Top 6 Best Computers for Video Editing in 2026

Every experienced video blogger or editor will say to you that video editing is a highly demanding task for computer hardware.

Your computer is just a simple hammer in this situation, but it needs to be a super-hammer to do the job successfully.

So you figure that it should be quite a great tool.

But what do you need to consider to find the best laptop or desktop computer to handle your professional video editing software?

Especially if you are a newbie, but you need a good machine to boost your video editing career?

In this article, we will introduce you to the basic things you need to look at in a computer while choosing your next PC or laptop.

Also, we will show you six excellent, and we can even say the best, computers for video editing to purchase in 2026. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

The complicated process of choosing: What you need to know

So, what’s the most important thing for a video editor to look at their next computer?

Of course, it should be powerful enough to handle any, even very heavy and demanding, video editing software.

By this, we mean that even if you use high-maintenance professional tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro or or some amateur programs like WeVideo, Movavi, VSDC, or CapCut your computer should be able to run it without any freezes and lags.

It should be quick and do the operations with these programs in a matter of seconds because every saved moment here is your money.

There are four main factors that you should consider when choosing a video editing PC or laptop: a CPU, graphics card, RAM, and storage.

Let’s start with the first one and learn what will be the best for you.

Choosing a brain: CPU

The right computer for you should have a really good and powerful brain or central processing unit (or, in short, CPU).

We have an entire article on what are the best processors for video editing. So maybe check on that one as well.

The most popular best-selling CPUs on the market belong to AMD, Intel, or Apple, and we recommend you to choose one of them on your video editing computer.

The CPUs from these companies have everything you need for video editing purposes and an excellent reputation which ensures your CPU’s longevity and outstanding performance.

If we talk about Intel chips, their CPUs are called iCore + some number that means the CPU’s version.

Intel’s modern processors belong to the Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 9 lineup, designed specifically for AI-assisted creative workloads.

You don’t need the top model to have a powerful computer — Core Ultra 7 is already more than enough for professional video editing.

As it was mentioned in June’s “How to Choose the Right Laptop: A Step-by-Step Guide” “Wired” issue, you can start with Intel Core Ultra 7 , and we absolutely agree with that.

If you prefer AMD CPUs, here you have many nice ones to choose from.

Just recently, the British “Techradar” announced their top 5 AMD processors, and every single one of the contestants can be an excellent choice for your video editing computer.

AMD Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 processors are excellent choices in 2026, especially for rendering-heavy workloads.

It is a reasonably priced choice, with superior performance and an in-built cooler, so it is even more affordable than others.

Apple now uses M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M4 chips, which deliver outstanding performance per watt and exceptional optimization for video editing software.

An excellent graphics card

The next important part of your computer that should be chosen wisely is a graphics card. We recommend you to look at a nice professional graphics card from AMD or NVIDIA, two leading companies in the industry.

In the case of a graphics card, it is better to get the most powerful you can afford because a graphics card will play a huge role in the performance of your hefty video editing software.

As a starting point, we would like to suggest purchasing NVIDIA RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, but if you can, go higher!

Plenty of storage space

Footages, unedited materials, and final high-quality videos can weigh a lot. That’s why an abundance of memory on SSD or HDD drives is crucial for every video editor.

As for choosing between these two, it is really up to your budget and needs. If you need a more affordable choice, an HDD drive with a lot of memory will be excellent for you.

SSDs are now much more affordable, and the best setup in 2026 is:

• NVMe SSD for system & software
• Large SSD or HDD for footage and backups

And yes — you can have both and enjoy speed and endless space.

At the same time, SSDs are much faster than HDD drives and if you value speed over storage space, go for SSD. But on the other hand, no one can’t forbid you to have them both and enjoy both speed and endless space, right? So here the choice is yours completely!

And don’t forget about the RAM!

And the more RAM, the better! 16GB is the absolute minimum, while 32GB is strongly recommended.
For heavy 4K–8K projects, 64GB is ideal. However, investing money in more RAM will allow you to work faster and better, open multiple programs at one time, and not get lags and freezes. Thus do not be cheap on this part of your computer, because it is the money spent on your career.

As a general consensus, most companies recommend either 16GB or 32GB RAM for video editing computers, so stick to these figures when you go looking for your PC or a laptop.

Best laptops for video editing

Firstly we will look at the best laptop deals that will perfectly fit any of your editing needs. Due to their mobility, you can work for any outsource video editing company on one of these laptops on some island in the ocean and still be a fully equipped editor.

Apple MacBook Pro 2026

We couldn’t start without one of the best laptop brands, the Apple MacBook. And we don’t have an agenda here, no: it is just an outstanding, lightweight, and powerful laptop, perfect for video editing.

Modern MacBook Pros use M3 Max or M4 Pro chips, offering incredible performance, long battery life, and a Liquid Retina XDR display.

The laptop has excellent battery life and a high-quality Liquid Retina XDR display with amazing speakers to give you the best experience during the editing.

Yes, this one is on the pricier side, but it is a good investment for professional use.

Razer Blade 16 Studio Edition

This laptop is not messing around with you: it is a truly professional machine that will handle any serious video editing task.

Razer Blade 16 Studio Edition, featuring:

Up to 64GB RAM

Intel Core Ultra / Ryzen processors

NVIDIA RTX Studio GPUs

Razer Blade 16 is the hardware for a seasoned professional, and it is impossible to be disappointed by it.

However, it can be an overwhelming choice for newbies and middle specialists, even though many reviewers love this laptop.

Since it is quite expensive, think thoroughly before buying it if you are on the first level of a video editing career.

Dell XPS 16 (2026)

Dell XPS 16 is the perfect choice for high-end design projects and 4K video editing.

This laptop is more affordable than the previous two, and it undoubtedly has one of the best price-to-performance ratios in its class.

This machine with a modern Intel Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 processor is an excellent choice for busy editors who spend many hours working on their laptop and just want it to work smoothly.

It features a high-quality FHD+ or 4K display, 32GB of RAM (with lower configurations starting at 16GB), and a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 graphics card, depending on configuration.

This is a good, powerful machine that can comfortably handle professional video editing tasks, multitasking, and even demanding creative workloads without overheating or slowdowns.

Best desktop computers for video editing

Now let’s move on to the desktop computers and see the best three of them that will be able to run both your Adobe Photoshop Pro with all plugins and filters on and high-end and demanding games like Red Dead Redemption 2 on ultra settings.

HP Omen

This computer has one of the best CPUs available on the market, Intel Core Ultra 9 or AMD Ryzen 9, and a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 graphics card.

As HP states, this is a PC created for high-end gaming.

But it can do so much more!

Thanks to excellent hardware and performance, it will also handle the most demanding video editing software, including heavy 4K and even 8K projects.

Yes, you will get a perfect gaming computer and an excellent work tool in one lovely package!

HP offers many variations of HP Omen desktops, and you’ve got many opportunities for upgrading in the future if you need to.

But even in the most basic modern configuration, HP Omen desktops come with at least 32GB of RAM, which is already more than enough for professional video editing tasks.

Just so you know, this amount of RAM allows Adobe Premiere Pro and similar software to run smoothly even with multiple timelines, effects, and background applications open.

Lenovo ThinkStation P620

Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is a good, long-term investment that will be paid off by countless productive times spent working at this powerful machine.

It is a petit computer with a huge power inside: Threadripper PRO CPUs and professional NVIDIA GPUs.

The CPU is the beautiful fruit of collaboration between AMD and Lenovo, and its performance just blows our minds.

Considering this computer’s possibilities, we find that it is a very reasonably priced machine. It is a very flexible PC, and you can upgrade and expand it many times to prolong its life.

Since you can constantly upgrade it, this investment makes sense both for beginners in video editing and experienced professionals.

iMac

We will finish just like we started: with the Apple computer, but now we want to offer you the modern iMac (Apple Silicon generation), one of the best computers for video editors overall.

Every penny that you will spend on this excellent machine will be worth it.

It is an elegant and powerful gear that takes next to nothing space but contains a huge amount of possibilities inside.

Not to mention several vibrant color options this iMac has to choose from, which is not essential for video editing but still can be a significant motivating and inspirational factor.

iMac has a super thin and compact impressive 4,5K Retina display and excellent sound system.

Inside the machine, you will find a fantastic integrated graphics system and a modern Apple Silicon chip such as M3 or M4, which delivers outstanding performance and efficiency for video editing tasks.

Isn’t it just everything you may possibly need to edit videos comfortably?

iMacs are famous for their very smooth performance and longevity of the machines.

If you value these two things, this Apple computer should be your №1 choice.

And that’s our top!

Yes, we chose only six computers to choose from, but still, these are powerful, excellent machines, and one of them absolutely can become your best video editing friend.

Every one of them will do the job perfectly, so it is only for you to decide what will win your video editor’s heart!

So what’s left to say?

Choosing a computer for video editing can be even harder than actually editing a 4K (or even higher-resolution) blockbuster.

You put a lot of money into this machine, and you expect it to work flawlessly.

Many video editors and professional designers even go further than the long process of choosing one great computer and start building their video editing computer from scratch.

If you didn’t find the one for you after reading our top, use the first part of the article to choose the right hardware and make your own personal super-machine.

But if this way is not for you, choose one of the six excellent computers we recommend to you, and you will not have any blue days with any of them.

Our final advice will be this: be reasonable, but not cheap because it is an investment in your career.

Good luck!