Best Computer for Premiere Pro 2024

Published on January 20, 2024

by Christopher Smith

As the editor and publisher of several books on Premiere Pro, and with responsibility in managing dozens of computers that have Premiere Pro installed, I am often asked: what is the best computer for Premiere Pro? Working with my expert colleagues at American Graphics Institute who also teach Premiere Pro courses, we've compiled a list of some of our favorite choices of computers for Premiere Pro, including laptops and desktops. Our suggestions are based on our experience managing computers running Premiere Pro, and we receive no benefit from any choice you might make in selecting a computer for Premiere Pro.

Best Computers for Premiere Pro 2024, Laptops and Desktops:

Apple MacBook Pro
Acer ConceptD
Acer Nitro 5
HP ZBook Fury
Microsoft Surface Studio 3
Microsoft Surface Studio Laptop
Apple Mac Pro
Apple Mac Studio

Mac or PC for Premiere Pro

We often also get asked the question: Is a Mac or Windows PC better for Premiere Pro? The answer is that both Mac and Windows computers can be great choices for Premiere Pro. Both the Mac and Windows versions of Premiere Pro are nearly identical. You don’t give-up anything when using Adobe Premiere Pro on either a Mac or Windows computer. This makes the Mac vs. Windows for Premiere Pro question much less relevant, and more a matter of personal choice.

There are more important questions if you are trying to decide between using Premiere Pro on either a Mac or Windows PC. Do you have an IT department that supports both Mac and Windows operating systems? If you are very comfortable with one operating system or the other, this should be your deciding factor.

At American Graphics Institute, both Mac OS and Windows computers are used for the various Premiere Pro courses, even within the same class. Although students pick the platform of their choice, once Premiere Pro has been launched, you can’t tell the difference between the Mac and Windows versions because Adobe makes their appearance and functionality identical.

We have found in our testing that the newer Mac computers with M2 processors run Premiere Pro quite well, even without dedicated graphics cards. In fact, these run equally well to the Windows computers that have dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) video cards.

Best Computers for Premiere Pro

Editing and creating using Premiere Pro requires a computer with four key components: a very fast processor, enough RAM memory, a large amount of fast storage, and an adequate video processor. If you are looking to use a laptop computer for Premiere Pro, most low-cost notebooks or laptops simply are not sufficient. You will need a higher-end laptop such as the MacBook Pro or Acer Nitro 5 which are well equipped in these key areas. You will want a computer with at least 16 GB of RAM memory, a dedicated video processor which is called a discrete GPU. If you are buying a desktop computer, the Mac Pro or Mac Studio systems are good choices, as are advanced systems often sold for gaming by companies such as Dell.

Choosing between a Desktop or Laptop computer for Premiere Pro

Well-equipped laptops and desktop computers can be suitable for Premiere Pro. If portability is important, than a high-powered laptop can be your choice. Make certain it has sufficient RAM memory, storage, and dedicated processor. Many laptops are also available with 17 inch displays, which are helpful because of the many panels used in Premiere Pro. In addition to the Surface Book 2 and MacBook Pro, the Acer Nitro 5, Acer ConceptD, and HP ZBook Fury are all good laptop choices for Premiere Pro. We do find screen size to be important, and suggest considering an external monitor display to use when working on page layouts or video editing projects. The HP ZBook Fury specifications for displays, along with choice of graphics cards, makes it an excellent choice for Premiere Pro work.

If portability is not critical for your video editing work, the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro are good choices for MacOS, as is the Microsoft Surface Studio 2 and Acer ConceptD. These include enough memory, processor speed, storage, and dedicated graphics. The Surface Studio 2 has the added benefit of touch and pen input. Many of these make use of modern graphics cards from NVIDIA, including the latest GeForce with dedicated graphics memory (GDDR5). When choosing storage options, a solid state hard drive (SSD) is preferred, as large files can open and be saved more quickly.

Overall there are many good choices for computers for Premiere Pro.

About the author

Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute. He is the co-author of Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies and more than 10 other books on design and digital publishing. He served as publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which has sold more than one million books on topics relating to InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro and other Creative Cloud apps. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers designers, and large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he also delivers Google Analytics classes along with workshops on digital marketing topics. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for more than 20 years.

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