Best laptops for video editing 2023: Best overall, best screen, and more

We consider the Dell XPS 17 the ultimate content creation laptop, so it’s no surprise to see this atop our list of the best laptops for video editing. The latest generation comes with an Intel 13th-gen Core i7-13700H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 inside which will deliver plenty of punch for intense edits, while a 1TB SSD delivers top-notch storage performance for moving big projects around.

The XPS 17 also includes crucial extras coveted by video editors, such as an SD card reader, plenty of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a gorgeous 17-inch 3840×2400 resolution touchscreen panel. Dell even managed to cram all these niceties into a relatively portable-for-its-class 5.4-pound design that can run for an impressive 11 hours before needing a charge. For the price we would’ve liked to see an OLED display as an upgrade with this year’s model, but even without it the screen is still top-notch.

When it comes to video editing, the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V ticks off all the right boxes. This rig sports powerful components and a stunning 4K display, which is the perfect combination for a creator’s laptop. It’s rocking an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU, an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. That’s a massive amount of storage right there, which is perfect for offloading large files. The 17.3-inch IPS display has a resolution of 3840×2160, a refresh rate of 144Hz, and a peak brightness level of 585 nits. According to our reviewer, it’s the highest brightness on record for any laptop in SDR. IPS displays tend to have superb color accuracy as well as wide viewing angles, by the way. However, it does have one major shortcoming and that’s the astronomical price. If your budget knows no limits and you’re looking for an absolute beast of a laptop, then the MSI Titan is worth considering.

The Dell XPS 15 9520 has a stunning OLED display, and with its Intel Core i7-12700H CPU and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics, it has become one of our favorites for content creators and video editors. To add to an already impressive system, the rugged and beautiful all-metal enclosure is a cherry on the top of a premium-quality cake.

Of course, as a performance-oriented laptop, the Dell XPS 15 9520 isn’t the most portable, weighing a little over 4 pounds. But if you want a real workhorse with a screen that will do your video editing justice, you’ll find that the 3456X2160 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and ultra vivid and accurate colors are the ticket.

Sure, video editing might be the main reason you need a laptop, but what if you want to game on it as well? Enter the Acer Predator Triton 17X. This incredibly powerful dual-use laptop comes with pretty much everything you need to do top-quality video editing work as well as cutting-edge gaming. It packs an Intel Core i9-13900HX processor, an Nvidia GeForece RTX 4090 GPU, and 32GB of RAM. With that kind of power, it’s essentially a desktop replacement.

Another reason to like the Triton 17X is it’s superb mini-LED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600p and a 240Hz refresh rate. That isn’t quite to the professional standards of the MSI Titan G77’s 4K display, but it’s still very good and dishes up perfect motion clarity and crisp detail while gaming. The main downside is that the Triton 17X is heavy, just like any other powerhouse laptop with these specs. It also only comes with 32GB of RAM, which while good, might not be enough for super-intensive rendering projects. Thankfully, Acer does offer a slightly more expensive version with 64GB if you decide to go that route.

If pure portability is essential, consider the Razer Blade 14. This ultra-thin laptop measures just 0.7-inch thick and tips the scales at a shade over 4 pounds, making it significantly smaller than most laptops with video editing chops. But Razer didn’t skimp on the firepower either, loading the latest Blade 14 with AMD’s 8-core Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, Nvidia’s 12GB GeForce RTX 4070, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and 32GB of memory.

You’ll give up some perks in exchange for the Blade’s portability though: The 14-inch IPS-grade screen comes factory calibrated, but tops out at 2560×1600 resolution—still an upgrade from the 1440p of the previous model. This means that 4K video editing is off the table, though the laptop supports the full DCI-P3 color gamut. Razer’s notebook also lacks an SD card slot. But if you need a fierce rig that can chew through edits and renders, that also fits into your bag with ease, the Blade 14 is worth considering.

If it’s battery life that you’re concerned about, the Dell Inspiron 16 should cover you just fine. When we ran our battery benchmark, which cycles through a series of tasks and videos until the laptop dies, the Inspiron 16 lasted a marathon 16.5 hours on a single charge. That should allow you to edit to your heart’s content while out on the road. Due to the battery, it isn’t the most portable, however, weighing in at a substantial 4.7 pounds.

It’s rather inexpensive, but for the price you will have to make sacrifices. It sports a Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. While that should get the job done with most video-editing projects, it does lack storage capacity, so you will need an external drive if you’re saving video files. What really makes this laptop shine though, is the outstanding battery life which is an often overlooked aspect of mobile video editors. And as a bonus perk, it also comes with a surprisingly robust quad speaker system. For ports, you’re getting two USB Type-C, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI, one SD card reader, and one 3.5mm audio jack.

The Acer Swift X 14 is a compact laptop that comes with very strong performance features. At only 0.7-inches thick and weighing a mere 3.31 pounds, this laptop is super easy to carry around with you. The 13th-gen Core i7-13700H processor provides excellent CPU performance and the RTX 4050 graphics card will give you respectable GPU performance as well. Plus, this compact laptop comes with a gorgeous 14.5-inch 2880×1800 OLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz—an excellent display that looks great anywhere.

However, due to all of these higher-end performance features, the Acer Swift X 14 battery life fell a bit flat in our tests lasting only four hours. Overall it’s a solid choice if you’re looking for a compact, powerful laptop at a reasonable price. It might not have the battery life to last on long-haul flights, but a trip to your local coffee shop for some quick editing while you caffeinate will be just fine.

If you’re in a long and committed relationship with Apple’s ecosystem, you should check out the latest MacBook Pro (2023) laptop. Not only are you getting a 19-core GPU, but also 2TB of SSD storage. That’s a ton of space and graphics firepower right there, which is vital for video editing tasks. The laptop’s 12-core M2 Pro CPU chip is a solid boost over last year’s model, too. In fact, according to the Geekbench 5 benchmark, Apple’s 20 percent improvement claim falls right in line with our results. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is also drop-dead gorgeous, with a maximum brightness level of over 1,000 nits and a crystal-clear resolution of 3456×2234. Editing on this screen should be a real delight.

Read our full Apple MacBook Pro (2023) review