Lap top

It sounds like you may want a PC, am i correct? Macs are solid, just expensive, and if you don't fuck up your PC then your PC won't get fucked up like everyone complains about. I don't really know shit about PC's to be honest, but if you want to look into a mac, i'd look into a REFURBISHED Macbook Pro, Just because regular macbooks are shitty for editing, and with a budget of 1000$ you can't get a brand new macbook pro.

For $1000 you could get a laptop with better specs than any Mac..  The things you need for video editing are a good graphics card (dedicated memory) and lotsa ram.  Asus N series for instance has lots of good laptops made for media use. 

I edit t2i footage compressed to apple prores 422 in full 1080p (720p when working with 60p) on my 13 inch mbp and a 23" monitor with relative ease and (knock on wood), however I used to edit hmc150 footage converted to 1080p .avi files and edited on a quad core hp with 6 gigs of ram and I ran into a lot of lag and pain in the ass issues using vegas pro 9, just curious have you used a mac to edit?

I'm going to go ahead and say untrue - you could maybe make the argument that for the money people drop on a MBP ($2000+) you could get a pretty bomb PC laptop, but not for $1000 I don't think. I'm no computer tech, but Macs are the multimedia standard for a reason.

To the thread creator: I'm tempted to say keep saving - why buy something now when you could maybe get something later that would be much better and much more suited to your needs? You shouldn't skimp on stuff like this; a good, able computer can last for YEARS, so you shouldn't get something you'll be just "okay" with.

That being said, if saving more money is not an option, try finding a used or refurbished MBP - PRO, not MacBook - those suck. You can always upgrade RAM yourself through newegg.com if you have to, and I think they all come with suitable graphics cards for video. I'm pretty sure the 13" is lower resolution than the 15"/17" but if a refurbished/used 13" is all you can find, go for it.

I was in your position not too long ago. I run Premiere, and figured "might as well buy a PC if I'll be using Premiere" - I ended up buying a Mac and I am very, VERY happy with it. It's FAST.

Good luck homie, hope this provided some sort of new perspective on it.

the 13 inch mbp's are not the same as the 15/17 inch mbps, i believe the 13 inch have integrated graphics while the 15/17 have two gpu's

a 13 will work, but i just thought i would point that out so you dont expect the 13 to perform the same as a 15 or 17.

Graphics card actually aren't that important for editing, RAM does matter but honestly 4GB is good enough.


OP, if you're interested in a mac laptop, hit up factory81 on here, he rebuilds mac laptops and works for a company that does it too so he just does it on the side for extra cash. I'm pretty sure it comes with a warranty and is much cheaper. You could snag a 15" mbp with like a 2.5ghz or 2.8ghz (i think) core duo with 4gb of ram and a good graphics card for around 1000 bucks. I'd recommend this just because I've been using macs for 4 years now and every time i use a friends shitty pc laptop i want to kill myself. 99% of big companies (in the ski industry and out) use macs and like blondie. said, they all use macs for a reason.

You could look into a PC with a bunch of impressive stats and such but its still going to be running windows, which in the multimedia world sucks.

Well I'm no expert but I believe the reason why Macs are the industry standard because Mac OSX is so clear and user friendly, also Mac editing software is probably better.  When I said that you could get a better PC than a Mac I meant that when it comes to actual system spec PC have far more options and better "value" when you only compare components.  Personally I would prefer a Mac though simply because they are awesome systems.

Hmc 150 uses avchd so that could have been your issue.  and yes i have been using FCP on a mac to edit for the past two years.  I would love to get a MBP but just dont have the money.  Im deffanatly going to look into refurbished and hit up that kid e heath was talking about.  and does a mac really run that much better than a pc if the two have identical stats on pape?

The reason i cant save more money and wait is because I'm starting online classes in january so i need it by then (this computer is so close to death), Im also moving to SLC and still have to buy passes and find a place to live so i have some other expences.  I set aside 1,000 for a computer a while ago and its been hard not to take out of there for other things. 

Thanks for the help, its looking like im gunna start the search for a refurbished mbp

Check this thread, he just updated his inventory today...

https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/577168/page/3/