7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024

Video editing can be an excellent hobby or profession to get into, particularly when you start working with cinematography, animation, and so on. Regular everyday processors are an excellent way to get started in video editing, but as you start progressing in your skills and working with more complex film, the average processor and RAM capacity just isn’t going to cut it.

Complex and large video files can take up a ton of hardware resources, particularly when it comes to the point where you start the rendering process — and especially when it comes to 4K content. That said, you need to make sure you have the hardware that’s up to the task, hardware that will keep the thing stable when the pressure is really put on the hardware.

ProductBrandNamePrice
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 16IntelIntel Core i5-8600K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.3 GHz unlocked LGA 1151 300 Series 95WCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 17IntelIntel Core i7-8700K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.7GHz TurboCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 18IntelIntel Core i7-9700KCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 19IntelIntel Core i5-9600KCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 20IntelIntel Core i9-9900KCheck Price on Amazon

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So if you follow along with us below, we’re going to show you the seven best processors on the market for video editing purposes. Let’s dive right in.
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 21

Intel Core i5-8600k

As we mentioned, a good processor is an essential part of video editing. Video editing — particularly when it comes to rendering — requires a lot of processing power, and so, you’ll need to make sure you have a reliable processor that can keep up with those demands. The Intel Core i5-8600k is a great processor for video editing.

It’s a 6-core processor that comes from Intel’s Coffee Lake series of processors. It’s reasonably powerful, and as a K series, it’s unlocked so that you can overclock it. Its base speed is 3.6GHz, but you can turn it up to 4.3GHz. It’s got a 9MB cache as well.

Buy it now: Amazon

Ryzen 7 2700

If you don’t mind trying an AMD processor on for size, the Ryzen 7 2700 can bring you some excellent performance for video editing. You get 8-cores in here, as well as 16-threads  — it’s all unlocked so that you can overclock the CPU as well.

You get some excellent speeds with the Ryzen 7 2700, with a frequency of 4.1GHz. It also comes with a Wraith Spire Cooler for the processor. And because this is a newer Ryzen CPU, it requires an AM4 socket motherboard.

Buy it now: Amazon

7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 22

Intel Core i5-9600k

There’s a similar processor to the i5-8600k designed on the same platform but improved upon exponentially. That is the i5-9600k. Designed for performance, this processor has a base clock of 3.7GHz but can be overclocked all the way up to 4.6GHz. That said, you can eke out just a little bit more performance out of this one, but for around the same cost. This one is a 6-core processor as well, and with it being a K CPU, it’s unlocked, allowing you to mess around with the overclocking features.

Buy it now: Amazon

Ryzen 5 3600X

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is another excellent choice for those doing some serious video crunching. This one comes with six cores and twelve threads and is supposed to bring you 100+ frames per second for even the world’s most demanding video games. Unlocked, you can reach a maximum frequency of 4.4GHz. Suffice to say, you’ll have no problem with performance in video editing, gaming, or whatever you decide to do. 

This one also comes with the Wraith Spire Cooler, so you don’t actually have to purchase a CPU cooler separately.

Buy it now: Amazon

7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 23

Intel Core i7-8700k

If you’re a little more than a hobbyist, you might want to consider the Intel Core i7-8700k for your video editing needs. This one is also a “K” series, which means the processor is unlocked and can be overclocked to your heart’s content. It’s recommended max clock frequency is 4.7GHz, and it comes with a whole 12MB of cache.

It has Ultra HD graphics built-in, so you should be able to handle 4K content a little easier as well. It still has six cores like the i5 but is definitely more efficient and powerful.

Buy it now: Amazon

7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 24

Intel Core i7-9700k

You might also want to take a look at the upgraded i7-9700k. This one is where the i7 sees a core upgrade, giving you eight cores instead of six. It has a base clock speed of 3.6GHz, but with the extra cores, you can overclock this one all the way up to 4.9GHz, as it is unlocked and overclockable.

And with a cache of 12MB, this monster of a processor will be able to crush any video editing task you put it through. This one has a massive cache as well — 16MB.

Buy it now: Amazon

7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 25

Intel Core i9-9900k

Intel’s Core i9-9900k is one of their top performing processors. This one is an absolute machine when it comes to video editing. There are eight cores and twelve threads. It sits at a base clock of 3.6GHz, but since it is a “K” series, it’s unlocked and able to be overclocked. You can actually overclock this one all the way up to 5GHz. It supports UHD graphics, so it’ll have no problem working its way through high res content like 4K.

Buy it now: Amazon

Verdict

As you can see, there are a lot of excellent processors for video editing. If you’re looking for something to really start up your video editing hobby or career, really any of these are a great start — you may not want to invest in something costly until you’re a little more established in your video editing career.

Do you have a favorite processor for video editing? Sound off in the comments below.

ProductBrandNamePrice
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 16IntelIntel Core i5-8600K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.3 GHz unlocked LGA 1151 300 Series 95WCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 17IntelIntel Core i7-8700K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.7GHz TurboCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 18IntelIntel Core i7-9700KCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 19IntelIntel Core i5-9600KCheck Price on Amazon
7 Best Processors For Video Editing in 2024 20IntelIntel Core i9-9900KCheck Price on Amazon

* If you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more details, please visit our Privacy policy page.

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