Video enhancing can put a heavy burden on any laptop. So, when looking for a laptop computer for video enhancing, you’ll need to be sure you’re loading up with some heavy {hardware} firepower. Whilst you won’t want absolutely the top-of-the-line gear, merely shopping for a gaming laptop computer and calling it a day might be not going to chop it. Severe video editors have to consider just a few issues, together with processor and graphics efficiency, the standard of the show, port choice, and different elements.
Why it’s best to belief us: PCWorld has been protecting PCs since 1983, and opinions greater than 70 laptops a yr in our endless quest to seek out the very best laptops. Our skilled reviewers consider each machine utilizing a mixture of efficiency benchmarks and rigorous usability requirements, with an eye fixed towards figuring out the very best laptops for particular wants and at numerous worth factors. Check out our high picks for video enhancing beneath, adopted by shopping for recommendation and extra particulars about our testing course of.
If you happen to’re on a finances or simply wanting to avoid wasting cash, you may additionally need to take a look at our each day roundup of the very best laptop computer offers to scope out any reductions on content material creation notebooks.
Up to date 08/31/2023: To incorporate the Acer Swift X 14 as our selection for greatest compact design. Learn extra about this nice, transportable new decide in our abstract beneath.
Dell XPS 17 (2023) – Finest laptop computer for video enhancing
Execs
- Expansive 17-inch 16:10 show
- Skinny chassis
- Unimaginable battery life
Cons
- Excessive worth with out OLED show
- Low-wattage GPU limits 3D efficiency
- Low-res 720p webcam
We contemplate the Dell XPS 17 the final word content material creation laptop computer, so it’s no shock to see this atop our checklist of the very best laptops for video enhancing. The most recent era comes with an Intel Thirteenth-gen Core i7-13700H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 inside which can ship loads of punch for intense edits, whereas a 1TB SSD delivers top-notch storage efficiency for transferring large tasks round.
The XPS 17 additionally consists of essential extras coveted by video editors, similar to an SD card reader, loads of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a stunning 17-inch 3840×2400 decision touchscreen panel. Dell even managed to cram all these niceties into a comparatively portable-for-its-class 5.4-pound design that may run for a powerful 11 hours earlier than needing a cost. For the worth we might’ve preferred to see an OLED show as an improve with this yr’s mannequin, however even with out it the display remains to be top-notch.
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Dell XPS 17 9730 overview
Dell XPS 15 9520 – Finest 3.5K OLED possibility
Execs
- Stellar OLED show
- Chassis is rugged and beautiful
- Booming audio
- Roomy keyboard and touchpad
Cons
- 15.6 < 16 inches
- Underwhelming battery life
- Webcam is behind the occasions
- Restricted ports
The Dell XPS 15 9520 has a shocking OLED show, and with its Intel Core i7-12700H CPU and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics, it has turn into one in every of our favorites for content material creators and video editors. So as to add to an already spectacular system, the rugged and delightful all-metal enclosure is a cherry on the highest of a premium-quality cake.
In fact, as a performance-oriented laptop computer, the Dell XPS 15 9520 isn’t probably the most transportable, weighing slightly over 4 kilos. However if you’d like an actual workhorse with a display that can do your video enhancing justice, you’ll discover that the 3456X2160 decision, 16:10 side ratio, and extremely vivid and correct colours are the ticket.
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Dell XPS 15 9520 overview
Razer Blade 14 (2021) – Finest ultra-portable laptop computer for video enhancing
Execs
- It performs capably in AAA video games
- The QHD panel seems to be nice
- It’s exceptionally quiet
Cons
- AC adapter is heavy at 1.7 kilos
- Razer merchandise are dear
- No Thunderbolt 4 help
If pure portability is crucial, contemplate the Razer Blade 14. This ultra-thin laptop computer measures simply 0.66-inch thick and suggestions the scales at a mere 3.9 kilos, making it considerably smaller than most laptops with video enhancing chops. However Razer didn’t skimp on the firepower, loading the Blade 14 with AMD’s 8-core Ryzen 9 5900HX flagship CPU, Nvidia’s 8GB GeForce RTX 3080, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and 16GB of reminiscence.
You’ll surrender some perks in alternate for the Blade’s portability although: The 14-inch IPS-grade display comes manufacturing unit calibrated, however tops out at 2560×1440 decision. 4K video enhancing is off the desk, although the laptop computer helps the total DCI-P3 coloration gamut. Razer’s pocket book additionally lacks an SD card slot. However in the event you want a fierce rig that may chew by way of edits and renders then slip simply into your bag, the Blade 14 is price contemplating.
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Razer Blade 14 (2021) overview
Dell Inspiron 16 – Finest for battery life
Execs
- Roomy 16-inch 16:10 show
- Lengthy battery life
- Aggressive utility efficiency
- Comfy keyboard and big touchpad
- Quad audio system pump up the jams
Cons
- Lone GPU improve is lackluster
- Can’t go larger than 512GB SSD
- Giant display can really feel awkward in pill mode
If it’s battery life that you just’re involved about, the Dell Inspiron 16 ought to cowl you simply high-quality. After we ran our battery benchmark, which cycles by way of a collection of duties and movies till the laptop computer dies, the Inspiron 16 lasted a marathon 16.5 hours on a single cost. That ought to permit you to edit to your coronary heart’s content material whereas out on the street. Because of the battery, it isn’t probably the most transportable, nevertheless, weighing in at a considerable 4.7 kilos.
It’s somewhat cheap, however for the worth you’ll have to make sacrifices. It sports activities a Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. Whereas that ought to get the job achieved with most video-editing tasks, it does lack storage capability, so you’ll need an exterior drive in the event you’re saving video information. What actually makes this laptop computer shine although, is the excellent battery life which is an typically neglected side of cellular video editors. And as a bonus perk, it additionally comes with a surprisingly strong quad speaker system. For ports, you’re getting two USB Kind-C, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI, one SD card reader, and one 3.5mm audio jack.
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Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 overview
MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V – Finest high-end laptop computer for video enhancing
Execs
- Glorious mechanical keyboard
- Class-leading Mini-LED show
- Unimaginable CPU and GPU efficiency
- 2TB of stable state storage with PCIe Gen5 help
Cons
- Uninspired design
- Brief battery life
Relating to video enhancing, the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V ticks off all the fitting packing containers. This rig sports activities highly effective elements and a shocking 4K show, which is the proper mixture for a creator’s laptop computer. It’s rocking an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU, an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. That’s a large quantity of storage proper there, which is ideal for offloading giant information. The 17.3-inch IPS show has a decision of 3840×2160, a refresh charge of 144Hz, and a peak brightness degree of 585 nits. In accordance with our reviewer, it’s the best brightness on file for any laptop computer in SDR. IPS shows are likely to have excellent coloration accuracy in addition to extensive viewing angles, by the way in which. Nevertheless, it does have one main shortcoming and that’s the astronomical worth. In case your finances is aware of no limits and also you’re in search of an absolute beast of a laptop computer, then the MSI Titan is price contemplating.
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MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V overview
Acer Swift X 14 – Finest compact design
Execs
- Glorious CPU efficiency
- Nice keyboard and touchpad
- Lovely OLED show
- Good vary USB-C and USB-A connectivity
Cons
- Generic design
- Extraordinarily disappointing battery life
- RTX 4050 held again by 50-watt TGP
The Acer Swift X 14 is a compact laptop computer that comes with very robust efficiency options. At solely 0.7-inches thick and weighing a mere 3.31 kilos, this laptop computer is tremendous simple to hold round with you. The Thirteenth-gen Core i7-13700H processor offers glorious CPU efficiency and the RTX 4050 graphics card gives you respectable GPU efficiency as effectively. Plus, this compact laptop computer comes with a stunning 14.5-inch 2880×1800 OLED show with a refresh charge of 120Hz—a superb show that appears nice anyplace.
Nevertheless, because of all of those higher-end efficiency options, the Acer Swift X 14 battery life fell a bit flat in our checks lasting solely 4 hours. General it’s a stable selection in the event you’re in search of a compact, highly effective laptop computer at an affordable worth. It won’t have the battery life to final on long-haul flights, however a visit to your native espresso store for some fast enhancing whilst you caffeinate will likely be simply high-quality.
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Acer Swift X 14 overview
Apple MacBook Professional (2023) – Finest MacBook for video enhancing
Execs
- Good efficiency enhance over its predecessor
- HDMI improve expands exterior show choices
- Geared up with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
Cons
- 1080p digicam with out Middle Stage
- Some will deem the notch unpleasant
- Contact Bar followers will likely be disillusioned
- No ethernet port
If you happen to’re in a protracted and dedicated relationship with Apple’s ecosystem, it’s best to take a look at the most recent MacBook Professional (2023) laptop computer. Not solely are you getting a 19-core GPU, but in addition 2TB of SSD storage. That’s a ton of area and graphics firepower proper there, which is important for video enhancing duties. The laptop computer’s 12-core M2 Professional CPU chip is a stable enhance over final yr’s mannequin, too. In actual fact, based on the Geekbench 5 benchmark, Apple’s 20 % enchancment declare falls proper consistent with our outcomes. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR show can also be drop-dead beautiful, with a most brightness degree of over 1,000 nits and a crystal-clear decision of 3456×2234. Enhancing on this display ought to be an actual delight.
Learn our full Apple MacBook Professional (2023) overview
What to search for in a laptop computer for video enhancing
Crucial factor to search for in a laptop computer for video enhancing is its CPU and GPU. The quicker your {hardware}, the quicker your edits, basically. Along with subjecting all the laptops above to our normal battery of benchmarks, we additionally ran the UL Procyon Video Enhancing Check on a number of high-powered laptops to see which {hardware} performs greatest for this form of work. The benchmark duties Adobe Premiere with importing two completely different video tasks, making use of visible results similar to coloration grading and transitions, after which exporting it utilizing H.264, H.265 at each 1080p and 4K.
Proper-click and choose “open in new tab” to see in full decision.
Gordon Mah Ung / IDG
The most effective efficiency got here from large, heavy laptops operating Intel’s Eleventh-generation processors, although notebooks with AMD’s beefy Ryzen 9 processors got here in simply behind, with Tenth-gen Intel chips nonetheless placing up a good rating. They’re not within the chart above, however newer Intel Twelfth-gen laptops run even quicker nonetheless. The most effective-performing laptops all paired trendy Intel CPUs with Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs, which isn’t shocking as each firms have invested a whole lot of time and sources into optimizing their Adobe efficiency.
The GPU issues greater than CPU in Premiere Professional, although issues attain some extent of diminishing returns in a short time. Notebooks wielding top-tier RTX 3080 graphics are certainly quicker at video enhancing than laptops with extra modest RTX 3060 graphics, however not by that a lot. If you happen to take a look at the scores from the Dell XPS 17 9710, its GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop computer GPU is perhaps 14 % slower than the quickest RTX 3080 within the MSI GE76 Raider. That’s not loads, particularly when you think about how large and thick the GE76 Raider is in comparison with the Dell laptop computer.
Typically, having any form of discrete graphics is most well-liked, with no less than an RTX 3060 really useful for severe video enhancing.
Video enhancing may be very workflow dependent nevertheless. Your specific job and power could be extra CPU intensive, or lean extra on the GPU than Premiere. If that’s the case, regulate your priorities accordingly. The alternatives above ought to all be nice well-rounded choices, nevertheless. Intel and Nvidia have spent years build up instruments like Fast Sync and CUDA, respectively, and plenty of video enhancing apps can see vital velocity boosts due to it. AMD {hardware} does high-quality for video enhancing, however we advocate sticking to Intel and Nvidia except you might have a robust purpose in any other case, particularly in case your workflow depends on their vendor-specific software program optimizations.
If you happen to’re transferring video from a digicam, an SD card port (like this one on the Dell XPS 17) is crucial, except you’re snug plugging an SD card adapter right into a high-speed USB or Thunderbolt port.
Gordon Mah Ung/IDG
It’s not all in regards to the internals although. PCWorld video director Adam Patrick Murray stresses that an excellent laptop computer for video enhancing consists of an SD card reader for grabbing video off a digicam. He additionally recommends choosing a pocket book with a 4K, 60Hz panel over the ultra-fast 1080p panels typically discovered on gaming laptops that may in any other case be best for video enhancing. You want a 4K panel to edit 4K movies effectively, and blazing-fast refresh charges don’t imply something for video enhancing like they do for gaming. If coloration accuracy issues to you—it won’t in the event you’re solely creating informal movies in your private YouTube channel, for instance—then help for the total DCI-P3 coloration gamut can also be a should, together with Delta E < 2 coloration accuracy.
You received’t typically discover these types of specs listed for (or supported by) gaming laptops, however devoted content material creation laptops ought to embrace that info. That stated, if you’d like the quickest doable laptop computer for video enhancing that may additionally fulfill your gaming proclivities, you’ll be able to at all times pair that burly gaming laptop computer with a color-accurate exterior monitor for creation duties.
If you happen to’re in search of a extra basic goal pocket book, you should definitely take a look at our information to the very best laptops for picks for each finances. You may additionally discover stable laptops for video enhancing for reasonable in our roundup of the very best laptop computer offers, which we replace each day with the most recent gross sales.