Creator and production computers
Editing work is mostly waiting — for a file to open, a timeline to scrub, an export to finish. A machine for creative work is specified to shorten the waiting.
Storage speed is felt constantly
Video and photography work moves large files continuously. Scrubbing a timeline, opening a raw image, caching previews — all of it is storage work, and it is the part of the day you actually feel. A fast drive changes the experience of editing more than almost any other single component.
The usual arrangement is fast storage for the project you are working on now and larger, cheaper storage for everything finished. That is a workflow decision as much as a hardware one, and worth settling before buying.
Memory decides how large a project can get
Editing applications hold a great deal in memory: the timeline, previews, effects, and whatever else is open. When memory runs short the application starts using storage as overflow and everything becomes intermittent — the specific frustration of an editor that is fine for twenty minutes and then is not.
Higher resolution footage and longer projects both raise the requirement, so specify for the most demanding project you expect rather than the one on the desk today.
Colour work needs a screen decision too
If colour accuracy matters to the output, the screen is part of the specification rather than an accessory. A machine that renders colour correctly into a display that does not is a machine producing work you cannot judge.
We will discuss this honestly: for a great deal of creative work an ordinary good screen is entirely sufficient, and the money is better spent on storage and memory.
Common questions
What matters most for video editing?
Do I need a separate graphics card for photo editing?
Can you set up a machine with a fast working drive and bulk storage?
Related reading
Storage and memory
Workstations
Custom PCs
Build for your workflow
Describe what you edit and how you store it, and we will propose a specification.