A (Not Very Complicated) Guide on Building Your Own Video Editing PC

Hold on...let me catch my breath.

For someone like me who is 90% computer illiterate, just reading that lede sets me into a full-blown panic attack.

And that's why I'm the perfect person to write this article, as opposed to someone who has actually built their own video editing PC and knows what they're talking about, because while that literate 10% has a general understanding of the different components a computer needs to function, the slouchy 90% understands how daunting a task it can appear to be to pretty much anyone who has never put those components together to create a metal box full o' magic before.

And according to every person I've ever talked to who has built a computer before (except maybe that one guy), it's apparently not as complicated as it seems. That's certainly the message I get from Shutterstock's Robbie Janney.

In this tutorial, Janney explains what all the necessary components are and what they do, provides you with high-end and budget parts lists, and then finally walks you through the entire build.

So, why can't you just go buy a computer at a store like a normal person?

Well, you can. I do. And I've never had a problem editing on any machine I've ever had.

However, let's be completely transparent here. Not only did I spend a ridiculous amount of money on all 4 of my Macs over the course of 10 years, but my export and rendering times are and have always been kind of unimpressive, as well. And little ol' me isn't overloading my CPU with 3D, 360, 8K, or even 4K workflows. 

Building your own PC can not only save you money, but it'll allow you to tailor your specs to exactly what you need, as well as futureproof your machine against the long, exciting-but-also-kind-of-annoying trudge through technological advancement.

If you really are interested in building your own video editing PC, check out Shutterstock's full post to get a peek at their parts lists: one geared toward pros looking for plenty of power under the hood and one geared toward the budget-conscious video editor...which is super helpful.

Source: Shutterstock Tutorials