Best video editing PC build in 2020 under $1000
Processor for best video editing pc build
When building a high-res editing PC, your processor is by far the most important part of your build and you should focus more on your budget there than anywhere else. In general, you’ll get more traction with more cores as opposed to faster individual cores. The latest-gen AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a price to performance monster and that’s what we’ve chosen for the purposes of this video.
RAM for best video editing pc build
After you’ve chosen the processor, let’s look at our RAM. RAM is important in an editing PC to keep your editing program running smoothly. Especially when you’re dealing with higher-res RAW files. To edit 4k video, we recommend at least 16GB of DDR4 RAM HyperX FURY DDR4 3200 memory is we’ve chosen. You can use slower than 3200, but AMD CPUs tend to perform better with faster memory. These two 8GB sticks are low profile and super reliable. We’re Kingston, so this is kinda our area of expertise.
Storage for best video editing pc build
Now speaking of those large RAW files, let’s talk storage. You want your storage to be high capacity and fast. While a traditional HDD hard drive is fine for H. 264 footage at 1080p and could work for 4k if you don’t mind some dropped frames, you’ll really want to invest in an SSD. Even if you just get a small one to run your operating system and important software. For our build, we’re going the whole hog and getting the Kingston A2000 1TB NVME SSD. It’s an affordable way to get 3x the performance over a SATA SSD and totally worth it. Next, let’s talk GPU.
Graphics card for best video editing pc build
You may be wondering why we didn’t bring this up earlier in the video. The importance of your GPU in an editing build is less than one might think unless you are using Davinci Resolve as your editing software which is super GPU intensive or you also plan on gaming on your computer, which may then benefit from a nicer GPU. Strictly for editing purposes, say using Adobe Premiere. The GPU will step in when rendering or working with fancy visual effects. But take a backseat other than that.
You’ll see more results from investing in your CPU, RAM, and quicker storage. Regardless, for editing 4k video we recommend at least a GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB GDDR5 RAM or Radeon RX 570 4GB if you would rather go AMD. For our build today, we are going with the Zotac GeForce GTX 1660 Ti video card. It’s robust, performs well, and is a great value at $250-$300 from most retailers.
For more options in this budget will be graphics card under 40000
Motherboard for that build
At this point, we can choose a motherboard that is compatible with everything else we’ve chosen so far, so we’re looking for something that supports the latest M. 2 and PCI-e solutions, and as a bonus has super-fast USB standards for when we have to transfer footage. We’re going with a Gigabyte X570 board.
PSU (power supply unit)
Since finding compatible components can sometimes be a real pain in the I/O port, I always recommend PCPartPicker.com to double-check compatibility and it will also give you a good idea of how much wattage you’ll be eating up so you can pick an appropriate PSU. We want something reliable and clean, that leaves room in case we upgrade later, so a 650 watt 80+ Gold Certified PSU should do the trick. This 750-watt fully-modular unit was on special this week, so of course, we couldn’t say no. After all the major components are out of the way, you’ll have to settle on a case to put them in and this is really up to aesthetics.
CASES OR CABINETS
There are tons of great, affordable cases that offer cable management features, sleek architecture, and even RGB if you’re into that. We have an NZXT H510 Mid Tower case here but we’ve put the Phanteks P300in our build guide below which is similar and will save you a few bucks. The tempered glass side panel will show off all the hard work you’ve put in with great airflow, cable management, and just a slight hint of RGB. And of course, you can’t forget about the operating system.
SOME MORE TIPS to build to the best pc
If you decide to go Linux to save a buck, you’ll most likely be editing with Davinci Resolve and then you’ll have to spend more money on your GPU anyway. The GeForce RTX 2060 Super cards are a great upgrade over 1660. We have in here and will run about $100 more. If you are going Windows. There are numerous ways to get a discounted or free authentication key from using your old one to buy one from a legit, third-party seller at a discount. It’s also good to note that if you are a student, you can get Windows 10 Education for free. So that’s that. We’ll link our full list of components we choose for this build 4k editing rig under one $1, 000.
Also check: