Computer for Movie Studio Platinum?

CVM wrote on 8/9/2011, 5:56 PM

Greetings,

All... I've looked at so many forum threads on 'which computer to buy' and am lost in motherboards, video cards, etc.... I just need some simple recommendations.

I'm not building a new computer, I am buying it off the shelf from Dell, Best Buy, etc. It's for my son who loves Vegas but cannot use it on my old PentiumD 3GHz with 1 gig RAM because the files from his HD Flip video camera just choke and he can't playback at any resolution. That computer is running XP SP2 32-bit with Vegas 7.

The Flip shoots 720p MP4s and he wants to buy Movie Studio Platinum 11 because it is more his style, and it comes with cool things Vegas Pro doesn't. He just needs a computer to run it on.

He is thinking about a laptop, but I'm fearful it will have lower processors and HD space.

Can anyone chime in with some thoughts on:
1.) laptop or desktop
2.) minimum processor to look for (cores, speed, etc.)
3.) the computer will come with Win7 64 bit. Is VMSPlatinum 64 bit?

Thanks a bunch!!

Dave

Comments

PeterDuke wrote on 8/9/2011, 6:45 PM

Laptop versus desktop is not the issue so much as the engines used in each. You generally get more bang for your buck with a desktop, but I am sure that one of the top performing laptops would be adequate.

I don't know much about VMS specifics, such as the number of threads it can use, but questions might be better asked on its forum.

Win 7 64 bit runs most 32 bit software without problems, and that should include VMS 32 bit.

Andy_L wrote on 8/9/2011, 8:05 PM

As a guess: Core i5 processor or better and 6GB Ram should do. I think most of today's 'performance' laptops will easily get you there...

musicvid10 wrote on 8/9/2011, 9:02 PM

Any dual core or better should be fine with 720p MP4.
If he will be graduating to 1080i/p or AVCHD in the future, which is likely, a quad or i-class is highly suggested.
There are many notebooks with i3 and i5 processors at reasonable prices.

You will get a variety of opinions by posting this kind of question on an internet forum. I will offer one more opinion: Check the reliable websites, talk to people you know, and make your own decision.

tomshardware and cnet are your friends.

CVM wrote on 8/22/2011, 2:51 PM

Thanks for the recommendations, all.

I was able to get my son a new Dell desktop with an i5 2.90GHz processor, 6 gigs RAM, Radeon HD 6450 1GB graphics card, 1 TB HDD, and 22" digital monitor for $800.

This should be plenty of power and storage for Vegas Movie Studio Platinum, don't you think?

john_dennis wrote on 8/22/2011, 3:13 PM

The system looks like it should work nicely. Now, you might : 1) Shrink that boot partition down and get an image backup solution like GHOST 15 or Acronis TrueImage. 2) Add another hard drive for around $80. With two physical disks you can use one for source and render to the other. Also, you can put your image backups on another physical disk.