Which video editing software is best for my system?

[ABtheactor]

Because of my interest in acting, video games, new media, etc, I love creating YouTube video concepts. However, in order to make my concepts a reality, I've had to develop a love-hate relationship with video editing. SO far, I've mainly used Pinnacle Studio 14 Ultimate on a crummy laptop. I have since built a desktop pc with an AMD FX-6300 processor and a 2GB Nvidia 650 Ti graphics card, so I now believe I have sufficient hardware to properly handle video-editing. Unfortunately, Studio 14 has suddenly stopped working for me, and I've exhausted every option I had to try and make it work again to no avail. This leaves me no choice but to either upgrade to 17 Plus or Ultimate, or simply switch to a new editing software. I'm no expert, but I've become decent with using Pinnacle Studio. I'd say I'm most familiar with Pinnacle's interface, but if a new software's interface is intuitive enough, I could probably learn it. Having a lot of features is important to me. I used chroma-key quite a bit with Pinnacle, though I felt what I could do with it was limited by the software. Overall, I feel like the more video effects, the better, so long as it isn't extremely complicated (for an extreme example, I probably couldn't create a CGI character in a live-action film). But back to my main point: What is the best software for my specs? The sooner you can answer, the better. (Since my processor is a 6-core AMD, multi-threading is a plus).

 

[ABtheactor]

So far, I'm leaning towards either Pinnacle 17 or PowerDirector 12

 

[kenrivers]

Either one of those should work for you. Another one to consider might be Corel VideoStudio X7 or for a little bit more VideoStudio X7 Ultimate. If you would like to try the consumer version of Premiere you could try Premiere Elements. It is available for purchase and does not require a subscription. Premiere Pro CC (subscription based) might be more than you need or want.
You could also download trial versions of the two you mentioned and see which one works best for you.

 

[garryash]

I have been using pinnacle studios from 9 up to 15 and have found they get better with each new version. I run 15 at the moment but have tried 16 and found it slightly better than 15 but couldn't justify the expense. Have not been able to try 17 yet as they haven't put out a trial version yet. However - reading their forums they do seem to be having a few problems with it as it is a new version rather than a revamp. That said, don't be put off before you check the forums as for the price it seems a good choice.( http/forums.pinnaclesys.com/forums/default.aspx ).
Good luck.

 

[Gripps]

Corel VideoStudio Pro x7 now comes in 64bit. Has a screen capture option, all be it not the best but can set frame rate down to 15fps for game capture.

HitFilm 2 Ultimate, this is my favorite right now, NLE with visual effects editor.

Pinnacle 17 has some great plugins. Pinnacle I personally found render slow, proxy option was poor.

An over looked editor is Roxio Creator, for the price it compares to VideoStudio.

Then you have Camtasia, although main purpose is screen capture, it can edit quite effectively, zoom on time line is best by far. Support multiple tracks with full HD.

Sony Vegas Pro and Premiere Pro both excellent does everything you will ever need, but comes with a price.

For professional and industry preferred is Avid Media Composer 7, probably and over kill for what you need. Steep learning curve.

There are many more here is a great comparison list http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_editing_software

Video editor are resource hungry more than gaming.