This article showcases our top picks for the Best Laptop For Video Editing. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).
We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip
This product was recommended by Natasha Miller from Tashography
The latest Macbook Pro with the M1 chip is currently my go-to laptop for video editing. It’s the best Apple Laptop currently for running Final Cut Pro. According to Apple, rendering a complex timeline is up to 6 times faster. I can run two streams of 4K ProRes or one stream of 8K ProRes, all at full quality. Apple Silicon has been a pleasure to do video editing on. I’m excited about future Apple Silicon chips and future Macbook Pros, particularly with larger screens.
HP 17.3 HD+ Premium Laptop Computer
This product was recommended by Eric Sander from iActivation
Been testing it for several months, overall it’s a good laptop for video editing. Typical I have at least 5-6 apps open at once (video editing, office, email, videos, programming, etc). Battery life is excellent. Processor speed and memory are great, even for Adobe Premiere Pro work. Doesn’t get hot even when using it on this laptop. Overall I would recommend it to anyone needing a laptop for general business purposes.
Dell XPS 15
This product was recommended by Fay from Cloom
Being the most popular computer OS, Windows is the most preferable even in video editing, at least for the majority. Dell XPS 15 makes the ideal choice courtesy of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics card, coupled with a 4K display. This laptop packs a 512GB solid-state disk which is incredibly fast and enough to work on a video project. A 16GB DDR4 RAM ensures everything loads up smoothly and fast, making the laptop one of the best for video editing and gaming and heavy CAD software.
Asus ZenBook Pro 15
This product was recommended by Omair Khan from Physicians Thrive
The Asus ZenBook is a great device with all the specs you would need to get your video editing done. It has a stunning display and enough processing and graphical power to render the videos in record time. The inclusion of an SSD makes it so that the video files transfer faster and the device itself is just overall faster. The major drawback of this model is that it’s expensive.
Dell G5 15 SE (2020)
This product was recommended by Omair Khan from Physicians Thrive
This is a nice budget laptop that has all the necessary components needed to be a very versatile device. It will help in getting the videos edited as well as allow for good file transfer speeds. It also has an amazing battery life that is just perfect for people who are always on the go when editing videos such as travel bloggers. The price is perfect for the components you’re getting.
2019 Apple MacBook Pro
This product was recommended by Jordan Rolf from EposNow
If you have a preference for working and editing on an Apple machine, the 16-inch Macbook Pro is hard to top. The CPU is an extremely speedy Intel Core i9 CPU and is powered with a AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU. It has a magnificent 16-inch display which holds bright, colourful, and super slim bezels within. This version of the Macbook Pro also comes paired with a Touch Bar that adapts depending on the application you are using. This feature is great when editing video, allowing you to scroll through clips, apply filters, and make cuts/changes to your footage. There is also a 6-speaker system offering beefier bass for playback on your video edits. I love using the Macbook Pro to edit and would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a new editing laptop.
2021 Dell Inspiron 17.3″ HD+ Laptop Computer
This product was recommended by Melanie Musson from HomeInsuranceReviews
Video editors will love the screen clarity and anti-glare feature. The lightning-fast processor combined with the graphics coprocessor will ensure your laptop will run smoothly and not get bogged down by processor overload.. There is ample storage in this computer, which will also contribute to excellent processing speed. The keyboard includes a numeric pad for convenient shortcuts.
Dell XPS 15 15.6-Inch Full HD Laptop
This product was recommended by Kate Gross from Fix the Photo
Video editing requires fast-running laptops to run heavy softwares. This requires high-speed processors, compatible RAM, and a graphics card. Dell XPS 15 has served me well for video editing because of its incredible specs. The Laptop is quite fast and allows me to smoothly edit my videos using softwares like Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Premiere Elements, etc. The high-resolution screen makes it even better for viewing your video in 4k quality. I would recommend this laptop to anyone who edits videos for a profession or even for fun.
New Alienware Area 51M Gaming Laptop
This product was recommended by Eva Lerma from MyTravelTripod
Alienware is one of the fastest and best video editing laptops available in the market. I initially bought Alienware for my gaming sessions, but when I started working on my video editing projects and researched further on this laptop it turns out I don’t need any other device. I think one of the reasons for my exceptional experience is that Alienware uses an overclockable 9th Gen Core i9 desktop processor. The laptop has great speed. I’ve transcoded a 4k video to 1080p in just 6 minutes!