Minimum RAM for Resolve (MacBook)

S

Samuel Dilworth

Well-known member
Stop me if you’re heard this one before, but how does Resolve (Studio if it matters) cope with 16 GB of RAM? What about 24 GB?

I don’t use Fusion.

I have 64 GB in an old Intel rig at the moment but want a portable laptop and want Apple Silicon.

Looking into whether I could get away with a MacBook Air or maybe the low-end MacBook Pro (with plain “M3” chip, not “M3 Pro”). These computers max out at 24 GB.

Thoughts?

Obviously I’m trying not to spend a fortune or I’d just go and get 36 GB in an M3 Pro MacBook Pro.

Google gives contradictory answers. I think a lot of people are going by hearsay and not the Memory Pressure chart in Activity Monitor, which tells the real story.

Bonus question: which 4 TB external SSD with USB-C to get? Not paying Apple prices for internal storage and want the option to plug this into a camera down the line.
 
Bonus question 2, actually: does ProMotion do anything useful? Only the MacBook Pro has that. Not sure if Resolve supports ProMotion.
 
I have an original M1 with 16GB and Resolve runs great.

However, it's not being particularly stressed, and per usual it depends on what you're exactly working with in there and doing what.

If your expectations aren't demanding, a 14" M3 base with 24GB (or even less) could last you forever. They are very good computers (as we know).

ProMotion's main gimmick is the 120Hz. For gamers (FPS and the like), nothing below 120Hz is really acceptable these days but not sure any normal people will see much of an improvement going from the common 60Hz most screens have today. Maybe though (and going from 30 to 120 would be a really big jump).

[And I use SATA SSDs with adapters.]
 
Don’t do any gaming. I was wondering if ProMotion matches lower frame rates, like 25p or 24p? (Not sure if this matters.)

Thanks for the confirmation than an Air with 16 GB works. I’m not doing anything elaborate in Resolve but will use a 4K timeline and 4K footage (but mainly just 8-bit 4:2:0 with some 10-bit 4:2:2 from mirrorless cameras).
 
Samuel Dilworth said:
Don’t do any gaming. I was wondering if ProMotion matches lower frame rates, like 25p or 24p? (Not sure if this matters.)

Thanks for the confirmation than an Air with 16 GB works. I’m not doing anything elaborate in Resolve but will use a 4K timeline and 4K footage (but mainly just 8-bit 4:2:0 with some 10-bit 4:2:2 from mirrorless cameras).
Click to expand...

Apple says this:

ProMotion also improves display quality and reduces power consumption by automatically adjusting the display refresh rate to match the movement of the content.

That sounds like 'variable' to me and it would use 25/24 if detected, but I don't know for sure. Either way, I don't think it's something that would be negatively noticeable as this product/tech was made for hundreds of millions with different purposes.

I also have the M1 MBP, not Air (I didn't mention either, but it sounds like the Air might even be good enough for you.)
 
Doug Jensen said:
You might find this thread from a few months helpful.
https://www.dvxuser.com/forum/post-...06941-apple-mbp-recommendations-for-a-pc-user
Click to expand...

Thanks. Read it. I didn’t realise you could get a MacBook with 96 GB of RAM (and even 128 GB apparently). That’s phenomenal, but the prices (nearly €5000 for the 96 GB model) are also phenomenal. I know for sure I don’t need 96 GB of RAM for what I do, because my desktop has 64 GB and I’ve never come close to running into trouble, according to the Memory Pressure chart in Activity Monitor. However, interesting set of experiences in that thread.
 
Heck, for 4K video editing/grading, regardless of the codec, you don't really need more than 32GB of RAM on a Mac. Smooth as butter with Resolve, Premiere, Catalyst, etc. Your external SSD and data connection are far more important to ensure a pleasant experience.
 
Doug Jensen said:
Heck, for 4K video editing/grading, regardless of the codec, you don't really need more than 32GB of RAM on a Mac. Smooth as butter with Resolve, Premiere, Catalyst, etc. Your external SSD and data connection are far more important to ensure a pleasant experience.
Click to expand...

+ 1 to all those points, goes for a good PC as well. :thumbsup:

Chris Young
 
One thing to note is the M3 Mac does not have HW Accelerated Encoding support for AV1 (though it can do it with the CPU). They have added AV1 HW decoding now across their new HW, and I guess HW Encoding will be in the next M4 version? Might not be a big thing now, but you say you want to keep this bad boy for a while and many of the streamers are moving over to AV1.
 
Hardware encoding for AV1 is not a big deal for most. Player support for decoding AV1 could be, for 8K60 and 4K120. Netflix and Prime are not accepting AV1. YouTube accepts anything and re-renders to AV1.
 
I think it depends on how many layers and how much compositing you do. I think my m1 max has 32GB and it's fine most of the time for me. But about once or twice a year, I'm compositing a handful of layers with numerous effects and it throws an error message saying it can't show me real-time playback or something. So, I think you have to evaluate what you'll be doing and also settle on a purchase strategy. Are you always working with a single layer of footage? And do you want to buy enough RAM for the vast majority of use cases or buy enough to handle all use cases? And to be clear, I've been able to do what I needed to do even with insufficient RAM. It just slowed me down.
 
I'm going to get a M3 Air when they are announced/shipped in a few months, I'll let you know if you still haven't purchased anything, lol.
 
jmone said:
One thing to note is the M3 Mac does not have HW Accelerated Encoding support for AV1 (though it can do it with the CPU). They have added AV1 HW decoding now across their new HW, and I guess HW Encoding will be in the next M4 version? Might not be a big thing now, but you say you want to keep this bad boy for a while and many of the streamers are moving over to AV1.
Click to expand...

There’s always something coming down the pipe, but I don’t want to wait much longer. Maybe until an M3 Air arrives, if I decide an Air would work. Though already there seems to be a small performance difference between M2 and M3, from what I can tell. The M1 to M2 was a slightly bigger jump.

But AV1 encoding … I appreciate the info but don’t think that would do much for me.
 
ahalpert said:
I think it depends on how many layers and how much compositing you do.
Click to expand...

Okay. Then I’m pretty safe. Do you know what else drives RAM use in Resolve? Is it more project length or 10-bit sources or what?

I put 64 GB in my iMac because it was cheap at the time, not because I thought I really needed it (I needed more than the 8 GB it came with, though). So I’ve never looked into memory usage very closely. Which is the nice thing about lots of RAM, I suppose: you can just forget about the problem.

However, with a laptop you have to buy RAM from Apple, and then you really need to ask yourself how much you need.

ahalpert said:
I think my m1 max has 32GB and it's fine most of the time for me. […] And to be clear, I've been able to do what I needed to do even with insufficient RAM. It just slowed me down.
Click to expand...

I see. If you’re doing all that with 32 GB, I’m pretty sure I’d get by with 24 GB. At least until I hand over my editing and forum posting to my AI assistant.
 
A point of note. I shoot 4k10bitHEVC canon r6 which is harder to process than my canon c200 raw. My computer cant do it nearly.

I use and understand a proxy workflow. (which was not nailed until about Resolve 16) proxies are not "optimized media"

1) set location of proxies (usually close to the original footage on off machin spinning HD)

2)import footage

3) select all 'generate proxies'

4) Cook and eat dinner

5) slick as nice 1080 edit and colour

6) change TL resolution to 4k

7) export

8) consider deleting proxies to free up space.
 
That's why many of us initially bought their first silicon in 2020.

After seeing how $10,000 Intels processed it vs. a $600 M1, the rest was history.

No proxies, pure power and speed even starting with the base attributes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top