Macbook alternative

[WerkHeads tDames]

So, I'm helping a guy get a laptop. He wants a used mac for $1100 but he only wants to do video editing probably want it because its just a mac (facepalm). I told him a Windows laptop would be better with a GPU in it and it matches the CPU or better. What are some good laptops for video editing thats about 1200 and under

[Clyne]

he could get a mac instead or get a y50

[Coombzy]

Not sure if it's 1.2K but the MSI GS series are pretty good and would handle video editing on the go well.

[Legion]

If he is used to the video editing software on a mac why force him to change. Really macbooks are decent value especially if you have 0 interest in gaming.

 

Lenovo Y50 would be the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.

[WerkHeads tDames]

I see the 280 MSI and A Nvidia one. Which one handles Premiere Pro Better I forgot if its amd or nvidia

[Hans Christian | Teri]

If he wants a Mac he's not gonna be any happier with a Windows laptop.

[mr moose]

First you need to find out what software he currently uses and what features he needs.  Because there are so many different options it's hard to recommend a product.

 

E.G:

 

does it have to be portable?

Is video the only thing this will do?

is the budget flexible if we can find something notably better?

What software does he want to use?

If it has to be portable does size and weight matter or can it be big and bulky if it means more speed?

[WerkHeads tDames]

He also wants to do audio production too. He wants FL Studio and a bunch of VSTs that are hard to come by or unavailable on Mac.

[mr moose]

He also wants to do audio production too. He wants FL Studio and a bunch of VSTs that are hard to come by or unavailable on Mac.

As far as  i know VST's are not OS dependent.  I believe FL studio supports them.

 

FL I believe is also available on mac. 

 

What about the other stuff, is a small and light essential or can we look at bigger stuff?

[Nineshadow]

An Asus UX32LN is pretty good too

[BudgetEngineer]

I see the 280 MSI and A Nvidia one. Which one handles Premiere Pro Better I forgot if its amd or nvidia

Probably looking at a lenovo laptop in that price bracket, y50 Is excellent.

So, I'm helping a guy get a laptop. He wants a used mac for $1100 but he only wants to do video editing probably want it because its just a mac (facepalm). I told him a Windows laptop would be better with a GPU in it and it matches the CPU or better. What are some good laptops for video editing thats about 1200 and under

Windows would get more performance per dollar for sure. As far as gpu acceleration is concerned majority of Macs are integrated graphics only, higher end one's have discrete. Nvidia cuda acceleration has always been supported by Adobe software but I do believe OpenCL and AMD cards are very close, Mac Pro has dual AMD graphics for example so the difference is decreasing.

[WerkHeads tDames]

Probably looking at a lenovo laptop in that price bracket, y50 Is excellent.

Windows would get more performance per dollar for sure. As far as gpu acceleration is concerned majority of Macs are integrated graphics only, higher end one's have discrete. Nvidia cuda acceleration has always been supported by Adobe software but I do believe OpenCL and AMD cards are very close, Mac Pro has dual AMD graphics for example so the difference is decreasing.

He's trying to keep it mobile so yeah i think I'll guide him to a laptop with a GPU 

[Deletive]

Video editing is miles better on a mac. why force him somewhere else?  

[BudgetEngineer]

Video editing is miles better on a mac. why force him somewhere else?

What does that even mean?

[Deletive]

What does that even mean?

Video editing on a mac is better ecosystem/software than if you were to video edit on a Windows PC.

[BudgetEngineer]

Video editing on a mac is better ecosystem/software than if you were to video edit on a Windows PC.

You are aware the Adobe suite is cross platform?

[Deletive]

You are aware the Adobe suite is cross platform?

https://www.apple.com/ca/final-cut-pro/

http://www.autodesk.com/products/smoke/overview

Final cut pro and smoke are much widely used over Premiere pro. Plus smoke and finalcut pro are better programs.

[BudgetEngineer]

https://www.apple.com/ca/final-cut-pro/

http://www.autodesk.com/products/smoke/overview

Final cut pro and smoke are much widely used over Premiere pro. Plus smoke and finalcut pro are better programs.

I don't know a single pro youtuber or indie filmmaker who uses final cut...It's not nearly as powerful as the Adobe suite

[Builder]

He wants a used mac for $1100 but he only wants to do video editing probably want it because its just a mac (facepalm). I told him a Windows laptop would be better with a GPU in it and it matches the CPU or better. What are some good laptops for video editing thats about 1200 and under

Or, you know, he could have made an educated decision and like the operating system better.

 

Let people buy what they want. You're only going to burn bridges with your friend by trying to get him to buy a Windows laptop. And as far as content creation is concerned, Macs were the platform for graphic designers for a very long time and Adobe was originally a Mac-only developer, if that shows you what I mean.

[BudgetEngineer]

Or, you know, he could have made an educated decision and like the operating system better.

Let people buy what they want. You're only going to burn bridges with your friend by trying to get him to buy a Windows laptop. And as far as content creation is concerned, Macs were the platform for graphic designers for a very long time and Adobe was originally a Mac-only developer, if that shows you what I mean.

By all means if he wants a mac for the OS then go ahead. But I'm saying Macs don't perform better than a PC at that budget if he wants to do video editing, any lenovo y50 or even the older y510p with sli GPUs would destroy any $1100 Mac...

[Deletive]

I don't know a single pro youtuber or indie filmmaker who uses final cut...It's not nearly as powerful as the Adobe suite

Pixar has been using Final cut pro for ages, Rockstar uses Smoke, the globe and mail uses final cut pro x.

even most professionals that use premiere use a mac. 

Every (film) set i've been on has had only mac's on site. Most big companies use mac's for video work. 

[Builder]

By all means if he wants a mac for the OS then go ahead. But I'm saying Macs don't perform better than a PC at that budget if he wants to do video editing, any lenovo y50 or even the older y510p with sli GPUs would destroy any $1100 Mac...

But performance isn't what makes a computer great. That's what's flawed about the PC mindset. There are other factors that determine how good a computer is besides how fast it runs.

 

What makes a computer great is how easy it is to make it do what you want it to do, how solid the build is, how well it's designed, how long the battery life is, what it feels like to type on, what the display looks like, how good the trackpad is, and in the case of laptops; how much it weighs and how thick it is.

 

MacBooks have nearly everyone beat in nearly all of those categories in every price point, with a few exceptions from the few innovators left in the commoditized PC market, like Lenovo and Razer.

[BudgetEngineer]

Pixar has been using Final cut pro for ages, Rockstar uses Smoke, the globe and mail uses final cut pro x.

even most professionals that use premiere use a mac. 

Every (film) set i've been on has had only mac's on site. Most big companies use mac's for video work. 

 

Pixar, just like every large production house, uses customized software they don't sell to anyone else.  Their's is called Marionette.

 

That's exactly my point.  They use very expensive high end mac pros that an $1100 budget won't be able to afford.  If he's serious about editing adobe software is cross platform, and he'll see much more use out of a high performing Lenovo y50 than he will out of a mac from 2-3 generations ago.  They use macs because they've always used macs, since before there were competing PC options for mobile computing and their OS was vastly superior for productivity (I'm not going argue about windows vs mac OSX right now, we all know windows is "bad" and OSX has been great, blah blah blah).  They can't afford to switch all their computers and retrain everyone for a windows workflow, so they've maintained using macs all these years.  The "gap" between windows and OSX is getting smaller.

 

But performance isn't what makes a computer great. That's what's flawed about the PC mindset. There are other factors that determine how good a computer is besides how fast it runs.

 

What makes a computer great is how easy it is to make it do what you want it to do, how solid the build is, how well it's designed, how long the battery life is, what it feels like to type on, what the display looks like, how good the trackpad is, and in the case of laptops; how much it weighs and how thick it is.

 

MacBooks have nearly everyone beat in nearly all of those categories in every price point, with a few exceptions from the few innovators left in the commoditized PC market, like Lenovo and Razer.

 

Lenovo y50 fills this perfectly in the price bracket.  OP is asking for an $1100 pc for video editing.  It just so happens there's a lenovo laptop out there that can crush a used macbook pro, and is well designed.

[mr moose]

Pixar has been using Final cut pro for ages, Rockstar uses Smoke, the globe and mail uses final cut pro x.

even most professionals that use premiere use a mac. 

Every (film) set i've been on has had only mac's on site. Most big companies use mac's for video work. 

 

Actually most studios don't use apple at all, the biggest one is animal logic and they use mostly HP workstations.  There are lots of reasons why, but they are all subjective and end use specific.

 

It is best to find out what a persons requirements are and recommend a system that is best for that, not recommend a system based on internet hearsay.  There is no "best solution" when deciding between mac or windows, there is only better suited to specific requirements. 

 

From what I can tell the OP's friend:

 

wants a mac

doesn't use mac specific software

wants portable and powerful

needs to keep it to $1100

 

From that I would put together a list of all the portable workstations you can find and choose the best one. Regardless of whether it turns out to be a mac, levovo, hp or even dare I say it an acer.

[Builder]

Lenovo y50 fills this perfectly in the price bracket.  OP is asking for an $1100 pc for video editing.  It just so happens there's a lenovo laptop out there that can crush a used macbook pro, and is well designed.

He's asking for an $1100 Mac. No reason not to let him.

 

That Lenovo has awful battery life, no SSD, and is way thicker than a MacBook Pro. Basically all PC trackpads suck too, I've yet to find a good one in my ~20 years of using PC laptops.