Best laptops for Adobe Premiere Pro

Processor

For many video editing applications, the processor (or CPU) is the most important component. Since you normally can’t upgrade the CPU on laptops, you need get a laptop with sufficient speed from the start. Adobe Premier Pro has a good support for multi core CPUs, at least up to 4 cores. Intel’s hexa core i7 CPUs are usually a solid choice for video editing. Please note that not all laptop i7 CPUs have six cores though. The ones ending in U have fewer cores. For example, the older i7-7500U only has two cores. The newer 8th gen U series CPUs, for example the i7-8550U, have four cores though (they would be fairly good options as well). However, for a better performance, try to get a CPU that ends in H, like the i7-9750H with six cores.

Graphics card

The graphics card (or GPU) can also be useful for video editing. Most video editing applications offer some kind of GPU acceleration. Adobe Premiere Pro offers this for some effects, but the CPU still does most of the heavy lifting. Other applications, like Blender, use the GPU to a larger extent.

For Adobe Premiere Pro you should get at least a mid range GPU, like the NVIDIA MX150. You can’t really upgrade the GPU on a laptop, so you need to pick a laptop with sufficient GPU when you buy it. Since Adobe Premiere Pro performance is usually CPU bound, you may not get a much better performance from a really strong GPU, like the RTX 2070. However, if you also use the laptop for Blender or gaming, a stronger GPU would certainly be useful. It is also possible that future versions of Adobe Premiere Pro use the GPU to a larger extent.

Memory

It is important to get sufficient memory (or RAM) for video editing. If you don’t have enough RAM, they system will start to thrash to disk, which will make the laptop incredibly slow. On the other hand, once you have sufficient RAM, adding more will not really speed up computations. It makes sense to get at least 8 GB of RAM for video editing. 16 GB would be even better, especially for 4k videos. 32 GB is rarely needed, unless you edit long videos in very high resolution. Also, you can normally upgrade RAM later on if required.

There are different types of RAM, like DDR3 and DDR4. Benchmarks show that the performance difference is not that significant. Currently, there is not much need to worry about what kind of RAM the laptop has, but do make sure that you get a sufficient amount of RAM.

Storage

There are two important factors here: speed and capacity. Most laptops either come with a hard drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). SSDs are much faster than HDDs, so those are always preferred. However, SSDs also tend to be smaller than HDDs, so make sure you get one with sufficient capacity for your files. How much you need depends on the videos you want to edit. You will probably need a 256 GB SSD at the very least. Ideally, try to get 512 GB or more.

There are two main types of SSDs: NVMe and SATA. NVMe SSDs are faster in benchmarks, but for most applications the difference is not that significant in practice. It is more important to ensure that you do have an SSD (and that it is sufficiently large for your files) than the type of SSD you get.

If your laptop only comes with an HDD it is often possible to upgrade it with an SSD later on. You can find tutorials on how to do that, maybe even a youtube video that shows exactly how it is done on your laptop model.

Screen

The most common types of laptop displays are TN and IPS. Generally, IPS screens have a higher color accuracy and wider viewing angles. Because of that, IPS screens are preferred for video editing. Laptop manufacturers don’t always specify what kind of screen the laptop has. If that is the case, you can assume that it has a rather poor TN screen. Always ensure that the laptop has an IPS screen (ask the manufacturer or reseller if in doubt).

Screen resolution also matters for video editing. Generally, at least full HD (1920 ×1080 pixels, or 1080p) is recommended. For 4k video editing you may also want a laptop with a 4k screen (or you can connect an external 4k screen). Those screens come in different qualities though. The so called pentile matrix screens are not true 4k. If you want a higher resolution screen, the Aero 15 recommended below has a true 4k screen.

Laptop recommendations for Adobe Premiere Pro

1. Budget Adobe Premiere Pro laptop

The Acer Aspire E 15 is our budget pick for Adobe Premiere Pro. It comes with a quad core CPU and 8 GB of RAM, which is quite good at this price point. It also has an IPS screen for wider viewing angles. The MX150 will be useful for any GPU accelerated effects. The base configuration is a 256 GB SSD. You can upgrade RAM and add HDD later on if you prefer that.

2. High performance Adobe Premiere Pro laptop

The Eluktronics MECH-15 is our top pick for high performance Adobe Premiere Pro. It comes with the latest generation i7-9750H CPU, which is probably the best performance you can get at this price point. The 16 GB of RAM should be more than enough for heavier video editing (you can also upgrade RAM later on if required). It also has a 512 GB SSD that provides fast access to your files. You can add more storage later on if you need to. The GTX 1660Ti GPU is more than enough for video editing, and it can also handle gaming, VR and 3D modeling applications like Blender. Finally, it also has a good build quality and a high quality 72% NTSC IPS display.

3. High performance and very portable Adobe Premiere Pro laptop with a great battery life

If battery life is a priority, you can look at the Gigabyte AERO 15. It has the same CPU/GPU, so video editing performance should be about the same. It has a 94 Wh battery (seems it lasts around 8 hours in practice).

4. High performance Adobe Premiere Pro laptop with a 4k screen

The Gigabyte AERO 15 OLED is a similar high performance laptop to the AERO 15 above. However, it comes with a true 4k screen, with an even better OLED panel, which is great if you are doing 4k video editing. It also has a stronger CPU/GPU.

5. High performance MacBook for Adobe Premiere Pro

If you prefer an Apple laptop, the Apple MacBook Pro also has a good performance for Adobe Premier Pro. It has a "Retina" 2880 x 1800, which is not quite as high as 4k, but it is a very good display with a high color accuracy. This MacBook is very durable and it has a long battery life.

6. Extreme performance Adobe Premiere Pro laptop

If you want the very best Adobe Premier Pro performance in a laptop, you may want to look at the PROSTAR Clevo P775TM1-G. It has a desktop grade i9-9900K eight-core CPU, which is even faster than high performance laptop CPUs. It also comes with 32 GB RAM, which could be useful for long videos in very high resolution. It has a 1 TB NVMe SSD for speed and a 2 TB SSHD for additional storage. This is basically a powerful desktop in a laptop format.