8 Best Laptops for Drone Video Editing in 2023 [Expert Picks]

Drones allow you to capture the amazing aerial view of the landscape as part of modern filmmaking. But you’ve to struggle with the software and graphics, especially while editing HD footage of phone, camera, or drone.

This only happens if you’re using a sluggish desktop PC or laptop to render a project.  As a result,  you can’t complete and publish them on time. We’ve come up with a bunch of the best laptop for drone video editing that offers promising specifications.

Now, you can make videos more effective, attractive, and beautiful though a PC was enough for that. However, a hi-end laptop with promising features can replace a desktop, sometimes. Besides, they’ll run every software you need during editing the videos.

Without further delay, let’s check them thoroughly–

Laptop requirements for video editing

You should have a minimum requirement for a video editing laptop– we provided a table of data showing basic to best requirements and key specifications to consider before buying such a laptop–

Specifications	Minimum	Good	Better
Processor	<2.8GHz (less than this point)	2.8GHz to 3.8GHz	4.2GHz or above
RAM	8GB	12GB	16GB or above
Storage/SSD	256GB SSD	512GB SSD	1TB
Graphics card	N/A	4GB	8GB or above
Screen Resolution	1366×768	1920×1080	1920x1080p or above
Battery	5 hours	8-10 hours	12 hours or above

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites:

Best Laptop For Drone Video Editing — Reviews

Here are the reviews of the 8 best laptops for drone video editing with their specifications, benefits, and drawbacks. The reviews we provided below are based on your personal user experience apart from what the manufacturers claim about their products. So, here you go–

1. Apple MacBook Pro 2020 – Overall Best

You’ve nothing to compromise when it’s about the Apple MacBook Pro laptops– especially when choosing a powerful laptop for drone video editing and mid and high-end games. It goes without saying that Apple runs giant apps one after another with a small M1 chip. Here are some key features of this little champ–

Enjoy unlimited speed and performance with the Apple M1 (SoC) chip– including CPU, GPU, and Machine Learning. You’re getting a 2.8x memory and 5x time faster speed graphics performance at work. And the Neutral Engine reaches 11x time faster machine learning capabilities.

The CPU is tiny but size doesn’t matter here. Here, MacBook Pro features an 8GB unified memory(RAM) to make your operation fast and fluid. Besides, there is also a superfast SSD to run applications and files instantly. Isn’t it so cool?

Not just the memory and storage, it also offers an incredible battery life that is up to 17 to 18 hours on average usage. However, Apple claims to last around 20 hours. Besides, this Apple MacBook Pro 2020 will never heat the body parts, since it features a thermal effective “Active” cooling system to deliver continuous operation.

Experience better picture quality with the 13-inch Retina display. This brilliant display technology allows seeing realism, sharp, and transparent images and text. Plus, it can also auto-adjust white balance and color temperatures with “True Tone technology”.

In addition, this 13-inch MacBook Pro let you take clearer and sharper pictures for video calls, thanks to the FaceTime HD camera and its advanced image signal processor. The macOS has best-in-class security for data, applications, and systems. Moreover, the Thunderbolt high-bandwidth ports allow data transfer, charging, and I/Os.

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2. Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop – Best Affordable Video Editing Laptop

Take your multimedia skills and experience to the next height with the Acer Nitro 5 laptop. You’ll surely fall in love with its ultra-cool,  eye-catching, and sleek design. It also offers several gaming-rich features to make your task simpler, including display and graphics properties. Let’s have a look at the core features now–

The Nitro 5 comes with a killer combination of smart specifications– including a 9th generation Core i5 processor. The CUP can booth the performance up to 4.1 GHz which is devastatingly powerful at your desk. It also accelerates your gaming and video editing with an 8GB DDR4 2666MHz bus speed memory.

When it’s about the graphics and read speed. There is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics and 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD drive to ease your editing and rendering process very smoothly.

The dedicated 4GB graphics unit(GDDR5-VRAM) also helps you to faster project completion with faster data read speed. You can upgrade the storage in the future as it has an open slot. 

Apart from all, it features a backlit keyboard to fulfill the demand for a multimedia laptop so that you can use the device in dark conditions. It’s also important to have good display properties while you’re dealing with videography.

Therefore, the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop goes along with a 15.6 -inch full HD display. Of course, it’s a widescreen display with IPS LED technology.

The laptops allow you to work remotely whether you’re on a trip or vacation.  Keeping that situation in mind, it convoys with an average long-lasting lithium-ion battery that keeps you awake for up to 6-7 hours. However, we found a maximum of 5-6 hours of backup in multimedia tasks like editing video projects and light gaming.

The feature we’re going to talk about is significant too, the cooling mechanism. Yes, this Acer Nitro 5 notebook has a built-in “Cool Boost” technology along with a 2x fan and 2x dual exhaust ports. The number of ports it offers is 1x USB 2.0 and 2x USB 3.0 to import and export data.

You might feel boring without music that’s why it packs the Acer True harmony stereo speaker with the wave sound technology with. Since carrying extra speakers is a big hassle nowadays everywhere. In addition, you’re getting a 1280×720-pixel HD camera to conduct recording and video conversation.

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3. Apple MacBook Air Laptop – Best Portable Video Editing Laptops 

The Apple MacBook Air introduces one of the thinnest and lightest laptops with incredibly powerful performance. It doesn’t matter what the job is- you can use it for editing HD videos, playing games, and operating business applications. You’ll get many amazing features one after another– let’s have brief look at them below:

The first is the performance. This MacBook Air does everything with its powerful performance since it has an Apple M1 chip. It’s an 8-core CPU that delivers 3.5x CPU and 5x GPU faster speed than any other previous versions. So, you’re getting a professional quality editing and gaming environment.

There is also good news for machine learning enthusiasts since it also has a 9x faster advanced (SoC) Neutral Engine. Second, Apple doesn’t compromise with the memory speed as well. It can deal with the high-end multimedia applications and multiple tabs of a browser, as it offers a superfast 8GB RAM. Now, edit and handle graphics software more easily and quickly.

Another most important hardware component is its 256GB storage space. Unlike other stores, this SSD is much faster to read data and applications, especially while rendering graphics-related projects. It also accelerates the regular operational speed of the macOS environment.

The apple never betrays you with the display. So, there is a stunning 13.3-inch Retina display(2560×1600) property to take your images and graphics to the next level. Besides, you’ll find sharp and clear text form and more vibrant colors.

You’ve nothing to worry about security while using an Apple device since macOS adopts advanced security and privacy features. These in-class security features provide you with different system and data-level protection for the users.

There are no more difficulties using other applications like Adobe creative cloud, Ms-360, or Google drive. Plus, it’s pretty easy to use iOS apps on your MacBook by connecting to the AppStore. In this Apple MacBook Air, you’ll have all-day battery life that lasts up to 15-16 hours with regular operation.

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4. Razer Blade 15 Base Gaming Laptop – Best Stylish Video Editing Laptop

The Razer Blade 15 is one of the best options for film editing as a premium multimedia laptop. You can’t avoid its power, performance, and looks– so most people prefer to keep it on their top list for gaming, designing, and filming.

We’ll know the reasons and features behind such popularity–

The first impressive thing about this laptop is its thing and compact design. Yes, the CNC aluminum body frame gives you an elegant look and lightweight movement– especially while making videos on the go. The compact footprint(0.78-inch thin) allows you to carry it anywhere without any hassle.

The Razer Blase 15 means you’re getting more power to accomplish all your tasks efficiently. To do that, you’ll have an Intel Core i5(10th generation) processor that provides the ultimate performance– with the 5.0Ghz(6-core) Max Turbo chip technology.

A 16GB memory will be there to support and handle your tasks and applications while progressing a program, files, games, render, etc.  Therefore, 16GB RAM means lots of power to deal with multitasking. As you’re choosing a laptop for making HD videos then the Geforce GTX 1660 Ti graphics will be more than enough. It delivers blazing-fast supercharger performance for most of your games and multimedia applications.

Storage is another concern when you store the system, files, and other applications to complete your task. So, this  Razer Blade 15 Base laptop adopts a 256GB SSD drive to run your system and files throughout an editing session. Thus, it ensures faster file and data transfer. 

Apart from the other hardware components, you have another surprise in display performance too. What’s that? The higher frame rate with a full HD thing bezel display(15.6-inch) offers cutting-edge color technology. Although, you’re getting dedicated graphics for image and video quality.

The Razer Blade 15 (RZ09-03519E11-R3U1) is always ready there to connect different hardware and peripherals. Therefore, it has ample connectivity ports including USB ports(Type-A & C). An HD webcam is there to connect video conversion and live streaming sessions.

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5. Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming Laptop – Best Mid-Level Multimedia Laptops

Who wouldn’t love to have a stylish yet powerful laptop for editing your phone, camera, or drone footage? The Lenovo LEGION 5 laptop made it possible with its elegant look and extremely potent performance. You can also keep it as one of the best drone video editing laptops on your list. The key features it offers–

The purpose of this laptop is to provide you with an ultimate gaming experience that matches multimedia also– including 3D, video editing, and motion graphics. So, you’re getting a clean and minimalist chassis with a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 processor and AI Legion gaming engine. The CPU can support up to 8-core processing speed. 

You’ll find a high-bandwidth 16GB memory to acerate the processing speeds and productivity at your studio. Besides, there is an Nvidia Geforce RTX 3050Ti graphics card to make your picture quality and project render faster and better.

The GPU comes with respectively 2nd generation Ray Tracing and 3rd gen AI Tensor Cores technology that makes your display more colorful.

This  Lenovo Legion 5 multimedia laptop runs a 512GB SSD for storing data and faster file and application read speed. It’s crucial to have an SSD drive since you’ve to deal with lots of applications and data while editing videos.

Above all, the Legion 5 laptop has impressive screen properties also. It offers a 16.6-inch stunning full HD display with a 165Hz refresh rate and response time. Having 100 percent sRGB color accuracy with Dolby Vision and AMD FreeSync premium display technology delivers speed and color clarity.

In addition, you’ll have a ColdFront 3.0 thermal solution, TrueSrike keyboard, 4-zone RGB backlight, and dual Nahimic gaming speakers for your convenience. And when it’s about the connectivity the Legion-5 82JW0012US comes with a built-in HD webcam and plenty of I/O ports. 

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6. Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 Creator Laptop – Best Video Editing Laptop With Graphics

The Acer Swift Creator laptop means the ultimate performance and uncompromised battery backup for completing your film editing tasks. So, you’ll find a long-lasting lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 10-12 hours surprisingly. Apart from backup power it also offers plenty of features to make it more standout–

Afterward, the Swift X Creator notebook added a Ryzen 7 processor to speed up your tasks and overall performance. Its Zen-3 core architecture also boots your CPU processing time to save your effort and enhances productivity.  An 16GB RAM is there to contribute to memory sharing, especially– while editing projects and multitasking.

I think the 512GB MVMe SSD storage is enough for now to store your file and projects, but the purpose is different. What that? Yes, you got right. The SSD is also responsible for enhancing the file transfer speed and read speed of your computer. Having an operating system in its can lead to faster project completion.

Dealing with some film projects is a bit challenging when maintaining good color grades, faster editing, and rendering video file. No worries! There is the latest Geforce RTX-3050 Ti GPU with 4GB GDDR6 VRAM to help you out. The graphics card has in-class Ampere architecture with Ray Tracing Cores and Tensor Cores.

Plus, the DirectX-12 streaming processor chip supports you to show creativity in the graphics department. It also runs you a full HD widescreen LED display(14-inch)  to provide you with a “True Visual” representation. Here, you’re getting 100% sRGB and 300 nits color brightness with a 16:9 aspect ratio. 

Additionally, the Acer SwiftX SFX14 laptop is made to move around with just 3 pounds of lightweight, handy, and compact design. It brings some security additional features– including biometric fingerprints, a DTS audio system, and several ports. 

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7. ASUS ROG Strix Premium Gaming Laptop – Best Laptop For Memory Space 

Dominate any games and multimedia application with the ASUS ROG Strix Premium Laptop and its Ryzen 9 AMD processor. This 8-core CPU provides you with a 3.30GHz clock speed and maximum boost up to 4.60Ghz. So you can work beyond imagination and power. What else?

Well! This Ryzen-9(16 threads) processor also has a machine intelligence part of the chip to deliver the ultimate performance. When it’s about memory and storage space, it comes with a super-fast 32GB RAM for advanced-level gaming and multimedia tasks. Now, you can run almost any games, applications, and browsers you want at a time.

Next, the ASUS ROG Strix laptop has a 1TB(NVMe PCIe) SSD with this version for faster start-up, file transfer, and data access. It provides you up to 15x times faster and smooth performance than traditional HDDs.

Plus, there is a Geforce RTX3050 Ti dedicated video-graphics card for faster gaming and video rendering performance. Of course, it has a 4GB GDDR6 VRAM and Ray Tracing and Tensor Cores that help you in streaming support. In this ASUS ROG17 series laptop, you’ll find a 17-inch premium IPS display with widescreen full HD(1920×1080) display resolution. 

This ASUS ROG Strix multimedia laptop doesn’t only offers a Dolby Atom sound system but also a fast charging technology battery for the battery. You can use the laptops for around 7-8 hours in rough tough operation. It’s an excellent choice for a professional video editor.

Moreover, it features multiple ports and connectivity as you may need to import and export data from devices with cables. This  ROG Strix premium laptop offers 4x USB 3.2, 1x Type-C, and 1x HDMI ports. You’ll also have an RGB backlit keyboard to rule the dark condition.

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8. HP Pavilion 17.3 – Best Entry-Level Laptop For Video Editing

The HP Pavilion series laptop is another option to choose for your video editing studio setup for under 800 hundred bucks. It comes with some promising hardware configurations and industry-leading performance that enhance your productivity at the end of the day. Here is a brief description of the core features–

It runs a powerful and responsive performance with a 2.4 GHz base that goes up to 4.2 GHz. This is only possible for the Intel Core i5 11th generation processor and Turbo Boost technology. Now you can enjoy entertainment– including gaming, streaming, video editing, etc.

You’ll have also a powerful storage system to deal with graphics intense games & applications– like 3D project rendering, handling timelines, or exporting final video output. The 16GB high-bandwidth RAM and 1TB M.2 SSD drive made it possible. No matter how many graphics applications and tabs you’re running simultaneously.

There is a dedicated Iris Xe graphics card from Intel to support your high-end games and excellent speed for content creators. As screen output of graphics, you’ll find 17-inch diagonal IPS display having non-glare sRGB color methods.

For live streaming sessions, you need a camera for sure, so it also set an HP True Vision 720 pixel web camera with a built-in mic on the head. Nothing to say about ports and slots, this hp pavilion has many ports– including superspeed USB Type-A, HDMI, and card slot with higher signaling rates.

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Factors To Consider When Buying A Laptop For Drone Video Editing

There are several factors to consider when buying the best laptop for drone video editing. One and the only reason is you’re investing money for a laptop that fits your purposes and needs. Here– we shared some pro tips that you should read before reaching a decision.

CPU(Processor)

The processor popularly known as a CPU provides and processes the power you need complete a task till output. A more powerful CPU means you can process more workload with your computer in a short time. In the meantime, you also need a super-fast processor if you’re going to deal with the multimedia and video editing tasks.

This’s why listed some powerful video editing laptops that offer extreme performance. We listed ones that feature Apple M1 chip, Intel, and AMD Ryzen. Look! Everybody is doing great from their own position, but we recommend going for the Apple M1 or minimum Intel i5 processors.

We, personally prefer an Intel Core i5(10/11th Gen) that offers 6 cores or higher. They deliver better performance in some cases, especially while you’re working with games, graphics, and video rendering applications.

RAM(Memory)

You need a huge RAM or short-term memory space to store application data before processing it to a permanent drive(SSD/HDD). It also allows surfing the internet with multiple browsers and tabs simultaneously. So, RAM is also responsible to correlate and is faster in most cases.

Our express team recommends opting minimum of 8GB to a maximum of 32GB of memory while handling multimedia applications. Most of the laptops we listed and reviewed feature a 16GB or 32GB memory, 8GB instead. The 32GB would be the perfect one that fits all your purposes.

GPU(Graphics Card)

A GPU is another crucial factor to consider before buying a laptop for creative professionals, you’ve to deal with lots of graphics-intensive files and software. They ease your tasks faster and more responsive– such as handling large files, editing footage, guessing color grading, and rendering HD drone footage.

Therefore, our picks have the potential to cover your needs. Most of the options feature a dedicated graphics card to show you the best output ASAP. They also have a VRAM to accelerate videos and graphics experience. The NVIDIA GeForce is a notable option that, although we’ve different versions and flavors– depending on the price and technology. 

Storage System(SSD/HDD)

You must have a storage system to store files, applications, and operating systems. Unlike the RAM, it keeps your data for a long time unless you erase it from its store. A Graphics card is important but still can run a pc, but without storage, it’s almost impossible to start a computer. 

Here, you’re TWO(2) options– SSD and HDD drive. Choose one which is better for your job. An SSD(Solid-state drive) is a faster and more popular option between them, but a bit expensive depending on the storage size. However, you’ll never find a guy who recommends you a Hard disk drive over an SSD.

Besides, the SSDs also help you to boost your startup, file access, and application speed in operation. Thus, they increase your productivity provisioning faster responses.

Battery Life

Only a battery can differentiate a laptop from a desktop computer. You can work with no AC current when you have a good battery backup on your laptop or desktop. You can play games, write codes, or video edits– anytime and anywhere. However, a good power backup is mandatory these days.

Usually, the laptops that offer 6 hours or above are good devices to cope with multimedia applications and games. You’ll find several options in your review list which provide a long-lasting power supply from 7 to 20 hours. The models are from Apple, Acer, Razer, and ASUS brands.

Screen Display

Most people ignore screen displays but it’s also significant because you have to have a good sense of color grading, sometimes. The display properties you should look for in a monitor are– a good refresh rate, response rate, non-glare, IPS technology, and maximum resolution. Our reviewed laptops have all the characteristics we mentioned above.

Other Factors

You should also look for many other things that an ideal video editing laptop has. Here they’re–

• Multiple ports including USB Type-A, C, and HDMI connectivity for I/O
• Dedicated thermal cooling system and built-in digital speakers
• A high-quality webcam for streaming and communication, a 720 pixel or adobe is preferred
• Weight of a laptop– you can move with a lightweight laptop very easily. So, it ensures portability too.

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FAQs on Best Laptop for Drone Video Editing

What laptop should I get for editing videos?

The available best laptops for video editing are–

• Apple MacBook Pro 2020
• Acer Nitro 5
• Razer Blade 15 Base
• Lenovo Legion 5
• Acer Swift X SFX14
• ASUS ROG Strix Premium laptops etc. in our list and many more.

The review section covered the product description above. We hope you read their specifications. You should choose one of them by following the form factor, based on the “best for what”.

Final Verdict

We wish you got proper guidelines about the video editing laptops and knowledge from the reviews. So, it’s your time to choose one of them carefully. It’s a bit difficult to say which one is really the best laptop for drone video editing but we specified them based on some criteria.

However, we would for the Apple MacBook Pro 2020 as the best overall specifications, features, and advantages. It has an M1 chip that delivers faster performance with 16 cors(8+8) CPU and GPU to process workflow and graphics-intensive software. You’re getting 2.8x and 5x time faster speed than previous editions.

Besides, 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning enthusiasts. Above all, it features a super-fast 8GB SSD storage system and long-lasting battery life that powers up your Apple device for up to 18-20 hours.

So, what you’re waiting for now?