There are a lot of factors to consider when buying a computer for video editing. But don’t worry, we’re here to help you find the best one for your budget. In this post, we’ll rundown the best options for video editing on a budget, so you can create amazing videos without breaking the bank. Keep reading to learn more!
We’ve done thorough research to find the best affordable PC for video editing.
Our Top 3 Picks
If you want something powerful, but still affordable, the Dell XPS is a great option. This desktop performs well in both rendering and multitasking due to its 8th gen i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. It has an extremely fast read/write speed of 2 TB HDD , which is great for storing all your HD footage. This one comes with Windows 10, an Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card and 6 USB ports.
The Lenovo Ideacentre 910 (90DF00DXUS) has a lot of positive reviews on Amazon, mostly because it offers excellent value for the price. It comes with a powerful 8th generation i7 Quad core processor and an NVIDIA 1050 graphics card, so it’s capable of handling standard video editing tasks without a hitch.
While it lacks a dedicated graphics card, the Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-57D4 packs a decent Nvidia 950M GPU, which is capable of running light games. This Acer laptop is perfect for students who want to edit videos in their free time, but don’t want to invest too much money in a video editing computer .
Video Editing Process Overview
What You Need To Know Before Making Your Purchase
Before you go ahead and choose the best affordable PC for video editing, you should know that editing videos is a very intensive process. That’s why it’s important to consider the processor, the graphics card and the amount of RAM before buying a computer for video editing.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about each component.
The Processor (CPU) While not as important as your graphics card or hard drive , the processor is crucial for your computer’s general performance. The video editing process involves rendering, importing and exporting videos, computing effects, encoding and decoding clips…all of which are CPU intensive tasks. So you definitely don’t want to go with anything less than an i5 processor . Make sure your computer has at least an i7 processor if you want the best one for video editing.
The Graphics Card (GPU) You definitely don’t want to buy a computer that only has an integrated graphics card . While they’re good enough for casual surfing, playing videos and listening to music, they’re not powerful enough for video rendering, exporting or encoding. That’s why you need at least a dedicated graphics card to process videos. On the other hand, don’t go overboard and get a graphics card that’s too powerful for your needs. You’ll just end up wasting money on a video editing computer you can’t fully utilize.
The Amount of RAM If you’re planning on using your PC to run multiple applications at the same time, make sure you get a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM . If you’re not planning on multitasking, however, 4 GB of memory should be enough.
The Storage (Hard Drive) Video files are huge , which is why you need to have at least 1 TB of storage in your video editing computer . You’ll need more if you want to store all your videos locally. The difference between a 7200 RPM HDD and an SSD is huge, so if you can afford it, go with an SSD . If not, grab yourself a good old HDD for much cheaper.
Video Editing Software Installed
When buying a computer for video editing, don’t forget to check whether or not the computer has the video editing software you’re using installed. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to waste time downloading and installing your desired video editing software .
What We Think Is The Best Affordable Video Editing Computer
As we previously said, an i7 processor is an absolute must when it comes to choosing a computer for video editing. So is an NVIDIA card. We’d also suggest getting at least 8 GB of RAM , a 1 TB HDD and Windows 10. That being said, here are our top picks for the best affordable video editing computers on the market right now…
Lenovo Ideacentre 910 Specs CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 Quad Core 3.4 GHz Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 2GB DDR3 RAM: 8 GB DDR4 Storage: 1 TB HDD Connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi Description The Lenovo Ideacentre 910 is one of the most powerful computers on our list. With an i7 processor and Windows 10, it definitely has all you need to edit videos properly. It also has some of the best connectivity options on this list, including a Gigabit Ethernet port and Wireless AC. Plus, it comes with 8 GB of RAM which is pretty much the minimum to go with if you want a powerful PC for video editing. It has an NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 2GB DDR3 graphics card…which isn’t that good when it comes