Few tasks require more horsepower than video editing. While you can trim small clips with even an inexpensive laptop, to work with raw HD or 4K video or to create special effects, you need a fast processor, strong discrete graphics and a high-resolution display. Here are five laptops that are powerful enough to handle even your most demanding video-editing projects.
This baby’s 4K OLED screen will take your eyes on a journey of color. 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.
Meet one of the best video editing laptops: The Alienware Area-51m. This baby is powered by an overclockable 9th Gen Core i9desktop processor combined with the latest RTX 2080 GPU. Along with its immense, upgradable power, you get the machine's gorgeous design, a speedy SSD and a solid 17.3-inch panel.
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. Thanks to long battery life, 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.
The HP Spectre x360 is an elegant machine. Its 15.6-inch, 4K display is a little dim, but it will still blow you away with an explosive rendition of the RGB spectrum. To top it all off, the Spectre x360 features a super comfortable keyboard and a battery that can last a full workday on a charge.The included HP Active Pen has two programmable buttons and 2,048 pressure sensitivity levels.
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.
Lenovo propelled its X-series line straight into the future when it revealed that the ThinkPad X1 Extreme 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. 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.
The HP ZBook Studio x360 is beyond powerful. It's ready to kill with its Intel Xeon processor and Nvidia Quadro graphics all packed into its aluminum, military-durable chassis. It transcodes video with aplomb, making this an ideal candidate for multimedia editing. On top of its power, it has a stunning 4K display, bouncy keyboard and long battery life -- all in a 2-in-1!
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 4K display while you're bouncing around its comfortable keyboard.
If you're looking for the most bang for your buck then look no further than theLegion Y700, which comes with a speedy 8th Gen Core i7 processor and a GTX 1060 GPU. And for the price, you also get a gorgeous 15.6-inch, 1080p display. Despite being a gaming laptop, its battery life isn't too bad either. Even for an affordable price, it makes its mark as one of the best video editing laptops.
