Updated on August 14, 2022
If you want to upgrade your old video card or purchase the best graphics card for video editing and colour grading without lags, read this article to learn what factors to consider. Because of hardware acceleration, the graphics card has become more important for video editing. It allows you to optimise rendering and speed up 3D visualisation of effects.
Top 8 Graphics Cards for Video Editing
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super – Best overall choice
- Zotac GeForce RTX 2060 Super Compact – Best compact graphics card
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition – Best high-end graphics card for video editing
- MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Ti – Entry-level graphics card for video editing
- AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 – A Pro Power graphics card for multi-use systems
- EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Black – Budget-friendly graphics card
- XFX Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition – For crossfire configuration
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition – The best price-to-productivity ratio
AMD or Nvidia GPUs are used in video cards. It is converted into a video card by the manufacturer, who adds overlocking, housing, and cooling. As a result, comparing the GPU to the video card is tricky. A graphics processor is frequently seen in video editing graphics cards.
The finest video card for video editing is one that has the most successful production modifications, a lot of video memory, and a fast clock speed. Graphics card benchmarks, graphics apps that use hardware, and high-demand games all verify the selections.
1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition
Memory clock speed: 15.5 GHz | RAM size: 8.0 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR6 | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI
- ✚ High refresh rates
- ✚ Ray tracing capabilities
- ✚ Excellent gaming experience
- ✚ Perfect rendering
- ✚ Silent work without overheating
- — Not found
The Nvidia RTX 2080 is the first Turing RTX architecture map with real-time ray tracing. The factory version of the Founders Edition has been overclocked to 1815 MHz. It offers resolutions as high as 4K with a high refresh rate because it is equipped with the best CPU for video editing.
Nvidia boosted the number of Cuda cores in this generation, as well as introducing additional specialised hardware ray tracing RT cores and Tensor cores for three-dimensional arithmetic. This video editing graphics card has 8GB of modern GDDR6 memory with better bandwidth.
This is my preferred alternative because it has a huge performance margin, supports a number of new technologies, and the manufacturer’s version ensures that the card has been properly overclocked and tuned.
2. Zotac GeForce RTX 2060 Super Compact
Memory clock speed: 1680 MHz | RAM size: 6.0 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR6 | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: DisplayPort, HDMI
- ✚ Overclocking is available
- ✚ Compact form factor
- ✚ Cools quietly
- ✚ Affordable price
- — 4K videos are not so smooth
- — It could have more memory
Rating
This card has nearly identical technical specifications to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, but it costs extra owing to factory overclocking to 1800 MHz. The innovative “Turing” architecture is used in this GPU for video editing. It improves gaming performance while also supporting new technologies. Deep sampling and hardware-accelerated ray tracing create an entirely new visual dimension.
Installation and work are made easier by the small dual-slot design and excellent blowing system. This is an excellent alternative for long and regular corporate video editing. It has a better architecture and higher performance. Furthermore, new technologies and capabilities are available at a reasonable cost, resulting in a higher price-performance ratio.
3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition
Memory clock speed: 1.40 GHz | RAM size: 24 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR6X | Interface: PCI-Express 4.0 | Video output: DisplayPort, HDMI
- ✚ Higher productivity
- ✚ 8K support
- ✚ Seamless, noiseless performance
- ✚ Super cooling
- ✚ Can be overclocked up to 1.70 GHz
- — Quite expensive
- — Large form-factor, high power consumption
Rating
The GeForce RTX 3090 FE is a high-performance next-generation graphics card. The new Ampere architecture underpins it. For 4K Ultra video, the card supports 60+ frames per second. The RTX 3090 is capable of a wide range of video editing activities, including real-time 3D content production, thanks to its 8K video output.
This is an excellent choice for Adobe Premiere Pro users, as the software operates more smoothly with Nvidia graphics cards than with AMD GPUs.
The performance of this powerful graphics card is nearly noiseless. It has a powerful cooling system, making it an excellent choice for the best computer for video editing and other advanced jobs. A more powerful GPU may be tough to come by on the market. It was made for game developers and designers. Because the Founders model of the RTX 3090 is the most cheap, I tried it.
4. MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
Memory clock speed: 1770 MHz | RAM size: 6 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR6 | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: DisplayPort, HDMI
- ✚ Overclocking capability
- ✚ Great price
- ✚ Ultra-high frequency
- ✚ Low power consumption
- ✚ Compact design
- — Worse for 4K games
- — It could have more memory
Rating
It uses Turing’s robust architecture, similar to the upcoming RTX line, but without the pricey tensor-ray cores. The smaller crystal size, increased transistor count, and low power consumption make this graphics card for gaming a viable alternative to more expensive RTX cards.
MSI incorporated factory overclocking of 1830 MHz, a quiet cooling system, and clean backlighting. This was the finest graphics card under $500 that was suitable for video post-production. It is compatible with a professional display for video editing that supports a high frame rate and 4K video footage, thanks to the excellent resolution.
The graphics card is regarded as the best for 1080p gaming. However, the sophisticated Turing architecture and fast GDDR6 memory make it ideal for hardware encoding/decoding and rendering 4K films.
5. AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200
Memory clock speed: not declared | RAM size: 8 GB | Graphics memory: DDR DRAM | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: mini DisplayPort
- ✚ Overclocking is available
- ✚ Excellent multitasking
- ✚ Gain graphics applications
- ✚ ECC RAM against errors
- ✚ Extended bandwidth
- — High price
- — Lack of CUDA cores
Rating
The Vega architecture is used in the WX 8200 professional graphics card. It contains 3,584 cores, 8GB of ultra-fast HBM2 memory, and 512 Gbps of bandwidth. This graphics card will help you if you utilise Animator Blender, Adobe Creative Cloud, 3Ds Max, Maya, AutoCAD, or Solid Works. This GPU has four micro DisplayPorts with 10-bit colour depth and other connector types adapters. You can connect up to four 4K screens to it.
The AMD card can outperform other solutions available on the market depending on the software tools you use. AMD graphics cards function well with Open CL apps, and the WX 8200 is the greatest video editing graphics card for professionals. Because the AMD Radeon Pro series does not support Windows 11, you may need to look for alternate video editing software for your Mac.
6. EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Black
Memory clock speed: 1785 MHz | RAM size: 6 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR5 | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI
- ✚ Fast rendering/editing
- ✚ Supports various interfaces
- ✚ Online/offline video editing
- ✚ Suitable for games
- — There could be more memory
- — Overheating probability
Rating
One of the top mid-range video cards is the GeForce GTX 1660. It is based on the Turing GPU architecture from Nvidia. This version is more powerful, having 6GB of visual memory and a 192-bit interface. It includes 1408 CUDA cores. As a result, the data may be evaluated quickly and effectively. As a result, rendering time is reduced.
Because this video card is suited for online editing, you won’t have to wonder how much RAM is required for video editing. The graphics card is capable of running games with high graphical settings at a reasonable frame rate. When using tools like Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects, you can achieve faster results with this powerful graphics card for video editing and producing 4K footage.
For cooling, this tiny card includes a single fan and an aluminium radiator with heat pipes. The card has three slots and is powered by a single 6-pin PCI-E power connector. One DVI port, two HDMI ports, and two Display Ports were available on the back panel. Overall, this is a good video editing graphics card that provides good performance and supports high-quality videos.
7. XFX Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition
Memory clock speed: 1405 MHz | RAM size: 8 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR5 | Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 | Video output: HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI
- ✚ VR support
- ✚ Suitable for gaming
- ✚ Affordable crossfire cards
- ✚ Variety of ports
- — Prone to overheating
- — Not too compact
Rating
This variant has 8 GB of memory and is built on the Polaris architecture. Factory overclocking is supported up to 1425 GHz on the XXX version. This is the greatest video editing graphics card that supports 4K videos. It’s ideal for graphics programmes that use the OpenCL Framework. It can be used to play games with high-resolution visuals and frame rates.
For greater heat dissipation, it has two fans and a radiator. This card also has the benefit of supporting DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VR, and FreeSync 2. AMD crossfire arrangement for multiple GPUs is also supported by this graphics card. It includes a lot of useful tools and a lot of RAM for video editing. If you still need something more powerful, professional video editing services can help you improve your RAW footage quickly and affordably.
8. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition
Memory clock speed: 1670 MHz | RAM size: 8 GB | Graphics memory: GDDR6 | Interface: PCI-Express 4.0 | Video output: HDMI, DisplayPort
- ✚ Powerful performance
- ✚ Energy-efficient
- ✚ AI-powered DLSS
- ✚ 8К video support
- — Overpriced
Rating
The Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti was one of the greatest mid-range graphics cards in the GeForce series in terms of price-performance ratio before its price increased due to a global semiconductor shortage. It offers rapid video export, unlike AMD graphics cards. It’s utilised for rendering complicated 3D scenes, editing 8K video, drone video editing, and live-streaming, which is why it’s so hard to come by, even at a high price.
The RTX 3060 Ti is made by a number of graphics card manufacturers. Overclocking such models is possible. Even if the RX 6800 is a good option for an external GPU for Mac, the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards that give equivalent performance are more economical than their competitors based on the RX 6800.
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How to Choose a Graphics Card for Video Editing
Standard Model Manufacturer
Nvidia refers to its graphics power as Cuda cores, while AMD refers to its GCN cores. The more current a model is, the more cores and processing power it contains. Under the same settings, Nvidia devices cost more and are faster in many applications, whereas AMD cards are noisier and use more energy. The latter, on the other hand, are better for OpenCL-based applications.
Graphic cards are divided into two categories: consumer (gamers) and professional (designers). For the former, Nvidia created the GeForce RTX/Quadro brand, and for the latter, Titan RTX. The Radeon RX was designed for consumers, whereas the Radeon Pro/Instinct was designed for professionals.
Professional video editing video cards are usually more expensive, have approved drivers, and are specialised for certain tasks. Choose a GPU with several cores based on the latest Ampere or Navi architectures after examining your requirements.
Video Memory or VRAM Amount
A graphics card saves temporary information on the disc or RAM as it sends and processes video data. VRAM determines the resolution and level of detail in games. The more memory a graphics card for video editing has, the more jobs may be done at once. With more advanced editing operations and higher quality video and resolution, more space will be required. If your graphics processor doesn’t have adequate video memory, the computer will process data using the CPU.
Data transfer speed is also affected by memory bandwidth and kind. The larger it is, the faster it will be. You can get even faster with new varieties of GDDR6 and RDNA memory. As a result, for a seamless 4K experience, I propose a card with a minimum capacity of 6 GB, but ideally 8 GB or greater, as well as a newer memory type and broader bandwidth.
Clock Frequency
Higher clock speeds imply a more responsive and faster GPU for video editing. Frequency is significant in games since it determines the FPS rate, as well as in some 3D programmes that let you apply video effects. The overclocked frequency differs from the base frequency. The latter refers to the rate at which the GPU can accelerate with growing load for a limited period of time, as long as the temperature limit allows. It is determined by the cooling equipment’s dependability and factory-imposed limits.
Beyond overclocking settings, you can boost the frequency manually at your own risk using specific programmes or BIOS changes. Many manufacturers offer a processor that has been overclocked to ensure system stability. As a result, I propose partner cards with intentionally high or factory-overclocked frequencies, massive multi-channel coolers, and a dependable cooling system capable of handling the maximum clock speeds.
Additional Requirements
F.A.Q.
- • Why do expensive graphics cards have many bad reviews?
Because crypto miners use practically all models of graphics cards, they are in high demand. Furthermore, the COVID-19 lockout caused delays in shipping from Asian countries. The available video cards are pricey, which could be the root of the negative feedback.
- • Do I need to accelerate by graphics card when using video editing software?
Modern software takes advantage of graphics cards’ capabilities and leverages hardware acceleration for coding and rendering. You will notice a modest performance gain after acceleration if you have a powerful mid-range graphics card. The acceleration of a strong graphics card is much less striking.
Nvidia GPUs had the upper hand until recently because to CUDA acceleration, but AMD OpenCL now offers comparable productivity, even if Adobe apps are Nvidia-optimized. DaVinci Resolve is the lone exception, as its performance is dependent on how powerful your graphics processor is.
- • How can I increase the productivity of my laptop?
If you have a laptop, replacing the graphics card may be impossible. Only your desktop computer can be upgraded. However, by adding an external GPU to your laptop, you may boost the productivity of the in-built GPU (eGPU). You may use Thunderbolt to connect it and plug it in to power it. On some laptops, you can use two graphics cards at the same time.
