hey. im heading off to college in a few months, and my folks said they would get whatever kinda computer i might need, and now is around the time where they might start buying it.

What im thinking about is getting a pc. (id like to use a mac... but im so clueless about them). what im going to be using this computer for (maybe) is some video editing (using adobe premeire pro), watching movies, and playing some video games. i would like everything to be secure specs. when i say that, i mean, they dont have to be rediculously good/expensive. i would like specs to sit comfortably, without much problems. the im thinking a 128 video card, but other than that i have no idea. im probably going to do anywhere from 1-20 minute shorts, but will likely after their done buy a simple external harddrive of my own for storage. also, when it comes to watching movies in my dvd drive, it should look good, but again, doesnt have to be rediculous. oh, and one more thing i thought id ask. sound cards? i have no idea what im looking for in that department

i dont know computer hardware that well, so what kinda ram, space, video, etc. im not sure what to ask for. can someone give me the general idea. (remember, doesnt have to be the best in the world. just enough so i dont have any problems)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: alex c,

if your folks are gonna buy it either way, you should get your hands on a 15 inch Apple powerbook. Apple is so user friendly- your cluelessness would be ameliorated within the first hour of experimenting with it. Plus it has extreme advantages over PCs when it comes to editing video (don't get me started ) The only downside of getting the mac would be if you're a hardcore game player (Apple is slowly beginning to make the transition to converting popular games - Doom 3, Medal of Honor, Half Life, etc. to be used with Apple computers). Otherwise, you should definitely go Mac.

just the fact that my folks are buying it doesnt make me wanna go crazy with it. my parents have already put forth so much money for me (they baught my car, my college tuition, and my camera... and now a computer). i really dont want to leave them bankrupt. plus, i kinda feeel bad.

but thanks trespasser. but id still like to hear some specs (pc or anything). also, what do feel about laptops? do they do the same good job, without alot more money. or are they just not that usefull. i mean, i dont mind taking a pen and paper to my colleg classes.

lap tops are generally more expensive.

if you're going for cost effectiveness, I'd get a PC. Sure, they don't look as nice as Macs, but you get a lot more for your money.

Check out: http://www.compu-terra.com/store/ctamdsystem.php
- Standard Motherboard
- AMD Athlon XP 3200+
- CPU Cooling Fan
- 40GB Hard Disk Drive
- 512MB DDR Memory
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- 52x32x52 CDRW Drive
- ATX Case
- Audio, Video & Lan
for 365.69

Factor in a monitor and maybe another hard drive and you're looking at 600 dollars. A similar mac system will cost you upwards from about 1500 dollars. It's not the fastest system money can buy, but I've edited on much less. Hell, my old laptop was a Pentium 2, 233 mhz that just wouldn't die. If you don't wanna break your parents, buy a PC.

Paul's comp set up looks good, but since you're gaming/editing, I'd say put 1 gig of ram in it, and also at least a 128 mb video card too, that shouldn't make the price too much more though. Good luck with whatever you go with.

another site you might want to check out is www.tigerdirect.com they have good prices on computer components.

i dont think ill be making my own or anything. im probably gonna go through dell. my parents want me too because we have warrenties that extend over to any dell computer we buy (i currently own a dell 4600) so ill probably get another 46 or 47. its gonna be a lil bit more money because im paying for hte name.

but thanks for the specs guys. if anyone else has any other helpful tidbits, by all means, post.