Updated on August 14, 2022
Even action cameras and smartphones will be able to record videos in 4K and 60fps in 2021, making the need for professional equipment obsolete. If your computer’s graphics card isn’t equal to the challenge of editing high-resolution video files, the process can be difficult and time-consuming.
Graphics cards are becoming increasingly significant in video editing and rendering as software applications move away from being completely CPU dependent. As a result, if you’re looking for a technique to avoid choppy playback or reduce the amount of time you spend on generating 4K footage, this post is for you. We’ll walk you through some of the finest graphics cards for 4K video editing and rendering.
Top 5 Graphics Cards for 4K Video Editing and Rendering
AMD and Nvidia are your only options if you want a high-end graphics card. For video editors dealing with massive high-resolution video files, AMD’s latest line of graphics cards has been an obvious alternative to Nvidia. Here are the five best graphics for 4K video processing and rendering in 2021, based on our testing and research.
1. Asus AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
Amazon’s cost is $424.99.
Pros
8 GB of GDDR6 video memory
H.264 4K decoding and encoding formats are supported.
Provides a superior VR-ready solution.
Smart sharpening technology has several drawbacks
Potential for overclocking is meagre.
To help gamers, animators, and video editors get the most out of their systems’ video output, AMD has built this graphics card. To minimise lag and enhance the gaming experience, the 7nm RDNA architecture of the graphics card features 40 compute units. In addition, the RDNA architecture improves the Radeon Image Sharpening, VR, and FidelityFX technologies, ensuring that every aspect of a 4K movie is faithfully portrayed.
Connect up to six displays to the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT so you can play games in 8K resolution at 60 fps or display 5K visuals at 120 fps with this graphics card. With PCI 4.0 express, this graphics card offers bandwidth that is up to twice as large as that of PCI 3.0 express graphics cards.
2. Gigabyte AMD Radeon VII
Amazon has a price of $449.99.
Pros
1 terabyte of data transfer per second
Excellent ability to overclock
Having a 4096-bit memory capacity
It is compatible with both 4K and 8K displays
Cons
Power consumption is approximately 300 watts.
AMD Radeon VII is arguably the best graphics card you can acquire in 2020 if you are editing film taken in 4K or 8K resolution. This graphics card features 16GB of VRAM with a clock speed of 1,800MHz. The card’s performance is increased by 25% thanks to the 7nm architecture, allowing you to handle even the most demanding video editing tasks and video games. Radeon VII performs brilliantly in the gaming department even if it doesn’t feature ray tracing units. The Radeon VII only has a PCIe 3.0 connector, which limits the speed of connected devices even though the third generation of Ryzen processors supports PCIe 4.0 technology.
3. EVGA Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super
On Amazon, the price is $589.55.
Pros
Ray tracing in real time.
Cons: 8192 MB GDDR6 RAM, 1770 MHz boost clock, with silent dual HDB fans
Features are the only thing that matters. Your 4K films will be rendered faster, and you’ll be able to play the latest video games in real time thanks to the PCIe 3.0 RTX 2070 Super’s support for 3D animation and rendering. Turing GPU design is powered by a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) that can boost graphics card performance by a factor of six. As an added bonus, the card’s AI can handle huge workloads thanks to the dedicated RT cores and parallel processing capabilities. Smooth playback of 4K videos and quick rendering of huge video files are ensured by the memory’s 14Gbps speed. A hardware encoder built into the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super makes it possible to stream games in real time without experiencing lag.
4. Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition
The cost is $799.0
Pros:
Cooling system that excels in ray tracing and provides DLSS for yet-to-be-released games
Speedy resync
Cons:
Overpriced compared to comparable models
The GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition graphics card makes it easier to edit 4K footage shot with smartphones, action cameras, and professional video cameras. Additional features include an 1800MHz boost clock and 2944 CUDA cores, as well as 8GB of GDDR6 memory. In other words, you can play both 4K and 8K videos on your PC using the dedicated graphics card you get when you buy the GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition. In order to increase your computer’s 4K video editing capability, this card comes equipped with standard display, HDMI, and USB Type-C interfaces.
5. EVGA Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super
Cost: $699.00
Pros
Exceptional overclocking ability A total of 3072 CUDA cores are available.
Allows for the connection of up to four displays
Cons: Low power use
Video editors and gamers are the only ones who will benefit from this software.
If you’re looking for a graphics card that can playback 8K footage and make editing 4K videos look simple, look no further. While editing large quantities of 4K video files or creating massive 3D animations, the GeForce RTX 2080, like all of Nvidia’s RTX Super Series models, delivers remarkable performance.
Because of its real-time ray tracing capabilities, the GeForce RTX 2080 is an excellent choice for gaming and live streaming, allowing you to play the latest titles at their highest settings. You may begin playing games right away after installing this graphics card on your computer because it is VR-ready and has game-ready drivers.
Background Information about Graphics Cards
The amount of time it will take to edit a project shot in 4K depends on the computer configuration you are utilising. A computer’s GPU can greatly reduce rendering times or improve the playback of huge 4K files, despite the fact that CPUs still play a key role in video playback. So, to give you some context, here are some facts about graphics cards.
What is a Graphics Card?
The visuals you see on your screen or other display are generated by the graphics card or video card in your computer. Even the most basic apps, such as word processors and web browsers, are practically impossible to operate without a graphics card..
What Is the Most Popular Graphics Card on the Market?
Desktop and mobile graphics cards are the two most common types of graphics cards. You can edit photographs, view and edit films, and play video games on most computers thanks to an integrated graphics card that’s built in. It takes longer for the computer to do demanding tasks since the CPU and GPU on the same chip might occasionally limit each other’s capabilities.
Computer lag can be eliminated with the use of a dedicated graphics card. As a result, when editing video, the processor and RAM of a dedicated graphics card run more quickly and smoothly.
The amount of time you spend on your computer will have a significant impact on whether or not you should get a dedicated graphics card. For most people, the built-in graphics card can be used for basic photo and video editing.
In contrast, if you’re an animator, video editor, or just want to play the latest games at their highest resolution, you’ll want a specialised graphics card.
Are Graphics Cards Worth the Money?
Many different types are available for those who need a specialised graphics card. The right one may necessitate some time and research on your part. Before purchasing a dedicated graphics card, consider your computer’s requirements and other variables.
Draws an enormous quantity of energy. 2. A reliable power supply helps prevent system failures and hardware issues in any computer arrangement. Power consumption for graphics cards can range from 120 to 300 Watts, says the firm. If your computer has a high-end graphics card, it needs a power supply that can keep up with it.
Reduced temperature is a secondary effect.
It’s a good idea to verify the cooling capabilities of a graphics card before you buy it to be sure it won’t overheat and damage your computer. Make sure the graphics card you’re considering has quiet cooling fans because dedicated graphics cards often have loud cooling fans.
Amount
If a dedicated graphics card is between 10.5 and 11 inches long, it can fit into two or three expansion slots. First, you need to know how many expansion slots your computer has and how big the graphics card is.
If you’re playing with a lot of cards,
Due to the fact that two or more graphics cards may take up a large portion of the available space on your computer, multi-card scaling is not always possible. CrossFire X and NVLink can be used to link AMD and Nvidia graphics cards, but other architectures are not supported.
