the most effective video editing computers ought to be pretty powerful – there’ no way around it. Video editing may be a demanding task for any machine, as is rendering, and dealing at high resolutions like 4K or 8K solely compounds the problem. attempt it with a machine that’ not specced for it, and you’ll end up involved during a mire of stall progress bars and non-responsive programs.
Across macOS and Windows, you’ll find a collection of computers designed to handle the pressure. They’ll want a high-end graphics card, a high-spec processor, and lots of RAM. None of this comes cheap, however you don’t essentially ought to pay a bucket of cash, as there are affordable choices for those on a good budget.
We’ve unbroken this guide to desktop computers. we discover them to typically be a lot of robust|an improved} alternative for video written material if you have got the area as they will use more refined cooling systems than laptops, which means they can handle intense process workloads while not overheating.
Don’t declare laptops fully although – we’ve a helpful guide to the most effective laptops for video written material if you’d prefer to see the options. Even a smartphone will kill a pinch, and that we have a guide to the best video editing apps for YouTube if your editing comes aren’t about to involve rather more than a fast cut or two.
Of course, having a desktop mean you’ll ought to attach a monitor – we even have a handy guide to the best monitors for video editing. If the all the technical school stuff is obtaining a small amount overwhelming, you can scroll to the lowest of this page wherever we’ve an ardent section on what to think about once shopping for a pc for video editing.
This guide includes exceptional all-in one PCs, the terribly latest Macs, and additionally a number of the best play PCs that in our reviews we have a tendency to found to supply what video editors want from a computer.
play may be a task that needs loads of process power and smart graphical performance, very like video editing, so there’ a lot of crossover there. you’ll explore the choices as we jump right into our guide to the most effective video written material pcs.
The most effective video editing computers
01. iMac (24-inch, 2021)
The best computer for video editing overall
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPUGraphics: Integrated 7-core – 8-core GPURAM: 8GB – 16GB unified memoryStorage: up to 2TBScreen: 24-inch 4.5K Retina displayTODAY’S
BEST DEALS
VIEW AT AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent screen quality+Updated, colorful design+Compact all-in-one
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lack of ports-No discrete GPU
Providing AN optimum balance between power and price, the new generation of Apple iMac computers are nice for video written material for all types of users, together with students and total newbies. The 24-inch show boasts a 4.5K resolution, thus this isn’t one for those trying to render 8K footage, however the bulk of users aren’t about to ought to worry regarding this. The plan of the iMac was additionally welcome, with skinny bezels for a sleeker overall look.
a plus of victimization AN Apple product is prepared access to picture show Pro, creating it simple to hit the bottom running together with your written material. In our review of the iMac M1, we have a tendency to found it had been ready to handle even advanced video editing tasks, appreciate multiple 4K streams during a single timeline, with relative ease.
the shortage of a separate GPU suggests that it lags in tasks like rendering complex effects-heavy video in DaVinci Resolve, particularly compared to the likes of the MacBook Pro. But, well, that’ why those computers price most more. For the bulk of editors, the iMac money supply goes to try and do everything they need, and bonk in exemplary fashion.
See our iMac M1 review for additional details. And if the 24-inch show isn’t massive enough for you, then the older 27-inch iMac (see below) may well serve your purposes…
02. iMac (27-inch, 2020)
Another brilliant video editing computer from Apple
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i5 – i9Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300 – Radeon Pro 5700 XTRAM: 8GB – 128GB 2666MHz DDR4Storage: 256GB – 8TB SSDScreen: 27-inch (diagonal) 5120 x 2880 Retina 5K displayTODAY’S
REASONS TO BUY
+Improved internals+Can be configured to be very powerful
REASONS TO AVOID
-Design is getting old-Just two Thunderbolt ports
discharged in 2020, this model of the long-lasting iMac microcomputer may not look as fashionable as its new, younger sibling, however it still sports capable components, that includes up to a tenth generation Intel i9 processor ANd an AMD Radeon professional 5700 XT.
That separate graphics card and larger 27-inch show will surmount the money supply semiconducting material within the most recent iMac computer, that is favourable for anyone running additional demanding applications. In our review, we have a tendency to were affected by however swimmingly the iMac might keep running even whereas we loaded it up with tasks – we were transcoding a video get into the background while continued to figure on alternative things, and performance barely flickered.
Also, while we were operating with the iMac, it ne’er seemed to overheat, and also the fans never kicked up the sort of almighty disturbance you expect from some computers. It’ a testament to the quality of Apple’ thermal style.
The all-in-one design o the iMac a pair of020 suggests that it’ simple to line up and appears good in any office, home or studio, and it’ a formidable laptop once it involves written material high-resolution videos. See our iMac 2020 review for additional details.
03. Microsoft Surface Studio 2
A brilliant Windows all-in-one
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i7-7820HQGraphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB -GTX 1070 8GBRAM: 16-32GBStorage: 1-2TB SSDScreen: 28-inch 4500×3000 resolution IPS displayTODAY’S
REASONS TO BUY
+Powerful graphics+High-res touch-sensitive display+A decent iMac alternative
REASONS TO AVOID
-The CPU is out of date compared to rival products-Eyewateringly expensive for what you get
The Microsoft Surface Studio a pair of may be a sensible alternative to Apple iMac computers, sporting an analogous all-in-one design, with some of extras to sweeten the deal.
For one, the Surface Studio 2 comes with a touch-sensitive 28-inch show that options a huge resolution of 4,500 x 3,000 pixels, so you’ll also drag and drop video clips with a finger {as we have a tendency toll|also|additionally|further|furthermore|in addition|likewise|moreover|similarly|still|yet} as a mouse, and there are lots of out there ports for you to attach your favorite mice, keyboards and alternative peripherals.
In our review, we were massively affected with the look of the Surface Studio 2, particularly the actual fact that it comes with a hinge that enables you to flip the screen all the means all the way down to edit video. the power to instantly switch color profiles from sRGB to DCI-P3 (and indeed, having DCI-P3 at all) is additionally massively useful for video folk.
The parts within are what prevents Windows from taking the crown from Apple during this list, however they’re still capable of running video written material applications with ease. AN choice to upgrade the hardware might need been nice for future-proofing, but Apple is also guilty of denying users this option. If you’re already within the Windows ecosystem, the Surface Studio a pair of is a wonderful alternative for video editing.
04. Mac Studio
Apple’s high-performance workstation is a LOT of power
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: M1 Max 10-cores / M1 Ultra 20-coresGraphics: 24-core GPU / 48-core GPURAM: 32-128GBStorage: 512GB-8TB SSDScreen: NoneTODAY’S
BEST DEALS-CHECK AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Fantastic for 8K editing+Near-silent in use
REASONS TO AVOID
-Very expensive-More than most need
The waterproof Studio is Apple’ latest top-hole computing powerhouse. trying sort of a few waterproof Minis (more on that below) welded together, the waterproof Studio is intended for artistic professionals, and is ideal for video editors with huge power needs. It is run victimization Apple’ own money supply liquid ecstasy or M1 immoderate chips, the latter of which provides you double the cores, memory and information measure of the former. fulfill to say, this is often one in all the foremost powerful computers Apple has ever made.
once we reviewed the waterproof Studio, we found, as expected, that it coped unbelievably well with just about any creative task, together with video written material. we have a tendency to place it through its paces editing a complex project in picture show Pro, together with scenes that incorporated 8K footage. It ran as swish as you like, ANd was essentially silent. It additionally terribly nicely handled rendering 3D footage in Houdini. while not a doubt, it’ an astounding machine.
If you’re not acting the styles of video written material tasks careful above, then this is often actually additional computing power than you require, at a better tag than you wish to pay. however if your video editing work flow is very power-intensive, and you need to be assured that your pc can keep up, we’d advocate that waterproof Studio without hesitation.
05. Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Powerful, small and great for video editing
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Apple M1 chip with 8-coreGraphics: Integrated 8-coreRAM: 8GB – 64GB unified memoryStorage: 256GB – 2TB SSDScreen: NoneTODAY’S
BEST DEALS
VIEW AT AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Same lovely design+Very good performance+New M1 hardware has potential
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can’t use eGPUs-Not ideal for 4K
It’ well price trying into play PCs for your video written material needs. once all, gaming is AN activity that needs loads of power out of your pc for a protracted amount of your time – rather like processing and rendering video. whereas loads of gamers build their own computers, there are lots of choices out there for people who haven’t any interest in doing that, appreciate the H.P. Omen 30L.
The glass-heavy vogue enables you to see the interior components, which can to not everyone’ tastes, however we have a tendency to rather like it. The computing power is excellent, particularly for this worth point, with a healthy 16GB of RAM to play with, and also the graphical performance is additionally very good, that is handy if you’re planning a lot of intense once Effects work. the look of the pc makes it fairly simple to swap out parts, thus if you’re somebody who will get their hands dirty, you’ll be ready to facilitate the H.P. Omen 30L maintain for a decent few years.
There’ only 1 cooling fan, and bear in mind that it very will get loud once the pc is acting demanding tasks; you’ll be forgiven for thinking someone had crammed a reaction engine in there. this is often few killer flaw, simply one thing to be aware of.
06. Lenovo Legion Tower 5i
A powerful PC for video editing
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: up to 10th-gen Intel Core i7Graphics: Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SuperRAM: Up to 16 GB DDR4 2933MHzStorage: Up to 2 TB HDD + 1 TB SSDScreen: NoneTODAY’S
BEST DEALS-CHECK AMAZON
REASONS TO BUY
+Clean, modern design+Beefy components+Various configurations
REASONS TO AVOID
-No USB Type-C at the front
The Lenovo Legion 5i is another nice example of play PCs that additionally double as fantastic PCs for video written material, giving very good worth for cash and suppleness for anyone who dabbles in games aboard their artistic work.
You’re obtaining tenth generation Intel processors, and up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super, each of that are slightly out of date given the most recent people releases from Nvidia and Intel, however still terribly capable and powerful enough to run abdominal aortic aneurysm games and any video editing application you’ll throw at it.
you’ll additionally put together it with up to 16GB of RAM, which once more ought to be masses for many people’ needs. If you find you wish more, then you’ll continuously upgrade it yourself later – one in all the most effective things regarding desktop laptops is however comparatively simple they’re to upgrade. better of all, this PC can escort a lot of storage space, with up to 1TB drive and a 1TB SSD – creating it ideal for storing all of your video files on.
