Video editing requires a fast desktop computer. But in order to build the best video editing PC for your budget, you have to decide which PC components are more important for video editing.
To help you with your research, in this article, we discuss whether CPU or GPU is more important for video editing.
Table of Contents
Which Is More Important For Video Editing: CPU Or GPU?
Most video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are CPU intensive. On the other hand, some other editing applications like DaVinci Resolve are GPU intensive.
In software like Adobe Premiere Pro, the CPU is responsible for most video editing tasks: video rendering, encoding/decoding, and applying filters are all done by the CPU. However, these editing applications can also use the GPU for hardware encoding and decoding.
On the other hand, applications like DaVinci Resolve use the GPU for most video editing tasks, including hardware encoding/decoding, advanced video effects/filters, and video stabilization. Even though GPU is more important, these applications still need a decent CPU for smooth overall performance.
Regardless of the video editing software, you also need enough system RAM. These days, you need at least 32GB of RAM for video editing.
Does Video Editing Benefit From Higher CPU Core Counts?
Modern video editing applications are multithreaded. They can use multiple CPU cores and threads to speed up editing tasks.
So when you have a CPU with more cores, it will complete video rendering and encoding in a shorter duration. Complex video editing tasks like blur effects and stabilization also benefit from multiple CPU cores.
Usually, you need at least a 6-core CPU for video editing, and it is even better if you can get a fast 8-core CPU.
Does GPU VRAM Matter For Video Editing?
Most video editing applications use your GPU for hardware acceleration, and you need more VRAM for hardware acceleration at higher editing resolutions, such as 4K.
For example, Adobe Premiere Pro requires a minimum of 2GB VRAM for HD video editing, but it requires at least 6GB of VRAM for 4K video editing.
As you can see, you need more VRAM for editing higher-resolution videos.
Is Adobe Premiere Pro CPU Or GPU Intensive?
Adobe Premiere Pro is CPU-intensive. The CPU handles the majority of video editing, rendering, and encoding tasks in Premiere Pro. So it benefits from fast multi-core CPUs.
However, Premiere Pro can also use your GPU for hardware acceleration. For example, it can use the GPU for video encoding and decoding.
Is DaVinci Resolve CPU Or GPU Intensive?
DaVinci Resolve is GPU-intensive. It uses the GPU for complex video effects, filters, and stabilization.
It also benefits from a larger VRAM. You need at least 8GB of VRAM for some complex video editing tasks in DaVinci Resolve.
However, for DaVinci Resolve to run smoothly, you still need a sufficiently powerful CPU. It also benefits from multi-core CPUs.
Conclusion
For some video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, the CPU is more important than the GPU. On the other hand, for editing software like DaVinci Resolve, the GPU is more important.
With CPU-intensive video editing software, GPU can still help with hardware acceleration. Similarly, GPU-intensive editing software still needs a powerful CPU for smooth overall performance.
Therefore, all video editing applications benefit from fast CPUs and GPUs.
References
Building A PC For Video Editing