Video editing on Linux and spec question?

bernard

bernard

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I've gotten my GoPro up and running and will use it for reviews for my sites and various guides.

I am short in cash and only have a 3GB, 1.66GHZ dual-core Lenovo R61. I run lightweight Point Linux. I also use a swap partition, because without it would struggle with multiple videos running for example.

Is it at all realistic to edit video with such a setup? And what would I use to do it. I also have an ipad 2.
 
To do video editing, you usually need some beef behind your setup at least if you want things to go smoothly.

Linux video editing seems pretty limited, there's Open Shot but I've not heard of anyone really using it. Davinci Resolve is a really good pro level editor and I think they have a Linux version, but it relies on you have a good GPU to back it up and your laptop based on specs doesn't. Besides that I guess you could check out Blender, which is a 3D modeling application but has video editing tools.

You would have more and better options if you where on MacOS or Windows honestly.

iPad you probably have more options, have you tried out iMovie? It's pretty basic but you can probably get things done with it.
 
What do you think is a minimum spec for windows?
 
Depends what you are editing honestly. You need more for 4K video editing, but I would say:

8 GB RAM (16 GB better) even small videos will eat your RAM.
4 core processor, or more. Video editors will eat your cores. (an Intel i7 or a newer AMD Ryzen)
Nvidia GTX 970 or better graphics card (1050+ would be better)or AMD equivalent. Important for rendering video at half decent speeds and general workflow stuff.

It really depends what you're using too. Davinci Resolve can really utilize a good graphics card, so it's more important there. Hitfilm seems more CPU based. Adobe Premiere Pro I've never used (although it is the industry standard) so hard to say.
 
Do you have a suggestion for which older machines could do the job?
 
I don't know about older, there are so many computers out there. I mean you could look for a used Dell or something on eBay. Here is kind of a base level unit for doing short videos that's newer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-i5675-A933BLU-PUS-Inspiron-Processor-Graphics/dp/B071ZZF7FY

Biggest down side is it doesn't have an Solid State Drive, which is really handy for doing video stuff because the load times are so much lower. Personally I would recommend something like a Samsung 850 EVO, great drive, good price: ~$150 / 500 GB on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE

You also need a screen, keyboard, etc...
 
I has to be laptop tho.

I seem to be able to get a T430 i7, 4GB ram for about $100, gonna give that a try with 8GB of ram and see if it can do the trick. I don't need a lot of professional edits to begin with, just cutting, some overlays etc.
 
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