Are you hunting for the best laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro in 2020?
Well, you’re in luck as we’ve done tens of hours of serious research to find a handful of models that are great for Adobe Premiere Pro.
We have super-premium laptops as well as budget ones so that there is a laptop for all kinds of users.
Without wasting any more of your valuable time, let’s take a look at the best notebooks for Adobe Premiere Pro.
Best Laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro in 2020
ASUS ROG Strix Scar III - Editor's Choice
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar III is our editor’s choice for the best laptop for Adobe premiere pro. This laptop is a gaming-oriented machine that brings heavy-duty hardware to the world of video editing.
The laptop is a solid one when it comes to performance. It is powered by an Intel Core i7 9750H processor which is a hexa-core processor from Intel. The process accounts for the maximum clock speed of 4.5GHz which is fantastic. It has a cache memory of 12 MB which should come in handy as well.
The CPU is a powerful one even without the help of a turbo boost as it has a base frequency of 2.6 GHz. It can run all your applications without any issues. Even when editing with Adobe premiere pro, the processor does a fabulous job and handles the workload like a hot knife through butter.
For memory, we have 16 gigs of DDR4 RAM. For a video editing laptop, this is pretty much the right amount of memory you want. Anything more than this might be a bit overkill but even that depends on what kind of video editing you want to do. But when it comes to normal load video editing, you should be okay with just 16 gigs.
The display is one of the nicest features on this laptop. We have a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The display comes with an IPS panel underneath and gives excellent colors and equally brilliant viewing angles.
This being a gaming laptop makes sure that the display is perfect for gaming. As a result, ASUS has included at 240Hz refresh rate which is just crazy for a laptop screen. All your actions are smooth and this can be seen even in the smallest elements of the operating system.
The keyboard is another compelling feature of the laptop. The keys come with enough travel to make your typing experience pleasant. There is a set of dedicated keys that are catered towards gamers. The touchpad here doubles up as a number pad as well. The touchpad does well when it comes to responsiveness and does a decent job.
How good is the graphics performance of this laptop? Well, we have to say it is pretty good. The laptop is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU that comes with a dedicated memory of 6GB that is of GDDR5 type. This is easily one of the most powerful GPUs available on the market right now.
If you’re someone who adds a lot of accelerated effects to their videos, then this GPU will make your work a lot easier. Even if you do just plain video editing, this graphics card streamlines your entire video editing process and makes it so much faster and easier.
There is a 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD for storage purposes. This is a crazy fast solid-state drive and brings an enormous improvement to the performance of the laptop. One good thing here is that this SSD gives you enough space in order to store your edited footage as well. Thanks to the excellent reading and writing speeds, you can easily move even around huge files in a very short time.
Being a gaming laptop, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar III comes with an elegant cooling system. There are 2 12v fans that turn on even during a typical workload in order to keep the temperature low. This does come in handy during video editing as the overall efficiency of the laptop improves.
This model is anything but not a portable laptop. It weighs around 6 pounds which makes it a little hard to carry it around. Other than this minor issue, The ASUS ROG Strix Scar III is easily the best laptop for Adobe premiere pro.
- Gorgeous display
- Beastly performance
- Superfast SSD
- Not portable
Microsoft Surface Book 2
The Surface Book 2 from Microsoft is easily one of the best laptops for Adobe premiere pro.
It comes with excellent hardware that is backed up by a quality software user experience. Though a tad expensive, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a beautiful laptop that also doubles up as a tablet giving you the best of two worlds in one body.
If you see the Surface Book 2 in person, then you cannot stop talking about its design. It comes with a stunning industrial design that is premium to touch. The keyboard on the laptop it’s pretty sweet and comes with an excellent key travel. The touchpad on the laptop is responsive and takes input gestures with excellent accuracy.
You can easily detach the display from the laptop and change it into a tablet. If you don’t want to completely detach the device you can just temporarily remove it and detach it backward for a different viewing experience. Even on the tablet mode, the OS is optimised so that you don’t feel like you are having an incomplete device in your hands.
The display is one of the best characteristics of Microsoft Surface Book 2. We have a 15-inch PixelSense display that comes with Super-high resolution. The image quality is excellent and the color reproduction is on point. Since we are dealing with an IPS panel here, the viewing angles are also very good.
The display is perfect for consuming media. The screen does well when it comes to video playback during rendering and video editing in general. The display gives you enough real estate for all your elements in Adobe premiere pro. The audio output from the laptop is also equally good and makes for a decent multimedia experience.
An Intel Core i7 processor from Intel’s eighth-generation powers the Surface Book 2. This is a quad-core processor from Intel that comes with a base clock frequency of 1.9 GHz and a maximum clock frequency of 4 GHz.
If you are a serious video editor, then the CPU will surely come in handy. The CPU gets enough support from the 16 gigs of RAM in the memory department. Together, they make a formidable combo and gives the user a hasslefree experience.
The laptop comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card which is perfect for Adobe premiere pro. This GPU has a dedicated memory of 4 gigs that are of the GDDR5 type. If you are going to use any extra effects on your videos, then this GPU will surely help you improve the workflow and also elevate the laptop’s efficiency as well.
The storage in the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is made up of 512 gigs of SSD storage. This is a very good amount fo storage and it manages to give you both the space for all your files and also the speed enhancements your laptop needs during video editing.
There are not a lot of connectivity options on this laptop. You get a couple of USB type C ports, an SD card reader, and also a headphone jack. The laptop also brings support for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity as well.
The battery life is another key feature on the Surface Book 2. For simple video playback, Surface Book 2 can last for about 17 hours. In our research, we found that the Surface Book 2 lasts for about 8 to 13 hours depending on what sort of work you’re doing on the laptop.
Overall the Microsoft Surface Book 2 has what it takes to become the best notebook for Adobe premiere pro. If you’re looking for a serious device that absolutely knocks Adobe Premiere Pro out of the park, then this one might be the right choice for you.
- Beautiful design
- Exceptional battery life
- Solid GPU
- Nothing much
Dell XPS 15"
The Dell XPS is another great laptop for running Adobe premiere pro. It comes with an excellent selection of hardware that is complemented with seamless user experience.
The design of the laptop makes it one of the best looking laptops of all time. The laptop comes with really thin bezels surrounding the display which reduces the overall footprint of the entire laptop. You get a 15.6-inch laptop in a footprint of a 14-inch laptop which is astounding.
The display here comes with 4K resolution. Some think that this is overkill but if you’re going to deal with a lot of 4K footage, then this display will help you playback the entire footage without any issues. The screen is also perfect for media consumption as it comes with vibrant colors and impressive viewing angles.
The display here is also a touchscreen which opens up a lot of options to users. Do you cannot use this laptop in the tablet mode, the touchscreen does come in handy at times.
The keyboard is excellent to type on and is backlit which makes it easy to use even darker environments. The touchpad is pretty responsive with excellent accuracy. Though the Dell XPS 15 is not a mainstream gaming laptop, it comes with a brilliant cooling system that keeps the laptop temperature below a certain limit.
How powerful is the Dell XPS 15? The laptop comes equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor from the ninth generation of Intel chips. This is a Hexa core processor and comes with a base frequency of 2.6 GHz. With the help of the turbo boost functionality, the laptop can clock to a maximum of 4.5 GHz which is a crazy amount of power even for a video editing machine.
This laptop will go through everyday activities without any hiccups whatsoever. Even during hardcore video editing sessions, the processor does not create any bottleneck to your workflow which is fantastic and exactly what you would want as a video editor.
There are 16 gigs of DDR4 Ram in the memory department and they complement the processor rather nicely. This memory is almost the right amount of RAM you would need in a laptop for Adobe premiere pro. Anything more than this might be a bit more than necessary and would enter the range of diminishing returns.
There is a 1TB solid-state drive for storage purposes. This SSD gives you both the space you need for storing your footage as well as the performance is your need for managing your video editing processes. Thanks to the fast reading and writing speeds, you can easily move around even humongous video files in a snap of a finger.
The graphic department flourishes with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. This GPU comes with a dedicated memory of video RAM that is of GDDR5 type. The graphics card excels at running almost any game without any issues and it’s perfect for video editing especially when you plan to use a lot of effects on your video.
There is a flurry of options when it comes to connectivity on this laptop. You get the latest USB type C port, USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and also a headphone jack. With support for high-speed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the laptop is perfect for wireless use.
The laptop comes with the six cells 97 WHr battery and that’s a pretty good job. With light usage, a laptop can last for about 8 to 10 hours which is really impressive considering this is a 4K display. Overall, the Dell XPS 15″ is a solid laptop when it comes to video editing and is one of the best Windows laptops for Adobe premiere pro, period.
- Gorgeous display
- Excellent performance
- Solid graphics
- Not portable
Acer Predator Helios 300 - Best Budget Laptop For Adobe Premiere Pro
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a gaming laptop and is our choice for the budget laptop for Adobe premiere pro.
With a price point of under $1,100, the laptop does almost what our other recommendations do without costing you a lot. Though there will be some compromises here and there, the overall experience is still very good especially for the price you’re going to pay.
From the looks, you can easily say that this is a gaming laptop. Surprisingly, this gaming laptop is not very heavy and weighs just 5.07 lbs. You can easily move this thing around even if you are a student. The keyboard comes with backlighting and it’s a pleasure to use. There is also a dedicated number pad which should come in handy for some.
The touchscreen is responsive and supports Windows Gestures. If you plan to game on this machine, then you might want to have a dedicated gaming mouse for an overall better gaming experience.
The display is one of the best selling points of this laptop. We have a 15.6-inch full HD display that comes with a 144 Hz refresh rate and 3 ms response time. These specs are perfect for gaming and offer you smooth, lag-free gaming experience.
If you like watching movies and series on streaming platforms like Netflix, this laptop is a great fit for you. The colors on this laptop screen are beautiful and they make for an excellent viewing experience, thanks to the IPS panel. The viewing angles are also brilliant.
Just like the other laptops on this list, the Acer Predator Helios 300 is also powered by the Intel Core i7 9750H processor. This is a Hexa core processor and the performance is pretty much on par with that of the other laptops. In short, you can run any application on this laptop without any concerns.
The cache memory of 12 MB comes in handy when handling Adobe premiere pro. The software runs fluently as the processor can clock to a maximum of 4.5 GHz which is well complemented by the 16GB RAM in the memory department. This RAM also allows you to multitask to your heart’s content.
For storage, we have a 256GB solid-state drive. This is one area where the laptop doesn’t give you the best hardware. While the SSD is super fast, it doesn’t give you a lot of storage to play with. One easy way to combat this problem is me getting an external hard drive which is usually a lot cheaper.
The cooling system on this laptop plays a crucial role during video editing. It helps keep the laptop’s temperature in check and also helps in maintaining the maximum clock speed of the processor without any thermal throttling.
When it comes to connectivity, the laptop gives you a lot of choices. You get the latest USB type C port, a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, an SD card reader and a headphone jack. You can also connect with external devices with the help of Bluetooth connectivity. The built-in Wi-Fi allows you to connect to the internet at super high speeds.
The battery life of the laptop is not that great. With a light load, you might be able to extend the battery life of the laptop to about 6 to 8 hours. So with this laptop, you might want to have a power outlet closer when at work.
If you’re on a budget, and if you want to edit videos, then the Acer Predator Helios 300 is probably the best choice in order to get the best Adobe premiere pro experience.
- Excellent display
- Beasley performance
- Perfect for Adobe premiere pro on a budget
- Battery life is not great
What To Look For In The Best Laptop For Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the most taxing applications on a laptop, if not the most. It requires a ton of firepower to deliver excellent results and if you’re someone who edits videos for a living, you’d know this already.
Let’s take a look at the factors you should consider before you get a laptop for running Adobe Premiere Pro
Processor
Having a good processor will make a day and night in your video editing workflow. If you go with a processor that is not up for the workload you’re about to take, then you’re going to spend a long time sitting in front of your laptop looking at the rendering progress.
What’s the clock frequency you should go for?
The clock frequency decides how much work can be done in a period. Whether it is rendering, encoding or whatever it is, the clock speed of your processor plays the most important role in the speed of your processes.
Don’t worry about the starting clock speed of your CPUs. Be sure that your processor makes use of Turbo Boost and can go as high as 4.0GHz which is more than enough power for most laptops. Also, make sure if the laptop can handle all the heat as you need a laptop that should last a long time.
How many cores are good?
Since video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro is a very resource-hungry task, you want as many cores on your side as possible.
As we’re dealing with a laptop here, you are restricted to a maximum of 6 cores. Going above that could create some serious thermal throttling issues during your workload.
Most modern processors with 4 cores are above will be a good choice for a laptop to Adobe Premiere Pro.
It is smart to go with an Intel processor as they have a good track record with running Adobe Premiere Pro. You can go wrong with a current-gen i5 or i7 processor with 4 cores or more and a maximum clock speed of above 3.5GHz.
Memory
The memory you have on your laptop will directly affect the total time taken by Adobe Premiere Pro to get things done.
If you’re dealing with just 1080p footage, you’re not going to need a lot of memory. But if you’re dealing with 4K footage, then your laptop must have a ton of DDR4 memory to deal with the editing process.
Not only the resolution, but you should also take into account how long the video is as well. If you’re going to edit lengthy videos, then it is going to increase the file size considerably.
With more RAM, you can fit the entire source into memory and that’ll make things a lot faster. In addition to this, the RAM will also need to accommodate the operating system and other stuff as well.
If you’re serious about video editing, then we’d suggest going with at least 16 gigs of DDR4 RAM. But if you’re on a budget, then going with 8 gigs seems to be the better option.
Graphics
Having a dedicated GPU is super important for a video editor whether you are a small-time YouTuber or a serious content producer on the internet.
The presence of a GPU gives a good boost to the entire workflow especially if you’re going to make use of a lot of additional plugins and accelerated effects that are available on Adobe Premiere Pro.
If you’re just starting out and if you don’t plan to use a lot of bells and whistles in your editing processor, then you can go easy on this part. However, do make sure if you’re going to use them in the future so that you can plan your needs right now.
Another important criterion here is your display. If you have a high-resolution display in hand, then you are going to need a high-end graphics card to deal with all those pixels. Though regular operation will be fine, without a proper GPU, video playback on higher res screens will take a big hit.
Having a good, high-end GPU will improve the time taken to complete the entire video editing process using Adobe Premiere Pro. Integrated CPUs are okay if you have a vanilla video editing process in place, but for a blown-out video editing party, you need a solid GPU.
If you’re someone who’ll deal with 4K footage regularly, then you have no choice but to go for a high-end graphics card. This is also true if you’re a disciple of MKBHD who’ll only use 8K footage.
One of the common questions we get when it comes to a graphics card is – Should I go with an Nvidia GPU or an AMD GPU?
Both GPUs are great. But if you’re going to want a seamless experience while using Adobe Premiere Pro, then you want to go with an Nvidia GeForce GPU as it gets much better support overall.
One more thing you can consider is whether to go with a GPU that has CUDA support or with that comes with OpenGL support.
Nvidia graphics card comes with support for CUDA core technology and as a result, you will get impressive output times. While OpenGL is pretty solid, we have observed that graphics card with CUDA support have constantly outperformed OpenGL GPUs.
So what is the graphics card I should go with? You will be fine with a 9th or 10th generation GPU from Nvidia, in most cases. You can even go with the latest RTX series if you have the budget for it.
Storage
When it comes to storage, you have only two options.
You can get yourself a hard drive disk. These are traditional mechanical hard drives that come with a ton of space and are often a lot cheaper in general. One problem with them is that they are super slow and will test your patience in this day and age.
The second option is that you can opt for a solid-state drive. SSDs are much faster than traditional hard drives as they do not have any moving parts. They come with excellent reading and writing speeds as well.
As a video editor, you will be dealing with huge files all the time. The time taken to move around these files will put a decent amount of stress on your workflow. In this case, you will benefit a ton by having a faster SSD in place.
An average SSD is more than 15 times faster than a mechanical hard drive. Let’s just take a small example to illustrate this difference. If an SSD takes 15 mins to move a humungous source file, then a hard drive will do the same in around 4 hours or more. While this might look like an exaggeration, good SSDs can make this kind of difference to your workflow.
Having an SSD will also improve the performance of your laptop in many ways. It will boot your operating system much quicker. You will be able to open and close applications at lightning speed which is something you can’t let go of once you’re used to it.
So should I go with an SSD? Yes, by all means, do it if your budget allows it.
If you’re on a budget, we’d not suggest you go with a mechanical drive. Instead, you can go with a combination of both the hard drives.
You can choose to go with what we call a hybrid solid-state drive which comes with both a hard drive and a solid-state drive. In most cases, you will have the option to select a 1TB hard drive along with a 128GB SSD or a 256GB SSD.
With this configuration, you can load the operating system, the Adobe Premiere Pro application, immediate media files and other important apps in the SSD portion. The hard drive should contain all the files that you won’t need for the moment. This setup would be the best bang for your buck.
Display
There are a few factors that you can take into account when selecting the laptops with a better display. But sadly, these are laptops we are talking about and they do not offer you a great deal of flexibility when it comes to displays.
Screen size
You need a laptop with a decent screen size so that you can get a decent-sized video playback when editing the video.
We’d recommend going with a minimum of 15.6″ display if you’re a pro video editor (though desktops are better for a pro workflow). But if you’re a student who values portability more, then a 13.3″ display would do the trick.
Panel
If you go with a flagship laptop, then you’re going to get a display that comes with an IPS panel. IPS panels are great for color reproduction and give you excellent viewing angles. This is the panel you want on your laptop as it gives you the best visual performance.
If you go with a budget laptop or a cheaper laptop, then you might get a TN or a VA panel underneath your display. These are not as good as IPS displays and come with a few disadvantages. The viewing angles are not that great and the same is true for color accuracy as well.
Resolution
What is the right resolution to go for your video editing laptop?
Well, for starters, you need a minimum of a full HD display. This will give you a decent display for 1080p playback.
A higher-resolution display i.e. a QHD display or a 4K display will surely come in handy, as it can playback even higher resolution videos without any issues.
But be sure to go with a resolution that is also friendly to your wallet.
Battery Life
Battery life is not that important for a laptop when you plan to use it primarily for Adobe Premiere Pro.
When you are doing some heavy lifting with Adobe Premiere Pro, even laptops with excellent battery life are not going to stay alive for more than 3 to 4 hours.
However, we do recommend getting a laptop that gives you all-day battery life.
When you have to edit videos on the go, you need a laptop you can rely on. You don’t want a laptop that’ll die after an hour of rough use. The 16″ MacBook Pro and the 15″ Surface Book 2 are very good laptops with great battery life.
TLDR for Requirements:
CPU – Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with a maximum clock speed of 3.5 to 4GHz. Preferably a quad-core or a hexa-core processor
RAM – A minimum of 8GB DDR4 RAM. If you’re going to work on long videos or 4K videos, then a minimum of 16GB DDR4 RAM. If you’re going to work on long 4K or 8K videos, then a minimum of 32GB RAM.
Storage – Best to go with an SSD storage. If you’re on a budget, go with a fusion drive that has both the SSD and also the HDD. It gives you both the storage space and also the speed for your laptop’s performance.
GPU – A dedicated GPU is a must for serious video editing machines. If you’re on a budget, go with integrated UHD graphics from Intel but refrain from doing any effects. For serious editors, Nvidia or an AMD GPU with at least 4 gigs of video RAM.
Display – Get a nice, high-resolution display that is good with colors. A 15.6″ display with good color reproduction and excellent viewing angles is a good fit. Make sure the display is not that glossy if you’re going to work in a bright environment.
Battery Life – Not a big deal. Even high-end laptops will not last long when working on editing videos. If your budget allows, get a laptop with an all-day battery life.
Thanks for staying with us until the very end of this post.
We hope our buying guide was helpful to you in selecting the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro for your needs.
If you have any doubts or queries, please let us know using the comment section below. We’d also love to hear your feedback on this piece as well.
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