I increased this to 10 cores, which is about the max that software like Adobe Premiere and After Effects can work with.I’ve changed a few of the specs from the base model. I’m looking at this model, available from OWC: It’s tough to go wrong with this computer, even by today’s standards, however, let’s break down how it might work in your daily workflow. It featured tons of USB3.0 ports, expandable up to 12 cores with 2 ADM FirePro D500 GPUs.

The Mac Pro, otherwise known as “The Trashcan,” was a popular professional model when it launched in 2013.

Portability, like whether or not you’ll be working at home the entire time or need to be able to visit the set on a regular basis.

Peripherals, like hard drives and monitors.

I’m going to break down each computer below into a few qualifications for you to consider. Like many editors out there, I have a tendency to start throwing everything into my timeline and doing graphics and composites, hoping I can “just quickly get away with this for this one draft.” But that’s never the case, and working with smarter organizational workflows will make your video editing experience much easier.įor example, if I’m going to do an effect that has a ton of layers, lots of video tracks, some glowing effects, particles, and adding noise and grain to my footage, I’ll render that out and import it back into my timeline, I won’t even let the software try to process it no matter how fancy my computer is. I’ll admit, I’m not the most perfect workflow guy. Even with a brand new, very expensive Mac Pro, sometimes the bottleneck editors face doesn’t come from the processor but limitations with the software. Consider a proxy workflow no matter how powerful the computer is. No matter the software, if you edit with lower resolution proxies, your video editing experience will be much smoother. This article is not meant to be a video editing tutorial, but it’s important to note that how you set up your project, whether that’s in Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, or Avid Media Composer, will determine how successful you will be with any computer you purchase. So let’s take a look at some used computers to see what options are out there, and what you can do with them if you plan to edit videos.Ī couple of important thoughts on video editing

Instead, you can do a LOT with a used computer. I’m kidding, there’s no need for this computer and you definitely don’t need to take out a second mortgage on your home to do a little bit of video editing.

Macbook editor video