Video editing requires not just skill and creativity but alsothe right equipment. Choosing the best laptop for video editing is extremely important for filmmakers, content creators, and digital artists for flawless performance and high-resolution displays to bring their visions to life. With many options available, finding the perfect match for editing needs means considering a blend of power, precision, andportability. This guide aims to illuminate the path to selecting the ideal laptop that meets the strict demands of video editing, ensuring there’s an ideal option for everyone, from budding enthusiasts to professional editors.
Apple MacBook Air 15.3-inch Laptop with M2 chip
Choosing the Best Laptops for Video Editing
When selecting a laptop for video editing, keep these important aspects in mind:
Finding the perfect laptop for video editing is just the beginning of optimizing a creative workspace. Improve editing efficiency and comfort by exploringthe best wireless mice for laptops, designed to offer precision and ease without the clutter of wires. These wireless mice are perfect for navigating through complex editing software and add an ergonomic benefit, reducing the strain on the user’s hand during those long editing sessions.
Game Rant’s Best Laptops for Video Editing
Apple 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop M2
The Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch laptop is one of the best laptops for graphic design, thanks to its stunning display and outstanding performance. Its 3456 x 2234 Liquid Retina XDR screen offers a broad, crisp canvas for all graphic design work. The M2 processor powers the laptop and boasts 19 GPU cores, 12 CPU cores, 9-core GPU, and up to 32GB unified memory, allowing it to handle a range of creative software and take on even the most demanding graphic design jobs.
Mac computers are some of the most efficient and powerful laptops available for content creation, especially video editing. Since the release of Apple’s own SOC with the M1, MacBook Pros have been a go-to choice for many editors looking for an excellent laptop that can get it all done.
Regardless of what software editors want to use, the M2 MacBook Pro is an absolute beast and will handle any footage with relative ease. If editors work with raw footage or clunky codecs like ProRes 444, making proxies will probably make life much easier. The other significant advantage of using the MacBook Pro is the gorgeous display. Using Apple’s famous Liquid Retina XDR display, which is essentially a high-resolution mini-LED display, this laptop displays an extensive color gamut with reasonably accurate color production.
Even though Apple just released the M3 version of the MacBook Pro, the M2 MacBook Pro offers a better price-to-performance value, especially when specced out with 16GB of RAM. When it comes to tasks like video editing and content creation, the M2 MacBook Pro has similar, if not better, benchmark results compared to the same build with the M3 SOC. So, while Apple is still making M2 MacBook Pros, and even on the used market, these laptops are well worth picking up despite being a generation behind.
Alienware x14 R1 Gaming Laptop
The Alienware X14 R1 is a super lightweight and ultra-thin gaming laptop with a clean white case. Powered by NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 16 GB of RAM, and a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H, gamers can expect decent specs despite the impressively compact packaging. Weighing just over four pounds with a thickness of only 0.6 inches, this laptop is one of the thinnest and lightest gaming-specific laptops on the market.
Need a laptop that can handle work and play? The Alienware x14 R1 Gaming Laptop is a top pick for multi-purpose laptops, blending high-end performance with portability. Its Intel Core i7-12900HK processor and NVIDIA RTX 3060 graphics card offer the power needed for video editing and gaming. Its 14-inch FHD display provides vibrant visuals, while the sleek 0.6-inch chassis makes it an ideal companion for creators on the go.
A highlight is its build quality and the premium feel of its materials. The laptop’s design is functional and stylish, opening with just the right amount of resistance and providing comfort for users with smaller hands. Smooth visuals, crisp graphics, and surprisingly good sound quality from its compact speakers show why the Alienware x14 R1 is the best multi-purpose laptop for video editing. For a deeper dive into its capabilities, check outGame Rant’s review.
Dell XPS 17 9730 (2023)
Fuel any creative projects with the most powerful XPS laptop to date. Get up to 13th Gen Intel Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series graphics, and DDR5 memory, which has up to 50% faster clock speed than DDR4 memory. Get immersed in content or create content with the bright, color-rich panel with a 3840 x 2400 resolution and accurate color production.
Sometimes dubbed as the Windows equivalent to the MacBook Pro, the Dell XPS 17 is an excellent laptop for anyone looking to work reliably with 4K footage on a Windows machine. Equipped with a 13th generation Intel CPU and 40 series Nvidia GPU, this laptop is built for some serious performance in a body that screams professional work. There is nothing wrong with gaming-style laptops, but they give off a different vibe compared to a unibody aluminum shell.
On Dell’s website, users can customize this laptop to fit their budget, but Game Rant recommends going with this build for editors looking to get the most performance. The extra cores and speed from the CPU, in combination with the 32GB of RAM, take this laptop to a whole other level compared to the 16GB version. Plus, any editor will greatly appreciate the upgrade to a 3840 x 2400 display for crisp details over 1900 x 1200. Unlike the MacBook Pro display, editors who do heavy color grading work will probably want to pick up a separate monitor for more accurate color production.
Whether editors use Davinci Resolve or Premiere Pro, this laptop crushes export times and effortlessly scrubs through timelines. 4K footage plays back like a dream without having to use proxies, but once editors start to add effects or use AI features like noise reduction, it does start to hitch up a bit. That is to be expected for pretty much any laptop, though.
HP Envy Laptop WQXGA
The HP Envy WQXGA is a killer productivity laptop that features a massive memory size of 64GB. Also, with its 4TB fast storage, users will have plenty of space for their work files and large gaming titles. With the power of the Core i9 13900H CPU and RTX 4060, it is surely going to be a killer machine at executing the programs quickly while not remaining behind in gaming either.
The HP Envy Laptop WQXGA blends top-tier performance with a stunning display, making this our top choice for mid-range laptops capable of editing videos. With its Intel Core i9 13900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, it’s tailored for creators seeking power without the premium price. Additionally, the mammoth 64GB DDR5 RAM and dual 2TB SSD setup ensure that storage and speed are never concerns, making it a formidable tool for both productivity and leisure.
Yet, it’s not just the specs that set the HP Envy apart. It has garnered praise for surpassing older desktop GPUs and offering better battery life than many gaming laptops. However, the absence of a numeric keypad might be a minor hiccup for some professionals. Regardless, the HP Envy’s price-to-performance ratio is exceptional, and it’s a testament to HP’s commitment to providing high-quality, mid-range laptops that cater to the demanding needs of video editors and creative professionals alike.
MacBook Pro M3 Max
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip drives even more outstanding performance for more demanding workflows. With an industry-leading battery life of up to 18 hours and a beautiful Liquid Retina XDR display, it’s a pro laptop without equal. The all-aluminum unibody enclosure is exceptionally durable and comes in Space Black and Silver.
For editors who want a laptop that can easily handle anything thrown its way for years to come, the MacBook Pro M3 Max is certainly not a cheap investment. However, it does provide some of the best-in-class performance for video editing on a laptop. People who can fit this laptop into their budget will not regret this purchase, with the latest SOC from Apple and upgrades that future-proof this computer (as much as possible) for video editing needs for quite some time.
Since Apple released its own SOC with the M1, it has offered Max variations of these chips for people who want the absolute best performance they can get on a macOS device. The M3 Max is no different. With a 14-core CPU and 30-core GPU, this laptop easily beats out any other laptop on paper, but even more impressively, it also upholds that lead in benchmarks. Across Cinebench and handbrake benchmarks, the M3 Max easily beats most of its competition, including the Dell XPS 17 and M2 Max MacBook Pro.
Of course, benchmarks only tell half the story; editing on the laptop tells the other half, and it does not disappoint. Regardless of the editing software, this laptop cruises through any timeline regardless of the footage. 4K timelines playback at full resolution even with some light effects and color grading applied.
MSI GV15 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop
The MSI GV15 Gaming Laptop is a capable laptop that can offer both multitasking abilities and proper gaming displays. With a powerful Core i5-11400H, the MSI GV15 Gaming Laptop provides excellent processing speeds, as well as precise gameplay even during online play.With the inclusion of a 512 GB NVMe SSD and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, gaming load times as well as reading other applications on the laptop will be a breeze.
The MSI GV15 emerges in the best budget category for video editing, impressively balancing performance and portability. Its Core i5-11400H processor and GTX 1650 MaxQ GPU make it a great deal for both creative tasks and gaming, capable of running intensive software smoothly. The 144Hz refresh rate display allows editors to work on their projects with crystal-clear visuals, a critical factor for detailed editing work.
However, the MSI GV15 does come with some considerations. The 256GB NVMe SSD offers quick boot and load times but may require external storage solutions for larger video projects. Additionally, while 8GB of DDR4 memory is sufficient for many tasks, those working on particularly complex edits might consider an upgrade. Nonetheless, for those looking for an exquisite budget laptop that can easily handle video editing needs, this is the way to go.
The Apple MacBook Air 15.3-inch Laptop with M2 chip is one of the most powerful and versatile Macs currently on the market. With the baseline 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage on offer in addition to Apple’s newer and more powerful M2 chip, the 15-inch MacBook Air is easily the hottest Mac in 2023 bar none.
There are a lot of Apple laptops in his guide, but it is tough to find fault with them when it comes to content creation and overall excellent performance. The MacBook Air M2 is an excellent choice for editors looking for a super light and thin laptop to keep up with hefty editing tasks.
With this laptop just being 0.45 inches, most people might expect it to suffer from thermal throttling the second a timeline starts to get loaded up, but for the most part, it handles it pretty well. The MacBook Air M2 doesn’t offer the same level of performance as the M2 MacBook Pro or M3 Max, but for being so small comparatively, it holds its own. 4K timelines are entirely possible in Davinci Resolve and Final Cut. However, it does struggle a bit in Adobe Premiere, and proxies are definitely going to be the editor’s friend with this laptop.
Offering the same excellent Liquid Retina display as the MacBook M2 Pro, this laptop displays absolutely gorgeous colors with a high level of accuracy that can be trusted for color grading. The only point where the M2 Air falls short of the M2 Pro is the I/O. With just two Thunderbolt 3 ports, the number of connected devices becomes severely limited. However, all that is needed for editors on the move is an external SSD and maybe a mouse, so it is not too bad.
Selecting The Best Laptop For Video Editing
Choosing the best laptop for video editing involves understanding how processing power, display quality, and storage capacity combine to enhance the editing workflow.
Processing Power
A laptop’s processing power is the backbone of its performance for video editing. A powerful CPU ensures that even the most demanding editing tasks are handled smoothly, reducing rendering times and allowing for a more efficient editing process.
Display Quality
The quality of a laptop’s display is extremely important for video editors who rely on accurate color representation and clarity. A screen that offers a wide color gamut, excellent contrast ratios, and high resolution can make a significant difference in the outcome of projects.
Storage and Memory
Video files can be large, and editing software can be demanding on system resources. Opting for a laptop with fast SSD storage and a generous amount of RAM can drastically improve the editing experience, ensuring the system remains responsive and capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
FAQ
Q: Can I use a gaming laptop for video editing?
Yes, gaming laptops are excellent for video editing because they have high-performance processors, advanced graphics cards, and ample memory, all crucial for editing.
Q: Is a 4K display necessary for video editing?
A 4K display is not mandatory but highly recommended for professional video editing, as it provides more screen real estate and finer detail in your footage.
Q: What is the optimal screen size for a video editing laptop?
A larger screen, around 15 to 17 inches, is optimal for video editing, offering more workspace and better visibility for detailed editing tasks.
