10 of the Best Computers for Easy Video Editing

Unquestionably, planning a video editing project is a lot easier with a good computer. There are multiple options out there, and specifications may look like they are in a robotic language that only Elon Musk can decode.

So, we have put together a small list of the best computer options and a guide for you to narrow them down.

Interested in filmmaking in general? Learn more about the process of film creation.

The 10 best computers for video editing

1. iMac 24-inch

Graphics: Apple M1 8 Core GPU

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 1TB SSD (2TB Max)

Power: Apple M1

Price: From £1,249

Pros:

• Powerful webcam (1080p HD)
• 4.5k retina display
• Stunning new design
• Amazing performance

Cons

• Maximum 16 GB (not upgradeable)
• Only supports one external monitor
• Need to charge the mouse

2. iMac 27-inch

Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (16GB GDDR6 VRAM)

RAM: 32GB DDR4 (2,666MHz)

Storage: 1TB SSD

Power: 10‑core Intel Core i9 processor

Price: From £1,799

Pros:

• Remarkable 5K retina display
• Same price as last year's model

Cons:

• Just two Thunderbolt ports

3. Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070

RAM: 16 or 32GB

Storage: 1 or 2TB

Power: Intel Core i7-7820HQ (7th generation)

Price: starting at £3,500

Pros:

• Super-thin display that folds down
• Full-size SD card slot
• Surface Pen and Dial support

Cons:

• Price
• Power could be superior, considering the price
• Video out via USB-C, not a dedicated port

4. Lenovo Legion Tower 5i

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB GDDR6

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD (and additional 1TB HDD 7200RPM)

Power: 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10400 Processor

Price: starting at £949.99

Pros:

• Reliable 1080p Performance
• Also great for gaming
• Upgradable
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• Entry-level model GPU lacks ray tracing & DLSS
• Low SSD storage
• Included keyboard and mouse are useless

5. HP Omen 30L

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080

RAM: Up to 64 GB

Storage: Up to 2 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD

Power: Intel Core i9-10900K (3.7GHz base, 5.3GHz boost, 20MB cache)

Price: Starting at £1,799.99

Pros:

• Elegant design
• Runs quietly
• Standardized parts
• Excellent performance

Cons:

• Restricted cooling options
• Confusing configurations
• No front USB-C
• Needless software and accessories

6. Dell Precision 5560

Graphics: NVIDIA RTX A2000 Laptop GPU

RAM: up to 64GB

Storage: up to 2048GB

Power: Intel Core i7-11850H

Price: Starting at £3,550.75

Pros:

• Slim but robust
• High-resolution touch screen
• Fast charge
• Thunderbolt 4 ports, SD card slot included
• Exceptional multithreaded performance for a thin workstation

Cons:

• Costly
• Limited ports (USB-A and HDMI dongle included)
• No OLED screen option

7. Racer Book 13

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD

Power: Intel Core i7-1165G7

Price: Starting at £1199

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Excellent performance
• Sound quality
• Affordable

Cons:

• Not the best battery life
• Becomes a little bit hot

8. Apple iMac Pro

Graphics: AMD Vega 64 (16GB HBM2 RAM)

RAM: 128GB DDR4

Storage: 2TB SSD

Power: 3.0GHz Intel Xeon W

Price: Starting at £4,899

Pros:

• Most powerful Mac ever
• Slim and beautiful design

Cons:

• Very pricey
• Non-user-upgradable
• Magic Mouse 2 is still frustrating

9. Apple Mac Mini

Graphics: Integrated 8-core GPU

RAM: 8GB Unified PDDR4X-4266 MHz SDRAM

Storage: 256GB SSD

Power: Apple M1 (8-core)

Price: Starting at

Pros:

• Same beautiful design
• Great performance
• M1 hardware has potential
• The cheapest way to get a Mac

Cons:

• Can't use eGPUs
• Not upgradable
• Limited to 16GB memory

10. Lenovo Yoga A10 7

Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6600M 8GB GDDR6

RAM: Up to 16GB

Storage: Up to 1TB M.2 SSD + 2TB HDD

Power: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H Processor

Price: Starting at £699

Pros:

• Great value price
• Long battery life
• 4K display can rotate to portrait mode
• Speedy performance
• Full HD screen

Cons:

• Nothing special about the design
• No Thunderbolt
• No fingerprint scanner on select models

How to choose a computer for video editing

Now that you are familiar with some of the best options, it is time to narrow them down according to your personal preferences and budget.

Consider what software you like to work with

First, consider what type of software you like the most. There is no clear winner between Mac OS and Windows, it comes down to the gadgets you already own, the apps you prefer, and how much you intend to spend.

Select a powerful processor

Second, think about the processor (CPU). Essentially, this is the brain of your computer. The more powerful and updated your processor, the quicker your computer can conduct its tasks.

One other thing you must consider is RAM. If you do not have enough, it will cause lag, and if you have too much, it will just be a waste.

Find one with decent graphics card

Finally, it is also ideal to have a decent graphics card. There are other additional things you can consider.

For instance, a full-size SD card slot can also be worthwhile for transferring footage directly from your camera to your laptop.

Also, video editing apps are heavyweight in memory usage, so having them included is ideal. Clearly, unless you have won the lottery, all of this must be weighted by your budget.

Become a better video editor

Computer technology has tremendously developed. Still, nor Apple nor Dell (nor NASA) have developed one that will edit for you while you sit back and relax.

In that sense, learn how to become a better video editor.

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