Good Computer For Editing

[thezach]

Can you guys describe what is needed for decent video editing hardware wise?

[mikec]

What software do you plan on using? Adobe Premiere Elements has different requirements than does the professional version of Premiere. The home Avid software is different than the high end broadcast versions. Of course, Final Cut requires a Mac.

Without you explaining what you plan on doing, your budget for software it is hard to give requirements. Almost like someone asking what type of car or truck to buy. If you don't know that the person is a carpenter and needs to carry tools and materials, you can't suggest a van. If the person doesn't mention that they have five kids, a suggestion of a two door sports car sounds great to you but would get a "no".

[patrickd]

Can you guys describe what is needed for decent video editing hardware wise?

Walk into an Apple Store.
Done.

[michael]

Walk into an Apple Store.
Done.

Haha, good answer, I like it :-) .

To be honest, most modern computers that aren't meant to be budget oriented (i.e. the $200 black friday laptop) will work for basic editing with cuts and simple color correction, etc. You may want to have something more powerful (processor-wise) if you are going to be working with HD (especially AVCHD which in most cases you will be transcoding before you do any editing).

I would argue that you would be fine with any flavor of Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 gigs of RAM. Of course...last year I was editing on an iMac G3... for seriously. Stay away from things like Celeron (if those still exist) and Atom processors. Those are simply not built for video editing. If you wanna go all out with the processor, get a Core i7. Hard drive space...get as much as you can afford. Video eats gigs like a 7 year old eats candy.

I like Mac because well, 1) I like Mac, but also 2) I think you'll be able to run the biggest variety of software on it. FCP + Adobe + Avid.

One last note, if you are looking to do heavy visual effects, get one with a good graphics card (basically, nothing with the integrated Intel graphics)... you won't regret it.

[samureye]

Your budget dictates what sort of video editing machine you'll get. Sounds obvious, but by that I mean you don't just get a video editing machine, you can edit fine on different budgets.

First off, what are you editing? If money is an issue and you're just going to do SD, a Core 2 Duo machine should be fine. Obviously in the C2D line, the higher up you go the faster things get. Also, you'll want a decent graphics card. I'm building a machine for video editing and I'm basically building it as a gaming rig (one of the benefits of needing good hardware.)

2GB RAM minimum, 4/6/8 if you can, 64 bit OS if you're going over 2GB RAM.

[rick_presas]

If you're shooting on MiniDV then just about any new computer (besides netbooks) will do.

A friend of mine edited a feature-length film on iMovie running off of a Mac Mini.

If all you need is to be able to make strait-cuts, cross disolves and titles/credits the iMovie is great. Basic audio post can be done in Garage Band.

Sure, Windows has MovieMaker, but in the realm of free editing software, imovie totally trumps.

Mac all the way.

[sloppybunny]

I'm using a 2yr old MacBook Pro at the moment with final cut 5 and because I'm lazy to upgrade After Effects 6.5 I can get everything done with that. At work everyones on new After effects, but at home my old thing works.

On my old 12" powerbook I ran all those software fine too except I was using final cut 4, that also worked on my iBook.

Some well taken care of second hand equipment can get you done quite a lot for cheap :)

[robertnordberg12]

I use a 24 inch iMac with 4gigs of ram, 2.9 ghz dual-core processor, and an ATi 4850 video card.

I edit with Final Cut Studio and I love my setup. I've had no problems editing all kinds of footage, and if you aren't using a Mac setup you could get the PC equivalent for around 500-600 dollars. or spend an extra 1000 like a did and get the Mac ahah