I am looking to buy a new PC. I am basically going to use it for editing with my VX. Any advice on what to get. I am kind of new with everything so any advice is appreciated.

MAC, MAC, MAC, MAC, and did I mention MAC?? For inumerable reasons this is the way to go, you will not regret it for a moment (the same cannot be said for the most top of the line PC).

i really dont like mac. I dont think i would ever buy one. Any reason why a mac is superoir then pc

Oh my G-d, I would not know where to start in answering this question. Here goes; You know those ubiquitous crashes and freezes that occur on PCs? the ones that ruin countless hours of work, well they don't happen with MACs (I know it is hard to believe once used to the shody OS on a PC, but ask around, you will be surprised to find this to be true). Next is ease of use, with a truly intuitive graphic interface, a caveman could use a MAC out of the box, PC's have tried (but miserably failed) to mimic this characteristic. Next, graphics and video aps were first and foremost designed for MACs (again, because they work) and thrive there today. There is the "speed" issue where PC's win the race in benchmark tests, but this does not count the time lost/spent with failures and crashes, if added in, MAC rules with measures in seconds rather than minutes, or hours on a PC where the user has to constantly put out fires just to tread water. Lastly, why then does Microsoft/PC own the market??....Remember that little (sarcastic) antitrust thing? Just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, in the business world, it is not always the best product that rises to the top, rather the more successful business strategy (both legitimate, and shady) that takes the prize. Trust me, check it out for yourself and ask around before dismissing the superior product. BTW, why don't you like MAC's? Rarely does someone that has tried them will say this.

BTW, I too was a PC power user before enlightened by the joys of MAC. After many hours trying to fix/optimize my PC (in vain), I finally got fed up, moved it (the PC) to the kids room to play games (it still crashes and freezes regularly, even stripped down for just games), and got a MAC. Not a single minute has been spent trying to get the MAC working right or fix it since then (3 years ago) and I can spend my time on more fruitful pursuits.

cc I love your personality your a funny character. I just don't like Mac. I don't no why butt I just don't like there operating system. I must be brain washed cause I love windows. But what Mac do you recommend? the G-5. But any how what programs do you recommend. Adobe Premiere and after effects is a must I already know. I will ask around on others forums to see what people say and maybe ill go to a local store to check one out.

It really depends on budget, price no object....Dual processor (1.42 Ghz) tower, G4 (G5 not out yet), Final cut Pro 4, and photoshop 7, will do very nicely.

Please do not think for a minute that Macs do not have problems. I recently sold my dual 1Ghz mac. It did work well with Final Cut Pro but I also had my share of problems.

Go to Apple.com and look in their support-discussion forums under idvd, final cut pro, imovie.....many many problems.

To the Mac nuts out there: Mac is a fine platform but Win XP is just as stable and it supports so much more hardware. I had many problems getting my Epson scanners and my new Canon digital camera to work properly with the Mac.

Macs only have a 3% market share and it is shrinking. I once was a Mac nut but not anymore.

Back to your question: go with a dell or alienware (you can get s stripped down 3Ghz dell for about $1100.

Also check out this website for premiere stuff:

http://www.stevengotz.com/premiere

Ya I was shooting for a dell. Any particular model I should get?

MACs are good computers and they "never crash" because you cant put anything on them. OK, thats a bit too far, but everything is marketed for the PC, so if you want to get the most out of your money, a PC is the way to go. I am NOT NOT NOT bashing a MAC as a stand alone editing machine, but the reason why most PCs have "problems" with editing, is because users put all types of crap (video games, ect) on there that bogs down the machine and makes it perform like junk. With a little up keep, you can keep your PC running smoothly (routine disk defrags, ect ect) I have seen MAC's here at my schools editing labs that worked worse than my PC at home because they arent properly maintained/people are jagoffs unplugginand repluging the cams while the connection to the computer is still "hot", and they crashed ALL the TIME. Point is, MACs are not the end all to be all of movie editing, and NEITHER is a PC. However, you can do just as much on a PC as you can on a MAC. But BOTH machines will serve you well IF YOU TAKE PROPER CARE OF THEM. Take what you want from my little rant, its just my opinion, from personal experience. Good luck deciding.

To farsider, Windows XP is nowhere near as stable as MAC OS 10. This is such an absurd claim as to lack all credibility at face value. To livewire, what can't you put on the MAC?...garbage that you would never want in the first place is my answer. Is MAC perfect? No. Is it comparable to PC? No way in hell!!! An assertion that equates the two because MACs "have some problems to" is flawed logic. It is analagous to saying that the Ferrari 360 Modena is comparable to a Ford Escort because the 360 "has problems to"......Stuff and nonsense. BTW, did you consider that you may be having problems with your MAC because of....Gasp...human error, or that you are all thumbs? I have used both formats successfully and extensively, the difference is that "problems" on PCs are usually crippling and/or catastrophic with no hope of a fix, or recovery, whereas on a MAC problems are always fixable, or avoidable by a sharp amateur user (even the PC gurus/pros usually throw in the towel over their pc problems).

I was also thinking about a Sony any thoughts on that?

Sorry to get off topic here but....

ccbatson:

It is obvious that you have not used a newer, quality computer such as a Dell workstation running XP pro. I really can't stand it when the mac users make statements about the windows operating system based on their use of windows 95, 98 or ME. XP is much more stable and has been refined.

It is really not acceptable that Apple makes the hardware and the software (FCP,idvd, imovie etc) and they still have problems. These are not newbie problems (check the Final Cut Pro discussion boards).

Windows XP has to work with literally thousands of types of hardware and it does it very well.

I have used both platforms extensively and XP is by far more responsive and snappier....ccbatson, have you ever tried to view your image files in the finder as small preview icons....you get the spinning beach ball ....my dell pentium III 500 is much much snappier and can display hundreds of high resolution pics very fast.

Back to the original question....Check the Adobe recommended systems on their website under Premier support.

Dell workstation 340 has always been an old standby. Most issues typically are related to the graphics card or sound card. A dell 8300 series or a workstation is what I would look at.

Another problem with Apple is that they only have a 3 day return window....that is nuts ! You can return a dell or gateway within 30 days for full refund.

Farsider, thank you. I was under the impression that these forums were based on personal opinion from personal experience. As for those MAC's I was talking about, they were not used by me, they were used by college students who are more interested in being Bloto from animal house than making movies. My MAC experiences have been pretty good when I have used them, but they STILL are not with out problems, and suffer from many of the editing problems a PC has. Not everything on a MAC is saveable either, a whole batch of students movies (and not in in the edit lab being used by the liqour monkeys I was talking about earlier either) were lost when our system crashed and burned. The MAC guy couldnt do a darn thing. My point being, lets not start stepping on each others toes (all thumbs? come on, thats just being a jerk) over personal opinions. So, truce, huh guy?

Ock, as for your question, Sonys are very good. I have a Vaio laptop that has been GREAT. I use it when we travel around the state making our movies to edit our dailies and rough cuts, then transfer the information back to my main machine via a portable hard drive. This thing hasnt let me down yet and its over three years old with around 20 plus hours of video being uploaded and exported. In my experience its a very reliable product. I'm not trying to sway your decision making, just that I am a very pleased customer. Good luck deciding.