Uni Student needs advice

Mart_C_2410

Mart_C_2410

Mart_C_2410

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Joined
6 Dec 2012
Posts
22
I am off to university this year and don't want to carry my big gaming pc from city to city everytime i have to come home, I need a under or at £500 inc. keyboard mouse monitor for video editing, script writing (celtx, sony vegas, adobe after effects, 3ds max) ect. I am an amateur when it comes to computers, i can do the basics i.e put in an ssd but i know nothing about working computers, if anyone can suggest a build or a few good items thankyou
 
If you don't want to have to carry it about to and from uni halls then leave it there at Christmas and Easter.

I took my rig back home during the xmas and easter holidays and never found an issue.

If your concerns are around your gaming rig being big and heavy then sell it, as by the time your degree ends it will be old tech and not worth much.

Sounds like you need to just lug it about or sell it for a laptop with a graphics card :).
 
Personally I always prefer to do video editing on my main rig due to the larger screen size but a lot of people on my course did use laptops exclusively.

It does bring the benefit of being able to work on your project anywhere without having to move files / rebuild libraries on the uni computers.

Look in to getting the software cheap through uni and spend as much as you can on the laptop. However while you can get something for video work for around £500 (i5 or A10), I wouldn't expect much for gaming if that is a concern for you.
 
I went to uni with just my laptop. Within a couple of months I had my main PC and xbox with me as a laptop just doesnt cut it for work and entertainment! My advice is take a PC up with you.

Why don't you want to carry it home? Just bung it in the car? You'll have too much 'other stuff' to use public transport.
 
Just take your PC, youll want it when your there. If needs be put the money towards making it mini ITX and whack it in a small case.
 
I'm going to bournemouth so when i come home for easter october ect i don't want to take it on trains, can anyone recommend any good laptops then if that is the best way to go?
 
Does the course specify which software packages you will be using?

One issue I had was that I like working with the Adobe suite which my college had limited access too, with the majority running final cut pro.

This was rather frustrating as I didn't have a laptop and couldn't easily carry on with my project.

I'm sure your university will be better equipped but it is something to keep in mind, like I said earlier moving project libraries and assets between computers is annoying but doable. Moving between software packages can be a nightmare.
 
I would never settle for anything but a desktop and as in your case you have a good one (assuming it is!) then take it with you. If laptops drive you mad as much as they do me then you will end up being miserable without it.
 
Your going to uni, hopefully you will be studying or drinking and not gaming anymore.

I would consider selling the PC and getting a nice laptop. Maybe a Mac Book Pro (R)?

Its the last day of the back to school promo today.
 
You don't know how easy you've got it :p When I went Uni, I had to lug around a 19" CRT screen with me as well as my PC when I went home. Uni halls without lifts are a bugger!
 
I'm well out of the loop when it comes to what parts are best these days, however I can tell that for the work you do you will want to go for a more powerful CPU than is normal for a gaming PC and you will almost certainly want more RAM than the usual 8GB.

Since you are understandably not willing to take the PC on a long train journey and, presumably, no one is willing to drive you to uni and back at the beginning and end of each term with the PC in the car, have you considered sending your PC to uni by post? I have no idea how much it will cost, but you're willing to put £500 towards a mid range PC/laptop for uni and even if you sold it after a while you wouldnt get much more than half of that money back so it might be an option.

If you do want a new PC for uni, post a thread in general hardware rather than general discussion. you'll get a bunch of recommendations in minutes
 
Get a laptop and maybe a nice external display (which can also double as your TV if you want).

If you are ever in need of more power or what have you, you should probably use the edit bays and video cutting facilities the university will no doubt have on offer.
 
Don't spend your time at uni gaming, there are much better things to do.... not that I know of them, I've spend my Uni days in front of a screen
 
Break the desktop up, sell the parts, use the money + the £500 to buy a decent laptop.

Depending on the size of the video projects you'll be working on, Vegas will work fine with 8gb of RAM, a decent mobile Core i7 and a half decent discrete graphics card. If you can make it a grand, you'll get an excellent laptop and probably enough cash left over for a seperate 22 - 24" monitor too.
 
I'm leaving my gaming pc at home. Uni is more important and I don't plan on doing much gaming there because i intend on getting a job and the other time will be spent doing work. I hate laptops (broke 3) so I need a desktop that i can keep there. Gaming is a hobby, for the course i need a fast reliable video editor, nothing to do with gaming, and it doesn't need to leave the halls, the have computers in the uni but i will only be doing 14 hours in lectures so a desktop is fine
 
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