UPDATE: ok, I think my mind is set on the ASUS ZenBook UX303UB 13.3-Inch QHD Touchscreen Laptop, Intel Core i7, 12 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Discrete GPU Nvidia GT940M, Windows 10 (64 bit)
Thanks all for you help, I think I changed my mind at least 5 times during this thread but I'm pretty confident with my choice now. It's kind of scary moving away from Mac (when i bought my current machine I was 18 and didn't think much of it). Last time I had a windows was a tower in my room I used to play Neopets with...
DON'T NEED ANY MORE ADVICE BUT WILL LEAVE THE THREAD FOR REFERENCE :)
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I'm not too technically inclined and I'm also not too informed on PC's so I'd love it if somebody could advise me on what to do.
What I have right now:
-13 inch late 2011 MacBook pro
-2,4gz i5 processor
-4 gb memory
-500 gb memory
-Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
What I need
I've been doing a lot of video editing and these specs are really not enough. Can't even install Premiere Pro with 4gb! I need more powa! But i'm not sure exactly how much power would be enough. That's what I mean when I say I'm not too technical. Help?
Option 1:
Upgrade my current setup by buying 2 8gb slots and an SSD hard drive. That would set me back about 400-500$ from what I understand and improve my computing power by a lot. BUT I can't upgrade my graphics card or my processor so I'll be stuck with what I have. Is that a big deal?
Option 2.
-1500$ I can get
-2.9GHz i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz processor
-8GB memory
-128GB SSD drive
Option 3
-2200$ I can get
-3.1GHz i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz processor
-16GB memory
-512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
-Intel Iris Graphics 6100
-And that fancy retina display screen and force touch trackpad (but I don't really care)
Option 4+
Buy a PC. I travel quite a bit and I'm a really clumsy person so as stupid as it sounds, I feel like I really need the metal casing that macs have. So no plastic PCs. I honestly find most of those fancy gaming laptops really ugly but for a good enough price/performance it would be ok. Just don't really feel like re-learning everything unless it's worth it.
People keep telling me that PC's are cheaper/more powerful and that apple is screwing us hipsters so if there are any PC experts out there, tell me what I'm missing out on :) I really just don't know where to look to find a good deal.
I'm kind of pissed off right now because I bought my computer for around 1000$ in goddamn 2011 and apple still sells very similar models for about the same price 5 fkin years later. Wasn't technology supposed to get cheaper!?
I need a better computer, I could technically blow 2k on a new macbook but I'd really rather not. Looking for advice please?
I thought I wanted the MacBook Air, because almost all of my work is writing. But, after going to the Apple Store and talking with someone there, I went for the MacBook, which was actually cheaper, but had higher performance than the Air. Mostly I wanted the different ports, though. What I have learned, after purchasing Apple computers since the mid-1980's, is that you should always buy as much Mac as you can afford. The hardware and software lasts and works for a LONG time, and you are never going to know, day to day, if the few extra Mhz or RAM or whatever, actually made any difference. You are just going to use the machine. Every single day. So future-proofing yourself as much as possible (by buying the most you can get) is always a good idea. The other option is to buy one level down from the top level, and then when you run into problems you blame yourself for making a "bad" decision. If you buy a top-of-the-line machine, then you know you have the best hardware you can get, so when you max it out, it isn't such a big deal. Mac vs PC This is not a "one is better than the other" choice. I have used both operating systems extensively, and they both work just fine. But one OS seems to work better for some people, and the other OS seems to work better for others. It's Coke and Pepsi: they are pretty much the same, but some people love one over the other. Since you are adept at the Mac, I'd suggest you stay with the Mac, for no other reason than you are familiar with it, it works for you, and you are producing great content on that machine. Why mess with something that works?
Yeah, that's true. It just hard to pull the trigger and go spend 2k on a laptop. So I'm considering just upgrading my own for cheaper. But then I know it's just pushing the same debate 1-2 years down the line :( I guess i'll do it, fuck it. What's money anyway? I'll just eat pasta and look for a job or something.
Ya know, that was my exact thinking as well, when I purchased my latest MacBook. And ya know what? I couldn't tell you what I spent on it. I have no idea. Probably somewhere between $1300 and $2300. But you know what I CAN tell you? All the amazing shit I have done with it!! So yeah... it is "just money".
If you want to do a lot of video editing you probably want a dedicated graphics card. Intel integrated graphics have gotten a lot better but I'm guessing that they will probably still be your bottleneck. Something like this would probably slay what ever you threw at it, has a lot of fast storage and is made of shiny metal. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CQRNBJG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01CQRNBJG&linkCode=as2&tag=wiknix-20&linkId=T6JPUWCRMN3RTALO Cheaper, still metal and would probably chug through your workload like a champ. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01578ZKPO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01578ZKPO&linkCode=as2&tag=wiknix-20&linkId=B3D6XIIW354SHT4A Do you want an IPS panel and what screen size are pretty important. There is a whole new generation of graphics chips about to come out for mobile. The prices on the older ship set laptops might come down or you might want to get a power and heat efficient new chip set. I know nothing about video editing and I'm sure someone else can tell you a lot more. I'd probably get somthing along the lines of https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP8152.html if I wanted a laptop with sinificant power under $1500.
I have no idea what an ISP panel is. I'm happy with my 13 inch screen size. 15 would be too big/heavy for travels. That Asus looks good and sooo much cheaper than the equivalent Macbook :) Bookmarked! This one looks similar but smaller: https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX303UB-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Discrete/dp/B014VHVZFQ/ref=pd_sim_147_6?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B014VHVZFQ&pd_rd_r=PG046NHDH46073FND8Y7&pd_rd_w=MAVW3&pd_rd_wg=xLjrZ&psc=1&refRID=PG046NHDH46073FND8Y7 :) But i'm still undecided between buying a new machine/upgrading my current one.
13 inch variant of the same line, it's a little cheaper. Turbo boost is huge for things that happen relly quick but isn't going to help much for anything that takes time. https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX303UB-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Discrete/dp/B014VHVZFQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473961669&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+zenbook&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A3545275011%2Cp_89%3AAsus IPS panels look a nicer overall but the blacks aren't as black.
commenting to come back to this after kosovo -- i'm in almost the same situation minus needing video editing specs
What software do you use? Are you married to the Apple infrastructure? Are you willing to go through a bit of a learning curve to learn Windows over MAC? Do you depend on software that will only run on Apple computers? If you just want to keep using what you are familiar with, go MAC. I'm not a fan of apple, but I am a fan of people getting value out of their gear. Apple stuff seems solid, if a bit pricey for what it is, but I'm not one of those people who say "ewww MAC" when asked about them. IF you are adventurous, here is what you can do! Get this: https://amzn.com/B0150PJR3K Note: I have that laptop, it goes out into the field with me, I abuse it, it runs FPS games at 60FPS, I do video editing and image stacking on the thing, it runs wonderfully. You can get SSD's bigger hard drives etc if you want to spend more, but that video card in that system is fine for everything except the ultra settings. It has 16GB RAM which is more than 99% of people will ever need and it has a 1TB hard drive. Now, get a keyboard, mouse, a monitor, and you now have a desktop station. Get a port replicator and all you need is one cable to the laptop's USB3 port. These peripherals will run you $400-$500 leaving you $500 for other stuff like a good laptop carrying case/backpack, external hard drive etc. And if you have a laptop, you need an external hard drive you keep at homebase to save all your data, or pay for cloud storage. Since you are so mobile, I'd stick with a laptop, and stick with at 15" class screen. Plug in a bigger monitor at home if you want a bigger screen to watch movies etc. A Macbook will do all this but you pay extra for it. If you have questions, let me know.
Not married to apple but I want an 13 inch. Preferably metal casing. Don't really care about retina display/touchscreens/force touch track pads. I use fcpx right now, but only because I have 4gb of ram and can't install premiere pro. I think all software I want will work fine on windows and I'm fine with a learning curve. I also run illustrator, and want to get some color grading too. It's just that so far I didn't find anything significantly lower in price for the same specs (but I haven't looked very far because I really don't know pcs ) fyi, the prices in my post are in cad. Didn't think about exchange price difference when I wrote this.
OK, assuming that this is the Macbook Pro in Question: https://amzn.com/B00UGBWR0E Those specs are really, really, really low for that price point (granted all this is in Freedom Dollars, but the comparison in pricing should be the same CAD). I've looked through the 13" class and can offer some "Stay aways" for you first. Dell stuff that is not Dell Business is not good. The gear may be fine, but the support is terrible, and as you use your laptop as a very mobile and travel demanding device I am going to assume that you will need a support call. Don't buy anything Alienware. They are heavily marked-up home gear with "Gaming" slapped on them and a fancy plastic case. Lenovo is still good stuff but only the Business class hardware. It is boring, not the best specs, but build like a tank. IMO, you can do better for the price. https://amzn.com/B0184H94PM That is an ASUS Zenbook. Disclaimer, I used to work there and still have friends who do. The case is metal, it is 1.5Kg, has a 1TB SSD hard drive (that is good!) a processor that blows the hell out of that Macbook, 12GB of RAM that is upgrade-able to 20GB, a decent warranty and is only $200 US more than the Apple product. This ASUS will do everything you want, will edit video, will run Photoshop LightRoom etc. It meets Adobe specs (I checked). The other benefit is that these are popular and have sold tons, so there is aftermarket stuff for them such as cases, etc. It also has a dedicated GPU for hardware accelerated video playback (think BluRay). So for a bit more money you get something that is two generation newer than the Macbook. Looking at the other offerings in the 13" class, the other options are not as good. Viao has some near stuff, but they are pricey and lower specs than the Zen Books. I don't know enough about Toshiba any more to say yes or no, but they look average? The Toshiba Ultrabooks look like Macbooks with plastic not metal and better innards. Fujitsu stuff is what the MD's I work with have, and it is nice stuff, but you pay extra for it. And I don't like the Fujitsu keyboards; they are small and I have massive hands that don't fit on them well. So here is my take away. Go to a store and look at a Zen Book. Type on it and see if you like it. Then go that way for a laptop. This leaves you extra for an external drive at the minimum. The Zenbooks are in Bestbuy, but the ones they sell are the 512GB hard drives, not the larger ones you get online. Otherwise, go there an see if you like the display, the feel of the keyboard, the weight. Don't bother with the Flip versions unless you are willing to be married to touchscreens. They don't look like they will last long with a road warrior. Hope that helps.
humm you're not the first one to recommend the Zenbook! (ping cgod) Must be a great machine! On your links, it's only 20$ extra and so muuuch more specs! I actually can't find the 1tb model anywhere on canadian amazon or bestbuy but this: https://www.amazon.ca/ZenBook-UX303UB-13-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Discrete/dp/B014VHVZFQ for 1600$ is hella better than this https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00UGBTQ7Q for 1800. It's cheaper AND better! This is exactly why I posted on Hubski for, I think I know what i need now :) Thanks man! I think I changed my mind 5 times during this thread but now that I see the comparable apple is 600$ more, I know what to go with. I'm just a noob in the pc world and didn't know where to look. I think you just saved me at least 600$! Goddamn canadian dollar made it a bit harder to figure out ;)
Apple just offers three simple choices at the same price point with upgrades urged every 3 - 5 years in order to maintain their cashflow. That said, I'm editing 4k film in ProRes422 with sync sound on a late 2013 8GB 2.5G i5 Macbook retina (Final Cut Pro X / Avid Media Composer) so your option 2 should be more than enough for the next few years. Are you wedded to the Mac OS? You could get a PC and hackintosh it. If you're not wedded, the XPS13 running Windows 10 is a lovely little machine and can equal my i5 8GB Mac in specs for around $1100. Very small, light, great battery (best battery life is on the non-touch version).
Yeah, starting to lean towards option 2. I'm just not sure how much the processor and graphics card affects the performance. I'm stuck with FCPX because of my 4gb memory right now and it crashes pretty often which gets super frustrating. Somehow changing the text color triggers that :( Ideally I'd switch to Premiere pro and get some color grading software which can be intense. I would not what to invest the 500$ and realize the problem was with the graphic's card all along, you know?