Do you need a computer to edit the video? Don’t worry if you don’t know where to start. Start by asking yourself what your project requirements are before you rush to buy the most expensive model on the market. You can find a laptop that meets your needs and is affordable by carefully considering your options.

Plan Ahead

First, review all of your video editing projects. Next, decide which must-haves are important and which ones you want to skip. Going straight for high-end components such as fast CPUs, super-high-resolution screens, and substantial memory capacities can be tempting. These components can also be costly. These are the things you need to consider before purchasing a laptop.

Content Type

The type of video you want to create will determine the laptop you buy. Do you just need a laptop to tweak social videos, like trimming 1080p clips or adding text overlays? Are you looking for more advanced features, such as the ability to edit 4K footage or create special effects? Are higher resolutions important for color accuracy? How about audio quality and speaker quality?

Work Location

It matters where and how you work. It doesn’t really matter whether you work from home or at the office. If you work from home or are on the move, however, these factors will be important. It will be necessary to have something lightweight with good battery life. Do you work under tight deadlines? To minimize the waiting time when rendering, you will need a machine that is fast.

External Peripherals

There will be different connectivity options for different laptop models. The slimmest laptops will have fewer ports. If you plan to use external peripherals like a storage drive, monitor, or drawing tablet, make sure there are enough ports to support your equipment.

Understanding Hardware Specification

Once you’ve determined your work requirements, you can begin looking at hardware. You rarely have the ability to modify parts of a laptop’s internal components, unlike desktop PCs. Many internal components can be “pre-chosen”, whether you need a lightweight laptop or a larger gaming laptop. It is a good idea to know the specifications that you are looking for.

Laptop Processor

Video editing is possible only with the help of the processor, which is the main component of any computer. Multi-core processors are the norm for most applications. The more cores your laptop has, the more efficient and fast it will run. Multithreading is an example of a hardware innovation that allows each core to handle two processing threads simultaneously.

Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology 3 allows you to “convert” one core to two cores so they can handle different software threads. Two logical cores are more efficient than a single-threaded core at handling tasks. For instance, the Intel Core i9-12900HK CPU can run up to 20 threads using Hyper-Threading on six of its six performance cores.

System Memory

Another important consideration when using a video editing system is the amount of memory available on your laptop. You will need enough memory to load the operating systems, launch the video software and edit the video while the background tasks run on the computer.

Storage

There are two types of storage drives that are common: solid-state drives and hard disk drives. SSDs are faster than hard drives in terms of performance, as they don’t use any mechanical parts. SSDs can be significantly more expensive than HDDs. With video editing, not only is speed a priority, but storage space is equally important, especially if you are working with ultra-high-definition footage.

Graphics card

To save time when editing video, you will need a discrete or dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU). A GPU that shares resources with your CPU may be sufficient for light photo editing. It won’t work if you use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Premiere Pro, which are more complex 3D editing programs. If you don’t have a dedicated GPU to render 3D images, the 3D menu in Adobe Photoshop may not work. Hardware-based encoding is also possible with a fast GPU. 

Intel Arc A Series Graphics

Intel’s Arc series of discrete GPUs are designed for gamers as well as content creators. It can be broken down into three categories: Intel Arc 3 (“entry-level”), Intel Arc 5 (“mid-range”), and Intel Arc 7 (“high-end”). Arc 7’s flagship model includes two models, Arc A730M & Arc A770M. Both have a GPU clock speed between 1100MHz & 1650MHz.

The Intel Arc GPUs are equipped with the advanced Xe media engine powered by AI acceleration and Intel Deep Link technology to maximize power and computing resources. Intel Arc supports hardware-accelerated encoding of AV1 (AOMedia Video 1), the next-generation and royalty-free video codec that will replace the H.265 codec.

Display Type

There are two types of LCD panels that can be found in laptops: Twisted Nematic (TN) and X-Ray Nematic (TN). The most common and cheapest Twisted Nematic (TN) panels offer decent refresh rates and are widely used. However, the viewing angles can be narrow and may not provide the best color accuracy.

In-Plane Switching panels (IPS) is a step up. These panels offer a wider viewing angle and a greater color gamut than TN panels. However, they are more expensive and may not have the fastest refresh rates. IPS screens are popular with photographers and designers who work with static visuals.

Indium-Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO), a new backplane technology that is compatible with both TN panels and IPS panels, allows for thinner panels and lower power consumption.

Resolution

High resolutions are sought after because they provide better detail. High resolutions can be difficult to read on smaller screens, even though they offer a larger workspace. You might also have heard terms such as SXGA and WQHD. Here’s a list with the corresponding display resolutions to help you understand their meaning.

Connectivity

A few premium laptops are equipped with UHD (4K) screens. A 4K panel on a 15-inch or 14-inch display can be restrictive for content creation. You may prefer to connect a larger, external 4K monitor that has more screen space. Check if your laptop’s GPU can support the monitor’s native resolution.

An HDMI port allows you to beam your laptop’s display onto an external monitor. HDMI 1.4 is the standard for conventional laptops. It supports 4K resolutions at 30Hz. An HDMI 2.0 port is required for monitors that run at 4K at 60Hz. You can use an HDMI port on a laptop if it isn’t possible. To power a 4K display at 60Hz, the DisplayPort port must be version 2.0 or higher. The Thunderbolt port must also be version 2.0 or later. 

Summarising

Before you begin looking at the hardware of your laptop, you should consider your needs, your work style, and the nature of your video editing projects. A rig should give you the best performance and value, not an overpowered or underpowered one.

When shopping for a suitable laptop, you might not be interested in the technical details. Most laptops that are mid- to high-end in gaming can handle video editing tasks. You can easily scan their specifications to see that they have enough processing power and graphics horsepower for media creation. Gaming laptops are heavier and less portable than those with larger 17-inch displays. Wishing you all the best and happy shopping.