Need help from computer experts

[brgerflipr]

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a new desktop for the home office. My main reason for this is I've been shooting a lot of home movies (not that kind of home movies you pervs) with my FLIP camcorder & Canon HD handheld. One records in 720, the other in 1080.

My current desktop is a joke and can't even play the vids, let alone run any software to edit them. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to computers, so could you guys give me some specs for what i'd need. thanks in advance guys!

aside from surfing the net, checking email & doing some work from home, i wouldn't need anything else from the computer.

[picachu211]

Since you will use the desktop for image and video intensive applications, I suggest you get one with lots of RAM and a decent graphic card. Other specs are irrelevant because they cannot be too bad.
You might want to get one with a large hard drive as well as you can store your work on it. But you can always get more external hard drives as well.

[Sherlock 117]

Windows computers nowadays come with movie editing software which is actually pretty decent. I used it to create the vids of me playing tennis, and it allows you to cut clips, place transitions between clips, and add background music. I doubt you would need to do much more than that, so no need to buy any special movie editing software.

[brgerflipr]

that's exactly what i'm looking for, but any specific specs for me? processor, ram, etc.

[VillaJ100]

not sure, but probably at least a dual core processor and 3 GB RAM i'd imagine

[Cro Morgan]

Comes loaded with the best video editing software...



Specs...

http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

[Moralspain]

Comes loaded with the best video editing software...



Specs...

http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

i agree, got mine months ago and it´s perfect

[brgerflipr]

i've played w/ the idea of a mac for months. but every other computer in the house is a PC, all my work computers are PC. and i'm used to PC's.

but damn, mac's are sweet tho........

[Cro Morgan]

i've played w/ the idea of a mac for months. but every other computer in the house is a PC, all my work computers are PC. and i'm used to PC's.

but damn, mac's are sweet tho........

The iMac is basically a PC as well - it goes both ways. It's also user-friendly. The only downside - it's a bit pricey compared to the average PC. Very much worth the extra money though, I think.

[brgerflipr]

Cro - do i need to upgrade any of the software or does the software that it comes with enough? my editing will be real simple stuff. vids of the baby, tennis matches, nothing more advanced than that.

[Cro Morgan]

The loaded software is more than enough. Among others, the iMac is stocked with: iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand.

Just took a closer look at your first post..... if all you need the computer for is surfing, email and video editing, you're probably better off getting a cheaper PC. The iMac would be more than you need.

[brgerflipr]

well, i need a PC that can handle the HD vids. and then i'd need a new monitor as well.

i think you couple those two things together, perhaps the smaller mac may be a good value.

unless i can find a monitor / pc combo for significantly cheaper than the mac's cost.

[Cro Morgan]

Never a better time to jump on the Apple cart...

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2010/0 ... 274934732/

[brgerflipr]

I've always been a huge fan of apple as a stock & a company. just never got into their products (other than the obvious ipod). it may very well be the time now cro.

gotta convince the wife now. damn it.

[Cro Morgan]

gotta convince the wife now. damn it.

As a married guy, I think I can help you out.

1) Say nothing to your wife.
2) Buy the iMac, then throw the receipt inside the iMac box. Make sure all the packing that came with the iMac is also inside the box (just the packing, keep the manual, system discs, etc).
3) Burn the box.