I want, no, NEED a new computer

Help me build or buy something that will last for a few years. I want to be able to edit videos (amateur stuff, motorcycle related) without dimming the lights in the house and freezing my computer. I would like internal storage for the video files, but I can deal with external storage if I have enough RAM to process the files I am working with.

Oh, has to be able to surf and email as well. Maybe Home Theater eventually, but let's cross that bridge later (or convince me).

Talked with the wife about a Mac, but I don't like the price (yikes!) and lack of adjustable/replaceable parts. Looked at Dell, can get a desktop through work discounts for ~$700, the XPS 8700 (no monitor, $900 with 23" monitor). I can also get a laptop for $800 (Inspiron 15R Touch or 17R non-touch). I can also get 15% off HP, if I so desire.

I want to start from scratch. I want to run Windows 7, unless you all sell me on the virtues of Win8. I need a tower, motherboard, CD/DVD (not bluray), and good video card. I know nothing about what I need for RAM and all of the other stuff and I'm sick of feeling like I am being fleeced at the computer stores. I'm also tired of dicking with older and weaker machines. I just want a quiet tower that will do what I want that I can upgrade down the road, so no proprietary motherboards or other bits. Oh, and no water cooling either. I'm not a gamer, and never will be.

Build or buy? If I build, I am slow-witted enough that I would want a shopping list with specifics, not "range" of products. Make, model, etc. I'm that lazy. If I buy, are the "home grade" items robust enough?

Who wants to pick on me first?

 

I fought off buying a mac but just relinquished and bought the big one with lots of memory. It's awesome doubt I will ever go back.

 

Core i7, as much ram as you can get but a minimum of 16 gigs, SSD for the OS drive, 4x 1TB Magnetic disk in a Raid 10 for the working storage. Nvidia GT610 should be fine for graphics performance.

Use external 4 TB USB3, Firewire or eSata drives for long term storage.

 

Why Raid 10? Raid 5 is better for streaming video, and will give him 6TB instead of 2TB disk.

 

I have a work laptop that is an HP Folio 9470. It only has 4 GB RAM but it does a have an SSD. Even with only an i5 it works really good. If I were going to buy a Windows laptop this one would be a good choice.

 

Make sure the processor is Intel and the latest gen code named Haswell... .

 

Newegg has Seagate 4TB/64Mb drives for 149.99 today.

-jim

 

For reading it is better but he's editing linear video so reads and writes are important.

I understand your thought on the expense of lost storage for the Raid 10 but I think it's a better option for this application.

He'd only get 3TB's out of 4x1TB's in a Raid 5.

 

good laptop for on-line school duty on the road.. nothing killer, just good dependable unit with Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular capable, and decent sound and graphics?

 

Yo pscook ...

What's your budget?

-jim

 

mac mini is very affordable.

 

I wouldn't take Seagate drives if they were free. I think all but one drive failure I have seen in the last 15 years was a Seagate. Due to IT policy we were stuck running high end workstations for a while which had 3 Seagate drives setup in a RAID 5, there were 9 of them, everyone of the 27 drives went bad in the first 18 months... but there wasn't a quality issue at all

 

Seagate use to be the sh*t, but over the last few years they have become SH*T.

 

I like Ars Techinca's system build guides:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/07/ars-technica-system-guide-july-2013/

I bought a mac mini thinking it'll do exactly the things that you want it to do, but it was not a good choice for me at all. It was too expensive for the specs it came with and I could not easily upgrade anything other than the memory. I ended up selling it a year later on eBay and building my own micro atx machine.

YMMV

 

Whatever you do...SSDs for hard drives as they FLY and i7+ processor...

 

Buy. And if you listen to these jokers your computer will cost more than all of your craw bikes combined.

 

I just bought a Dell with an i5 for gopro editing myself (6gb ram, 750gb hd, win7...etc). $389 from the Dell outlet. Some great deals to be had there.

Not the highest spec unit on the planet, but works very well for what I need.

 

Monsters like this aren't available in retail stores...



She'll do the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs


In other technie nerd build news...just completed my control box for my smoker



yeah...yeah...I know I need to repaint it

 

I don't know. Less than $800, just because that's a round(ish) number, and I can get a nice new Dell for $900 with a monitor, but I can't control what goes in their box. I'm willing to spend the right amount for the right computer that will last for at least two years before it gets either a) out of date or b) components start failing.

I'm not doing commercial grade work, just simple little personal vids of me trying not to die in the woods.

 

buy. it's just easier, and the OS is included in the price already. I used to build like $3-5k systems and yeah....that wore off quickly once i got into two wheels.

IMHO- i7, 64-128MB SSD for OS and apps, 2TB HDD, 8-16GB of RAM, and you should be good to go. and yeah a decent video card, you don't need the unobtanium stuff.