Best Graphics Cards for Video Editing

For years, people were used to reading textbooks and articles to get information. But we all know that time changes, or we can say time flies. People addicted to reading books and articles have transferred to videos because they don’t have to read the text. Videos make text speaking with the user.

So the demand for videos has increased, so has the demand for video editors increased. Video Editing is a professional skill that is difficult to master. Creating normal videos is very easy, but creating professional videos is difficult.

You need time to be a professional video editor. Also, editing videos professionally is not possible on a low-profile machine. For that, you need a heavy machine to edit your videos and produce them at 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p quality.

Delivering your videos on at least 1080p quality is recommended because people now don’t like to watch videos at 720p quality. Also, YouTube doesn’t consider 720p an HD result. So to record videos and render them at the highest possible quality, you need to have a powerful graphics card.

Graphics card plays a vital role in producing high-quality videos because your videos are in graphical form and require visual memory. The integrated graphics card of your laptop or PC build cannot complete the requirement, so that’s why video editors install a discrete graphics card in their PC build.

Video editors who edit videos using laptops also look for a laptop with having powerful GPU. So that means video editing on a professional level is not possible without a graphics card.

So in this article, we are going to reveal the 8 best graphics cards for video editing. Editing videos on these graphics cards at 4K quality is not a problem because we’ll mention some powerful GPUs. With these GPUs or graphics cards, you’ll be able to render videos of 4K quality at a fast speed.

So without any further ado, let me reveal the names of the graphics cards that I’ll review.

Best Graphics Cards For Video Editing

1. Best GPU for video editing overall: RTX 3090
2. Best graphics card for video editing for most people: GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
3. Best AMD GPU for video editing: AMD RADEON RX 6800 XT
4. Best mid-range GPU for video editing: GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
5. Best 20-series NVIDIA GPU for video editing: GeForce RTX 2060 Overclocked
6. Best budget GPU for video editing: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
7. Best cheap graphics card for video editing: AMD RADEON RX 5500 XT
8. Best 10-series GPU for video editing: GTX 1080 Ti

These graphics cards are best for video editing, and editing videos on them at 4K quality is not a problem. So let’s start with our first graphics card, and that is the PNY GeForce RTX 3090.

Best Overall Graphics Card for Video Editing – GeForce RTX 3090

If producing videos at 4K quality is your dream, then the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is your best option. This is a very powerful graphics card that has delivered outstanding results in every video editing application. You can easily render 4K videos in video editing and production software such as Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2021.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card sports a generous 24GB of vRAM (video RAM). You’ll find a whopping 10496 CUDA Cores, 1395MHz clock speed, and 1695MHz Boost Speed. These 10496 CUDA cores process your graphical data at an ultra-fast speed. No matter which application you use for editing your videos, you’ll get top-notch performance.

What’s more, the RTX 3090 boasts fast memory speed and bandwidth. With its GDDR6X memory, you can achieve 19.5GB/s data rates. GDDR5 works at 8GB/s and GDDR6 works at 16GB/s, but this GDDR6X works at 19.5GB/s to 21GB/s. That affects your performance a lot, drastically reducing video editing times. The maximum bandwidth of this graphics card is an impressive 936GB/s.

You get four video output connectors. There are three DisplayPort 1.4a and a single HDMI 2.1. If you get video output from DP 1.4a port, the maximum quality you can reach is 8K at 30Hz. This 8K quality is good, but the 30Hz refresh rate is not good. However, DP 1.4a supports a 120Hz refresh rate at 4K resolutions. HDMI 2.1 offers the same.

For gaming, the RTX 3090 packs NVIDIA G-Sync and NVIDIA GPU Boost. There are countless other features, including NVIDIA DLSS, 2nd Gen Ray-Tracing Cores, and 3rd Gen Tensor Cores. NVIDIA G-Sync feature is useful for video editors because it reduces screen tearing from your video projects, and NVIDIA GPU Boost allows you to grab maximum memory from your graphics card while rendering. This NVIDIA GPU Boost is the feature that makes the rendering process finish fast.

Unfortunately, the RTX 3090 doesn’t come cheap. What’s more, it does require a fairly hefty power supply (PSU) with its 350 TDP. Still, you’re hard-pressed to find a better GPU for video editing or PC gaming than the RTX 3090.

Pros:

• 350W TDP
• NVLink Supported
• GDDR6X Memory feature
• PCI Express 4.0 interface
• Two 8-Pin Power Input option
• 936 GB/s of memory bandwidth
• 4K Quality at 120Hz refresh rate

Cons:

• It is expensive, but it’s a one-time investment

Best GPU for Video Editing for Most People – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is a virtual reality (VR) ready 8GB graphics card with GDDR6X memory and Super Alloy Power II containing premium alloy chokes and solid polymer capacitors delivering stable power to your PC build.

It’s an excellent graphics card with three fans for excellent airflow to keep your graphics card’s temperatures low even under a heavy load. Video editing is a system resource-intensive task, especially when rendering 4K or even 8K videos, but the RTX 3070 Ti is more than up to the task.

Onboard, you’ll find plenty of video outputs including DisplayPorts 1.4a (DP 1.4a) HDMI 2.1 ports. You get 6144 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface width, 1845-1875MHz Boost Clock, and a maximum bandwidth of 256GB/s. Its 6144 CUDA Cores boost the rendering speed of your video projects for faster production time. Its Boost Clock is 1875MHz, and that delivers great speeds while rendering.

With performance rivaling the RTX 2080 Ti, the 3070 is an excellent GPU. Notably, there is a necessary 12-pin power connector. Nevertheless, the RTX 3070 Ti is no slouch, and worth the trouble of utilizing NVIDIA’s 8-pin to 12-pin adapter. For gaming and video editing alike, the 3070 Ti is a fantastic graphics card.

Pros:

• Super Alloy Power II
• Axial-tech Fan Design
• Plenty of video outputs including DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1
• OpenGL 4.6 and PCI Express 4.0 Bus Standard
• 3rd Gen Tensor Cores and 2nd Gen Ray-Tracing Cores
• 6144 CUDA Cores
• 8GB GDDR6X
• 1845-1875MHz Boost Clock
• 256-bit memory interface

Cons:

• Requires 12-pin power connector

Best AMD GPU for Video Editing – AMD RADEON RX 6800 XT

The RADEON RX 6800 XT is the best AMD GPU for video editing. Video rendering at 4K quality demands memory and this graphics card delivers an impressive 16GB GDDR6 memory format with a 256-bit bus width. Plus, you’ll find 4608 Stream Processors for fast data processing.AMD calls them Stream Processors, while NVIDIA calls them CUDA Cores. Therefore, these 4608 Stream Processors calculate graphical data requirements blisteringly fast. It has a Boost Frequency of 2250 MHZ, which is slightly higher than the average graphics card. Thus, your rendering is sped up.

The graphics card has GDDR6 memory, so it operates at 16 GB/s memory at all times. You can process 16 GB/s of data, which is great for video editors. With 648 GB/s of Peak Fill Rate for textures, you can fill textures quickly. You can load your textures in the highest quality possible with this large number of 648 GB/s.

In terms of pixels, you get a Peak Pixel Fill-Rate of up to 288 GT/s, and this number allows you to set any resolution for your work. Due to its high pixel calculation ratio, you can render your videos at any resolution you want during video editing.

With a 512 GB/s maximum memory bandwidth, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT can handle lots of data at once. For video editors, this number will enable them to render numerous videos efficiently. Disappointingly, the ray-tracing capabilities leave a bit to be desired. However, for video editing and rendering, the RX 6800 XT is more than up to the challenge.

Pros:

• GDDR6 Memory Type
• 128MB Infinity Cache
• HDMI 2.1 to get 4K display
• Triple Fans with RGB lights
• 26.8 Billion Transistor Count
• 128 ROPS and 288 Texture Units
• 72 Compute Units and Ray Accelerators

Cons:

• Low-quality ray-tracing

Best Mid-range Video Card for Video Editing – GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a gaming graphics card that many modern games smoothly at maximum settings. Additionally, it can deliver fast rendering speeds at 4K quality production.

This graphics card has 4864 CUDA Cores alongside an 8GB GDDR6 video RAM. With its GDDR6 memory, the 3060 Ti features a working ratio of 16GB/s. Plus, you get an 1830MHz Boost Clock speed that, combined with  8GB vRAM, delivers superb video rendering performance.

You’ll find DisplayPort 1.4a (DP 1.4a) and HDMI 2.1 outputs supporting 4K resolutions at a 120Hz refresh rate. Thus, recording, editing, and producing your videos at a 4K quality monitor offering a 120Hz refresh rate gives the best feelings ever. With its 240W power consumption, the 3060 Ti’s power draw is slightly lower than many other GPUs.

Furthermore, you’ll find multi-GPU support which aids in rendering large 4K or 8K videos. Rendering videos of 8K quality is not recommended with a single graphics card. As such, if you’re working with 8K videos, you may consider a dual GPU setup. Like many of NVIDIA’s RTX GPUs, a 12-pin power connector is required. Whereas 4K video editing works well, the 3060 Ti isn’t ideal for 4K gaming. However, for 1080p, you should be able to max out most AAA titles on ultra or high.

Pros:

• VR Ready
• Multi-GPU Technology
• Torx Fan 4.0 deliver the best airflow
• 4 Display Outputs with HDCP Support
• Low power consumption with stable performance

Cons:

• Middling 4K gaming performance
• Necessitates 12-pin power connector

Best 20-series GPU for Video Editing – GeForce RTX 2060

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a fantastic 20-series GPU for video editing. It comes with PCI Express 3.0 revision. You’ll find plenty of video outputs including DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0, with the ability to generate a 7680×4320 maximum resolution.

There’s a 6GB memory speed with a 192-bit memory interface, 1920 CUDA Cores, 1395 MHz Base Clock, and 1755 MHz Boost Clock. These 1920 CUDA Cores are great for video editors because they deliver incredible performance while rendering your videos. You can easily render videos of any quality you want.

The 1395MHz base clock is enough to handle the basic tasks. If you are recording videos and editing them in the motion tracker of your application, this base speed works best since your base clock performs all these basic tasks. You don’t face heating issues when your graphics card is running at its base clock, and that’s because 1395MHz can handle everything a simple task requires.

Your base clock performs simple tasks, but when you need to render those videos, your boost clock at 1755MHz works in conjunction with the 1920 CUDA Cores and the 366GB/s memory. These numbers allow you to finish your rendering in a flash because the memory bandwidth of 366GB/s is ideal for video editors.

Its memory parameters are perfect for video editors, but I’m not too fond of the low-quality ray tracing of this graphics card. In the 20-series graphics cards, the ray-tracing of RTX 2080 is good, while the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 have low-quality ray-tracings. Its other features are good, but gamers can face difficulties with ray-tracing on.

Pros:

• ASUS GPU Tweak II
• Low PSU requirement (Only 500W)
• Dual fans with perfect airflow
• G-Sync compatible with NVIDIA Ansel feature

Cons:

• Low-quality ray-tracing

Best Budget Graphics Card for Video Editing – GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the best budget GPU for video editing. You’ll find DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 video outputs. NVIDIA’s GTX 1660 Ti yields 6GB of GDDR6 vRAM with a 192-bit memory interface width. This graphics card can deliver 1440p quality video comfortably.

It has 1536 CUDA Cores and a Boost Clock of 1770 MHz. So with 1536 CUDA Cores, rendering a video of 1440p quality is easy. Most intermediate video editors render videos at 1440p, but beginners render videos at 1080p quality. Therefore, this graphics card is suitable for intermediate-level video editors.

Its maximum bandwidth reaches 288GB/s, and you get 48 ROPs (Rendering Output Units), 96 TMUs (Texture Mapping Units), and OpenGL 4.6 to perform various operations without any problem. The GTX 1660 Ti is a modestly-sized graphics card that features a moderate power draw, making it a great choice for a variety of different PCs. Unfortunately, the 1660 Ti is built on an older architecture. With the RTX 30-series out, the 10-series is decidedly outdated. Despite this, the 1660 Ti is a good budget GPU for video editing.

Pros:

• OC Scanner
• Curved Fan Blades
• Aluminum Heatsinks
• 3 6mm Copper Heat Pipes
• 8.3-inch card fits in 99% of systems

Cons:

• Older architecture model

Best Cheap GPU for Video Editing – AMD RADEON RX 5500 XT

If you are looking for a cheap graphics card that delivers excellent performance in video editing, the AMD RADEON RX 5500 XT is your best option. The RX 5500 XT is a 4GB graphics card with a GDDR6 memory type. It’s got a16 GB/s data transfer speed with a high 224 GB/s maximum transfer bandwidth.

Beginner video editors with this GPU can easily render videos at 1080por even 1440p and 2160p. For 1080p quality, its 224GB/s bandwidth is more than up to most reasonable tasks. The RADEON RX 5500 XT has 1408 Stream Processors capable of processing and rendering the videos at 1080p quality. Its base clock is 1647MHz, and its boost clock is 1846MHz.

With its 88 texture units, you can easily process the video where 88 textures appear. Plus, its peak texture fill-rate reaches 162.36 GT/s for buttery-smooth video rendering.

When we see the pixel calculation, we get 59.04 GT/s with 22 Compute Units and 32 ROPs. These 32 Rendering Output Units (ROPs) deliver faster execution after calculating all your pixels and textures.

The last thing is its Bus Standard and Memory Interface Width. So it’s a low-profile graphics card, so its memory interface width is 128-bit. After seeing the 128-bit number, don’t worry because it’s perfect for beginners. The Bus Standard is PCIe 4.0, so you get maximum bandwidth when you insert it in the PCIe 4.0 slot.

Pros:

• OpenGL 4.6
• HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs
• Low TDP (Only 130W)
• Latest Display Ports and HDCP 2.3 included
• Latest Shader Model with High Pixel and Texture Mapping Units

Cons:

• Works on PCIe 4.0 even after offering 4GB of memory

Best 1000-series GPU for Video Editing – GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

Despite its age, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti is a powerful graphics card, and the best in NVIDIA’s 10-series that delivers superior performance in video editing as well as gaming. You’ll find DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI video outputs. You get 3584 CUDA Cores which is higher than RTX 2070, but that doesn’t mean this GTX 1080 Ti tops the RTX 2070. Only its CUDA Cores are high. These CUDA Cores can process data at a fast speed and help render videos fast.

The GTX 1080 Ti is perfect for rendering 1080p quality videos. At its core, you’ll find GDDR5X memory with 11GB/s speeds. Its Boost Clock reaches 1582MHz, with a 352-bit memory interface. You get 484GB/s of bandwidth with the 1080 Ti.

Beginners who are entering this video editing field should take a start with this GTX 1080 Ti. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti features NVIDIA GPU Boost 3.0. Despite its age, it still delivers incredible performance. Additionally, the bus standard is PCIe 3.0. It’s an 11GB card, and PCIe 3.0 offers a maximum bandwidth of 16GB/s on its x16 slot. Admittedly, the GTX 1080 Ti is an older GPU based on aging architecture. Yet, it’s still a beefy graphics card capable of rendering videos like a champ.

Pros:

• OpenGL 4.5
• GPU Boost 3.0
• 91C maximum temperature value
• Multiple display options with HDCP 2.2

Cons: 

• Older GPU architecture

Best Graphics Cards for Video Editing – Final Thoughts

Overall, there are plenty of GPUs to choose from for video editing. Whether you want to go with NVIDIA or AMD, you can select a new graphics card or older option. The NVIDIA RTX 3090 is your best option, with AMD’s Radeon 6800 XT a great choice. The NVIDIA RTX 2070 and GTX 1080 Ti are solid older cards, while the GTX 1660 Ti and AMD RX 5500 XT are good budget options.

Your turn: which GPUs for video editing do you recommend?