I'm new to PC building and content creation, but I have a gap year coming up and want to produce a lot of YouTube videos. I plan to use the free version of DaVinci Resolve, including Fusion if possible. Most of my projects will be video essays with voiceovers that may run longer than an hour, along with shorter real-life videos. I'd like the editing experience to be smooth rather than constantly limited by the hardware.
My budget is roughly £1,000–£1,700 for the computer, with some flexibility up to £2,000 if it would make a meaningful difference. I also need a basic monitor, microphone, keyboard, and headphones, though they only need to be practical rather than premium. I'm buying in the UK. Would a prebuilt system be the best option, and what specifications or components should I look for?
1 Answer
A prebuilt could make sense if you’re new to PCs, especially since your priority is getting started with creating rather than learning every part of the hardware first. For DaVinci Resolve and Fusion, prioritize an NVIDIA graphics card because Resolve benefits heavily from GPU acceleration. A system with an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or RTX 5070 would be a sensible target, with anything better being useful if it fits your budget. Also look for a modern multi-core processor, at least 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. Avoid paying extra for gaming-focused features you won’t use, but don’t cut corners on the GPU, memory, or storage.
Even if I choose a prebuilt, I’d like a rough specification to compare systems against. What other hardware should I be checking for?
That helps. Do you know which UK retailers are reliable for content-creation prebuilts? I’ve mainly found gaming systems that either seem unsuitable or include expensive parts I probably won’t need.