Videoguys' System Recommendations for Video Editing (August 2016 update)
For almost 20 years we've been posting and updating our recommended computer specs for Video editing. Combined with our DIY articles, Videoguys has become the go to resource on the web for this vital information. Of course we also have live people here who are available to answer all your video editing questions and recommend the right gear ansd software for your needs and budget.
We get asked these questions all the time:
- What computer system should I use for Video Editing?
- What is the best computer for editing video?
- What is the best computer for Adobe Premiere?
- What is the best computer for Avid Media Composer?
- What graphics card do I need for video editing?
- Which is better for video editing a PC or Mac?
- What are the best computer specs for my NLE?
- What is the best configuration for my NLE workstation?
So, we created this page to give you some basic guidelines. Every month computers get more powerful and less expensive, so the recommendations on this page could become outdated very quickly. We will try our best to keep it up to date but if you see something that doesn’t look right or if you’re configuring a system that may be somewhat different please e-mail (techguy@videoguys.com) or call the Videoguys at 800-323-2325 and we’d be happy to review your plans. We want to help you make sure you have everything you need to edit and produce great videos.
This page is broken into several sections:
The most important thing to keep in mind when purchasing a new computer for video editing; whether you edit with Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, Grass Valley Edius or Sony Vegas Pro; is balance. The performance will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. For video editing the chain has 4 key links – motherboard, CPU, GPU and RAM. If either of these four points is below the other 3, you will bring down the overall NLE performance of the workstation. In addition, if one of the components is significantly higher performing than the other three you are not only wasting money on it, you may actually get poorer performance and the super fast component can create bottlenecks in other areas. Read the full
- Videoguys recommendations for different kinds of computers
- Videoguys system recommendations for Windows based Workstations
- Specific component recommendations
Videoguys' System Recommendations for Video Editing (March 2017 Update)
this info is still our recommendation. http://www.videoguys.com/system-recommendations
Hi video Guys!
I was hoping you could make an up to date suggestion. I have $1500-$2000 to spend, And would like to build a pc for premiere cc and after effects. I’ve seen countless threads with nearly the same question, but just not up to date (1/23/2016). Please, any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Cheers swagmaidhof@gmail.com
Ditto for a big thanks to Videoguys. Four years ago I followed yiour advice to the letter and I have a great system to edit on. And it still works great today despite moving from HDV to XDCAM source formats. I am in debt to you guys for the work that goes in to making sure that motherboards and other components are in fact fit for the task … with no funny niggly performance surprises/gotchas down the track.
I wanted to thank you guys for this. I am the lone IT employee for a nonprofit TV station and have been asked to price various scenarios of either upgrading current HP desktops, buy turnkey solutions, or build my own. This was very helpful in determining what hardware is minimum and recommended for various video editing software. Thanks again.
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