What is the best PC config for editing video?

[Gary Bettan]

We get asked all the time, "What computer system should I use for Video Editing?"

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 Every month computers get more powerful and less expensive, so the recommendations on this page could become outdated very quickly.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.

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.

CPU: Quad Core i7 4790K Haswell or i7 Hex Core
RAM: 16GB DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
GPU: GTX970 or Quadro K2200+
system drive: 240+ GB SSD

check out our full guide here System Recommendations - VideoGuys.com

Gary