This is our official list of the best laptops for video editing on the market today. Scroll further down for full details on each product and learn what differentiates laptops for video editing from your regular ones, as well as a brief guide on how best to choose one.
Quick Look:
- 5.0 out of 5.0 stars ASUS ZENBOOK UX501VW-DS71T
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars Dell Inspiron i7559 FHD Editing Laptop
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars ASUS K501UW-AB78
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars Apple MacBook Pro MLH42LL/A
- 4.0 out of 5.0 stars ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM VR Ready Laptop
We know time is of the essence, so the above is a cheat sheet of what’s ahead, just in case you’re in a hurry. Otherwise, keep scrolling down for more detailed and constructive info on each item.
5 Highest Reviewed Video Editing Laptops
Despite the fact that some of these laptops can be a little expensive, they will definitely make anyone’s video production projects stand out. Splurging does not have to be purging.
Having said this, below are some great options to start your search for a video editing laptop match.
1.) ASUS ZENBOOK UX501VW-DS71T
This ASUS laptop delivers a surprising amount of gaming performance/experience. The Strix GL502VM’s chassis is great, but it is the 15.6’’ 1920×1080 anti-glare display with a 60Hz refresh rate that is the true star of the show. This laptop comes with a standard Asus’ ROG Gaming Center Software, making it very powerful. The 16GB RAM means users will never worry about multitasking.
With that much RAM, a user can edit videos, photos and play music all at the same time, getting the same performance speed. This laptop’s hardware provides efficient, powerful performance for heavy gaming, live streaming, and video editing. The three USB ports are perfect for using multiple devices. There is a known overheating issue with this laptop, as reported by some consumers.
PROS
- Powerful processing ability with 16GB of RAM
- Optimize performance for video editing.
- Three USB ports
CONS
- Potential overheating issue.
2.) Dell Inspiron i7559 FHD Editing Laptop
Honoring its name, this gaming laptop definitely provides outstanding performance in gaming and other projects such as entertainment, media editing, and word processing. Thanks to the full HD display, Intel Core i7 processor and discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 graphics card, this powerful laptop is potent enough to provide excellent performance on most settings.
Also, this Dell laptop comes with a massive 16GB DDR3L RAM, with a low-voltage design, more than enough for most heavier tasks such as ultra-high-resolution photo editing, running virtual machines, and video editing with UHD graphics. This video editing laptop has up to six hours of battery life. This Dell laptop is heavy though and can be cumbersome to carry it around.
PROS
- 16GB of RAM
- Potent graphics card
- Optimal performance for entertainment, media editing, and word processing
CONS
- Heavier than the other models
3.) ASUS K501UW-AB78 Video Editing Laptop
This mid-range gaming laptop outclasses the competition in terms of performance and design. It combines both technology and design, so it can be used for office work and gaming at home. First of all, it comes with a 6th generation dual-core Intel Core i7-6500U processor, 8GB of memory and a 512 solid-state-drive (SSD).
The power grid is ample, and it ensures a solid gaming performance. The 15.6’’ screen features full HD resolution and anti-glare coating. In addition, its potent NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M graphics card is perfect for entry-level gaming laptops.
As for portability, the whole laptop weighs in at 5.2 pounds and is 0.9’’ thick. Unfortunately, the absence of IPS technology for wide viewing angles on this model makes it pretty ordinary when it comes to displaying vivid colors.
PROS
- A good laptop for professional and home use
- The screen has antiglare coating:
- 8GB of RAM
CONS
- IPS technology missing
4.) Apple MacBook Pro MLH42LL/A
Featuring a 2.7 Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory, and a 512GB PCIe-based SSD, this is probably one of the most powerful video editing laptops available. It also offers a bright and colorful Mac notebook display, ideal for video editing projects.
The 15.4’’ Retina Display ensures true-to-life pictures with vivid details. The Mac Touch Bar replaces the traditional keys with a more useful feature. This Mac notebook also offers a redesigned enclosure design and all-metal unibody construction for a thin and light laptop to work with and carry around.
The laptop’s speakers are connected directly to system power, which enables up to three times more power. This laptop has an AMD graphics card, which is very buggy, causing graphics issues such as flickering, pixelation, and discoloration.
PROS
- Among the most powerful video editing laptops available
- A very colorful display
- Features the Mac Touch Bar
CONS
- AMD graphics card has known malfunction issues
5.) ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM VR Ready Laptop
Although it looks like older models, this gaming laptop brings an upgraded processor, providing better performance with seven hours of battery life. This powerful computer is both thin and light. It comes with a Skylake quad-core Core i7-6700HQ with Hyper-Threading. In addition, it offers 16GB of DDR4 memory and support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
It is perfect for handling gaming and other projects involving video editing thanks to its GeForce GTX 960 mobile graphics. When it comes to display, its riveting 4K UHD IPS panel looks great in the dark. In addition to these awesome features, it also offers 3 USB ports, and video is facilitated by HDMI. Portability is not an advantage; it is a little heavy, so it can be hard to toss in a bag or carry around.
PROS
- Seven hours of battery life
- Quad-core processor
- Features GTX 960 mobile graphics
CONS
- Heavier than similarly equipped laptops
Brief Guide to Choosing a Laptop for Video Editing
Video editing is important to both consumers and businesses. Many people are eager to share their lives with the world by using video, it is both easy and quick. There is a remarkable difference between sharing a fast, casual video and a high-quality, well-produced video. Graphics, color, sound and the cuts are some elements that can make any video stand out and be worth sharing.
The video, whether for business or personal use, stands or falls on the technology used to create and edit them. In this regard, it is fair to assert that ‘‘bad editing choices, such as awkward cuts, stilted timing or poor choices for music clips, can distract the viewer from the message you’re trying to convey’’ (Oswego Creative, 2014). Therefore, if the video fails to meet certain minimum technical specifications, it may distract the viewer’s attention from the main point of the video.
Video editing can make any video better or worse, and this is why many people spend countless hours looking for the best way to ensure good video production. Good editing refines the message needing to be conveyed. Whether it is a gamer, an amateur illustrator, or a professional filmmaker, having a laptop designed for video editing is always the right choice.
What Are They?
A laptop optimized for video editing offers the mobility only a laptop can provide and more power than a tablet or a regular laptop can give. Although even some of the best video-focused laptop manufacturers lack the power of stand-alone workstations, having a laptop for video editing translates into creating video productions with screen values such as outstanding graphics, fancy transitions, memorable soundtracks, and several camera angles.
Using one a laptop for video editing also enhances and improves lighting features needing correction in the original video. Fixing picture and sound issues in the original video also is very helpful for either a casual or professional video editor. The details in a video’s production quality make a huge difference in the final product.
Digital video editing requires a great deal of memory, so the starting point for picking a good laptop for video editing is easy. Look for a laptop with a lot of memory. Digital video files are quite large, including the editing software and the media itself. Typically, video editing laptops have an adequate hard drive, sometimes offering terabytes of storage.
Graphics capabilities are essential to video editing, so the top-notch laptops for video editing usually include a graphics processing unit or integrated graphics. Advanced graphics features are perfect for video production purposes since they speed up the display and processing of the shooter’s video footage (Schofield, 2015).
Who Are They For?
Video editors looking for the best laptop for video editing are usually highly skilled film industry employees who need to step up their game, however, some amateur video editors may also be in the market for one. It is not hard to imagine why both amateur and professional video editors desperately need one of these powerful laptops, ‘‘the success or ultimate failure of the production lies in their hands’’ (Sonaku, 2017).
Although sometimes unappreciated, video editing focuses on choosing the best raw footage for a movie or casual clip. Video editing includes not only what raw footage to include, but also what non-useful footage, sounds or poorly lit footage to delete. The object of video editing is to take the best footage and make it even better. Editing raw video footage is not easy; it takes a great deal of time and effort.
Professional editors normally meet with the director and/or producer to decide which takes should be kept and which ones should be edited out. Assisting in production studios or broadcasting stations is less stressful when using one of the top video editing laptops. Physically cutting and splicing scenes is a thing of yesterday.
Video editing careers are very lucrative for those who are very competent. Video editors can find many job opportunities, such as video editing freelancer work, working on film projects and television shows, webcasts, and online videos. Other video editing careers include editing, animation, illustration, and visual effects. Many of these careers require using a laptop for the best editing result.
What to Look for In a Laptop for Video Editing?
Why are video editing computers so great? And how can anyone find the perfect match when looking for the best product for them? Well, simply put, it is all about the features. First of all, it is quite important to look at its capacity. A good video editing laptop has a hard drive that is 320GB or larger. For video editing, having enough storage is crucial because a lot of room for storing is needed.
If money is an issue, a trade-off between hard drive size and processor speed may be required. A good video editing laptop must have an SSD drive. The right processor type and speed help a video editor work smoothly editing the raw footage. A laptop with four or more cores is perfect for video editing because it eases video files decompression.
Another feature to look for in a laptop for video editing is a graphic card. A graphics card essentially takes the footage from information and turns it into pixels. The better the graphics card, the better the images are displayed. In addition to a nice graphics card, the computer’s RAM must be adequate to work with video editing.
When editing footage, a laptop needs a place to store the incoming information, while processing ongoing operations. Financial resources are the only limit to what an amateur or professional video editor can find in a laptop used specifically for video editing. A user can get a larger screen, better graphics card, faster processing speeds, and larger hard drives, anything necessary to better enhance the video being edited.
Are They Worth the Money?
Laptops optimized for video editing vary widely in price, depending on the features selected. Assuming the laptop has the features necessary to meet the expectations of the video editor, most laptops used for video editing are worth the money. A nice video editing computer brings several cool features to the table that will definitely not feel like high-end features that do not affect the way it is used.
A laptop with a 500GB hard drive and 4 to 6GB of RAM can be found at about $450, which ensures a solid performance for video production projects. Spending a little more money gets the video editor a laptop with an impressive 2880×1800 native resolution, a 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics can make anyone’s video editing experience a dream.
If resources permit, the video editor can buy a laptop with a huge 17-inch 1080 display, a 2.4 quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, three USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, a Thunderbolt port, and a Display port that translate into enjoyable video editing experiences for editors, producers, and filmmakers. These laptops can be found at a lower price.
Another good option to consider is a video editing laptop with a 15-inch ultra-high-definition (3840×2160) display, a 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512 solid-state drive, and it weighs 5.3 pounds, which eases portability. This is another awesome option for video editors who are crazy about power and quality and of course, budget.
Wrapping Up
After taking a look at these laptops, finding your pick for your video editing needs should be one step closer. Although sometimes unappreciated, editing is definitely an important part of any making video, as it helps the producer, editor, and director convey the message of the video.
Cuts, color, music background, and graphics are some of the elements that make videos, movies, or clips stand out. Whether it is a filmmaker, gamer, video producer, director or illustrator, having a nice video editing laptop helps make high-quality, well-produced videos that definitely lead to success in the online or offline distribution of a professional video.