Best Graphics Cards For Video Editing And Rendering

While today’s graphics cards are swifter than ever, video editing and rendering can still be demanding tasks, even for a high-end PC. As hardware technology advances, so does software and the standards for renders or videos.

To do any rendering or editing, you will need the hardware to back that up. A swifter GPU means you will waste less time processing/rendering/finalizing your project.

These days, you can either use the CPU or the GPU (or both). However, some programs, like Adobe Premiere, prefer the CPU for most of the work and use the GPU for specific tasks like color correction, stabilization, blur, etc.

Other programs, like Vegas or DaVinci Resolve, depend more on the GPU.

So, if you believe you will be doing the majority of your work on Vegas Pro, Blender, or DaVinci, here’s a list of some of the finest graphics cards for rendering and video editing.

Let’s have a glance!

Things To Consider When Choosing A GPU For Rendering Or Video Editing

Before we can start listing various GPUs, you will have to consider several elements that will influence your experience.

Price

First and foremost is the pricing. To optimize your time as efficiently as possible, you will need a rapid GPU. A high-end graphics card usually costs well over $700, so make sure you have your wallet prepared.

When on a budget, you can get several GPUs for under $200-300, but understand that the performance will not be equivalent.

VRAM

Even if you are using a software that gives importance to the CPU, it is still crucial to have a GPU with more Video RAM Memory or VRAM. VRAM enables users to handle high-quality images while keeping loading times short and swift.

If you are on a GPU with 2GB VRAM or less, you will have trouble rendering.

Interface/Display Ports

We understand that there are many individuals in the 3D modeling sector who cannot operate without a minimum of three monitors. Therefore, please confirm whether the GPU has adequate HDMI or DP ports for your setup.

Power Usage/TDP

Rendering software like Unity, Blender, Maya, or Cinema 4D can utilize 100% of the GPU. When the GPU is at its maximum, it can start drawing some substantial power.

So, if you don’t want to end up with enormous electricity bills, it may be a wise idea to consider the power usage of a graphics card which is why we listed the TDP under the name of every GPU.

Performance

Last, but certainly not least, is the performance of the card. The ideal way to figure out the performance of one card compared to another is through benchmarks. You can’t exactly compare them with raw numbers/specifications.

With every GPU, we’ll share productivity-related benchmarks so your final decision-making can be a bit easier.

For anyone on a budget, MSI’s GTX 1660 Super Gaming X should certainly be considered. It may have been released back in 2019 and isn’t part of the RTX lineup, but it’s still a capable card, especially if you consider its economical price.

The MSRP of the GTX 1660 Super was around $230, but over the years, its usual price dropped to about $150.

Its price is not the only thing that makes this GPU an enticing offer. The fact that it is a 125W TDP card with four display ports and 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM makes this card a feasible option.

Additionally, the 1660 Super is capable of some gaming once you are finished with working.

Productivity Performance

After benchmarking the GTX 1660 Super, Linus Tech Tips found that the card offers pretty good productivity performance.

It is marginally slower, which is quite a bit more expensive (now worth it), and on part with the GTX 1070, a card with 8GB of VRAM.

We see the same trend in V-Ray, except that it surpasses the 1660 Ti too.

The ASUS ROG Strix is the greatest RTX 3060 Ti variant out there. The RTX 3060 Ti is also the optimal value graphics card for rendering. It has an MSRP of $400, and you can find it roughly at the same cost.

It has 8GB of VRAM and is remarkably fast in rendering, video editing, and gaming. It has a higher power draw, at 200W, and it’s a bit larger in size because of the STRIX cooler. However, it also has 3 DisplayPort 1.4a and 2 HDMI 2.1.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t get the 12GB VRAM treatment like the RTX 3060, but it’s still an overall better GPU even with less VRAM.

Productivity Performance

Performance-wise, the RTX 3060 Ti is an absolute powerhouse.

Within this Linus Tech Tips video, the benchmark shows the RTX 3060 Ti surpassing its predecessor’s flagship by a significant margin.

This $400 GPU is near to the $500 RTX 3070 Ti and even the $700 RTX 3080.

This is the ideal GPU for video editing and rendering for people who don’t feel comfortable spending thousands of dollars on a GPU.

The RTX 3070 is undeniably one of the swiftest consumer GPUs in the world. And, for that extra performance, the Gaming X Trio is the best aftermarket 3070.

MSRP of the RTX 3070 is $500, but because of the heightened demand, it has sustained its price.

It does not have more VRAM than the RTX 3060 Ti; it’s slightly larger and draws 240W of power. And while it could use a bit more VRAM for both rendering and gaming, it’s still a powerhouse.

Productivity Performance

We will try to remain consistent with Linus Tech Tips’ exact benchmarks in Blender or V-Ray for an accurate comparison.

In Blender, the RTX 3070 is consistently up there with the leading 5 consumer GPUs. Even the RTX 3070 Ti, which is about $100 more costly, ends up performing worse than the original 3070.

The only GPUs surpassing it are the RTX 3080/Ti and RTX 3090/Ti. Yes, the RX 6800 XT does provide a superior score in this benchmark above, but AMD cards are often inferior with rendering software, so it’s best to stick with NVIDIA.

The RTX 3080 is the threshold when things start to get costly. The MSRP of this graphics card is $700, but this STRIX variant will most likely cost more than the retail price, considering it’s the best RTX 3080.

Because it is a STRIX, it gets 2 HDMI 2.1 and 3 DisplayPort 1.4a, just like the RTX 3060 Ti. Additionally, this 12GB version of the 3080 can give you a slight advantage when rendering or video editing.

It also draws significantly more energy (320W TDP) than the other GPUs referenced.

However, even though we’re getting into the costly segment of graphics cards, the 3080 might well be worth it because of its exceptional performance.

Productivity Performance

Here’s the 3080 against the 3090 and 3080 Ti in Blender 2.92 (CUDA):

Compared to the chart with the RTX 3070, the 3080 comes out at least 30% quicker. It’s also marginally slower than the 3080 Ti and the RTX 3090.

However, the 3090 has an MSRP of $1500 and typically sells well above that. The 3080 Ti also sells for more than $1200. So, in reality, You won’t get a lot of supplementary performance for that extra money.

The 3090 and 3080 Ti pull ahead in V-Ray, but the 3080 is still more than capable!

The RTX 3090 is NVIDIA’s most impressive achievement in the gaming/consumer GPU sector. It was their fastest graphics card until the RTX 3090 Ti was released. Still, the Ti is based on the original 3090, so it’s the same card with higher clocks.

And again, benchmarks show that the Strix is the finest version of the RTX 3090.

What makes this GPU so suitable for rendering or video editing is the fact that it has 24GB of GDDR6X memory. That is twice that of the 3080. In other words, you will never have any VRAM-related problems with this GPU.

However, this does not come without any disadvantages. The card has a tremendous amount of memory, and it’s remarkably fast, but it also draws immense power from the socket. With 350W TDP, you will probably notice a surge in your electricity bill.

Either way, let’s examine some efficiency numbers.

Productivity Performance

The RTX 3090 runs almost twice as quick as its predecessor, the Titan RTX. But, compared to its little brother, the RTX 3080, it’s about 20% faster.

That isn’t negligible, but is $800+ worth it for 20% less time spent rendering? If your wallet can support this kind of purchase, absolutely! Instead of spending 10 hours waiting for a render with a 3080, you can spend just 8 hours waiting when using an RTX 3090. Time is money, right?

But, if you are considering spending additional cash to purchase the RTX 3090 Ti, don’t do it.

The difference here in rendering performance is well under 5%, so there’s really no motivation to spend $500 more for a GPU. Instead, you could invest those $500 into a faster CPU, more RAM, better cooling, or a motherboard with more PCIe lanes.

Honorable Mentions

Above are four RTX 3000 (and one GTX) GPUs that either provide a reliable price-per-performance or offer one of the best rendering speeds.

He avoided adding AMD GPUs to the list because most of the available rendering software attainable is

However, there are also a multitude of other older generation graphics cards or AMD that can satisfy your rendering needs.

We didn’t add any AMD GPUs to the list because most of the rendering software isn’t optimized for AMD. But, when they do operate (like in OpenCL Blender), they can even exceed RTX cards.

Here are several of them:

• RX 6900 XT/6950 XT – AMD’s two flagship GPUsthat can bring performance on par with an RTX 3090 while costing around $500 less.
• RX 6800 XT – A GPU comparable to the RTX 3080 for around $650. It has 16GB of VRAM, just like the 6900 XT and 6950 XT.
• RX 6800 – Slightly faster than the 3070, but a $580 MSRP. If you can find this one for less than $500, it’s a good deal. Also has 16GB of GDDR6 memory.
• RTX 2080 – Performance comparable to the 3070, but it’s possible to get it for around $400 (second-hand). Unfortunately, it’s limited to only 8GB of VRAM.
• RX 6700 XT – A $480 MSRP, but considerably slower than the RTX 3070. The only strong point is that you may find it for less than $450 and that it has 12GB GDDR6.

Final Words

Whichever GPU you pick from this list, you will get hardware capable of delivering swift video editing or rendering times. Of course, which one of these you get depends entirely on your budget.

We suggest going for the RTX 3060 Ti as it offers the best value for your money. If you have extra money left, invest it in other parts of your PC.

The RTX 3070 is also a decent value product but will consume a little bit more power.

If you are cash-limited, it’s best to get the GTX 1660 Super as it provides “adequate” rendering performance.

Consider the RTX 3090 or 3080 if you have a bigger budget prepared.

If you’re interested in something even speedier or more powerful, it might be a good idea to wait for the RTX 4000 and RDNA 3 GPUs.