Computer help

[at the drive in]

My parents are wanting to update to a computer so i have been looking for them. Whenever i go to a computer shop they salesmen always want to sell me something that cost more than my parents will spend or tell me the computer i want is powerfull enough. All i want is a computer that will allow me to do a small amount of video editing for my yr 12 media film. allow me to have a large collection of mp3's. Allow fast download when combined with broadband. Be able to import video from a DV camera. Burn CD's watch Dvd's. I have around $1700-$1800. Is there a good shop to go to in victoria. Can you help me with what sort of system i need.

[Dane]

my family will probably be upgrading soon too. i think a good option is buying thursdays The Age, and looking at the ads in the Green Guide section. there are computers in there that would suffice for what you mentioned for about $800 plus monitor etc. i think i'm after the same as you, so would some people who do a little video editing like to let us know how fast you recomend, when on a budget.

cheers Dane
(and sorry for the semi-hijack.)

[at the drive in]

Good to see i am not the only one. I have been reading the age for a while but dont no exactly which store to go to plus i live in ballarat which is an hour and a half from melbourne so i cant go have a look whenever i want.

[steamfrog]

Ok well a decent P4 wont come to much more than that..
If you dont want to spend more on it in a little while get the parts now ie..
get a 128 - 256mb video card,, wont need to buy or update that for at least 2 years,, also it will edit video really nice.

Flat screens are good but so is a nice big CRT as well.. so dont get sold a flat screen for wank value, get a 19inch crt instead.

Hdd of over 60 gig is ok and a chep burner.. 300 igot a dual layer dvd burner, does 8 or 9 gig discs.

You dont need top- of the line p4 somehting around 1.somehting to 2.5 will be fine..

The parts you want to spend the money on are the NEEDED bits like video card, processor and ram.. get a gig if you can.

www.graysonline.com.au
online auctions where a guy got a decent p4 with printer and a digital camera for $900 with a dvd burner..
go check it out and good luck..

Ps dont get it from harvey norman too dam dear and shit bits,, Huffy of computers.

[projectsplat]

Check out the Apples.

the eMac comes out of the box with everything you need to edit. video editing software included. piece of piss to use. rock solid. good gear. the entry level one is $1300 bucks and will do all you need. could use a bit of extra ram though. the up specced one is $1600 bucks and has a DVD burner included.

plug and play - no stuffing about. from experience, you spend $800 on a PC, and then spend the next 6 months stuffing about trying to get it to work. buy one of the macs, and be cutting within the first 10 minutes.

i am based in melbourne, but run training sessions for editing from time to time. also am up in Ballas every now and then, so could probably drop by and show you the ropes if you end up going in that direction. i dont sell these things anymore, just work on them. also taught petri how to edit, and he is now happily cutting on a mac.

nice one.

Al
- Digital Video Specialist
- trainer & support technician
- tehcnology consultant, blah blah blah
- nerd

[projectsplat]

oh yeah - details at

http://www.apple.com.au/emac/

if you need to know of someone to deal with, PM me and I can put you in touch with some people who might be able to help you out, and also make sure you get up and cutting with the system asap.

cheers

al

[Rik]

plug and play - no stuffing about. from experience, you spend $800 on a PC, and then spend the next 6 months stuffing about trying to get it to work. buy one of the macs, and be cutting within the first 10 minutes.
From my experiences, you spent 6 minutes plugging in a mac, then 6 months finding decent free software for the thing.
Windows XP has made life easy for PC users, it's not a simple as a mac, but at the same time, there's alot more options for software and hardware.

[Bobo]

swap markets.

Also that dell comp is pretty good or Auldi supermarket they got nice cheap comps

[at the drive in]

I have done a little research on the eMacs They seem to look ok but dont u have to buy special programs just for macs?. All my mates have windows so i wouldnt be able to get programs of them could i. And they come with a crappy graphics card to i think. They seem to look good on the apple site but that is to be expected. for the same price i pay for a mac could i get a PC that could do the same?

[cheese]

Go a mac, beats the shit out of PC's (awaits multiple challengers). All you need for basic editing is imovie, just plug in you DV cable and import. Make sure you have a decent sized HD if you are going to be making a decent sized y12 project. Programs for mac are easy to get, just go to download.com and then get serial surfer if you are to stingy to pay for the software :roll:.

[Rik]

Go a mac, beats the shit out of PC's
How? In what aspect?
Blanket statements help noone, and promote flaming.

[cheese]

OSX is much easier to use compared to Windows (I think it is much easier to navigate the OSX environment than the XP), the system is more stable (I hardly ever get crashes or errors, while PC's seem to always get those "unexpected error" messages) and no one can dispute how cool most macs look (except for those old ibooks). Im not sure on the reason for this but the mac chips have a a much lower speed rating (1ghz) when compared to the latest PC chips (3ghz), but the macs run just as fast or faster. Anyone know the reason for this?
Where are the other mac users to give me some support?

[Shintaro]

The bible of PC gaming systems = www.sharkyextreme.com

An Australian website for PC hardware gaming freaks. Check out the monthly $1,000 budget gaming PC review. I garauntee it will be alot beter than any system advertised or found in a retail store for the same money. The problem is they don't sell hardware, but all prices & components are listed to help you find the most competitive quote.

I guess if you don't want to play games you won't need a pimped up graphics card, but hey you only need one good game to keep you amused all year.

Do your homework, & don't listen to salespeople!!

[johnny]

The bible of PC gaming systems = www.sharkyextreme.com

An Australian website for PC hardware gaming freaks. Check out the monthly $1,000 budget gaming PC review. I garauntee it will be alot beter than any system advertised or found in a retail store for the same money. The problem is they don't sell hardware, but all prices & components are listed to help you find the most competitive quote.

I guess if you don't want to play games you won't need a pimped up graphics card, but hey you only need one good game to keep you amused all year.

Do your homework, & don't listen to salespeople!!

That's a lot of words for some one not interested in gaming, me thinks you are talking about your computer instead :wink:

Steamfrog blurted

Flat screens are good but so is a nice big CRT as well.. so dont get sold a flat screen for wank value, get a 19inch crt instead.

So being that I just bought a 19inch flat panel Acer moniter, does that make me a wanker? :P Got myself an Athlon 2600, Asus X series (A7V8X) mother board, 512 DDR-400 Kingmax RAM, 80Gig HD, cordless KB/Mouse, farkin lovin it!!!! :D :D

[Malfuctioning Eddie]

well your wankish at least, if you want to totally nerderate yourself get the ultimate in wank facter: The projection screen.
Though I think some people may not like the projection idea as much, I think it's the shizzle.

[johnny]

I only know about the basic projector, as in wall size. What is this crazy contraption of which you speak :shock:

[projectsplat]

From my experiences, you spent 6 minutes plugging in a mac, then 6 months finding decent free software for the thing.
Windows XP has made life easy for PC users, it's not a simple as a mac, but at the same time, there's alot more options for software and hardware.

that would suggest not a lot of experience. the eMac comes standard with video editing and dvd authoring software straight out of the box.

nothing else needed. no software to find.

if you want something more complex or something you dont have, you would not need to look any harder than you would for a PC. seek and ye shall find.

[projectsplat]

I have done a little research on the eMacs They seem to look ok but dont u have to buy special programs just for macs?. All my mates have windows so i wouldnt be able to get programs of them could i. And they come with a crappy graphics card to i think. They seem to look good on the apple site but that is to be expected. for the same price i pay for a mac could i get a PC that could do the same?

they have the graphics card they need to do the job. perfect for editing. not going to be the ideal system for gaming, but then you have to decide - do you want this for editing or gaming.

you could pay the same money and get an equivalent specced PC that *may or may not* work.

i work as an editor, and have been in the industry for the last 10 years. I just might be offering some worthwhile advice.

PM me if you have any further queries.

Cheers

Alister

[Byatch]

if you're in melbourne, you'll be hard pressed to go past www.msy.com.au (http://www.msy.com.au)
they look dodgy, and they don't sell everything, but they have a great after sales service team, and the prices are great.

[hugnkiss]

Dude, did you say that you were in Year 12? Apple have EDu discounts, if you MP3 play list is large and you want to do video get the CTO (configure to order) with a bigger HD in it 160 G = extra 173 bucks you just have to wait till it gets built in singapore. PM me if you would like i sell the suckers and would be happy to help with answers to any question you have

[projectsplat]

Dude, did you say that you were in Year 12? Apple have EDu discounts, if you MP3 play list is large and you want to do video get the CTO (configure to order) with a bigger HD in it 160 G = extra 173 bucks you just have to wait till it gets built in singapore. PM me if you would like i sell the suckers and would be happy to help with answers to any question you have

Yeah like you would deal with that bodgy hugnkiss woman......


Hay amanda,

hows tricks?? should catch up for a beer at some stage. there are a few of us catching up for a beer on saturday afternon.

tell these guys that if they want to cut, get a mac.

cheers

alister

[bazza]

well im still running a 350mhz proccessor, 40 gig hd and 320mb of ram and i have shit all problems with it. its running much nicer than some other computers. dont forget to get all your anti virus and anti pop up software with it as well. and dont get spyware. dont look up dodgy porn and dont download any programs that you dont 'need'. get winmx not kazaalite as well. and dont open every email that you get either. so it doesnt matter what computer you get just make sure you look after it and dont kill it by filling it with crap! but for 1700-1800 you could one nice ass pc!!! you could even get away with looking around the 1200 mark and have some change left over for the bike.

[rhyno]

Dude, did you say that you were in Year 12? Apple have EDu discounts, if you MP3 play list is large and you want to do video get the CTO (configure to order) with a bigger HD in it 160 G = extra 173 bucks you just have to wait till it gets built in singapore. PM me if you would like i sell the suckers and would be happy to help with answers to any question you have
Hey Amana, Cheers on ordering the PB12" for me b4 you left chaddy Its sweet as!
-Rhyno

[naz]

hmm
i got a sys in mind too (no hijacking though)
p4 3.4 EE(Extreme edition, 2mb L3 cache)
1024mb ram
500g HDD with a another external drive via Firewire totalling 750g
raedon 9800XT
sound blaster live audigy platinum 2
lian li case
wanky led fans
crazy ass cpu cooling fan
800mz frontside bus
400w PSU
DVD R
front mounted fan controlloer with temp disp and RPM adjustments for fans
Dual display Grafix card runnin 2 17inch lcd's

yummy :P, the computer will run everything from 3d grafix(3d studio max,maya, etc), movie editors(premier, after effects, etc), sound editors (acid pro 4), cad, a fuckload of music/movies(kazaa lite, shareaza,irc,bit torrent etc)

[tu plang]

time to jump on the mac bandwagon.
i reckon an emac would be a very solid choice for that usage. comes with imovie and idvd which are very straight forward to edit and burn movies with.

not quite as wanky as my g5, but u cant win em all :P

[Rik]

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=archives&date=2002-11-26