Best Budget Desktops for Video Editing in 2023

• GPU
  • GeForce GTX 1660 Super
• CPU
  • Intel Core i5-10400
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage
  • 256 SSD

Review

The Dell XPS 8940 Tower Desktop PC doesn’t look like much and it’s not supposed to. This PC is meant to be more of a workstation PC for content creation such as light video editing, graphic design and so on.

In the gaming aspect of this PC, the CPU and GPU are not properly balanced, don’t get me wrong, there are no bottlenecks in this system. The i5-10400 is more than enough for the GTX 1660 Super, but in a gaming PC, you would usually find a 10th generation Core i3-10100F instead of an i5. It would be much better for gaming, but unfortunately, we are talking about video editing here, so the i5 is going to be the better CPU.

The GPU isn’t half bad either. Most budget gamers love the GTX 1660 Super because it’s right up there between the low-range and mid-range. It’s perfect for gaming but it will start to get really cranky when you push it up into 4K territory. The 6GB VRAM is impressive but it won’t do much in the long term since the GTX 1660 Super cannot perform well in 4K.

Considering the storage options, this prebuilt only comes with a 256GB SSD. So you’re going to have to spend extra on getting a 1TB or 2TB HDD for your video editing needs. The RAM is also not enough for 4K video editing.

• GPU
  • GeForce GTX 1080
• CPU
  • Intel Core i7-7700K
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  • 2400 MHz
• Storage
  • 256 PCIe SSD

Review

The Eluktronics 34 CURVED AIO Gaming PC looks very impressive. Right off the bat you get the monitor itself, a 34” WQHD (Widescreen Quad High Definition) that supports 3440×1440 maximum resolution. Great for gaming at 60Hz 1440p. The monitor provides such a large amount of real estate that it’s going to be a breeze doing gaming and editing work.

Now the specs aren’t what it’s all hyped up to be. Because they prioritized on the monitor, they did have to skimp out on the CPU and GPU. In this case they are opting to go along with an older seventh generation i7, the Intel Core i7-7700K. Even though the eyes of youth are long gone in this CPU, it is still very capable with it’s 4 cores, 8 threads and a 4.2 GHz base clock speed.

The GPU doesn’t look like much but it’s the perfect combination for the Core i7-7700K. From the photos, it seems like the GPU is an EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 (which is also one of our recommended GPUs for Ryzen 5 3600X). If that is the case, then this combination of CPU and GPU are going to be amazing to game with, at 1080p.

Regarding the storage options and RAM, although it does come with a 256GB SSD you have enough space to install another HDD.

Unfortunately the motherboard is a Mini-ITX so you won’t be able to utilize 4 DIMM slots as these two DIMM slots are already taken up by 2 x 4 GB G.Skill RAM sticks.

• GPU
  • GeForce GTX 1050
• CPU
  • Intel Core i5-10400F
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  • 2666 MHz
• Storage
  • 256 PCIe SSD
  • 1 TB HDD

Review

Another great desktop by HP. These guys are killing it on the budget scene. The specs are decent enough for gaming at 1080p and for light editing work. You won’t have any ultra-high 4K performance, but it’s good enough for this budget niche.

The Core i5-10400F is the contemporary team blue standard when it comes to mid-range PCs. The 6 cores and 12 threads at 2.9 GHz base clock speed is enough for 1080p gaming and video editing. When coupled with a more powerful GPU (better than the GTX 1050) you could edit 4K videos at a very comfortable pace.

So as you can see, the GPU is not the best, but for this price point and under these current conditions, this is the most optimal solution. You will have to move on to a better GPU in the future, something like a RTX 2080-Ti by ROG.

The RAM would also need to be upgraded to 16GB, and fortunately, you can save up a few extra dollars because you won’t have to get an HDD, as this desktop provides you with 1TB HDD and 256GB SSD, right off the bat.

• GPU
  • Radeon Pro 555X
• CPU
  • Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage
  • 256 GB SSD

Review

You know it’s about to get intense when we have an iMac competing against PCs. Although you won’t use it for serious gaming, the video editing capabilities on the iMac is insane. Better than many of the budget options we have been talking about. Although it is by no means a “budget” option, it does sacrifice most of its versatility in favor of performance.

The Apple M1 chip is entirely different from many of the CPUs that we are most familiar with. Therefore, comparing these would not be a very accurate assessment. But just for the sake of simplicity, the Apple M1 chip would be equivalent to something like the Ryzen 9 series, in terms of performance.

• GPU
  •  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
• CPU
  • Intel Core i5-9400F
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
• Storage
  • 120 GB SSD
  • 1 TB HDD

Review

After all that unpleasantness with the iMac, let’s move on to a more friendlier setup. The CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme is a great PC that will cater to most of your video editing needs. You might experience some sluggish performance when working with 4K, but in lower resolutions it will work effortlessly.

The CPU is an Intel Core i5-9400F with 6 cores and 6 threads running at 2.9 GHz base clock speed. It might not seem like a lot but this is a very decent CPU. It’s great for gaming and good enough for video editing.

The GPU is one we all recognize, the GTX 1660. Unfortunately, this is the vanilla GTX 1660 so it’s about 30% slower than the Super. This might not be amazing but considering the current GPU situation, this might be good enough for some people.

The motherboard looks like a Micro-ATX with only one RAM stick. You could install a new set of 16GB RAM sticks or another 8 GB stick if you find the exact same model. There’s no rush to update the storage as you’ve got a 120GB SSD and a 1TB HDD.

• GPU
  • GeForce GTX 1060
• CPU
  • Intel Core i5-8400
• RAM
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  • 2666 MHz
• Storage
  • 256 SSD

Review

Now the specs on this desktop might not be all that impressive, but the real reason I included these HP Pavilion Desktop PCs is because HP provides a lot of options to customize the specs on this PC. These specs shown above are only the “starter pack” given by HP. Their official website provides a lot of options to switch up most of the performance specs in your desired prebuild, such as the CPU, GPU, RAM and storage.

For example, if you feel like the entry-level specs are not good enough, you have the option to choose between Core i5, Ryzen 5, Core i7 and Ryzen 7 CPUs. A similar range applies to the GPUs as well (The GTX 1660, RTX 2060 and RTX 3060 are the available options). Along with that, you can pick the amount of RAM, storage and PSU capacity. (450W or 500W)

HP has done a great job of letting the user customize their prebuilt in a very intuitive manner. They don’t provide a ton of options, but just enough, so that beginners and experts can easily understand and pick what they please.

The entry level storage options are the typical 256GB SSD. You have the choice to go for a 512GB or 1TB SSD and there’s also the chance to add secondary 1TB or 2 TB HDD. In terms of RAM you’ve got the option between 16GB (8×2) or 32 GB (16×2).

There’s also a complimentary keyboard and mouse with the option to go full wireless and a host of other optional software such as McAfee, Microsoft office along with tech support plans and warranty plans.