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You decide to purchase a gaming laptop to use it as a video editing system, yet you are worried about whether your new laptop will be able to meet the challenge or not.
Your laptop is likely capable of helping you resize videos, add transitions, and add other effects. If you’re considering a gaming laptop for video editing, make sure to take various factors into account.
If you’re considering buying a gaming laptop, make sure you’re aware of the video editing requirements for laptops and what they can and cannot do. This article will help you know about those factors and also whether a gaming laptop is good for video editing or not.
Different Demands for Video Editing From Gaming Laptops
Video games are all about graphics. It will be great if you have high memory and storage space apart from a good processor. There is a big difference between lower resolutions and a good processor, but graphics are the most important.
With slow memory and space, your frame rates will be choppy, and you will not be able to view the game’s visual effects. A weak processor may hamper the performance of a graphics card, but it is the GPU that allows a game to run at higher frames per second and higher resolutions.
On the other hand, video editing does not take advantage of GPUs as much. Video editing tasks that require 3D rendering or special effects require a good mid-range GPU. The video editing functions like cutting, pasting, rendering, and playback do require high-end GPUs.
The importance of multicore processors, large amounts of memory, and fast storage cannot be overstated. If the specs of your laptop are up to the mark, then yes, a gaming laptop is a good option for video editing as well.
You can probably edit videos on most budget gaming laptops as well, provided they’re powerful. However, the design of such a system will differ from one designed for either task separately.
When editing on a gaming machine, you’re most likely compiling and uploading a collection of your best moments. You can also find streaming or broadcasting your gameplay, live or with a slight delay, at least somewhat interesting.
The system you choose will have to cope with some impressive requirements. On top of that, you are trying to turn that game into a video to upload to the internet in real-time, with all the demands it puts on your CPU and graphics.
It takes more CPU power to stream games than to edit videos. Therefore, it will put your CPU under more stress, and that’s where additional cores and simultaneous multithreading can help.
What Hardware Do Gaming Laptops Should Have for Video Editing?
Whether the laptop is ideal for video editing or not is decided by its hardware. Video editing and other tasks, such as gaming, demand sufficient resources. When choosing a gaming laptop for video editing, you’ll want to pay attention to the processor, GPU, RAM memory, and screen quality.
CPU
Your CPU will have to process a lot of data when you edit your latest video masterpiece. Therefore, your system needs to be capable of handling heavy workloads. With video rendering, processing data must be done fast to display and update images without significant latency.
All that data will be computed more quickly if your CPU has multiple cores so that the task will also get completed more quickly. Thanks to Intel’s multicore processors, upper-class gaming laptops can handle any task.
The minimum recommended CPU for gaming rigs is an Intel Core i5.
RAM
Your RAM should be eight or sixteen gigabytes if you plan to edit videos. While 4GB is probably enough for most tasks, I’d recommend eight or sixteen gigabytes. On low RAM, it has to release the data it is holding before it can render properly, which means you’ll have to render everything again.
Most workstations feature professional-grade processors like AMD A-Series APUs or Intel Xeon CPUs. In contrast to traditional gaming laptop processors, these processors have lower clock speeds and, due to thermal restrictions, are unable to be overclocked.
GPU
The graphics card in your system will take some of the workloads of your processor, depending on the video-editing program. A powerful GPU is essential to handle this strain on your laptop. GPUs are typically used in workstations in one of three ways: Intel Iris Pro, Nvidia Quadro, or AMD FirePro.
The clock speeds of these GPUs are lower than gaming-optimized counterparts because they are optimized for precision rather than speed. Due to the lower speed, the system is faster and more stable, which is perfect for rendering videos and processing 10-bit color.
Therefore, workstations usually run games at a lower frame rate than standard GPUs. Overclocking consumer graphics cards like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 will maximize performance.
While excellent for gaming, it’s not ideal for video editing. Overclocking software is usually available on gaming laptops, making it easy to adjust the clock rate to match what you need for your rendering.
Screen
Purchasing a gaming laptop without a high refresh rate screen may be a good way to save some money. Using more than 60 Hz does make your games run smoother, but they also add extra costs, and your video editing experience won’t be much better.
Restrict yourself to lower resolutions if you do not need to edit or play at 4K. Battery life is also impacted by higher-resolution screens, which are more expensive and have more power.
Conclusion
Although gaming desktops are the most popular choice among gamers, gaming laptops are highly portable, making them convenient for on-the-go gaming and working.
But the question is, are gaming laptops worth it? Yes, gaming laptops are suitable for video editing. But make sure the gaming laptop you choose has the quality needed to fulfill the video editing tasks.
