Why Do You Need a Faster Processor for Video Editing
The best video editing laptops in 2021
Included in this guide:
You'll need one of the best video editing laptops to work with raw HD or 4K video or to create special effects. While you can trim small clips with a cheap laptop, they won't boast a fast processor, strong discrete graphics or a high-resolution display.
For it to be the best video editing laptop, you'll want something with a discrete graphics card. The cheapest on our list, which boasts Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, starts at around $1,099. For something with a more powerful card like a high-end Quadro or GTX 1070, as well as features like a high-end display, you may pay around $2,500 or more.
- Check out the best cheap gaming laptops and best smartphones
- See our best eGPUs to upgrade your current laptop
- This is the best virtual tabletop software
If you're wondering if one of the best gaming laptops can edit video, it probably can, but a dedicated media creation system is more likely to get perfect renders every time. The best video editing laptops are often among the best workstations, so if you need a great laptop for handling more graphics-intensive apps beyond video editing, you may want to go with the stronger alternative. Looking for something on the creative front? -- Check out our Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 review. If you're looking for a beast with a 30-series GPU, see our beginner's guide to Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series mobile GPUs.
Black Friday deals 2021: Where to shop
Black Friday is right around the corner. There's no escaping these epic deals. We've got you covered from the best Black Friday laptop deals to the best Black Friday gaming laptop deals.
If you're looking for something on the smaller side, just check out our Black Friday tablet deals or the best Black Friday Chromebook deals. If you want something more specific, like an Apple product, see our Black Friday iPad deals or Black Friday MacBook deals.
Of course, if you're looking for a general branded product, that's easy too. We have a best Samsung Black Friday deals page, a Lenovo Black Friday deals page, a Dell Black Friday deals page and Apple Black Friday deals.
If you're more concerned about shops themselves, we also have a best Walmart Black Friday deals page, a Amazon Black Friday deals page, and a Best Buy Black Friday deals.
Looking for products other than laptops? Check out our Black Friday monitor deals and Best Black Friday headphone deals.
Black Friday deals officially kick off Friday, November 26.
What are the best video editing laptops?
If you're willing to spend a decent chunk of change, and you're looking for the top video editing laptops, the Dell XPS 15 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro are your best bets. They offer gorgeous, high-res displays powered by some intense CPUs and GPUs that'll power through most video editing projects that you can throw at them. Both laptops also sport slim aluminum chassis, making them incredibly portable.
If you're looking for a video editing laptop under $1,000, your best bet would be to look at cheap gaming laptops. Something like the Dell G5 15 SE (2020), which sports an AMD Radeon RX 5600M GPU and a decent display, will be good enough for you to get through some of your rigorous tasks. However, when money is no object and you're a gamer, the best video editing laptop you can buy is the Alienware Area-51m, as it boasts superpowerful components, lightning fast SSDs and is entirely upgradable.
But if you're not a gamer and you want to focus exclusively on video editing no matter the cost, consider picking up a workstation, like the MSI WS65 9TM, which is one of the best workstations you can buy overall. Its Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU is optimized for tasks such as video editing, and thanks to its super colorful 4K display, you'll be able to see all of your creative work come to life before your eyes.
The best video editing laptops you can buy today
1. Dell XPS 15 (2020)
The best video editing laptop you can buy
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7/Core i9
GPU: Intel UHD 630/Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti
RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB
Storage: 1TB HDD or 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K/4K OLED)
Size: 13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7-inches
Weight: 4.5 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Attractive premium chassis +Bright, vivid, super high-res display +Great overall and graphics performance +Good battery life for a 4K laptop
Reasons to avoid
-Expensive
Aluminum and carbon fiber -- a match made in techie heaven. This baby's 3840 x 2400 screen will take your eyes on a journey of color, covering 132% of the sRGB color gamut and blasting 434 nits of brightness. Those sharp visuals are matched by even sharper performance, with the XPS 15's Intel Core i7-10750H processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q GPU.
The carbon-fiber beauty recently fixed its one biggest problem on the 2019 model and finally moved the webcam from the bottom bezel to the top. Not to mention that the XPS 15 is still light as ever, weighing only 4.5 pounds, making this a lean, portable killing machine -- easily at the top of the best video editing laptops. Just in case the colors aren't vivid enough for you, Dell preloaded several utilities to help. PremierColor lets you tweak color gamut, temperature and brightness.
See our full Dell XPS 15 (2020) review .
2. Dell G5 15 SE (2020)
The best budget video-editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: AMD Ryzen R7 4800H
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5600M
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (1080p, 144Hz)
Size: 14.4 x 10 x 0.9 inches
Weight: 5.5 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Blistering CPU performance +Strong graphics (compared to budget gaming) +Great battery life +Competitive pricing
Reasons to avoid
-Middling graphics (compared to mainstream gaming)
The Dell G5 15 SE (2020) is one of the first gaming laptops to pack all new AMD hardware. For $1,199, the Dell G5 15 SE with an AMD R7 4800H CPU blows its competitors out of this realm. When paired with a 15.6-inch display that covered 108% of the sRGB color gamut and emitted 301 nits of brightness, and a battery life that lasted 7 hours and 14 minutes, the G5 15 SE seems like a catch.
The Dell G5 15 SE transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 6 minutes and 43 seconds on our HandBrake benchmark, sailing past the mainstream gaming laptop average (10:35). It not only surpassed the Omen 15 (12:34) and Legion Y545 (8:51), but also topped the Zephyrus G14 (6:59). It's the best video-editing laptop for beginners.
See our full Dell G5 15 SE (2020) review .
3. Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (14-inch)
Our favorite Apple laptop
Specifications
CPU: Apple M1 Pro
GPU: Apple M1 Pro
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB SSD
Display: 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964p
Size: 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
Weight: 3.5 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Sleek, elegant design +Plenty of ports +Excellent performance +Stellar battery life
Reasons to avoid
-Expensive entry point
At long last, after months of rumors and speculation, the 14-inch MacBook is here and it's sporting a ton of goodies as befitting its $2,899 price tag. The ultraportable brings back a cadre of useful ports while ditching the novel, but impractical Touch Bar. The miniLED screen is positively breathtaking as is the new, improved speaker system with its spatial audio capabilities. Although it's still in beta, macOS Monterey runs like a dream and the laptop lasted over 14 hours on our battery test.
When we ran the HandBrake video transcoding test, the MacBook Pro only took 4 minutes and 51 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p. It ran circles around the 14:15 average. This version of the MacBook Pro is outfitted with a 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964p display with a 120Hz refresh rate. And as Apple says, the panel has 5.9 million pixels and boasts a 254 ppi (pixels per inch).
See our full Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (14-inch) review .
4. Alienware Area-51m
The most powerful video editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel 8th Gen Core i7/9th Gen Core i7/Core i9
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060/2070/2080
RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB
Storage: 1TB HDD or 512GB/1TB/2TB SSD
Display: 17.3-inch (1080p/4K)
Size: 16.1 x 15.9 x 1.1~1.7 inches
Weight: 8.5 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Stunning space station aesthetic +Excellent graphics and overall performance +Lightning fast SSDs +All major components upgradable
Reasons to avoid
-Exorbitantly expensive
Meet one of the best video editing laptops: The Alienware Area-51m. This baby is powered by an overclockable 9th Gen Core i9 desktop processor combined with the latest RTX 2080 GPU. It completely crushed the HandBrake benchmark, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p in just 6 minutes flat. Along with its immense, upgradable power, you get the machine's gorgeous design and an SSD with a 1,272 MBps transfer rate.
War has never looked so good on a 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 display. From the bronze, sun-scorched deserts to pristine white snow dunes illuminated by the ethereal emerald glow of the aurora borealis, Battlefield V was devastatingly beautiful. And hidden behind a pair of black glossy vents, the Area-51m's hiding a powerful pair of speakers.
See our full Alienware Area-51m review .
5. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch)
Most versatile video editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
Display: 15-inch (3240 x 2160)
Size: 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches
Weight: 4.2 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Detachable screen +Great pen experience +Long battery life
Reasons to avoid
-Very expensive -No Thunderbolt 3 port
Both a powerful laptop and a portable tablet, the Surface Book 2 is the most versatile notebook you can use to edit video. It comes with a powerful 8th Gen Core i7 CPU and discrete Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, as well as an incredibly vibrant 3240 x 2160 display. The Surface Book 2's 3240 x 2160 display is bright and vivid, so it's perfect for drawing, video editing or just kicking back and watching five or six too many YouTube videos.
It lasted over 12 hours on our battery test, so you can edit all day without fear of losing a charge. If the 15-inch version is too big or too expensive for you, there's also a 13.5-inch option, but that steps down to either integrated or GTX 1050 graphics.
See our full Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) review .
6. HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 2019)
Best 2-in-1 video editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7
GPU: Nvidia MX150/GTX 1050 Ti
RAM: 8GB/16GB
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (4K)
Size: 14.2 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches
Weight: 4.6 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Sexy design +Colorful panel +Comfortable keyboard +Solid performance +Excellent battery life
Reasons to avoid
-Display could be brighter -Muddy speakers
The HP Spectre x360 is an elegant machine capable of completing the HandBrake benchmark in 10 minutes and 45 seconds. The Spectre x360's 15.6-inch, 4K, glossy display is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's ridiculously colorful and sharp, but on the other, this screen is annoyingly dim and comes with distracting glare.
However, the Spectre x360 features a super comfortable keyboard and a battery that can last up to 8 hours and 9 minutes on a charge.The included HP Active Pen has two programmable buttons and 2,048 pressure sensitivity levels. The Spectre x360's aluminum build is lathered in a premium Poseidon Blue that evokes the Greek god himself. On top of that, the hinges and surrounding area of the chassis are elegantly cut, creating a diamond-esque design.
See our full HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 2019) review .
7. HP ZBook x2
Best detachable video editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7
GPU: Intel HD 620 or Nvidia Quadro M620
RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD
Display: 14-inch (4K)
Size: 14.4 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (0.6 tablet)
Weight: 4.9 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Great stylus +Excellent shortcut management +Comfortable keyboard
Reasons to avoid
-Very expensive -Could have stronger graphics performance
The HP ZBook x2 is pricey, but it gets you an adaptable tool for creative work. The matte, 14-inch 4K display lets you edit at any resolution, and, if you prefer a stylus, you can use the shortcut keys for quick actions or keep the Bluetooth keyboard nearby. The Quadro GPU could be stronger, but there are few devices that cater so directly to creatives.
You can get brighter displays, but the ZBook's 14-inch, 4K panel ranks as one of the most vivid we've ever measured. It's also one of the few matte touch screens I've seen, and it has a chemical coating that, when paired with the stylus, feels like you're writing on paper. The ZBook has what HP calls a DreamColor display, which means it can show 1 billion different colors.
See our full HP ZBook x2 review .
8. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme
Our favorite Lenovo laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti
RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K)
Size: 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 4 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Phenomenal 4K HDR display +Blazing-fast performance +Luxurious design
Reasons to avoid
-Below-average battery life -Runs warm
Lenovo propelled its X-series line straight into the future when it revealed that the ThinkPad X1 Extreme (starting at $1,673) would be its first 15-inch and the first to have a discrete graphics card. It comes with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GPU and can be outfitted with an 8th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU as well as 64GB of RAM, which makes it a monster for video editing. It only took 10 minutes and 3 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p on the HandBrake benchmark, which is twice as fast as the 20:30 category average.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme met 12 MIL-STD-810G standards, which means it can survive high humidity, exposure to sand and dust, extreme temperatures and repeated drops. It also supports dTPM encryption, Intel vPro, a fingerprint reader and an optional Smart Card reader, making it ideal for business use. Additionally, it has an optional IR camera so you can sign into your laptop with Windows Hello facial recognition.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme review .
9. HP ZBook Fury 17 G8
The best workstation laptop you can buy
Specifications
CPU: Intel Xeon W-11955M
GPU: Nvidia RTX A5000
RAM: 64GB
Storage: 1TB SSD
Display: 17.3-inch UHD (3840 x 2160)
Size: 15.7 x 10.5 x 1.1 inches
Weight: 7 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Gorgeous 17-inch, 4K touchscreen +Mind-boggling CPU/GPU performance +Integrated fingerprint reader +Minimal bloatware
Reasons to avoid
-Prohibitively expensive
Is the HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 the best workstation on the market? I suppose that depends on your budget and configuration, but if your pockets are deep enough for an Intel Xeon processor and Nvidia RTX A5000 graphics (boy howdy!), this is about as future-proof as laptops get right now.
In terms of raw power, this notebook is tough to beat, and even if it runs out of battery when you're on the go, it's still heavy enough to fight crime with. Granted, the $6K configuration we tested is overkill for most laptop users; it's nigh impossible for this kind of mobile muscle to fail too hard on our standard benchmarks. And that's partially the point, in my opinion. The world of mobile tech continues to march forward at an exponential rate, and if you don't have the right laptop for your respective career, opportunity might very well pass you by.
But that's hardly a concern with the ZBook Fury 17 G8 thanks to a stunning 17.3-inch touchscreen, intimidating specs under the hood, and plenty of ports to power your pertinent peripherals.
See our full HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 review .
10. Alienware m15 R3 (2020)
Best gaming laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5500M or Nvidia RTX 2060/2070 Super/2080 Super
RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB
Storage: 256GB SSD or two 512GB SSD or two 2TB SSDs
Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K)
Size: 14.2 x 10.9 x 0.8~0.7 inches
Weight: 4.7 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Beautiful design +Gorgeous OLED 4K display +Good overall and gaming performance +Strong speakers
Reasons to avoid
-Subpar battery life
Good things typically come in threes. Such is the case of the Alienware m15 R3 ($2,379 reviewed, $1,449 starting) which comes to the table bearing a powerful 10th Gen processor and Nvidia RTX GPU. It's also sporting a downright gorgeous 4K display and Alienware's trademark customizable lighting. And let's not forget that comfortable keyboard and those powerful speakers. During the Handbrake test, the m15 transcoded a 4K to 1080p resolution in 8 minutes and 38 seconds.
You can not only game but video edit on a display capable of reproducing 149.7% on the DCI-P3 color gamut and emitting a vibrant 369 nits of brightness. However, its battery did last only 4 hours and 38 minutes. But overall, the Alienware m15 R3 is an excellent workhorse not to mention an even better gaming laptop.
See our full Alienware m15 R3 (2020) review .
11. Asus ZenBook Pro 15
Most innovative video editing laptop
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9
GPU: Intel UHD 630or Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB SSD
Display: 15.6-inch (4K)
Size: 14.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 4.2 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Elegant, sophisticated design +Powerful overall and graphics performance +ScreenPad complements productivity tasks +Lightning-fast transfer speeds
Reasons to avoid
-Below-average battery life
This 4K speed demon packs an Intel Core i9 processor and a Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti GPU in a lightweight, sexy chassis accompanied by Asus' most interesting feature: the ScreenPad. Essentially a second display, ScreenPad is built into the touchpad to enhance your multitasking.
There are several apps built into the ScreenPad that can transform the secondary display according to use case including a numpad, calculator or a music player. It comes in handy when you want to game on your main display and watch a game guide on the second. When you're not fawning over the awesome ScreenPad, you get to take-in that sexy design and enjoy that eye-popping 141 percent of sRGB color gamut on the 4K display while you're bouncing around its comfortable keyboard.
See our full Asus ZenBook Pro 15 review .
12. Dell Precision 5540
The best XPS 15 alternative
Specifications
Display: 15.6-inch, 1080p or 4K
CPU: Intel Core i5-9400H to Intel Xeon E-2276M
GPU: Nvidia Quadro T1000 to Quadro T2000
RAM: 16GB to 64GB
Storage: 256GB SSD to 2TB SSD
Battery Life: 6
Weight: 4.4 pounds
Reasons to buy
+Strong performance and graphics +Vivid 4K OLED display +Slim, compact profile
Reasons to avoid
-Battery life could be better -Expensive
Dell basically took the XPS 15 and stuffed workstation components inside, which brought the Dell Precision 5540 into life. It's packing an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor, an Nvidia Quadro T2000 GPU and 32GB of RAM. When you're on the go, you don't have to worry about the Precision getting all scuffed up thanks to its MIL-SPEC chassis. It also sports a 15.6-inch, 4K OLED panel, which is perfect for video editing.
The screen covers 200% of the sRGB color gamut and averages 384 nits of brightness. In the Stranger Things, ahem, I mean Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer, Finn Wolfhard's blue shirt popped on the Precision 5540's screen. Even though the quick shot of the diner was dimly lit, I could spot the details of the coffee pots on the counter.
See our full Dell Precision 5540 review .
How to choose the best video editing laptops for you
Choosing the best video editing laptop for you depends on a couple of things. One is your budget -- how much are you willing to spend? And another is what you'll be using it for -- of course you're video editing, but are you simply trimming small clips in 720p? Or are you editing massive projects in 4K? Your answer will determine what kind of system you need.
If you want to get into video editing as a hobby, we recommend starting out with a cheap gaming laptop. It'll offer you a decent amount of power and you'll get a feel if you want to stick with video editing for the future. If you're a professional that needs a top-of-the-line video editing laptop, you're going to need a sharper and brighter display to get your work done, which will cost a pretty penny. So when you're buying a video editing laptop, ask yourself -- how much do you actually need it?
How we test the best video editing laptops
There's a number of tests that we run on video editing laptops to make sure they're up to par with our standards, such as Geekbench, which measures the overall performance of the CPU, and the HandBrake video editing test, which determines how long a laptop takes to transcode a video from 4K to 1080p. To test the GPU, we use synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited and 3DMark Fire Strike.
Performance isn't the only thing you have to worry about when you're looking to buy a video editing laptop. We also take into account the display, specifically the resolution, the sRGB color gamut coverage and average number of nits that its panel can produce. Considering that content is frequently consumed on phones with OLED screens or giant colorful TVs, you need to make sure you're able to see what your users will be seeing when you're editing videos.
- Check out the best laptops and best business laptops
- Here are the laptops with best battery life
Rami Tabari is a Senior Writer for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He's the best at every game and he just doesn't lose. That's why you'll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.
Why Do You Need a Faster Processor for Video Editing
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/best-laptops-for-video-editing