Best video editing laptops of 2020

Few tasks require more horsepower than video editing. While you can trim small clips with the best laptop under $500, to work with raw HD or 4K video or to create special effects, you need the best laptop with a fast processor, strong discrete graphics and a high-resolution display, which is why we crafted a list of the best laptops for video editing.

For a video editing laptop, you want something with a discrete graphics card. The cheapest on our list, which boasts Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, starts at around $1,099. For something with a more powerful card like a high-end Quadro or GTX 1070, as well as features like a high-end display, you may pay around $2,500 or more.

If you're wondering if one of the best gaming laptops can edit video, it probably can, but a dedicated media creation system is more likely to get perfect renders every time. The Acer Predator Triton 900 is a great example. The best video editing laptops are often among the best workstations, so if you need a great laptop for handling more graphics-intensive apps beyond video editing, you may want to go with the stronger alternative. We're recently reviewed the Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro W700G3T, which is an excellent video editing laptop if you're willing to splurge.

Here are the best video editing laptops

1. Dell XPS 15 (2019)
2. Lenovo Legion Y7000
3. MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
4. Alienware Area-51m
5. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch)
6. HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 2019)
7. HP ZBook x2
8. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme
9. MSI WS65 9TM
10. Alienware m15
11. Asus ZenBook Pro 15
12. Dell Precision 5540

1. Dell XPS 15 (2019)

CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: Intel UHD 630/Nvidia GTX 1650 | RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB | Storage: 1TB HDD or 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K/4K OLED) | Size: 14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7~0.5 inches | Weight: 4.5 pounds

This baby’s 4K OLED screen will take your eyes on a journey of color, covering 239 percent of the sRGB color gamut and blasting 626 nits of brightness. Those sharp visuals are matched by even sharper performance, with the XPS 15’s 9th Gen Core i9 CPU and Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU. The carbon-fiber beauty fixed its one biggest problem and finally moved the webcam from the bottom bezel to the top. Not to mention that the XPS 15 is still light as ever,weighing only 4.5 pounds, making this a lean, portable killing machine.

See our full Dell XPS 15 (2019) review.

2. Lenovo Legion Y7000

CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 256GB SSD 1TB HDD | Display: 15.6-inch (1080p) | Size: 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.1 - 0.9 inches | Weight: 5.3 pounds

If you're looking for the most bang for your buck then look no further than the Legion Y7000. For $1,099, you get a speedy 8th Gen Core i7 processor and a GTX 1060 GPU that completed the HandBrake benchmark in just 9 minutes and 24 seconds. And for the price, you also get a gorgeous 15.6-inch, 1080p display, as it covered 153 percent of the sRGB color spectrum and emitted 277 nits of brightness. Despite being a gaming laptop, its battery life isn't too bad either, lasting 4 hours and 28 minutes on a charge. Even for an affordable price, it makes its mark as one of the best video editing laptops.

See our full Lenovo Legion Y7000 review.

3. MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: AMD Radeon 5300M/5500M | RAM: 16GB/32GB | Storage: 512GB/1TB/2TB SSD | Display: 16-inch (3072 x 1920) | Size: 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches | Weight: 4.3 pounds

If you prefer editing on an Apple machine, the new 16-inch Macbook Pro is hard to top. It comes with a speedy Intel Core i9 CPU and a powerful AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU. Its 16-inch display is bright, colorful and has super slim bezels compared to last year's model. The Touch Bar can even adapt depending on what app you're using, so you can apply filters or scrub through a clip without ever leaving fullscreen mode. The machine is just 4.3 pounds and 0.6-inch thick, and it packs an awesome 6-speaker audio system.

See our full MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) review.

4. Alienware Area-51m

CPU: Intel 8th Gen Core i7/9th Gen Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060/2070/2080 | RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB | Storage: 1TB HDD or 512GB/1TB/2TB SSD | Display: 17.3-inch (1080p/4K) | Size: 16.1 x 15.9 x 1.1~1.7 inches | Weight: 8.5 pounds

Meet one of the best video editing laptops: The Alienware Area-51m. This baby is powered by an overclockable 9th Gen Core i9 desktop processor combined with the latest RTX 2080 GPU. It completely crushed the HandBrake benchmark, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p in just 6 minutes flat. Along with its immense, upgradable power, you get the machine's gorgeous design,an SSD with a 1,272 MBps transfer rate and a solid 17.3-inch panel.

See our full Alienware Area-51m review.

5. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch)

CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 15-inch (3240 x 2160) | Size: 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches | Weight: 4.2 pounds

Both a powerful laptop and a portable tablet, the Surface Book 2 is the most versatile notebook you can use to edit video. It comes with a powerful 8th Gen Core i7 CPU and discrete Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, as well as an incredibly vibrant 3240 x 2160 display. It lasted over 12 hours on our battery test, so you can edit all day without fear of losing a charge. If the 15-inch version is too big or too expensive for you, there's also a 13.5-inch option, but that steps down to either integrated or GTX 1050 graphics.

See our full Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) review.

6. HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 2019)

CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia MX150/GTX 1050 Ti | RAM: 8GB/16GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (4K) | Size: 14.2 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches | Weight: 4.6 pounds

The HP Spectre x360 is an elegant machine capable of completing the HandBrake benchmark in 10 minutes and 45 seconds. Its 15.6-inch, 4K display is a little dim (247 nits), but it will blow you away with 157 percent of the sRGB spectrum. To top it all off, the Spectre x360 features a super comfortable keyboard and a battery that can last up to 8 hours and 9 minutes on a charge.The included HP Active Pen has two programmable buttons and 2,048 pressure sensitivity levels.

See our full HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, 2019) review.

7. HP ZBook x2

CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7 | GPU: Intel HD 620 or Nvidia Quadro M620 | RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB | Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD | Display: 14-inch (4K) | Size: 14.4 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (0.6 tablet) | Weight: 4.9 pounds

The HP ZBook x2 is pricey, but it gets you an adaptable tool for creative work. The matte, 14-inch 4K display lets you edit at any resolution, and, if you prefer a stylus, you can use the shortcut keys for quick actions or keep the Bluetooth keyboard nearby. The Quadro GPU could be stronger, but there are few devices that cater so directly to creatives.

See our full HP ZBook x2 review.

8. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme

CPU: Intel Core i5/Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti | RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K) | Size: 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 4 pounds

Lenovo propelled its X-series line straight into the future when it revealed that the ThinkPad X1 Extreme (starting at $1,673) would be its first 15-inch and the first to have a discrete graphics card. It comes with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GPU and can be outfitted with an 8th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU as well as 64GB of RAM, which makes it a monster for video editing. It only took 10 minutes and 3 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p on the HandBrake benchmark, which is twice as fast as the 20:30 category average. 

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme met 12 MIL-STD-810G standards, which means it can survive high humidity, exposure to sand and dust, extreme temperatures and repeated drops. It also supports dTPM encryption, Intel vPro, a fingerprint reader and an optional Smart Card reader, making it ideal for business use. Additionally, it has an optional IR camera so you can sign into your laptop with Windows Hello facial recognition.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme review.

9. MSI WS65 9TM

CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: Nvidia Quadro T2000/RTX 5000 Max-Q | RAM: 16GB/32GB | Storage: 512GB/1TB SSD | Display: 17.3-inch (1080p/4K) | Size: 14.1 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 4.3 pounds

With a beastly Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU and 16GB of VRAM, the MSI WS65 9TM is a kick-ass video editing machine. Top that off with its 17.3-inch, 4K display is also ridiculously vivid, as it covered 251 percent of the sRGB color gamut and emitted 393 nits of brightness. On top of that, passed several MIL-SPEC durability tests and even has a decently long battery life for a souped up workstation. The MSI WS65 took a speedy 10 minutes and 36 seconds to complete our HandBrake benchmark.

See our full MSI WS65 9TM review.

10. Alienware m15

CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 or RTX 2060/2070/2080 | RAM: 8GB/16GB/32GB | Storage: 1TB HDD/256GB SSD 1TB HDD/512GB 1TB HDD/1TB SSD/2TB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (1080p/4K) | Size: 14.3 x 10.8 x 0.8~0.7 inches | Weight: 4.8 pounds

If you plan on editing some gameplay videos, you'll need an actual gaming machine first. The Alienware m15 (starting at $1,352) comes with a speedy 8th Gen Core i7 and up to a GTX 1070 Max-Q that blazed through our HandBrake benchmark (transcoding a 4K video to 1080p) in 9 minutes and 51 seconds. You can not only game but video edit on a display capable of reproducing 150 percent of the sRGB color gamut and emitting a solid 284 nits of brightness. On top of that, this baby will last 6 hours and 25 minutes on a full charge, which is impressive for a gaming laptop of this caliber. Even more a gaming laptop, it's one of the best laptops for video editing.

See our full Alienware m15 review.

11. Asus ZenBook Pro 15

CPU: Intel Core i7/Core i9 | GPU: Intel UHD 630or Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch (4K) | Size: 14.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 4.2 pounds

This 4K speed demon packs an Intel Core i9 processor and a Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti GPU in a lightweight, sexy chassis accompanied by Asus' most interesting feature: the ScreenPad. Essentially a second display, ScreenPad is built into the touchpad to enhance your multitasking. There are several apps built into the ScreenPad that can transform the secondary display according to use case including a numpad, calculator or a music player. It comes in handy when you want to game on your main display and watch a game guide on the second. When you're not fawning over the awesome ScreenPad, you get to take-in that sexy design and enjoy that eye-popping 141 percent of sRGB color gamut on the 4K display while you're bouncing around its comfortable keyboard.

See our full Asus ZenBook Pro 15 review.

12. Dell Precision 5540

Display: 15.6-inch, 1080p or 4K | CPU: Intel Core i5-9400H to Intel Xeon E-2276M | GPU: Nvidia Quadro T1000 to Quadro T2000 | RAM: 16GB to 64GB | Storage: 256GB SSD to 2TB SSD | Battery Life: 6 | Weight: 4.4 pounds

Dell basically took the XPS 15 and stuffed workstation components inside, which brought the Dell Precision 5540 into life. It's packing an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor, an Nvidia Quadro T2000 GPU and 32GB of RAM. When you're on the go, you don't have to worry about the Precision getting all scuffed up thanks to its MIL-SPEC chassis. It also sports a 15.6-inch, 4K OLED panel, which is perfect for video editing. The screen covers 200% of the sRGB color gamut and averages 384 nits of brightness.

See our full Dell Precision 5540 review.