A minimum of 16 GB of RAM for HD is fine, but with 4K or 6K editing, that minimum rises to 32 GB or more. Data must be quickly accessible to both the CPU and RAM so storage speed is crucial. Otherwise, starving the CPU and RAM of data results in slow performance, no matter how fast those other components are.
Top 5 Graphics Cards for 4K Video Editing and Rendering
- Asus AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT.
- Gigabyte AMD Radeon VII.
- EVGA Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super.
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition.
- EVGA Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super.
“Up-sampling to 4K for your final export is worth the extra file size and extra rendering time,” says Linus. This is due to the fact that when YouTube detects a 4K resolution, they will offer a 4K quality setting which results in a higher bitrate and, therefor, sharper image quality on both native 1080p and 4K footage.
If you're just looking for a monitor to watch 4K movies and TV shows, to web-surf, and for other basic multimedia activities, a 4K monitor is a viable choice. In fact, some 4K monitors are even cheaper than some 1440p displays. Unless you are gaming, you won't need a powerful system either.
16GB- If you want to edit 4K files, this amount of RAM is sufficient, but not ideal either. You will have issues with background tasks a computer uses, therefore you will have to balance your usage and editing processes. In a nutshell, you won't need more than 32GB of RAM for some time at least.
4K Gives You More Options
Just because you're shooting in 4K, that doesn't mean you have to work in 4K. For many projects, 1080p is good enough. The benefit of shooting in 4K is a quadrupled resolution, allowing you to zoom in cleanly since you have a much better source video to work with.Take note of refresh rate: While a 30Hz refresh rate works for day-to-day monitors, video editors will need closer to a 60Hz refresh rate for speed and accuracy. If your camera records in UHD 4K — the more common resolution, which is 3840×2160 — then you'll want a UHD 4K monitor for video editing.
The higher bitrate that Google allocates to 4K contributes to the quality too, but the higher source resolution being Not only can you watch 4K videos on a 1080P monitor, you actually get most of the benefit of 4K.
Screen Resolution
On the other hand, if your existing editing system is 1080p-compatible and you're not ready to upgrade to the greater processing and storage requirements of 4K, you can edit your 4K footage using proxies while viewing on a 1080p monitor.Yes, curved monitors are suitable for any of your video editing needs. It provides less eye strain, editors can gain more productivity, and it has a better viewing experience. It may cost a bit more than flat screens, but it will be worth your money.
- NEC PA322UHD 32″ photo editing monitor.
- ASUS 32 ” 4K Ultra HD ProArt Professional Monitor [PA328Q] IPS.
- BenQ PD3200U 32″ 4K Designer Monitor.
- BenQ 27 inch 2K Photographer Monitor SW2700PT.
- Samsung 32” WQHD LED Monitor.
- Dell U2415 24″ monitor.
- LG 27UD88-W 27-inch 4K USB-C monitor.
- Acer H277HU 27-inch USB-C monitor.
- BenQ SW271.
- LG 27UD88-W.
- NEC MultiSync EA271U.
- Dell UltraSharp U2718Q.
- ViewSonic VP3268-4K. A solid choice if you need maximum space for image editing.
- Eizo ColorEdge CS2731. If you can do without 4K, this monitor is the color purist's choice.
The best monitors for photo editing in 2020
- BenQ SW2700PT. A high-end monitor for photo editing that's relatively kind to your wallet.
- ASUS ProArt PA329Q. A great all-round monitor for photo editing, if you have a bit more cash.
- Eizo ColorEdge CG319X.
- Dell UltraSharp U2518D.
- Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q.
- Viewsonic VP3881.
- Acer ProDesigner PE320QK.
List of Dell Monitors for Photo Editing
- Dell S2419HM – 24 Inch – All Rounder, 99% sRGB.
- Dell S3219D – 32 Inch – Large Screen All Rounder, 99% sRGB.
- Dell UltraSharp U2718Q – 27 Inch – Professional 4k Display – Best Valued 4K Display.
- Dell UltraSharp U3417W – 34 Inch – Curved Ultrawide WQHD.
The Gaming monitor you are referring to is just a normal monitor with high refresh rates and higher resolutions. It won't make any difference if you use it for video editing stuff. One thing would be better than other monitors, and that is good resolution and visualisation.
Is 32GB overkill? In general, yes. The only real reason an average user would need 32GB is for future proofing. As far as just simply gaming goes, 16GB is plenty, and really, you can get by just fine with 8GB.
I7 is always better. I5 is generally sufficient for video editing and games but not necessarily better. Definitely the extra cores in i7 would benefit.
16GB- If you want to edit 4K files, this amount of RAM is sufficient, but not ideal either. You will have issues with background tasks a computer uses, therefore you will have to balance your usage and editing processes. 32GB- With this amount of RAM, you will be able to edit all kinds of files, including 4K.
Conclusions. The best value processor by far is the Core i7-8700K. It has 6 cores and 12 threads and its high turbo clock speed of 4.7GHz offers good performance for video editing.
In order to enjoy 4K video, your monitor must support 4K resolution, and you must have your monitor connected to your computer via an HDMI or DisplayPort cable. Your computer must also be able to process 4K video, which may be difficult for laptop and low-end desktop computers.
Editing 4K video on an old computer or laptop. With so many cameras now shooting 4K a lot of people have computers that will struggle to edit the footage. Thankfully there is a way you can still edit 4k footage, or any other high resolution video, on a computer that is underpowered.
The best laptops for video editing in 2020
- Razer Blade 15.
- Asus ROG G703.
- Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) Best 2-in-1.
- Dell XPS 15. Best for 4K edits.
- HP ZBook Studio X360. Portability with maxed-out specs.
- Acer Predator Helios 300 15 (2019) Best for color grading.
- Huawei Matebook X Pro. Best for portability.
- Lenovo ThinkPad P53 (15-inch) Best for business.
8GB- If you are editing 720-1080p files, you will be satisfied with this amount of RAM. 16GB- If you want to edit 4K files, this amount of RAM is sufficient, but not ideal either. You will have issues with background tasks a computer uses, therefore you will have to balance your usage and editing processes.
A powerful video editing PC is build around a powerful CPU. Having a graphics card is also very helpful, but it is not necessary to get a powerhouse of a GPU. Make sure not to skimp on RAM, either, but 8 to 16 GB should be plenty for most projects.
A computer used for video editing needs plenty of RAM, up to 32GB. 16GB should be the minimum here. Also, a graphics card is the next main thing to consider. If you are really into this type of editing, you will need a high-end graphics card, which is expensive, but beneficial.
A powerful video editing PC is build around a powerful CPU. Having a graphics card is also very helpful, but it is not necessary to get a powerhouse of a GPU. Make sure not to skimp on RAM, either, but 8 to 16 GB should be plenty for most projects.
