Visionary Vanguards: Premium Laptops for 4K Filmmakers

Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing

Max Wales

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Video editing and other creative processes that are done on laptops have become more demanding than before. Hardware technology continues to push forward in a faster leap than anyone would have imagined. Laptops are not as they used to be, as they now have more powerful components to help in 4K video editing. Video editors need fast and powerful laptops to be able to efficiently run high-end video editing software and handle those high-resolution media accordingly. Finding such laptops is not easy that’s why we will list down some of the most powerful and affordable 4K video editing laptops you can get in the market.

• Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing
• What makes a good laptop for 4k video editing

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Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing

1.MSI GT73VR TITAN PRO 4K-479 ($2,899)

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This is “THE” laptop for serious 4K video editors. It is more of a portable desktop that will give you as much service as a desktop. This laptop provides ample storage as it has 64GB RAM and a 2TB Hard drive large enough to handle as many 4K videos as you would want to edit. With an Inteli7-7820HK processor and a commendable speed of 2.9GHz, NVIDIA graphics card and a resolution of 3849 X 2160, your video editing experience will be one easy ride.

Pros

Large display screen 17.3” for better viewing

Windows 10 professional with a lifetime Tech Support from EXcaliberPC

Cons

Too heavy with a weight of around 9 pounds

2.Apple MacBook Pro 15” Retina Screen ( $2,774)

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There is not a better laptop for any 4K video editor than an Apple MacBook as it never disappoints. This MacBook pro comes with a 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz to give you amazing speed when editing your videos. It has a unique Retina display feature for easier and faster editing. With AMD Radeon Pro graphics and a 15-inch screen, one would make a career out of video editing. This MacBook runs on a MAC OS X Sierra operating system which is the latest from Apple. Storage space is also a factor to consider for video editors and this one has a RAM of 16 GB and 512 HDD of flash storage.

Pros

Touch Bar and Touch ID is available.

Cons

No optical drive available

3.HP ZBook Studio G3 (T70W05ET) Laptop ($2,295)

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With a design to deliver maximum performance, flexibility, and scalability, HP ZBook Studio G3 is the laptop for professional video editors. It has a 4K, UHD (3840 X 2160 pixels) and 15.6-inch display as well as NVIDIA Quadro Intel HD graphics P530. For a high performance, it is equipped with Intel Xeon E3-1505M v5 processor and a 32 GB of RAM. The hard disk storage of 512 GB is large enough to hold hundreds of 4k videos and photos. This is clearly the best laptop out there for any 4k video editing professional.

Pros

Durable battery with about 10 hours

Latest Windows 10 pro 64-bit edition

Cons

Makes scenes darker and you have to edit the settings to solve this issue.

4.MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro-034 VR Ready Laptop ($2,049)

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If you are looking for a machine with extra space for your 4K video editing adventure, this is the laptop for you. This machine has a vibrant 4K UHD 15.6” screen with a resolution of 3840 x 1260. The GDDRAM has a capacity of 16GB and the hard drive a capacity of 512GB plus a 2GB SATA unit to help out with the many 4K videos. Speed is crucial for any 4K video editing laptop and this one provides a speed of 3.0 MHZ and comes with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor to help speed up editing processes.

Pros

Thin and light with a weight of around 4 pounds.

Has 3 USB ports

Cons

Gets hot when in use

Is not too bright so you have to adjust settings

5.Microsoft Surface Book Laptop For Video Editing ($2,015)

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4K video editors prefer this laptop for video editing because of its not just because its well-known brand name but also because of the ability to be carried everywhere. It can be used as a laptop and a tablet and comes with a surface pen. This Microsoft Surface Pro is equipped with the latest Intel core i5 processor with 2.5 GHz. It also has a NVIDIA Maxwell graphic card for a better viewing experience and a 13.5-inch screen. Not forgetting to talk about the ample space it offers, 8GB RAM and a 256 SSD to operate faster and store enough 4K videos.

Pros

It gives you 12 hours of battery life.

Pixel Sense touchscreen display with a surface pen

Cons

Type C USB port is absent

6.Dell XPS 15 9560 Kaby Lake Model ($1,848)

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This is the computer of your choice if you are looking for a fast affordable 4k Video editing laptop. Made out of aluminum, carbon fiber and gorilla glass, Dell XPS 25 9560 has a 3.80GHz 7th generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processor for faster speeds. It comes with storage of 512GB solid-state drive, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 4GB of GDDR5. The display is quite remarkable with an HD resolution of 3840 X 1260 and a 15.6”InfinityEdge touch display.

Pros

Has an HDMI port and an SD card reader

Cons

Has a single Thunderbolt 3 port

7.ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW ($1,526)

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ASUS ZenBook Pro is one of the most coveted 4K video editing laptops in the market today. It has the latest and powerful Intel Skylake Core i7­-6700HQ 2.6 GHz Quad­core CPU (turbo to 3.5GHz). The 15.6-Inch 4K UHD Touchscreen feature makes it stand out from the rest with a resolution of 3840 x 1260 as well as a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics card. And now the most important feature of them all, which is the storage, has storage of 512GB SSD with transfer speeds of 1400MB/s and a 16GB DDR4 RAM. This model is equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 port, featuring a Type-C interface, 3x USB 3.0 ports, a full-size HDMI port and an audio jack.

Pros

Easy to use backlit keyboard

Cons

Only 2 USB ports

8.HP OMEN 17 ($1,459)

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This is a great laptop for 4k video editors looking for large screen display and great video playback. It has a 17.3” UHD 4K IPS UWVA anti-glare WLED-backlit screen with a great resolution of 3840 x 2160. HP Omen 17 runs on Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ with 2.6 GHz, up to 3.5 GHz which gives it enough power to edit light and heavy 4K videos. It also has an ample storage of 2TB HDD and 128GB SSD as well as a 32GB RAM and the most exciting part is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5 dedicated) VR ready Virtual Reality for the ultimate video viewing and editing experience. Is this is not impressive I don’t know that is!!

Pros

HP Wide Vision HD Camera with dual array digital microphone

It has quality Bang & Olufsen Quad speakers

Cons

No DVD or CD drive

9.Lenovo P70 (2015)$1,347

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For the ultimate user experience and stunning visuals, this is the laptop to go for. It comes with a 17.3” screen and a UHD 3849 x 1260 display for clarity when viewing and editing 4K videos. The fast performance experienced is due to the 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Xeon Processor E3-1505M v5 CPU that makes it enjoyable for video editors to use. This is one laptop that offers legendary reliability in terms of storage as it has a 32GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and a Nvidia Quadro M5000M graphics card with 8GB of GDDR5!!! What more could you ask for? If your 4K video are too many and you need additional storage, there are four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port and an SD card reader for you to use.

Pros

Has a DVD-R drive

10.8 hours of battery life

Cons

The laptop is quite large which makes it heavy

10.Dell Inspiron 7000 i7559 15.6” UHD (3840x2160) 4K TouchScreen ($939)

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Dell Inspiron has been on the market for quite some time and they too have picked up the 4K video editing laptop trend. Dell Inspiron 7000 i7559 is their latest “baby” that is flying off the shelves. It has a 15.6” UHD 4K 3840x216 Touchscreen with 16 GB RAM that runs on Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz Processor. The storage capacity is 1TB of HDD and 128GB of SSD which is enough video storage for any 4K video editor. All these features as well as a Windows 10 Home 64-bit operating system and a DDR3 SDRAM computer memory type with a Serial ATA Solid State Hard Drive Interface make Dell Inspiron 7000 i7559 a unique 4K video editing laptop.

Pros

802.11abg, 802.11bgn, Bluetooth wireless type

Cons

The Laptop is a bit heavyweight

The Cooling is ineffective

What makes a good laptop for 4k video editing?

Buying a 4K video editing laptop can be exciting if you know what you want and what to look for. Before you settle on a laptop, here are some features that you should look out for as they are the best for 4K video editing:

1.SSD

Having an SSD drive is advisable for a high performing laptop for effective 4K video editing. The cost of these laptops may be higher than that of HDD one and the advantage is that users can comfortably move around with their laptops without having to carry an external HDD.

2.Storage

This is an even more important feature for your 4k video editing laptop to have. 4K videos are “heavy” which will easily result in the hard drive quickly filling up. With enough storage, file transfers and accessing 4K videos for editing will also be quicker. When purchasing a 4K video editing laptop storage of a key point to consider.

3.GPU

GPU is meant to take some weight off the CPU by devoting itself to handling graphic processing tasks, so when buying a 4k video editing Laptop, find one with this feature. GPU-accelerated laptops provide for increased overall performance and are able to process thousands of threads all at the same time due to being composed of hundreds of cores.

4.CPU

The CPU is the most crucial part of a 4K editing laptop as it is the key determinant of the laptop’s performance. Editing 4k videos can be cumbersome to the processor is it results to slow data processing. No one wants a slow laptop. The recommended laptop is one with a Quadcore processor as it will give you an easy time when editing videos.

5.Display

When editing the 4K videos, you’ll need a laptop that has a 4K display so that you can see the content in its most optimal format. The 4k display is imperative when viewing and editing 4K videos and give you a one-way view when using your laptop. If you cannot afford 4K laptop, you can always use a get a laptop with an HDMI port then use HDMI cable to hook up to a larger screen.

Well, it’s time to make the decisions now! At least you know what to look for in a laptop for 4K video editing. Just Remember to keep performance specs at the heart of every decision you make. If you’re looking for a laptop which can run 4K gameplaying, you can check our picks of the Best 4K Laptops for Gaming.

Max Wales

Max Wales is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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