to find a 2013-2014 laptop that I like for under $1000 though. They are either too thick, too expensive, not good enough specs or something.

All I want is an i5, 1080p screen, 128gb ssd, around 4lbs and maybe about .75 inches thick all around without protrusions of any kind.

[choof]

Build a desktop power house. Buy a decent laptop so you can remotely log into your desktop and do all your work like that.

[Ghakimx]

Originally Posted by choof

Build a desktop power house. Buy a decent laptop so you can remotely log into your desktop and do all your work like that.

I don't even know how that's possible but I would like to know more about that shizz

[Izzy]

Some kind of remote desktop program. I've never used one because I've never needed to do work on the go that required so much power, but I know it is possible. I feel like Windows has some kind of built in feature for it, but I'm not entirely sure.

I'd also imagine there is an annoying latency.

[choof]

Originally Posted by Ghakimx

I don't even know how that's possible but I would like to know more about that shizz

basically, you set your desktop up so you can control it with your laptop. you log in using your laptop, and any work you do is being done on your desktop's hardware.

windows has a program called remote desktop connection, but it works on a very basic level and is pretty much only good for remote support. someone would need to be at the desktop to give you control. edit: apparently you can only connect to computers using windows professional and above, even if you're only using windows home. I would recommend LogMeIn in this case. It works really well but you have to buy a license.

[noname219]

Haven't tried LogMeIn but TeamViewer is free. It works well.
Now latency will be a problem, especially if you're working in video edition, I would keep that in mind.

Mac products are overpriced, but the difference with Windows laptop isn't as much as it was years ago. I was forced by my school to buy a MacBook Pro and honestly, I think the Retina display was very useful for me. Atm, their lowest price for a laptop with a Retina display is 1400$.
I'd say, if you want to buy a laptop lower than 1400$, go with Windows. 1400$ or above, Mac could be.

One thing I need to ask, does your college program have any requirements concerning the OS ?

[Izzy]

You can a laptop with a UHD display with higher resolution than a mac.

[Ghakimx]

Originally Posted by noname219

Haven't tried LogMeIn but TeamViewer is free. It works well.
Now latency will be a problem, especially if you're working in video edition, I would keep that in mind.

Mac products are overpriced, but the difference with Windows laptop isn't as much as it was years ago. I was forced by my school to buy a MacBook Pro and honestly, I think the Retina display was very useful for me. Atm, their lowest price for a laptop with a Retina display is 1400$.
I'd say, if you want to buy a laptop lower than 1400$, go with Windows. 1400$ or above, Mac could be.

One thing I need to ask, does your college program have any requirements concerning the OS ?

They probably do but I haven't really seem what are their requirements for hardware. I'm quite sure they're going to ask me to get a MacBook for majority of software, however.

[choof]

mac is industry standard for video/audio editing, so if this is school work, go with a macbook. especially if you expect to have days where you learn about how specific software works.