Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • Desk top PCs – am I just showing my age……
  • DrRSwank
    Free Member

    My trusty old laptop is getting a bit long in the tooth and I’m toying with switching to a desktop.

    I fancied something with plenty of processing grunt for video editing, plenty of storage space for, well stuff, and I don’t really need a lap top as I’ve an iPad that I tend to use for general web browsing.

    Choice seems to be really limited compared to when I last brought one.

    Anyone got any recommendations?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Choice limited?

    You can have any combination of anytihng you want, how cna choic ebe limited?

    We just did this the other day. Don’t go to a named brand, go to novatech, scan, aria etc, call them, tell them what you want and your budget and they’ll sell you a configuration to suit.

    tinybits
    Free Member

    Do you mean that more there is more choice in laptops now than desktops?

    Erm well, yes, that’s because most people prefer them.

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    DrRSwank
    Free Member

    Yes – I meant there seems more laptops then desktops.

    And I do understand that getting a bespoke one gives you unlimited options – but I am not the most tech savvy individual and would probably end up wasting my money on functionality I neither needed nor understood.

    retro83
    Free Member

    Roughly how much are you wanting to spend?

    nickjb
    Free Member

    I went through the same process but laptops seem to be way ahead on specs for a similar price which seems crazy. In the end I bought a good laptop and it spends most of it’s time acting as a desktop. I just plug it into a USB hub that has a mouse, keyboard, printer, etc and an HDMI lead for the monitor. When I do still need a laptop I just unplug it and I’m away

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    See, if I was in the market for a new PC, there’s no way I’d buy one in the traditional format with a separate screen and CPU. What’s the point? All it does is take up space. Everyone makes some sort of all in one solution with wireless keyboard and mouse, and just one lead to plug in for power.
    I’ve got an iMac and there’s no way I’d ever go back to loads of separate boxes and wires.

    DrRSwank
    Free Member

    You see – I’m old.

    My last desktop was all seperates and I loved it for it. I used to shy away from the all in one boxes on the basis that if one bit broke the entire thing was borked.

    Budget – £1000? I do want something that will edit video faster than my old laptop which just seems really wheezy. A nice big screen (bigger than a laptops) would also help.

    I guess I could buy a laptop and docking equipment. Not really thought of that.

    badllama
    Free Member

    If I was going for desktop and will be myself shortly I’d have a good hunt round Fleabay or build on yourself for video editing I’d go for i7 myself plus plenty of RAM and a good chunk of storage.

    Read the feedback if using a Fleabay supplier that for sure. The main issue I have is whether a modern unit will have the space for my aging VT card which is the size of a surf board LOL.

    I’d stear away from laptops for video editing as usually you want a big a screen as possible and as much power as possible for the cheapest price and desktops usually fit the bill. Plus you can throw plenty of drives into a big case for all that HD storage you will need 8)

    nickjb
    Free Member

    I guess I could buy a laptop and docking equipment

    This is one bit that has moved on. You don’t need a dock like the old days. HDMI and USB is all you need and you can hot swap them. For your budget a £700 laptop and £200 screen with a few quid left for mouse, keyboard etc and you’ll have a nice, flexible set-up

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I guess I could buy a laptop and docking equipment. Not really thought of that.

    Don’t.

    Laptops are slower for the same spec (a laptop i7 is not the same as a desktop one for instance).

    Laptops are not as robustly made

    Laptops can’t have individual bits replaced, mostly.

    Laptops cost more for the same spec.

    Laptops are designed to be moved around. If you don’t need to move it around, there’s no point at all in buying one.

    And I do understand that getting a bespoke one gives you unlimited options – but I am not the most tech savvy individual and would probably end up wasting my money on functionality I neither needed nor understood.

    No, you wouldn’t. You’ve said what you want, these online shops are not sharks, they will sell you what you need.

    Or we can do it for you. £1,000 is a very handsome budget for a desktop PC. Is it just video editing you want?

    bradley
    Free Member

    Overclockers full system bundles

    Do note that does not include monitor/keyboard/mouse. Have a browse, can probably get a more than adequate system for £600~ from OCUK then navigate over to their monitors section for some bloomin’ well priced 24″ monitors, can pick one up for about £120 from OCUK, total now £720, more if you wish to upgrade graphics cards or a better monitor but you will not need it.

    Leaves you £280 for keyboard/mouse, now you could REALLY go to town and spend that much on a keyboard/mouse but realistically it’s gonna be about £40 tops.

    I have a £500 system from OCUK bought 3 years ago for gaming/general nerd uses (streaming movies/discographys) and it’s still running sweet as a nut, I don’t wait for anything to buffer etc.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Er yeah the buffering thing is about your internet connection not your PC.

    DrRSwank
    Free Member

    Mr Molgrips

    I want a PC that will manage my video editing better. I have a GoPro and I use freebie software for editing (which may be part of the problem) but I get bored of it taking three hours to turn my files into nice HD video.

    Needs lots of storage space as I have lots of music, photos etc.

    Needs not much else tbh. I like a big screen though.

    As I said I do most of my stuff on my iPad. The desktop is really just a nicer tool for video and music stuff (nicer than my laptop).

    I’m lucky enough to be on fibre optic broadband so connection to the Internet isn’t an issue.

    When can you deliver?

    bradley
    Free Member

    Eeeer I’m pretty sure good internet connection and shit graphics cards causes slow gaming/loading screens, no?

    satchm00
    Free Member

    Can’t beat a Mac if you want to edit videos etc plus I’m sure there will be some clever cloud stuff to sync to your iPad.

    Nothing wrong with windows etc just for video editing Apple Mac far out performs other operating systems. However they also cost a lot more.

    Also worth checking out Alienware for raw power and as already mentioned OCUK are a good source.

    seavers
    Free Member

    I edit video for work on an i7 imac (FCP), works a treat but they are not cheap. The trade off is that you have an incredibly stable machine that will last years and have resale value.

    If you go PC (Adobe premier route rather than FCP) you could easily afford an SSD and a bunch of fast HDD’s. Either way go i7, video editing/rendering uses processor cores so you don’t need an awesome graphics card. Just one that will support a nice 27 inch monitor. When editing a 2660 x 1440 monitor makes all the difference.

    josh1982
    Free Member

    Brought one? Where did you bring it?

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Fastest Processor/Motherboard bundle
    As Much RAM as you can find
    Massive Heatsink/cooler
    2 or 3 big discs
    Some Fans
    Best Graphics Card you can find

    Should all fit into your existing case or a new one is fairly cheap.

    No way i’d bother with an all in one if I wanted to do anything that would tax it, air flow and cooling + upgrades should be easier in a normal case. I put it under the desk in better air flow.

    The nice thing about a PC is it’s stable on Win 7 these days and by the time you would be thinking of resale you can just add some new components and it will run on for years.

    There is a sweet spot for price vs performance that is around 6months behind the must have point. Performance is 90% of awesome and price is 50% ish….

    FWIW Video editing in Adobe with AMD Phenom X4 on a AM3 Board 8gb RAM and a decent ATI Card nothing too flash really.

    Still a fair bit of upgrade life in the board etc when I need it.

    zokes
    Free Member

    I used these guys about five years ago – very helpful on the phone with adjusting spec to suit (I wanted a fast photo editing machine, and didn’t care about graphics for games / 3d). It’s reaching the end of its life now, but it has been run hard for those five years.

    http://www.chillblast.com

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I think you lot are being too technical for the OP, not to mention too wrong 🙂

    Eeeer I’m pretty sure good internet connection and shit graphics cards causes slow gaming/loading screens, no?

    Slow gaming yes, pauses in streaming video no.

    Dr, I am not sure you need a fast graphics card, they are rather expensive. What software are you using to edit the videos?

    IA
    Full Member

    Desktops, plenty choices!

    I use dell precisions at work, nice machines. Mmmm xeons…..

    oliverd1981
    Free Member

    there’s no way I’d buy one in the traditional format with a separate screen and CPU. What’s the point?

    Umm much cheaper, you can replace or upgade the tower a few years down the line…

    If I was serious about video editing, and had £1700 to play with I’d be looking at multiple screens. but for now my £400 hackintosh is more than adequate 🙂

    bristolbiker
    Free Member

    there’s no way I’d buy one in the traditional format with a separate screen and CPU. What’s the point?

    Same here – just bought an all-in-one for this very reason. More Core i5 power than I need, big graphics card and HD, 24″ touch screen and built in twin freeview HD tuners. Replaces a PVR, TV, desktop PC, and monitor for well under a grand. I see no downside so far as I’m not looking to upgrade the hardware incrementally.

    _tom_
    Free Member

    there’s no way I’d buy one in the traditional format with a separate screen and CPU. What’s the point?

    Cheaper, easier to upgrade or repair, and much easier to keep cool, especially important if you’re doing anything more than “normal” use.

    flyingmonkeycorps
    Full Member

    oliverd1981 – Member

    If I was serious about video editing, and had £1700 to play with I’d be looking at multiple screens. but for now my £400 hackintosh is more than adequate

    How easy was the hackintosh setup? Looking at a new desktop for photos, and I’d rather stick to MacOS but I can’t really justify the cost of an iMac…

    oliverd1981
    Free Member

    Hackintosh is easy if you have the right hardware, I didn’t know this – but I got lucky. Also MacOs was a lot cheaper than Windows.

    ratadog
    Full Member

    I am still old enough to stick with desktops. Cheaper to replace the individual bits and upgrade as needed. Used two different companies in last few years. Chilliblast who persistently come near top of best buy lists. Service was good and only issue has been a borked memory chip after 3 years use which the local repairers sorted out cheaply.

    Just got a very basic machine from Arbico. Again, good service, decent price. Reasons for not going chilliblast again were a desire to avoid Windows 8 and a very marginal price advantage as they were having a sale at the time.

    Happy with both. Both companies do a range of complete systems several of which would appear to meet your requirements.

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