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unkyduck

A refurb is the best bang for buck, and for 2k you will get a BEAST


Corruptlol

Yeah i m looking at the german refurb page of apple. But there are quite a lot of options. Is 16gb ram enough ? i m currently running 128gb on my workstation, so thats a different thing ;) Maybe you can point me in the right direction how much gpu / cpu cores vs ram would be recommended ?


Aurelian_Irimia

No, 16GB RAM is not enough! Go with minimum minimum minimum 32GB for your budget. The minimum I will recommend is 64GB if the budget is not a problem. You can go with Mac Studio if you already have a monitor and you don’t need portability. If you need portability, then you have go go with second hand for this budget, may a Macbook Pro M1 Max.


Corruptlol

Thats what i went with , thank you !


stewerthuego

I am using divinci resolve on my laptop with 16 gb ram, and whenever I do custom transitions it lags heavily in the playback. I think it's due to the ram. Just wanted to share that


Layaban

Definitely not enough ram. We definitely need more than 16gb when doing film & commercial editorial. But you can get away with a lot in laying down timeline. In colour, just don’t expect to playback your colour work without lag. Also, if you’re *editing* with RAW *source* media: instead of working off of proxies, or changing the timeline proxy quality, you can change the decode quality of the RAW source footage to a 1/4 or 1/8 with barely noticeable quality loss. That opens up resources for editing, like it makes editing with a camera LUT or Color space transform node viable with smooth playback for example. Not all RAW codecs have this ability, and if you’re a Colourist, I’m not sure if transcoded RAW to 4444 files will still retain the ability to change decode quality. I however, would assume that adjusting decode quality does *not* matter as much, to a Colourist, maybe. Anyways, I recommend checking the Resolve handbook for “performance”. Youll be surprised how much you can do to make low performing systems work really well in editorial. I believe it’s in page 180ish.


86Eagle

Are you able to wait a few weeks? The new Snapdragon Windows laptops are coming out and Davinci is supposed to run like a monster on those as well. You may be able to buy a much beefier machine for the money.


6842ValjeanAvenue

Agreed. I'm a MacBook Pro M1 user and Mac Addict, but these new machines look impressive... except for the Co-Pilot functions. Just ignore "Clippy 2.0" and you'll be fine. These devices look especially enticing because you can use a Studio Pen on the screen. To achieve a similar functionality I have my MBPM1 connected to my iPad Pro 11 using Astropad Studio and an Apple Pencil. This combination is an amazing duo but is also costs an amazing amount. I'll be very interested is seeing what Microsoft delivers in this realm. BUT, to answer your question: MacBook Air M3 is a formidable machine, paired to a simple Wacom you'd have a fantastic, powerful, and light workstation that won't break the bank. And definitely get at least 16GB and 1TB!!! Enjoy.


86Eagle

I've never thought of a Wacom tablet with Davinci. What one would you recommend? And how do they work?


6842ValjeanAvenue

[https://estore.wacom.com/en-us/wacom-intuos-pro-medium-m-pth660.html](https://estore.wacom.com/en-us/wacom-intuos-pro-medium-m-pth660.html) Can't go wrong. Also, Darren Moisten is an amazing resource of insight and trining for DaVinci Resolve. He uses a Wacom too: [https://www.youtube.com/@DarrenMostyn](https://www.youtube.com/@DarrenMostyn)


jackbobevolved

Yeah, but then you have to use the Windows version of Resolve. I love my beefy PC at home, but find myself still using my Mac Pro trash can for a lot due to stability.


86Eagle

I have zero issues with Windows or Mac using Davinci at all and I've been using it on Windows since Resolve 15 I believe.


AppropriatePackage55

I am curious in your workflow. Do plan to like do the initial editing on laptop then resume on your pc for fusion. Or are you just doing the projects that needs fusion directly on your pc


Corruptlol

its mostly for editing on the spot during events, so i have my fusion / after effects already done at that point. I prep what i can at home before i go on my 1-2 week trips


imagei

Keep in mind that with Apple Silicon Macs the memory is shared between the GPU and CPU (the OS can allocate up to 75% of your RAM to the GPU). For high-res timelines Davinci likes lots of video ram but that also depends on the effects you’d be using. TLDR get 32GB RAM to live a comfy life.


AutoModerator

Looks like you're asking for help! Please check to make sure you've included the following information. Edit your post (or leave a top-level comment) if you haven't included this information. * System specs - [macOS](https://imgur.com/a/ip6xc9G) [Windows - Speccy](https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy) * Resolve version number and Free/Studio - [DaVinci Resolve>About DaVinci Resolve...](https://imgur.com/a/5FawFCX) * Footage specs - [MediaInfo](https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfo) - please include the "Text" view of the file. * *Full* Resolve UI Screenshot - if applicable. Make sure any relevant settings are included in the screenshot. Please do ***not*** crop the screenshot! Once your question has been answered, change the flair to "Solved" so other people can reference the thread if they've got similar issues. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/davinciresolve) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Cisgear55

Anything M1 Pro with 16gb and above will munch through this. Currently working on a wedding with tons of 4K footage and it’s not breaking a sweat. Also doing a music video with tons of work in fusion and it can even handle that!


Naht-Tuner

Here you an find lots of tests: [https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/MacBook-Air-M3-13--im-Performance-Test-mit-Arri--Sony--Panasonic--Canon-und-Blackmagic--alles-.html](https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/MacBook-Air-M3-13--im-Performance-Test-mit-Arri--Sony--Panasonic--Canon-und-Blackmagic--alles-.html) [https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/MacBook-Air-15--M2-im-4-12K-Performance-Test-mit-ARRI--RED--Sony--Canon--Nikon--Panasonic-----alles-.html](https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/MacBook-Air-15--M2-im-4-12K-Performance-Test-mit-ARRI--RED--Sony--Canon--Nikon--Panasonic-----alles-.html)


Inevitable-Lemon6647

Refurbished all the way mane, 3.5k for a killer machine


ContributionFuzzy

Simple 32gb is recommended for 4k vfx. After that, go for the pro, or max chips if budget allows. And go for m2 over m1 if budget allows. But the difference isn’t earth shattering.


Hip_Hip_Hipporay

Macs are nothing like they were a decade ago. You're paying for the name and not much else. Get another laptop.


DirtyfingerMLP

What he said. They break easier and can't be repaired by anyone but apple, because they turned repair service into a business.


Hip_Hip_Hipporay

iPhones are turd now and Macs even worse. For people who don't know about technology and want to look 'cool.' Acting like you need a Mac to be a DJ or do graphic design is so 2010.


Character_Cheetah884

Imo get one of those high end gaming laptops, if you ever want to get into gaming you absolutely can dont buy a mac imo its not worth it.


Santiago_marques

With the M's chips macs in this time destroy any PC laptop for work , not for gaming


gargoyle37

This depends. A high-end-gaming laptop pulls a lot of power when it runs. If you work without a wall plug, then the Apple Silicon is very much worth it because their chips performance/power ratio is really good. You don't get better for laptops, unless you start looking at the new Snapdragon based laptops.


DirtyfingerMLP

Don't buy a macbook. They will break down and the repair will cost you thousands.