Best Laptops for GoPro Video Editing and GoPro Studio : 2020 Buyers’ guide!

GoPro makes it easier for people to shoot videos, and share their experiences. And while shooting a video with a GoPro camera is as simple as it gets, that’s only half the battle – editing your footage into a fun to watch movie is the real art!

If you’ve just purchased a GoPro, you’re probably wondering what software to use and which the best laptop for editing GoPro videos you can buy. After all, video editing is one of the most resource demanding tasks you can do on a computer. But don’t worry; we have done the research for you and compared the best laptops on the market right now to help you make the best decision.

Before jumping to our recommended laptops for GoPro editing list, let’s first have a look at the type of laptop you should be looking for, and also answer some of the questions you might have about video editing.

What to look for to find the best laptop for editing GoPro videos?

Video editing is one of the heaviest tasks you can do on a laptop; it requires a fast processor, lots of RAM, and storage. But that’s not all, there are other things to consider when choosing a laptop for GoPro video editing or for video editing in general.

In order to a get a laptop for GoPro video editing, you must first decide on the software you will be using to edit videos. Some of the most used programs for GoPro Video editing are Vegas Pro, Pinnacle Studio HD, Davinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Elements, Apple’s iMovie and Final Cut X, Windows Movie Maker, and of course GoPro’s Quik and GoPro Studio. Of course, each of these programs has its own system requirements.

Let’s first check out the official system requirements for GoPro Studio:

These are the minimum system requirements for working with GoPro Studio and Quik, and if you want to use another program such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro, then these requirements are to be revised upwards. Adobe premiere Pro for example will require at least 8GB of RAM, and a dedicated graphics card; and the same goes for Vegas Pro.

So in order to get a good laptop for GoPro video editing, let’s look into each component separately:

Processor:  Video editing is a very CPU intensive task, and getting a fast processor is the first thing to consider when picking a laptop for GoPro editing. The more powerful your processor is, the faster it can handle your GoPro footage. Consider at least a laptop with a recent  Intel i5 processor, or an i7 if it is within your budget. Most new processors nowadays come with multiple cores, which is important for editing and rendering video files. Whether you’re using GoPro Studio or another more advanced video editing program (such as Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere), rendering a video will usually utilize your processor’s multiple cores, especially when exporting videos. Laptop processors are not easily (or not at all) upgradable, and usually, there isn’t much choice on the market. Most recent laptops come with “U” processors, which provide a good compromise between performance and power consumption; but you if need even more performance, it is recommended to get a laptop with an “H” series processor. H stands for High performance graphics. You should also get at least a laptop with an 8th gen processor, 8th Gen Core chips are almost 50 and 92 percent faster than their predecessors.  Intel also released their 10th gen processor, which extended HyperThreading on all the CPUs. HyperThreading is a process where the CPU splits each physical Core into virtual Cores called threads.

RAM:  Because you will be working with lots of GoPro video footage, you want as much RAM as possible. RAM is where all the files are stored when you’re working on them, and having more RAM will help speed up things and improve your overall multitasking experience. For most laptops, RAM can usually be easily extended. If you will be using you laptop for editing GoPro videos, we recommend at least a laptop with a 16GB of RAM, especially if you record at 4K resolution. If you’re on tight budget, or if you mainly record at 1080p, you can go with 8GB of RAM.

Graphics card: This mostly depends on the software you use for video editing, and wether the program can utilize GPU acceleration. For example, if you work with Adobe premiere, Sony Vegas, or Davinci Resolve, getting a laptop with a dedicated graphics card will greatly improve your editing experience. Thanks to GPU acceleration, the program can use the graphics card to edit and render videos, instead of relying solely on the processor. In this case, you will literally be cutting your rendering times in half. A Graphics card is also important if you will be working with presets such as such as Fast Blur in/out, mosaic in/out, blending modes, scaling, applying video effects and transitions. If you have one of the newer GoPro cameras, such as the GoPro Hero 7 or 8 and you have lots of 4K GoPro footage to work with, then, I personally recommend getting a laptop with a dedicated Nvidia graphics card. It will greatly reduce your rendering times and improve your workflow. For Nvidia cards, you should pay attention to number of CUDA cores the card has. CUDA is a term that is only specific to Nvidia cards, and it basically indicates the number of processors the card has. A higher number of CUDA cores means that the video card provides faster performance overall. For example, the GeForce GTX 1050 has 640 Cuda cores, the GTX 1080 has 2560 cores, and the RTX 2080 has 2944 CUDA cores. However, this doesn’t mean that a laptop without a dedicated graphics card can’t be used for GoPro videos, especially if you will be doing it occasionally. Depending on your projects, the performance can be be slow without a dedicated graphics, but it’s not impossible. Unless you’re working on lots of footage and want the fastest rendering time and best performance, you can go with integrated graphics.

Storage:  When working with huge video files, having an SSD will tremendously speed up your editing process, and of course also your whole system. PCIe based solid state drives provide an even faster experience, but they are usually more expensive. In most laptops, the hard drive is usually easily upgradable, and some models also come with two drives. For the latest GoPro 8 Black for example, you can record 4K video up to 60 frames per second; and depending on your settings (video codec, bitrate…etc), a 1 hour footage can easily exceed 30GB in size. Ideally, you’d want a laptop that has both fast and large quantity of storage, but that’s hard to find. If you have lots of high quality footage, you can look for a laptop that has a dual drive : a fast SSD for storing the programs, and your most used files; and a large capacity HDD for your videos. You can also just purchase an external drive to store your files.

Display:  The display is where you will “see” the results of your video editing work, and even though you can easily connect your laptop to an external display, it is recommended to get at least a laptop with 15 inch screen for video editing. For example, Adobe Premiere Pro, like many other video editing programs out there,  will split your display into quadrants – a preview window, timeline, effects tab and a bin for all your footage. so, a small display won’t give you enough space to work comfortably. Screen resolution is also very important here, especially if you plan to work on 4K video. Laptops with 4K displays are quite expensive, but it’s worth spending the extra money if you want to take your creations to the next level. Another thing to consider is the display type; you’d want a laptop with an IPS screen (in plane switching). IPS screens have superior color accuracy and produce sharper images. If you do video editing on a professional level and color accuracy is critical to you, IPS is the way to go.

Connectivity and ports: Ports are often overlooked when you’re buying a new laptop; but paying attention to that can save lots of time in the future. For example, a laptop with a USB-C port, means it can transfer files fast from a compatible device, an SD card reader will save you having to use dongles or adapters when importing footage from your GoPro camera. Also, if you have a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 port , you will be able to connect an external graphics card, giving it lots of rendering power when you have space (and money) for this extra hardware.

Best laptops for GoPro video editing in 2020:

So, now that you have an idea what to look for when buying a laptop to edit GoPro videos, let’s check out some of the best laptop for GoPro we selected for you. As always, feel free to ask us in the comments below if you have any questions or suggestions. This list and article will be updated regularly, to keep the information as current as possible.

• Acer Aspire 5 A515-54G-5928 : Best Budget Laptop for Editing GoPro Videos

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Looking for a cheap laptop for GoPro editing? The answer is the new Acer Aspire 5 A515-54G-5928 . Replacing the E15, this new Aspire 5 is similarly priced. You’ll get an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a dedicated Nvidia Geforce MX250 graphics card with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM. The Aspire 5 is perfectly capable of handling video editing work thanks to the powerful processor and dedicated graphics chip. The laptop is also easily upgradable, and you can add a secondary hard drive (msut be less than 0.7cm or less to fit) and more RAM.

In terms of performance, the i5-8265U does a great job even when it comes to demanding tasks such as video editing. And if you mainly work with 1080p GoPro footage, then this laptop is more than enough for your needs.

Battery life is also very impressive, and you can easily get a normal day of use out of a single charge. In short, if you only edit videos occasionally and don’t need to spend money on a high end machine, the Acer Aspire 5 A515-54G-5928 offers the most value for the money.

• Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-51M5: Affordable gaming laptop for GoPro video editing
  

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The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-51M5 is a budget gaming laptop that packs plenty of great features for its price. This laptop comes with an Intel i5-9300H processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1TB HDD, and a dedicated Nvidia GTX 1650 with 4GB of video memory. Other than its price, one of the reasons why we recommend the Nitro 5 on this list, is the fact that it comes with a dedicated Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card,  which will greatly smooth your video editing experience. This laptop is great for beginners, and if you just need a reliable laptop for GoPro video editing, and don’t necessarily need to work with complex effects, then consider it.

The screen on the Acer Nitro 5 has a Full HD resolution and produces sharp and beautiful images thanks to the IPS panel. Color accuracy is also very good, and viewing angles are very stable.

In terms of ports, the Nitro 5 comes with 3 USB ports, a USB-C port, HDMI, and ethernet. This laptop doesn’t have an SD card reader however, so if you like copying files from your GoPro to you PC through an SD card, then either get an external card reader, or another laptop. This laptop is also quite bulky, and its chassis is all-plastic build.

• ASUS – TUF Gaming FX705GM

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The ASUS – TUF Gaming FX705GM is another excellent gaming laptop for GoPro Video editing. This 17 inch laptop comes with an 8th gen i7-8750H  processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB of video memory. This laptop is perfect if you need a desktop replacement to work on your projects. It’s a good laptop for working with adobe after effects and premiere pro for example, and the GTX 1060 is still a great graphics card to have for editing 4K GoPro video footage, and also for gaming.

In terms of ports, we have 3 USB ports, HDMI, and an Ethernet port.Unfortunately, there is no USB-C port on this laptop, and there is no card reader either.

• Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52-710B
  

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The Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52-710B is one of the most powerful laptops under 1000 dollars you can find. Powered by a ^9th generation 6-Core i7-9750H processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM,  the Helios 300 is perfect for video editing and rendering. If you want to do more than editing GoPro video, the Helios 300 is also a powerful gaming and multimedia machine.

The Helios 300 PH315-52-710B sports a 15.6 inch IPS display, at a Full HD resolution. The screen is very beautiful, and offers excellent viewing angles. It also has a matte finish and doesn’t suffer from reflections too much.

The build quality on the Helios 300 is also very impressive, with a solid metal body and contained weight/dimensions for a gaming laptop: the Helios 300 weighs 5.95lbs and is 15.35 x 10.47 x 1.05 inches.

If you’re looking for a good laptop for GoPro video editing and some medium/high gaming, the Acer Predator Helios 300 is highly recommended.

• MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062: A powerful laptop for gaming and editing GoPro Videos
  

  

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We’re slightly going towards the higher end laptops on the list, and the MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 is quite the definition of that. This gaming laptop comes with the latest Intel Core i7-10750H  processor, 16GB of RAM, a fast 512GB SSD, and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics card. The MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 can be classified as a desktop replacement, and is suitable for anyone looking for a main laptop, that will last for a few years.

There are quite a few reasons why the MSI GL65  is one the best laptops for GoPro video editing: first, you’ll get a 10th gen Intel i7-10750H  processor, which comes with 6 physical cores, and has a turbo speed of up to 5Ghz. This is one the most powerful processors available on laptop currently. In Addition to that, you’ll get 16GB of RAM, and a dedicated RTX 2070 graphics card. This translate into an excellent performance when dealing with 4K GoPro footage, smooth previews, and reduced rendering times.

The MSI GL65 also does a good job when it come sot ports, with 3 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB-C port, HDMI, a mini display port, and Ethernet. There’s also an included SD card reader, to transfer tour GoPro videos easily from the camera to the laptop.

Build quality is also great, and despite the plastic body, this laptop feels very sturdy and sure to last for quite a few years. There are also 2 fans with 7 pipes to help keep the temperatures under control, when the CPU and GPU are under load.

• Dell G7 17

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If you want a powerful gaming laptop to edit GoPro videos, but don’t like the aggressive design that comes with most of them, then consider the Dell G7 17. This desktop replacement has everything it takes to handle even your advanced projects. It comes with a 6-Core i7-9750H processor, 32GB DDR4 RAM, a 1TB SSD (Boot) + 1TB HDD, and a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti with 6GB of video memory. This laptop can seamlessly playback and render your 4K GoPro footage, and there is also enough space to save all of your files.

The G7 17 is also very capable when it comes to gaming, thanks to the GTX 1660Ti, but despite that, it’s elegantly designed and looks like any other professional laptop out there.

As it’s name implies, this laptop is equipped with a 17.3 inch IPS Anti-Glare display, with Full HD resolution, and low Blue Light emissions. There’s also an excellent number of ports and connections, including an  SD / MicroMedia Card reader, 2 x USB 3.1, HDMI 2.0, a Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, a USB-C DisplayPort/USB-C Thunderbolt, and a SuperSpeed USB 3.1 port.

• Dell XPS 15 7590

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If you’re looking for a thin and lightweight laptop that you can carry around easily, but don’t want to sacrifice performance, the Dell XPS 7590 is the perfect combination between build quality, portability and performance. With a maximum thickness of 0.66 inch and weighing less than 4 pounds, the XPS 7590 packs a 9^th generation quad core Intel i7-9750H processor, 32 GB of RAM, a blazing fast PCIe based 1TB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. The XPS 7590 enough power under the hood to handle all your GoPro video editing projects, but what makes it really a perfect laptop for editing is its beautiful display. The Dell XPS 7590 sports a dazzling 15,6 inch 4K display, which also has IPS technology: the screen produces gorgeous images  and when it comes to color accuracy, the XPS 9570’s IPS display is a champion with 100% Adobe RGB color. The XPS 15 is also one of the laptops with thin bezels, which reduces the overall footprint of the device.

Battery life is excellent for a laptop with dedicated graphics and a very bright screen; you can expect to get about 7 to 8 hours of real world use from a single charge.

• Apple MacBook Pro 16
  

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The Macbook pro has always been a favorite among creative professionals, and it’s one of the best laptops for GoPro video editing you can get, especially if you like working with Final Cut Pro. The new Macbook pro 16 has quite a few improvements over the last generation, staring from the slightly bigger display. Under the hood, you’ll find a 9th generation 8-Core Intel Core i9 Processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a Amd Radeon Pro 5500M Graphics card with GDDR6 memory.

The gorgeous display also makes the Macbook pro a perfect laptop for video editing, not only is the display very bright and colorful, but the extra real estate also makes it easier when working with multiple windows or when multitasking.

In terms of ports, the Macbook pro 16 comes with 4 Thunderbolt 3 // USB-C ports. Battery life is also great with up to 11 hours of use.

• MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032: A powerful laptop for editing high quality 4K footage
  

  

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The new MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 is high end laptop that offers some unique features. First of all, it comes with a 10th gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics card. Needless to say that this laptop is in a league of its own when it comes to demanding tasks such as video editing. If you record a lot of 4K videos, and want a robust system to work on your projects, then the MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 offers more than that.

This laptop also comes with a gorgeous 15.6″ FHD display, which has 300Hz refresh rate, unheard of on laptops. It’s also quite thin and lightweight, which makes it portable and easy to carry/use on your lap. Battery life is also very solid, and you can get up to 8 hours from a single charge.