What PC or Mac is best for my Editing application
For optimal video editing performance, a high-powered computer, either a PC or a Mac, is recommended. The best choice depends on your budget, workflow, and specific software preferences. Apple's M-series chips (M4, M3, M2) offer excellent performance and power efficiency, making recent MacBook Pros and Mac Minis strong contenders. Windows PCs, particularly those with high-end GPUs and powerful processors, can also deliver exceptional results, especially for more demanding projects.
But what do Avid, BlackMagic and Adobe recommend?
There is no one size fits all solution. Every project and timeline can have unique requirements. Avid generally prefers fast processors, BlackMagic Resolve can utilise dual GPU cards. Adobe Premier Pro likes to have lots of RAM and fast SSD’s for caching.
BlackMagic Resolve
BlackMagic only publishes a minimum spec as below, So, a lot depends on how you use Resolve. Minimum spec for basic editing. However, Grading 8K footage for example, would require a significantly higher spec.
Minimum system requirements for Mac OS
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- 8 GB of system memory or 16 GB when using Fusion.
- For monitoring, Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.9 or later.
- Apple Silicon based computer or GPU which supports Metal.
Minimum system requirements for Windows
- Windows 10 Creators Update.
- 16 GB of system memory or 32 GB when using Fusion.
- For monitoring, Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.9 or later.
- Integrated GPU or discrete GPU with at least 4 GB of VRAM.
- GPU which supports OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 12.8.
- AMD/Intel official drivers from your GPU manufacturer.
- NVIDIA Studio driver 570.65 or newer.
For more demanding projects, such as those with high-resolution footage, complex effects, or using Fusion, higher specifications are recommended.
DaVinci Resolve is incredibly reliant on the GPU, especially if you have the Studio version of Resolve. A dedicated graphics card (or TWO!) with more VRAM (8GB or more) along with a faster CPU (Intel Core i7/Ryzen 7 or higher) are beneficial.
Solid state drives (SSDs) are crucial for fast loading times and smooth playback
Read more about this here:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion
Blackmagic have a config guide, however its slightly dated now (from 2019) however it’s still a good reference point, Some of the HP PC’ s mentioned are still current.
https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/ConfigGuides/DaVinci_Resolve_15_Mac_Configuration_Guide.pdf
Avid Media Composer
Avid Feature Performance
A number of features in the Avid Media Composer application are processor intensive. As a result, you might experience problems if you are working on an older system. The following chart shows the hardware that Avid has successfully qualified when using these features. For a list of the qualified systems, see "Qualified Workstations and Laptops"
Feature | Description | Recommended System |
PhraseFind AI and ScriptSync AI | 24GB RAM minimum | |
8K projects | 128GB RAM minimum | 64+ core Intel Xeon or AMD Threadripper CPU systems with Nvidia or AMD graphics |
Editing High Resolution, High Frame Rate XAVC-I Media (UHD/4k in 59.94p) 4 streams of media and color adapters | 64 GB RAM minimum, 96 GB recommended | HP Z8 G5, Z6 G5 Lenovo P7, PX Dell 7960 · Single or dual CPU with 56+ virtual cores (with HT) · Nvidia RTX A5000, A5500, A6000, 6000Ada · AMD W6800 HP Z8, Z6 Lenovo P920, P720, P620 Dell 7920, 7820 · Dual gold 6154 or 6254 3.0 GHz 18- core (72 with HT) · AMD WX-7100, WX9100, Pro VII, W6800 · Nvidia RTX 5000, 6000, A5000, A5500, A6000 HP Z6A Lenovo P620, P8 Dell 7865, 7875 or Boxx ApexxT4 · AMD Threadripper CPU with 32 or 64 Cores · Nvidia RTX A5000, A5500, A6000, 5000Ada, 6000Ada · AMD W6800, W7900 Storage: 10-40 Gb Ethernet Avid NEXIS |
1080p/50 XAVC Long Baseband Capture | 32 GB RAM minimum | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading |
Editing High Resolution, High Frame Rate DNxHR Media (UHD/4k in 59.94p) | 32GB Min, 64 GB recommended | HP Z8 G5, Z6 G5 Lenovo P7, PX Dell 7960 · Single or dual CPU with 56+ virtual cores (with HT) · Nvidia RTX A5000, A5500, A6000, 6000Ada · AMD W6800, W7900 HP Z8, Z6 Lenovo P920, P720, P620 Dell 7920, Dell 7820 · Dual gold 6154 or 6254 3.0 GHz 18- core (72 with HT) · AMD WX-7100, WX9100, Pro VII, W6800 · Nvidia RTX 5000, 6000, A5000, A5500, A6000 HP Z8, Z6 Lenovo P920, P720, P620 Dell 7920, Dell 7820 · AMD Threadripper CPU with 32 or 64 Cores · Nvidia RTX A5000, A5500, A6000, 5000Ada, 6000Ada · AMD W6800, W7900 Storage: 10-40 Gb Ethernet Avid NEXIS |
Editing High Resolution Media (Higher than 2K+) | 32 GB RAM minimum | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading |
DMF and Background Transcode Background Render | 32 GB RAM recommended | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading |
Media Composer | Cloud | 32 GB RAM minimum or higher recommended depending upon system model. | i7 Quad core or higher with Hyperthreading |
J2K Capture | 16 GB RAM minimum | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading |
HD Long GOP 9-way MultiCam with high stream count sequences | 32 GB RAM recommended | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading Storage: 2 x 1 Gb Ethernet or higher |
Stereoscopic 3D | For optimal performance with Stereoscopic 3D, use these higher performance systems. Avid recommends a minimum of 32 GB RAM when using fullframe Stereoscopic 3D. | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading |
XDCAM HD50 Capture | Baseband capture through Open I/O | Avid qualified systems |
HD RGB 4444 Apple ProRes 4444 DNxHD 4444 | HD RGB capture requires a high-end workstation with Open I/O and fast storage. | Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12 core with Hyperthreading Storage: 10Gb Ethernet Avid NEXIS |
AMA (QuickTime) | AMA is a processor intensive operation. Lower end platforms may not offer optimum performance. Highly compressed codecs such as H.264 will exhibit minimal real-time performance. | Recommendation of qualified systems depends on your planned use of this feature. Heavy usage of highly compressed codecs requires high-end systems. (Dual 6 Core or Dual 8 Core systems) |
AMA (RED) | AMA is a processor intensive operation. Older platforms may not offer optimum performance. You will get better performance with higher-end workstations. | Qualified Xeon Workstations NOTE: RED plug-in uses the Graphics Processor. Better performance with high performance graphics cards. |
AVCI-Intra Capture | AVC-Intra capture with software codecs is supported. | 24 core and higher Windows systems only. |
AVCI-Intra | AVC-Intra (AVC-I) is a high quality, low bit-rate HD codec and is very CPU intensive. | 4-Way MultiCam Playback Dual Quad Core, Dual 6 Core or Dual 8 Core Systems Four Stream Playback Dual Quad Core, Dual 6 Core or Dual 8 Core Systems |
Adobe Premier
Your computer must meet the minimum technical specifications outlined below to run Adobe Premiere Pro. For optimum performance, use recommended system specifications.
https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html
For optimal performance in Adobe Premiere Pro, your system should meet certain minimum and recommended hardware requirements, particularly focusing on the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage.
A powerful CPU like Intel Core i7 or i9 (or their AMD equivalents) is crucial, especially for handling complex projects. A dedicated GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM (6GB or more for 4K and higher resolutions) is recommended, with the NVIDIA RTX series being a popular choice. Adequate RAM, with 16GB recommended for HD and 32GB or more for 4K, is also essential.
Finally, a fast internal SSD for the application and cache, along with a separate drive for media storage, is highly recommended for smooth playback and editing.
Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs and preferences, and of course your budget.
Altered Images can supply and configure a solution to meet your requirements - please call us on 01932 255 666 , or email sales@alteredimagesltd.com
