Video editing is not an easy task and required the most powerful laptop with a high-end graphics card that can show an amazing result. With the advancement of technology now you can edit your videos on a laptop easily by using different software. What laptop specs do I need for video editing?
Video editing is not an easy task and required the most powerful laptop with a high-end graphics card that can show an amazing result. With the advancement of technology now you can edit your videos on a laptop easily by using different software.
However, that doesnt mean you can edit videos only on expensive laptops. You can get economical laptops as well but it depends on your requirements and editing software. You have always considered the editing apps requirements before buying a laptop.
The basic specification for a video editing laptop is explained below:
| Technical Details | Requirements | Recommended |
| RAM/Memory | 8 to 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Processor | Intel-Core i5 to i9 | Intel Core i8 |
| Storage Capacity | 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD | 128GB to 256GB SSD |
| Graphics Card | Minimum 2GB AMD or NVIDIA | Depends on the editing software |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 later version | Windows 10 |
| Screen Size | 16.5 to 21 Inch | 19 Inch screen |
What laptop specs do I need for video editing?
However, a bulky desktop computer setup is ideal for video editing at a large scale with heavy machinery. Meanwhile, you cannot carry it always along with you. In this situation, laptops are required and what specs they should have are most important to know.
Before purchasing a laptop you must consider few things that average laptops will try to get done your work efficiently.
Average laptops do not have high processing power or space issues sometimes and graphics-card for editing or handling videos. If you are a filmmaker and earn in video making and editing then you should buy a laptop with the specific machinery. The following factors can help you to pick thebest laptopfor video editing.
- Processor [CPU]
- Memory [RAM]
- Storage [ROM]
- Screen resolution [HD Display]
- Graphics card [GPU]
Software consideration
Video editing software has its own system requirements to run smoothly on a laptop and has different priorities. Its better to consider first which software you are using before buying a laptop.
The machinery has an important role in the quality of video editing and saves your time.
Such as CPU, RAM, SSD, and most importantly GPU contributes a lot to the windows laptop for professional video editing.
Required processor for video editing
The central processing unit is a major part of computers and plays an important role in the functionality of the system. All your work done depends on the speed of the processor. Though, many users need to work on different applications at the same time so i5 Intel or i7 Intel is a better option for multi-tasking. But Intel core-i8 can be a great choice along with other specifications.
- Minimum
Core i5 8th Generation or comparable AMD Ryzen is a good choice but the limited RAM or low storage wont work out for the video editing. You need a proper balance of the systems units.
- Recommendations
Intel 8-core CPU or AMD equivalent is the recommended option for the video editors to run the software smoothly. There are different software for video editing like Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid, and FCPX can easily work on this processor.
- Ideal
Intel Xeon or higher would be a great choice.
Required memory [RAM]
Video editing work can create temporary files on the system while motion graphics, it needs a larger RAM to work fast. So the more space will allow you to save the temporary files on real-time playback.
For this purpose, you must have extra RAM if the existing one has not enough memory. You can utilize the big RAM by proportionating it and designating different tasks according to your preferences.
- Minimum
Laptops usually come with 8GB RAM that is enough for the video editing of 720-1080p files. It is not much but would work for you in your limited budget.
However, if you want to edit 4K-files then its useless to think about 8GB RAM. You may have to upgrade your system to get more memory or buy a new laptop.
However, 16GB RAM can work sufficient with the 4K file but is still not stable much if you run other background tasks. You may face issues to balance your usage or editing.
- Recommended
The higher the RAM will be the greater result. With 32GB RAM, you can edit all types of videos including 4K files due to the optimal RAM capacity which offers you get an advantage over most of it.
- Ideal
People who are pro video editors and have 8K files to edit can run their system on 64GB RAM; though the system would be expensive. You dont need much RAM more than 32GB when you are editing 4K files. These 8K files are reserved for professionals so these wont work on 32GB RAM even and slow down the process.
Screen resolution for video editing
Video editing needs accuracy about colors and your laptop screen should be able to produce the expected result on the screen. If you can afford it then 4K resolution works great for video editing. This will provide you with accurate color correction and shading to the videos on 4K screen.
- Minimum
Though full HD 1080p can work well for 720-1080p video files you need some more resolution for 4K files.
- Recommendations
Have you ever seen gaming laptops? You must notify the screen-resolution is of higher pixels and screens have excellent performance with 4K [3840 x 2160].
If you want the colors of the video to not fade off or be incorrect with hues and brightness then 4K screen resolution is good.
- Ideal
If you can afford laptops with an 8K screen size then buy it but if you are not in the profession then you shouldnt invest huge for video editing.
Graphics card [GPU]
All the visualization occurs in the system is because of the graphics card which helps video data converting into pixels. There are several types of GPU available in the market for gaminglaptopsor professional heavy machines. They provide super lightning-fast graphics that are needed for video editing.
- Minimum
Most of the average laptops have installed an integrated video card that is enough for small video files with low pixels.
- Recommendations
The major companies producegraphics cards NVIDIA RTX and AMD Radeon Pro so make sure you have one installed on your laptop. This is the most needed part of any system that decides what to play on your screen. Other companies also produce sub-standard cards you can get a deal with.
Storage capacity [ROM]
Along with other specs, storage is also desired for video editing so you have to choose a laptop with a larger hard drive. If you dont have enough budget then trade-off between speed and size;
- Minimum
The laptops hard drive should capacitate 256GB SSD to work properly while video editing.
- Recommendations
It is recommended the laptop must have 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD or more when you want it for video editing or you can also use the external hard drive.
SSDs are a bit expensive but they are worth the cost so 500GB or higher will be great. You will be able to keep video footage to your laptop without the external drive.
- Ideal
For ideal and professional working on laptop 1TB, NVMe PCIe SSD [RAID-0] is the choice of professional video editors when its a matter of speed. You can even export the footage to the external drive no need to invest in this expensive SSD. Because the speed is unnoticeable if you have it installed on your laptop.
Video editing vs hard drive speed
HDD is the main part of the system as they store all the data running on your laptop. For video editing or exporting from the laptop, you need a high-speed hard disk because slow speed can take a long time to perform the action.
With modern technology, SSDs are much faster and less prone to failure than HDDs or Fusion drives.
Size of hard drive matter in video editing
The size of the hard drive matters a lot while editing videos because when you edit it on the desktop you have a workstation with external drives. The external hard drives are difficult to carry so you must have a big HDD installed on the laptop.
Consequently, a big hard drive means enough storage space to store data or dumping footage onto your laptop from the camcorder to make space in it. You can easily edit your videos on the spot as well as on the laptop.
Conclusion
You should also notice that with the above-mentioned specifications your laptop should have large battery power for long life usage as portable. Keeping your laptop at balance while video editing you cannot always plug on the laptop, so a good battery can be helpful.
The other thing that matters a lot is the weight of a laptop as they are created for portability and let you work from anywhere and you may not tie to a place.
Select a lightweight laptop so it doesnt bother you while carrying along. But remember lightweight laptop less than 3 pounds would have 14 inches display and the GPU must not be discrete.