Is GPU Important for 4k Video Editing? | Rendering and Playback Benchmarks

Is GPU important for video editing? When it comes to rendering video footage the GPU works together with the CPU to provide smooth playback and fast rendering. ►⏩►⏩ Check the description below for my video editing laptop recommendations.

Is GPU important for video editing? In this video, I am going to discuss the role of the graphics processing unit in video editing as well as look at some benchmarks from Premiere Pro, video editing 4k footage.

The reason the GPU can handle this amount of visual information is due to the number of cores it contains:

GTX 1050 has 640 cores (768 cores for 1050 Ti)
GTX 1060 3GB has 1152 cores (1280 cores for 6GB version)
GTX 1070 has 1920 cores
GTX 1080 has 2560 cores (1080 Ti has 3584 cores)

So with a lower-end GPU containing 640 -770 cores. This allows the GPU to execute what is referred to as parallel processing through a technique NVIDIA developed called CUDA cores. So rather than a CPU having 6 main powerful cores that attack operations one at a time the GPU attacks many many many more computational tasks at once. More cores = more workers.

So basically the CPU is like the general contractor planning the building of a large Dam and the GPU is the 750 workers all working at the same time to get the Dam up in a fraction of the time it would take the G.C. if he tried to do it by himself. GPUs are best used on visual tasks which is why we see there effect so prominent in video editing.

Ok now that we have a better understanding of what the GPU is, what it is made of, and how it works let’s look at how it performs during video editing.

Before we dive into the tests if you are curious about my recommendations I have listed a few in the description below.

I am going to be using a Gigabyte Aero 15 (i7-9750H, 16GB RAM, RTX 2070 Max-Q)
I have a 9-minute 4k Premiere Pro project with talking head and B-Roll footage. With CUDA cores optimization enabled you can see that the 4k Playback is really smooth. As the timeline begins to play the CPU is sending a task to the GPU to render and display the 4k footage on the timeline. It is handling it exceptionally.

Ok, now I am going to show you what happens when we switch off the GPU. As you see the timeline nearly comes to a halt. With the CPU running at nearly full bore it can’t keep up with the task. There are too many mathematical calculations for the CPU to keep up with, something that the parallel CUDA cores in the GPU can handle with great ease.

Now let’s turn on the CUDA cores again and do a quick render test:
3:25 to render out 7240 frames with GPU support (CUDA cores) turned on
28:06 to render the entire 19-minute project with no GPU support

I also ran these same tests with my 2017 Dell XPS 15 (i7-7700HQ, 32GB RAM, GTX 1050) to provide an example of what an entry-level GPU can accomplish regarding 4k timeline playback and rendering.

With the CUDA cores turned on the 4k playback in the timeline is smooth, but as the CPU begins to heat up it begins to throttle. This causes the timeline to become jumpy and inconsistent. The throttle of the CPU decreases the CPUs ability to quickly send the GPU the information it needs to accomplish its task. As you see the GPU becomes underutilized as the CPU starts to throttle. When we first started the playback, before the CPU heated up, the GPU was bouncing around 65% - 80% utilization. But now that the CPU is throttle it sits much lower.

Ok, now let’s take a look at how this system handles rendering,

5:53 to render out 7240 frames with GPU support (CUDA cores) turned on
1 Hour + 15 minutes to render the entire 19-minute project with no GPU support

As you can see it is important to consider both components when purchasing a laptop or desktop computer for video editing. It is not enough to get either a powerful GPU or a powerful CPU. Having an equally powerful CPU and GPU will yield optimal performance out of each component.

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[Wachueu]

Woah, i am impressed how professional this video is. Its a shame that it has only few views.. Thank you for explanation.

[jinkim]

I learned a lot from the video and made my mind switching from a laptop to a desktop for a video editing

[aaronramos]

your deserve more subs, it is very helpful that theres a channel that talks about tools for editors. keep up the nice work!

[NeilBradleyMS]

Thank you for explaining perfectly how the GPU is utilised during the video editing process. I've recently built a new PC and I'm in the process of researching a graphics card to buy but I don't want to spend a fortune on a high end one. Cheers - Neil (UK).

[TerrelLism]

Thanks. I'm building my first computer. I do video editing and so many builds are focused on gaming. This is more in line with the info I need. I'm going AMD Ryzen 7 3700. I have all of the parts except the GPU (out of stock). I wanted a 1660 super for 1080 and some 4k editing. Wasn't sure if I should go with the 1660 super or a 20 series. I use power director.

[DBringerStreams]

I am as of now still using the onboard GPU of my processor in editing videos in 4K. If you have a powerful enough processor, it's not a necessity. Of course there's lags, but the lags are tolerable.

Still though, having a GPU separate from the processor is still better which is why I am saving money to get one soon.

[AdityaVardhanSingh]

Thanks for explaining this, I was so confused about all this. Keep it up!

[FinancialFaiz]

Thanks for the vid! Its been helpful! But let's say I have a CPU that may not be throttled down due to the cold room conditions (it's a 4770K), can I pair it with, say GT1030 2GB and make use of its CUDA cores for upgraded timeline + rendering performance? Currently the project setting is set to using "software". I am using Premier Pro

[captainpicard]

Don't let hardware to limit what you want to do. II edit 1080p videos on Premiere Pro with color grade and graphics on a i5- 3337U with HD4000. I also do interior and product design on SketchUp and Fusion 360. Rendering a video takes 1x to 10x the duration of the video, depending on how much effects I use. I edited 4K once, it's not smooth but it's possible with no color grade. Keep in mind the preview window is always set to 1/4.

[HedgehogYK]

That's a little interesting considering Purevideo's a thing. Purevideo decodes videos while CUDA encodes but I guess since CUDA cores are essentially pipelines, it would have to be used to scrub smoothly.

[daviddurrani]

Fantastic video. Only video that clearly demonstrated and answered this question.

[raiyu]

This is the first time I saw this channel and this is the first video I've watch. I subbed. And no offense to Linus Tech Tips, but I prefer this guy because I feel watching a computer course.

[imushazu]

Wow! Your explanation is super clear and easy to understand. Feels like everything you taught is all i needed to know. Thank you for making things clear for me 👍🏻

[BrunoDarcoletoMalavolta]

Hello, my friend. Thank you for the video. I also edit in premiere. What upgrade would you recomend?

I now have a 5600X + 32GB 3600 RAM + 6700XT

Upgrade 1.
5900XT + 7900XTX (keep the MOBO and RAM)

Upgrade 2.
9900X + 64GB 5600 RAM (keep the 6700XT)

[probilmusic]

brooo i just learned a lot on this video, I been looking for a video on YouTube explaining the role of gpu in video editing. some people don't even discuss the topic end up saying things that don't make sense

[LuluandMurdoch]

You are the first person that I have seen show how long it takes for a video edit to complete without the GPU and with. I have learned more in this video than the other 100 videos that I’ve seen in the past week as I am trying to find a GPU that will give me 1440 P Gaming and 4K video editing in 10 bit color as I have the benq sw271 if you have any recommendations please let me know what you think as I was going to get the Nvidia 2060 super as it is $400 at Best Buy although that seemed a bit excessive and do you thing the aftermarket or 3rd party versions with more fans are better... as you see I have endless questions thankyou for the video I will be subscribing☝️

[pauldavidschwartz]

Planning to buy a Lenovo laptop for video editing which I need to carry around. Looking for advice on whether a Lenovo X1 extreme is sensible (Intel i9; 32 GB DDR4 2933MHz; : 2 TB PCIe SSD, OPALl NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650Ti 4GB MaxQ) or whether I should accept a heavier and bigger machine and go with a Lenovo P15 workstation to get a better GPU, and if so whether to go with NVIDIA RTX A2000, 4GB GDDR6, NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q 4GB, or something else.

[mbis]

Hey, thanks for the vid. Which is faster for photoshop, illustrator? Blender, im trying to upgrade but at low cost. Gtx 1050 ti or gtx 1660 super? If im going for 1660 super i need to buy a psu too. Right now im using ryzen 5 2400g, b350m gaming pro, 8x2 2400mhz ram. I want my illustrator to be smooth and to be able run sketchup nicely at low cost.

[StandBuyProductions]

Hi mate great video.
Do you think i can edit 4k footage on this Lenovo Laptop? It has an I7 10th gen + an 1650TI in it: Lenovo ThinkBook 15p 20V3000AGE

Or would be the MSI prestige 15 enough with an 1650 in it?

[bambanx]

1146 views, put more likes folks to help channels like this with great content