Best Laptops For Adobe Premiere – Reviews

Adobe Premiere Pro is an excellent application that many people use for video editing. It is almost the standard on Windows laptops and the second choice is not even close.

Finding the best laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro might be more challenging than you thought. With few options on the market, you will be surprised at how hard it is to pick a favourite.

Adobe Premiere Pro runs fine on any notebook that meets the minimum criteria. But the performance you get will vary, and the difference will be day and night. A good laptop will take minutes to render a 10-minute video, whereas an unoptimized laptop can even take hours for the same task.

This is why you need the right laptop for using Adobe Premiere Pro. We’ve done all the research in the world so that you don’t have to. So sit back and read through to find the suitable computing device that suits your needs.

Best Laptops For Adobe Premiere Pro

Here are our top laptops:

• ASUS ROG Strix Scar – Editor’s Choice
• MacBook Pro 16″ – Best Mac Choice
• ASUS ZenBook 13 – Best Compact Laptop

1. ASUS ROG Strix Scar – Editor’s Choice

This Asus model is a high-end laptop with all the specs you need for an outstanding video editing experience. It may be pricey, but you will appreciate every bit if you are a professional.

The display we have is one of his best features, as it comes with full HD resolution and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Being a gaming laptop, the display is fantastic and gives you clear-quality images that are great for video editing. The widescreen is wide enough to encompass all the elements of Adobe Premiere Pro, which is nice.

The process we have here is a Hexa-core Intel processor from its 9th generation of chips. This Intel Core i7 processor is full of power and does a fantastic job when it comes to handling Adobe’s video editing application. All six cores of this processor work in tandem to give you a solid video editing experience. 

With a maximum clock speed of 4.50 GHz, this one can kill it when it comes to video editing.

The memory department does an excellent job of taking care of video editing apps. In addition to video editing, you can run other applications simultaneously, which is a lot of power for people who like to multitask. These 16 gigs of RAM come in handy for those who want to take productivity to the next level.

The graphics card is one of the most important components of a laptop when it comes to video editing. We have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super With 8 GB of dedicated video RAM. This is a high-end graphics card, and it does an amazing job in gaming and video editing. It is based on the latest architecture and can deliver some serious power to enhance your graphics experience.

Overall, this model is a fantastic notebook for those who want to take video editing seriously. It runs applications smoothly without making any compromises which is exactly what you would expect from a premium notebook like this. This is why this Asus laptop is one of the best laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro.

2. MacBook Pro 16″ – Mac Pick

If you prefer a Mac or Windows machine, then the MacBook Pro 16 is the best choice for you when it comes to running Adobe Premiere Pro. This is probably the best laptop you can get from the Apple ecosystem, and it gives a run for your money regarding performance.

The MacBook Pro is a high-end notebook with exceptional performance thanks to the hardware inside. With a Hexa-core processor at its helm, this laptop does a fantastic job when it comes to running video editing applications. Though people on the Mac ecosystem would prefer Final Cut Pro over Adobe Premiere Pro, the device does handle the latter well.

The 16 gigs of RAM do a pretty good job regarding the memory of my session. Multitasking on this machine is an absolute pleasure as you can run several applications simultaneously without losing any performance. Adobe Premiere Pro also runs smoothly, thanks to all the optimization you have inside macOS.

The storage device comes with a capacity of 512GB. Apple utilizes its solid-state drive storage, and they are freaking fast. With reading and writing speeds upwards of 2.5GB/s, these are some of the fastest SSDs you will find on the entire planet. They are fantastic and enhance performance wherever possible.

The display on this MacBook is easily one of the best you will ever find on a laptop. You can fall in love with this screen as it has retina resolution and an incredible display. The True Tone technology helps detect the color temperature around you and adjust the colours to give you an excellent viewing experience.

Being a high-performance laptop, the MacBook Pro 16 delivers excellent battery life, which is different. With light use, you can expect around 8 to 10 hours of battery life which is quite solid coming from our flagship model that has a high-resolution screen and a beast of a processor.

Overall, the MacBook Pro 16 is a brilliant device coming from the house of Apple. It might be expensive, but the performance you get does not let you down in any way. If you’re looking for an Apple MacBook that gives you uncompromised performance, this is probably the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro.

3. Surface Book 2 – Convertible Choice

Surface Book 2 is our best choice if you want to take the route of a convertible 2-in-2 laptop. This model from Microsoft is an excellent convertible device as it gives you complete flexibility in its design. You can fully detach the keyboard from the laptop, making it into a pure tablet. We get this in only some of the convertible laptops out there.

The display on the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is excellent for several reasons. You get an ideal resolution that is around 3200 x 1800 pixels. Microsoft calls this the pixel sense resolution, and it does make sense, no pun intended. The pixel density on the screen is fantastic, and it gives you amazing images and text, making it perfect for video editing.

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 also kills it when it comes to battery life. With simple use, this one can last for about 17 hours. Yes, you read that right. This laptop can give you an entire day of battery life even if you are on some marathon. But this number goes down when you’re working on a severe video editing project on Adobe Premiere Pro. Even then, full props to Microsoft for achieving this battery life.

When it comes to processing power, the Surface Book 2 has plenty of it. The i7 processor in the laptop does a standing job when handling Adobe’s Premiere Pro. You can see how the cores work together to give you a compelling and seamless video editing experience. The maximum clock speed of 4.5GHz also comes in handy when you need to work on complex and lengthy footage.

The storage on this laptop is also quite fast. You can move around huge files within a few seconds, which is a huge advantage, especially if you come from a mechanical hard drive. The SSD (512GB) boots the laptop in a few seconds and gives you many performance enhancements wherever needed.

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the convertible laptop to go to when you want one. This might be a larger convertible laptop, but you can completely detach the keyboard from it, making it worthwhile. The device’s performance is also fantastic, making it one of the best laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro.

4. Acer aspire 5 – Budget Laptop

Even if you are on a tight budget, there is no reason for you not to edit videos. You can always go for a budget laptop and manage your workflow for now and then get a better one once you have the money. The best budget laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro is the Acer Aspire 5.

For a budget laptop, you can find some amazing hardware on this device. You get a 15.6″ full and beautiful HD display, and it has an IPS panel, which raised our eyebrows. The IPS panel has an excellent contrast ratio and delivers impressive-quality pictures and text. It is perfect for handling applications like Adobe Premiere and other complex applications.

One problem you might have with this laptop is its bulk. We are dealing with 15.6-inch laptops when it comes to video editing apps, but this one might be a little extra. However, this one weighs around 5 pounds which is not bad from a budget laptop.

The Acer aspire five also does a stunning job regarding battery life. With simple everyday use, you can expect this laptop to last about 9.5 hours, which is brilliant. Even with heavy work, you can expect the notebook to go well for about 4 to 6 hours which is still pretty impressive.

There is no lack of processing power in the Acer Aspire 5. We have a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with a maximum clock speed of 3.6GHz. This is easily one of the best mid-range processors you can get for a budget laptop, and at this price, it’s a no-brainer. This is a quad-core processor that does a pretty good job when it comes to handling video training applications, particularly Adobe Premiere Pro.

The memory department comes loaded with 8 gigs of DDR4 RAM. Together the processor and the memory run Adobe Premiere Pro as smoothly as possible. This budget laptop is perfect for small projects. It has the legs to handle medium size projects, but that is where we would stop the train.

If you want to run complex projects with lengthy footage, you will have to spend more to get a serious video editing machine.

If you are on a budget and want to edit videos, then the Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent choice. It gives you a notebook that enables you to work on video editing at your budget we never thought was possible. Asus has also not compromised much, even at this price point, making it the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro on a budget.

5. ASUS ZenBook 13 – Compact Laptop

If you’re not a fan of a big laptop, then you might want to have a more compact device to run Adobe Premiere Pro. The challenge here is to find a device that is smart enough and, at the same time, has the performance to enable you to edit your videos. Our best compact laptop choice for Adobe Premiere Pro would be the Asus ZenBook 13.

This Asus ZenBook model is an ultrabook that comes with a 13.3-inch display. As far as design is concerned, this is one of the sleekest laptops you can get your hands on. It is very thin, so you can easily fit it into your backpack and carry it on with your life. The device also weighs around 2.47 lbs making it one of the lightest laptops.

This Asus notebook comes with a lot of interesting features on it to make it a more appealing device. A fingerprint reader on this laptop enables you to log in with a simple tap of a finger. This saves you a few seconds every time you log into your user profile. You can also use it to authenticate and protect important data on your notebook with the help of third-party applications.

Though this ZenBook has a small form factor, it has come with a high-end processor at its helm. We have an Intel Core i7 processor with 6 physical cores and 12 threads. With a maximum clock speed of 4.50 GHz, this one does a fantastic job in handling a video editing application like Adobe Premiere Pro.

The memory department on this laptop is also quite generous, with 16 GB of RAM. This memory is fast and perfect for multitasking. It handles Adobe Premiere Pro as smoothly as possible and manages a decent workflow. The storage on this laptop is also a solid-state drive making it another faster component. It can move data quickly, and you can also add the performance now and then.

The Asus ZenBook model does not come with a discrete graphics card. It only has an integrated graphics card from Intel and does a decent job in video editing. This laptop is perfect for small and medium-sized projects, but if we work on heavy projects, it may not be the right choice, mainly because of the heat it will generate.

The answer in book 13 is a compact laptop with excellent design and incredible performance. If you ask us, this is probably the most powerful ultrabook you can get in the windows ecosystem, Making it the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro.

What To Look For In The Best Laptop For Adobe Premiere Pro?

If you want to find the best Adobe Premiere Pro laptop yourself, then you should adhere to some strict criteria.

These criteria were designed to help you find the right notebook for you. If you follow them, you will pick a device that will stay with you for years to come with the utmost reliability.

Display

A good display is one of the main necessities when running Adobe Premiere Pro. This applies to every other video editing application on the market apart from Premiere Pro.

What makes a good display?

A good display has excellent resolution, the right size, and additional features that make your viewing experience awesome. When you plan to sit in front of your notebook for long hours, a good display is something that you cannot skimp on.

Let’s talk about the size of the display. The display size has to be perfect to suit your needs and should be good enough for Adobe Premiere Pro. In our opinion, getting a 15.6“ display would be an excellent choice as it gives you a very good screen real estate and also is perfect for video editing applications.

You can go with a 17.3“ laptop, but it will be huge, and moving it around will become a pain. You might also find it difficult to use it on your computer desk as it takes up more space and can make your workflow cumbersome. You may also go with a 13.3-inch display if you feel portability is more important than anything else. But this is also not the right size, as we feel it is way too small for a video editing application.

The right resolution for Adobe Premiere Pro is the one you can afford. As a minimum, we recommend going with a full HD resolution. This resolution of 19 20 by 10 80 pixels is perfect for most Adobe Premiere Pro users, and this should give you a good idea of what is going on on the screen.

If you have a bit more budget, we recommend going for a QHD or a 4K display. Both these resolutions are excellent for video editing, and you can edit higher-resolution videos and see the render in real time in its native resolution. There will be no need for scaling anything in this scenario.

The display’s contrast ratio plays a major role in the accuracy of the colours you see on the screen. Always go for an IPS panel, as it has the best contrast ratio and delivers deep blacks and bright whites. The greyscale performance of the display should also be on point so that you can rely on its color accuracy.

We would also recommend having a good maximum brightness. If you work in a brightly lit room, having a good maximum brightness can help you deal with annoying reflections. This is more true when dealing with glossy displays, as they give many reflections. A maximum brightness of at least 400 nits would be very handy, and you can even work under the bright sun.

We would also suggest avoiding antireflective displacement as they have a coating over the screen that can seriously affect the accuracy of colors. As video data, you might want to have the most realistic colors on your video. Even if you don’t want the most realistic colors, you might want to color grade your videos to your taste. With an anti-reflective coat, that might not be possible.

Processor

The processor does a decent bit of heavy lifting regarding video editing. Having a good processor on your lappy gives you an edge, and if you are going to have an ultrabook, then having a good processor is pretty much everything.

At a minimum, we suggest going with an Intel Core i5 processor. Forget i3 processors; always start with an Intel Core i5 processor, as it gives you the best performance for the buck. We would also avoid ultra-low voltage processors as they are less powerful than one might think. Go with high-performance chips that can help you with video editing.

If you are getting a dedicated video editing machine, you should not settle for anything less than an Intel Core i7 processor. Make sure that the processor is from the 9th or the 10th generation of Intel chips to stay relevant for at least a few more years to come.

Ensure that the processor comes with at least four cores. You can also go with a Hexa-core or an octa-core processor. Having more cores will give you an edge regarding the number of computations you can perform in a period.

Make sure that the processor comes with a decent base clock speed. Any base clock speed over 2 GHz is pretty good. 

The processor should also be able to utilize functionality like a turbo boost and should give you more processing power when there is a need for it. When it comes to video editing, you should expect at least a minimum of 4 GHz with the help of a turbo boost.

When people decide on the processes, selecting the brand is also a common confusion. Intel was almost in a monopoly until AMD showed up. Without a doubt, Intel makes some of the best processors in the world. But with AMD, you can get similar performance by spending much less money. Even better, you can get a lot more performance by spending the same amount of money which is what we would do.

RAM

First, you should avoid laptops with 4 GB of RAM like the plague. These things are useless when it comes to video editing, and even if you are on a budget, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you picked those laptops for video editing.

If you are on a budget, please refer to the budget section to find a notebook that is pretty good for video editing.

Coming back to RAM, the minimum you should have in a new notebook should be 8 GB. This memory should be fine for most users who are dealing with small and medium-sized projects. If your footage length is less than 60 minutes, then you will have a smooth video editing experience with this memory.

If you’re looking for a more professional solution, then you should go for a minimum of 16 GB of RAM. This RAM is perfect for multitasking, and it gives you a smooth experience when it comes to Adobe Premiere Pro. This memory is fine even when you have projects with more than 60 minutes footage.

The RAM you go far with should be of DDR4 type. This is the latest type of memory and gives you more bandwidth with more efficient processing. The memory should have a decent clock speed of at least 2400MHz. One of the reasons why we don’t prefer DDR3 memory is that this clock speed is a lot less there.

Graphics card

When investing in a dedicated device for Adobe Premiere Pro, it is very important to ensure that it comes with a dedicated graphics card.

A discrete graphics card is necessary for video editing as it can help lift some load off your CPU and play an important role in rendering. The final rendering times are much shorter with a discrete graphics card on your laptop.

Most modern gaming graphics cards will be fine regarding video editing. If you’re going for an Nvidia graphics card, we recommend going for a 10xx generation or a 20xx generation GPU, as they are pretty good at what they do. You will also get better efficiency and results which these GPUs.

You also don’t have to go with a high graphics card all the time. If you’re dealing with short or medium size projects, then going for the upper mainstream graphics card would get the job done. You can only go for high-end GPU when you’re dealing with huge projects with more than 60 minutes of high-resolution footage.

When it comes to graphics cards, people usually go with Nvidia GPUs. Though it looks like favouritism, it has a bit of logic. Nvidia graphics cards usually give much better performance when it comes to video editing. The AMD Radeon line-up also has some impressive graphics cards, but they may not entirely match the Nvidia GPU’s performance.

There is also a question of CUDA vs Open GL. The former technology is what we see in Nvidia graphics cards. These graphics cards can help improve rendering speech and export your files much faster, even with accelerated effects in them. AMD graphics cards do not have this advantage, and sometimes it does make a difference.

The widespread notion is that you need workstation graphics cards for better video editing experiences. This is not true. Workstation graphics cards are a lot more expensive, and while they may give you good performance, you can get similar performance from higher-end gaming graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.

Storage

When it comes to video editing on software like Adobe Premiere Pro, you must have a lot of storage on your device that is also fast.

More than your storage capacity, the type of storage is more important, especially when you’re dealing with tasks where speed is ultimate. This is why we suggest video editors go with a solid-state drive instead of mechanical hard drives.

Mechanical hundreds have a moving component, and as a result, they are very slow when it comes to the processing as well as moving data. These devices can slow you down and offer a horrendous performance when editing videos in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Having a solid-state drive on your laptop can completely change the way you work. These SSDs are at least 14 to 17 times faster than your average mechanical hard drive. They can handle a huge amount of data and move them around in seconds. Once you take the SSD route, there is no going back, as you will be spoiled with all the speed it brings to the table.

There is also a minor caveat when it comes to solid-state drives. These are expensive. Getting terabytes of data storage as a mechanical hard drive is very cheap. Getting the same storage on an SSD will cost you a fortune. This is why you should be very careful in figuring out how much space you need as your primary storage. September, we always go for a 256GB solid-state drive, as most people find it perfect when they start.

In addition to primary storage, you should always have a backup storage device. For this, we are perfectly fine with getting an mechanical external hard drive. We suggest you get a lot of storage at a cheaper rate and make regular backups of your data so that you don’t lose any in case of a hardware failure.

Input Devices

Having a good keyboard on your laptop is something that most people don’t care about. But many people have returned their notebooks because of a faulty keyboard. Ensure that your laptop has a good keyboard with a nice layout and well-spaced keys.

The typing experience on the laptop should be present with good key travel. Backlighting on your keyboard is always appreciated as it gives you the flexibility to work even in dimly lit areas.

The trackpad on your laptop should be a pleasure to use. It should have a smooth surface and be very responsive, picking up every single hit of yours. If you’re going for a Windows laptop, make sure that the trackpad gives you complete support for all the gestures in the Windows operating system. This way, you can have a fine Windows experience without any friction.

If you want a touchscreen, make sure that the touchscreen comes with multi-finger support. Ideally, it should be responsive enough and should not have any input lag.

Budget

Your budget will ultimately decide the right laptop for you. No point in guessing that.

If any budget does not bind you, we recommend getting a high-performance laptop that can stay relevant for the next few years. Go for a laptop with all the bells and whistles, and ensure you do not have any bottlenecks during your workflow.

Our Editor’s choice fixes these criteria perfectly and is probably the best high-performance laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro.

If you are on a budget, then go through the budget section above and get the Acer Aspire 5 laptop. This laptop comes under $600 and performs well in Adobe Premiere Pro. You will wait much longer, but you can complete serious video editing projects on a budget laptop makes it a very good choice.

Conclusion

We hope we will have some help to find the best laptop for Adobe Premiere Pro. Following this buying guide, you can narrow down to a laptop that can help you do some serious video editing for the next few years.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email us so we can get back to you as soon as possible.