OK, let's get into a heart to heart. I'm looking to buy a computer and use MEP MX version 18 to edit church services on a weekly basis. The problem is I have my own reservations about laptops. I think they are good for light to medium work, internet, documents and the like. But for heavy work with graphics and all, I'm not sure about them. They have a good(bad) record of crashing. Please advice if I should get a laptop or a desktop.
Much appreciated in advance
P
It really depends on how "into" the editing you are getting.
If you are going to use this as a dedicated video editor, than I recommend the desktop, unless portability is necessary. Desktops might be big and bulky, but the fact that they can have multiple drives inside (not using any USB ports for that) as well as having a dedicated graphics card for 2 or more monitors makes them a better choice... but not because of stability, just because of the extras that can be used.
To me, the main thing to remember is that it is much easier to upgrade a desktop; simply put, there are more hardware choices available (so its easier to customize)... that to me gives the desktop a slight advantage. The downside is that it's not very portable, so if you need to do things on site... it's pretty bulky to tote around with you.
I have a HP laptop (Pavilion dv6), which is a run of the mill no frills laptop that I use for basic editing for audio and video... with the occasional picture/graphic application as well. I have never had a major issue in terms of crashing... at least not anymore than I do with a desktop. so I think that point can be mute.
I think you should ask yourself... "What do I need most out of the a computer?" (portability or the ability to upgrade)
I suggest that you look at the recommended system requirements (not the minimal) for the Movie Edit Pro and make sure you are at least hitting that mark.
I can pretty much do anything I want on a laptop, its just not as easy upgrade as the desktop. Though you can... it would require USB devices... (audio, video capture cards, specialized hardware)
The weak links for laptops are graphic devices but, if you need portability, they make laptops for gaming... it might sound a little off talking about gaming laptops but their graphics cards are superior to the standard run of the mill graphics card (like mine has) so... again... laptops can be equal the challenge.
I hope that helps.