There has been a lot of debate on forums like macrumors when some newbie asks what kind of machine for video editing you need. Usually people will respond saying nothing but the best, then there people who recomend 6 year old hardware Like the core duo imac or macbook pro, and finally there are people who say they edit video in 1080p on a 800mhz powerbook with no problems with exporting or importing? So I figure we could discuss the subject here and come up with a good happy medium and define what is 'fast exporting' and decent specs Personally I recommend nothing less than a dual core system with at least 4 gigs of ram. I use my old dual-core i3 27' iMac still, with 12GB RAM. Edit in 1080p, while having numerous other programs open as well and it handles it just fine.
I did upgrade the internal with an SSD, and use FireWire 800 to connect to the 4TB 7200rpm external drives. I'll have Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro X, Aperture, iTunes amend Safari all running and it works great. The BIGGEST thing that I noticed that boosted the speed for editing was the SSD and RAM. The high RPM external with FW800 made a big difference too over a budget USB external. How much time do you have to spend on your editing?
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Conceptually, you could edit video on whatever old technology a piece of software that can edit 1080p will run. I know iMovie 06 will run on circa 2004 Macs. Maybe earlier ones too, and it can edit 1080p. BUT, the old hardware will slow down the pace of editing: wait for import, wait for each edit to render, wait for export. In other words, just about everyone is right based upon what you've heard.
What's being left out is how fast you want to do the editing. If it's a one-off edit, maybe just be patient and make it work on slow tech.
However, if you plan on regularly editing 1080p, then the waiting will weigh on you. For example, I shoot a lot of 1080p. If I do the editing and render it on very new & fast hardware, I can render a couple of hours of it in a few hours- let's say 3 hours. If I transfer the master file over to- say- a 2004 Powerbook, it will render the file too but it might take a day or two before it gets done with that render. 3 hours or 40 hours, what's important to you? What you leave out of your question is the value of your own time.
If it has no value, then you've asked a perfect question (minimum specs will mean maximum time for editing & rendering). If you qualified your question by showing some value for your time, then you'll get suggestions for better hardware.
If you make time very important, then you'll get best specs recommendations. What happens when you ask it as you have is that each person will inject their own value of their own time and give you an answer that fits their needs. That's why you get many different answers. If you plan to regularly edit 1080p video and your time has some value, get the best hardware you can afford. If you don't mind burning a lot of time, the minimum specs will do the trick. I have a 2004 PowerMac G4 that can edit & render 1080p very, very SLOWLY. I doubt it's actually 'minimum specs' but it's near that.
If you want to buy it, PM me and I'll quote you a price. Not doing it as professional work. I used my Mac Pro and FCP X for some editing work in 1080p, mostly for friends and for my actual work related files.
My Mac Pro have 64 GB of RAM and I also have a FireWire 800 external HDD (I tought it is a LaCie one, not so sure about model) for media storage and video/photos forays. Also I had tried Adobe Premiere Pro. But still dont have a working grip on it. And my editing is most basic related stuff: cropping, cutting pasting, transcoding or burning DVDs with the material used (not yet transitioned to Blu-ray burners). Just my 2 cents. I'm glad someone posed this question so I can weigh in. I'm using a mid 2010 13' MBP, 1 TB (5400rpm), 8Gb RAM.
I'm left to shoot in edit in 720p in iMovie. I had tried the FCPX demo and the experience was dreadful.
Getting AVCHD into the machine was impossible with iMovie but a breeze with FCPX. But then the editing process was rife with stuttering and rendering was an overnight job.
I'm convinced that when I upgrade this year that it will be a refurb 15' with a dedicated video card. Of course, I'll max out the RAM and drop an SSD and replace the optical drive with an HDD. Though thunderbolt has me curious that it may be a faster workflow. But what CODEC?!
I think the codec matters, A LOT. If you want to edit in native AVCHD then you need either a fast XEON type system or a system with a Sandy Bridge or newer process because the Sandy Bridge processors accelerate H.264 natively. If you are working with ProRes LT then you have a lot more options as ProRes was developed many years ago (six, maybe?) so a fast processor from even a few years ago will be able to keep up with doing basic edits. So in short this question can only ever be answered with 'it depends'.
I edit mostly in H.264 to save space for documentary projects and I have to wait for my Quad 2.66ghz Pro to catch up sometimes. I think the codec matters, A LOT.
If you want to edit in native AVCHD then you need either a fast XEON type system or a system with a Sandy Bridge or newer process because the Sandy Bridge processors accelerate H.264 natively. If you are working with ProRes LT then you have a lot more options as ProRes was developed many years ago (six, maybe?) so a fast processor from even a few years ago will be able to keep up with doing basic edits. So in short this question can only ever be answered with 'it depends'. I edit mostly in H.264 to save space for documentary projects and I have to wait for my Quad 2.66ghz Pro to catch up sometimes. As mentioned previously it's all about what YOU can accept. If you are shooting family/friends videos once in awhile and you can afford to have your system tied up for a day rendering a project, then you can use a lower spec machine.
If you work in a production environment with deadlines, then you need the speed a fast machine will give you. This is even more critical when doing 3d compositing.
I don't do a lot of compositing work. Just straightforward transitions and lower thirds. My previous system was a PC with 2.7GHz AMD Phenom II, 8 GB ram, Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT and a mess of hard drives. Using Adobe Master Collection CS5.5 I could get the job done. On H.264 1080p footage from a Canon 60D scrubbing was choppy and rendering could be an all night affair. I just upgraded to a 15' MBPr so that I can still do quick work in the field.
I maxed out the RAM and but kept the 2.7 i7 and 512GB SSD. Using CS6 with the Mercury Engine, scrubbing is smooth and rendering the same footage is faster than realtime. It is a joy to use. Even more so since I am not tied to my desk.
The SSD reduces the need for numerous externals for the task of rendering. Once I get some Thunderbolt RAID 0 arrays attached it will probably speed that up even more. How much system you need is based on the speed you need. The speed you need is based on what you feel is acceptable for your application. I have edited 1080p footage on some pretty slow hardware.
I prefer to work with a system that will do H.264 natively without transcoding and the added time that takes.
If you want to edit video on the go, you’re going to need one of the best laptops for video editing. Luckily, that’s what we’re here for.
With this guide, we’ve found all the best laptops for video editing, both in high definition and Ultra HD (4K) resolutions. Finding the best laptop for video editing can be hard, though. This is mainly due to the fact that video editing is extremely tasking on your computer hardware, especially if you’re using a laptop. That’s why we created a list of the best laptops for video editing in 2018, as our expert advice means you can shop in confidence. We’ve also went ahead and included our exclusive price comparison tool, so you can take advantage of all the best deals across the internet.
So, read on to find out what we think are the best video editing laptops in 2018. Check out our list of Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018). Limited expansion capabilities The 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro is hands-down the best Mac laptop ever designed for video editors. Apple has packed loads of upgrades into this version, offering you the latest generation of Intel Core i7 and i9 processors with six cores, and it now supports up to 32GB of RAM, making this a very adept laptop for video editing. Discrete graphics are provided by a choice of AMD Radeon Pro GPUs, making this the best laptop for video editing.
The innovative Touch Bar makes it easier for videographers to intuitively access commands, while the Retina display on the 15-inch model offers more than enough pixels should you want to edit at native resolution in Full HD on the move. However, if you are editing 4K, then you'll be disappointed by the limited resolution. Webcam not great While Huawei might not be the first company you think of when it comes to laptops, especially laptops you can use for video editing, that should change with the company's phenomenal MateBook X Pro.
It is a gorgeously-designed laptop with a stunning screen (albeit with a rather odd aspect ratio), and it comes packed with cutting edge components, and a battery life that runs rings around many of its rivals. It has plenty of horse power for editing videos, and it's price is very competitive, making it a great alternative to the MacBook Pro if your budget doesn't stretch that far. Read the full review: 3. No option for spinning disks The easily fits in the Ultrabook category with a weight of a tad under 2kg and a thickness of only 18mm, slightly heavier and a smidge thicker than the Precision 15 5000 but more portable and svelte than Lenovo's laptop.
Where HP manages to score highly is when it comes to sheer value for money when it comes to powerful components, with a high performance processor and gorgeous 4K screen, which makes it one of the best laptops for video editing. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch). No Surface Pen included The Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch) is one of the most powerful 2-in-1 laptops in the world. While 2-in-1 laptops may not be the first choice for video editors, the Surface Book 2 has some powerful enough components to handle video editing if you go for a model with a dedicated graphics card.
Brilliant build quality and excellent battery life makes this a wonderful device for using as either a laptop, or as a powerful Windows 10 tablet. The tablet mode is convenient if you want to shoot footage and edit it while out and about. Apple MacBook 12-inch (2017). Expensive Apple's laptops are great choices for video editing, and if you want to save a bit of cash, then last year's MacBook remains a brilliant option, that's a fair bit cheaper than this year's MacBook Pro. You get an Intel 7th-generation Kaby Lake CPU, which brings improved performance and longer battery life while keeping the body thin and light. The Mac App Store has a large number of video editing programs that play to the MacBook's strengths, and you should be able to get a decent deal now that it's been out for a while. Read the full review: 6.
Lenovo ThinkPad P70. ExpressCard 34! Lenovo’s was one of the first notebooks featuring Intel's Skylake processor, which should give it a boost in performance compared to Broadwell or Haswell chips. Equipped with ample storage and plenty of RAM, an excellent keyboard and a wide selection of ports for connectivity, Lenovo is positioning the ThinkPad P70 as the ultimate workstation that you can take on the go without missing your desktop.
Also worth mentioning is the X-Rite Pantone calibration tool, available as an option, which is great to keep your screen accurate for production work, as well as the Quadro GPU that comes with all the P70 SKUs. MSI GS65 Stealth. Underside gets very hot OK, so the MSI GS65 Stealth is primarily a high-end gaming laptop - with a price tag to match - but it also doubles as an absolutely brilliant laptop for video editing.
This is because it comes with an excellent array of cutting edge components, which includes an 8th-generation Intel Core i7-8750H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. This means multi tasking and video editing is handled with aplomb - and if you also want to do a bit of gaming on the side, then it's a no-brainer. Watch the video below for the top 7 things to consider when buying a laptop.