What to consider when buying a new laptop for video editing

[FlyingDutchman90]

Hello everyone, I hope I'm in the right section of the forum for this. I have been editing videos since about 4 years now and I've always used my basic laptop for this. When I bought this now 10 year old laptop (refurbished) I was only using it for Word or Excell and to go online, so there was no need for a powerful computer. However, while using the poor thing for editing 4K videos it was clearly struggling, making a fair bit of noise.

As I need to buy a new laptop with Windows 11 I would like to buy one that is appropriate for video editing. But as I don't know much about computers, I don't know what specs I need to pay attention too. Is it the memory? The video card? Hopefully you can give me some advice.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Cafguy]

I have an Acer Nitro 5 laptop,.. couldnt recommend it enough!

 

[SkyeHigh]

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[Dale D]

Hello everyone, I hope I'm in the right section of the forum for this. I have been editing videos since about 4 years now and I've always used my basic laptop for this. When I bought this now 10 year old laptop (refurbished) I was only using it for Word or Excell and to go online, so there was no need for a powerful computer. However, while using the poor thing for editing 4K videos it was clearly struggling, making a fair bit of noise.

As I need to buy a new laptop with Windows 11 I would like to buy one that is appropriate for video editing. But as I don't know much about computers, I don't know what specs I need to pay attention too. Is it the memory? The video card? Hopefully you can give me some advice.

Thank you very much in advance!

I think you should buy the highest RAM you can afford. I use an i MAC with 16 GB and I still run out of memory. I found this on Chat GPT

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hello everyone, I hope I'm in the right section of the forum for this. I have been editing videos since about 4 years now and I've always used my basic laptop for this. When I bought this now 10 year old laptop (refurbished) I was only using it for Word or Excell and to go online, so there was no need for a powerful computer. However, while using the poor thing for editing 4K videos it was clearly struggling, making a fair bit of noise.

As I need to buy a new laptop with Windows 11 I would like to buy one that is appropriate for video editing. But as I don't know much about computers, I don't know what specs I need to pay attention too. Is it the memory? The video card? Hopefully you can give me some advice.

Thank you very much in advance!

With a proper PC: Look for an intel core i7: a dedicated GPU (8gb) and at least 16-32gb of RAM.

Not all editing software shunts the processing to the GPU - some video editors still put most of the pressure on the main processor.

If you prefer a lappie: look for a medium to high spec gaming laptop with an i7 chip. They're specifically designed to handle heavy duty graphics very quickly.

 

[Jim Martin]

Go to someplace like NewEgg.com and search for "Creator Laptops". Those will have the specs you are looking for.
One big thing that is frequently overlooked is hard drive performance. Working with 4K video files can be tediously slow if you don't have fast drives.

If you are patient and lucky, you can find brand new late model creator laptops for as much as 50% off. We picked up a $4,000+ Gigabyte laptop with a 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM with fast dual Nvme drives and a 4K OLED screen for 50% off two years ago during black Friday deals. Check eBay as well.

The last thing to consider is creator laptops tend to be large, heavy, get really hot and have shorter battery life compared to a traditional business laptop.

 

[Dale D]

Go to someplace like NewEgg.com and search for "Creator Laptops". Those will have the specs you are looking for.
One big thing that is frequently overlooked is hard drive performance. Working with 4K video files can be tediously slow if you don't have fast drives.

If you are patient and lucky, you can find brand new late model creator laptops for as much as 50% off. We picked up a $4,000+ Gigabyte laptop with a 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM with fast dual Nvme drives and a 4K OLED screen for 50% off two years ago during black Friday deals. Check eBay as well.

The last thing to consider is creator laptops tend to be large, heavy, get really hot and have shorter battery life compared to a traditional business laptop.

I would add that since I have long ago switched from PC to Apple, that my iMAC is more graphics friendly and intuitive. I realize this statement may elicit some push back.
Dale

 

[Jim Martin]

I would add that since I have long ago switched from PC to Apple, that my iMAC is more graphics friendly and intuitive. I realize this statement may elicit some push back.
Dale

People should absolutely consider a Mac. I've been in IT and programming most of my life. Mac vs PC arguments are counter productive. There is nothing wrong with having a strong personal preference - just don't assume other's share your preference

I would encourage anyone to look at both systems and choose the one that feels the most comfortable and intuitive. They can both get the job done.

 

[Cafguy]

When I was in the Graphics field Macs were a must have thats for sure I still keep an Imac around!

 

[MS Coast]

One big thing that is frequently overlooked is hard drive performance.

I'd suggest staying away from spinning hard drives entirely and using an SSD - solid state drive. Upgrading to an SSD in a couple of old machines made a tremendous difference in performance. Power consumption is lower, too.

 

[Jim Martin]

I'd suggest staying away from spinning hard drives entirely and using an SSD - solid state drive. Upgrading to an SSD in a couple of old machines made a tremendous difference in performance. Power consumption is lower, too.

I couldn't agree more. I don't think it's possible to purchase a laptop with anything other than some form of SSD.
As far performance goes, 3.5 inch laptop drives with physical discs topped out at 7,200 rpm, which is going to be painfully slow by today's standards. I can't imaging why someone would even consider them at this point.

Even when looking at SSDs, there is a huge difference between SATA and Nvme along with the successive generations of PCIe. Avoid SATA and go with the latest generation of Nvme/PCIe that your laptop or motherboard supports.

 

[anotherlab]

For a laptop, I would recommend a MacBook or MacBook Pro. For a desktop, get something with an RTX 3060 or better.

 

[FlyingDutchman90]

Thank you all very much for your comments.

Let me specify that I am really looking for a laptop and not a desktop PC as I move around a lot. Also, my intention was to not spend more than €1000. Not sure if this is realistic, but that was the original price I had in mind and I intend to by a refurbished laptop if possible. Also, I'm not very gifted with computers in general and as I'm not used to the Apple interface, I was not planning on switching to a MacBook, even though I'm aware that many people who use it swear by it.

Keeping this in mind, based on all of your comments, I understand that I need to consider the following things:
- Highest amount of RAM possible (minimum 16GB, 32GB recommended)
- intel core i7 is a good choice for a processor
- GPU of 8GB
- Use terms creator laptop or gaming laptop while searching

Thank you all very much for your time and wisdom!

 

[anotherlab]

Thank you all very much for your comments.

Let me specify that I am really looking for a laptop and not a desktop PC as I move around a lot. Also, my intention was to not spend more than €1000. Not sure if this is realistic, but that was the original price I had in mind and I intend to by a refurbished laptop if possible. Also, I'm not very gifted with computers in general and as I'm not used to the Apple interface, I was not planning on switching to a MacBook, even though I'm aware that many people who use it swear by it.

Keeping this in mind, based on all of your comments, I understand that I need to consider the following things:
- Highest amount of RAM possible (minimum 16GB, 32GB recommended)
- intel core i7 is a good choice for a processor
- GPU of 8GB
- Use terms creator laptop or gaming laptop while searching

Thank you all very much for your time and wisdom!

Under that criteria, look for MSI or Asus gamer models. There will be more of them out there, and the prices will be more competitive. I have an ASUS ROG laptop, and it's a beast.

 

[Jim Martin]

Thank you all very much for your comments.

Let me specify that I am really looking for a laptop and not a desktop PC as I move around a lot. Also, my intention was to not spend more than €1000. Not sure if this is realistic, but that was the original price I had in mind and I intend to by a refurbished laptop if possible. Also, I'm not very gifted with computers in general and as I'm not used to the Apple interface, I was not planning on switching to a MacBook, even though I'm aware that many people who use it swear by it.

Keeping this in mind, based on all of your comments, I understand that I need to consider the following things:
- Highest amount of RAM possible (minimum 16GB, 32GB recommended)
- intel core i7 is a good choice for a processor
- GPU of 8GB
- Use terms creator laptop or gaming laptop while searching

Thank you all very much for your time and wisdom!

If you are willing to buy a used laptop, you should be able to find something on ebay for under $1,000. I found several creator style laptops that were selling for $2000-$4000 brand new 2 years ago that you can pick up for around $850 that would still be considered fast and powerful.