[ Update, Nov. 18, 2024. I just finished testing all three video editors. Based on what I’ve learned, I’ve changed my opinion on RAM and GPUs. I also added new comments and modified my hardware recommendations. ]
After finishing my performance testing of both NLE software and a range of Macs, it is clear that the M4-series Macs continue Apple’s tradition of delivering outstanding computer performance in a variety of form factors at (mostly) affordable prices.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
SO, SHOULD YOU BUY ONE?
Maybe.
Another big benefit to M4-computers – in addition to faster speed – is support for more and larger monitors and, on M4 Pro and M4 Max systems, support for Thunderbolt 5. However, Thunderbolt 5 also requires buying Thunderbolt 5 storage or docks.
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INTERNAL STORAGE PERFORMANCE
I looked at the speeds of various internal drives. All M-series computers have internal drives roughly equivalent to the fastest Thunderbolt 5 external unit, which is about 6,000 MB/second.
However, tests using both Final Cut and Premiere also show that they are not exporting data anywhere close to Thunderbolt 5 speeds. FCP exports max out around 1.2 GB/second. Resolve and Premiere are both slower.
In general, buy enough internal storage to hold the operating system, all applications and work files. I have a 2 TB system on my M2 Max Mac Studio and I’m using 500 GB of it. Use external storage for all projects and media.
The big benefit to Thunderbolt 5 – currently – is that file transfers using Finder or other third-party file transfer software will come close to filling a Thunderbolt 5 pipe – assuming the storage hardware is fast enough to support that speed. This makes handling giant files much easier and faster. But it won’t make much difference – yet – to your NLE.
PLANNING YOUR CONFIGURATION
As you plan your new system, here are some considerations to keep in mind:
Laptop or Desktop
If you need portability, buy a laptop. If not, desktops will cost less and, generally, have better heat management. All M4 Macs include a monitor and keyboard, except for the Mac mini.
M4 vs. M4 Pro vs. M4 Max
If you are a hobbyist, with a limited budget, or don’t edit that much, or principally need it for office work – web, word processing, spreadsheets, databases and the like – the M4 is TOTALLY perfect.
If you need/want Thunderbolt 5 – and the additional external monitors it supports – you must get a system with an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip.
If you are doing massive multicam edits, working with gigantic frame sizes, have zero time for anything to render, work with 3D space, or create animated videos; all of these will benefit from an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. (The M4 Max is nice to have for media editing, but it has power you’ll never use.)
If you have the budget, but don’t know – yet – what you want to do with it, get a system with the M4 Pro chip.
CPU Cores
More cores provides more performance. But even base-level systems have more than enough performance for media editing. Keep in mind that, in general, M4 systems are roughly as fast as M2 systems and 10X, or more, faster than any Intel system.
UPDATE: Regarding efficiency vs. performance cores, no software maxes out all the cores all the time. So, there’s no reason to spend extra for more CPU cores. I generally recommend something in the middle. In fact, both FCP and Resolve use efficiency cores more than performance cores for playback and rendering.
GPU Cores
Increasingly, our NLEs are using GPUs more effectively. More GPUs will help both simple and complex projects with rendering and export.
UPDATE: I used to say the number of GPUs doesn’t really matter. In this round of testing, they matter a lot. Once you have at least 24 GB of RAM, if you need to choose between more RAM or more GPU cores, buy more GPU cores. More RAM is nice, but more GPUs boost performance.
RAM
In the past, 16 GB of RAM was the minimum for video editing. The 8 GB that Apple shipped was OK for office applications, but far too limiting for editing. Today, with the new unified memory of M-series chips, I recommend 16 GB for straightforward editing regardless of frame size. I recommend more RAM for multicam editing or large frame sizes. The exception is Premiere which is much more RAM hungry than FCP or Resolve.
Again, based on my testing, you won’t see a significant improvement in media editing or rendering performance with more than 24 GB of RAM. Remember, all NLE software was designed to run in 8 GB of RAM. What more RAM gets you is larger cache files.
UPDATE: Based on my testing of Final Cut, Premiere and Resolve, systems with more RAM, but fewer GPU cores are not as fast as systems with relatively less RAM and more GPU cores. At a minimum, get 24 GB of RAM. Then, if you have to choose, buy more GPU cores before you buy more RAM.
Storage
Media files are gigantic. Regardless of how much internal storage you buy, you’ll need more. Rather than spend excessive dollars boosting internal storage, buy enough internal storage to give your system room to work, then supplement it with external storage.
UPDATE: The minimum internal storage I recommend for media is 1 TB. Yes, you can get away with 512 GB but your space will be crunched sooner than you expect. At the high-end, I recommend 2 TB. For media, buying more internal storage than 2 TB is wasting money.
In my office, I have a Mac Studio with 2 TB internal, an external 8 TB SSD RAID, an external 48 TB HDD RAID, and a 160 TB HDD network server. And that’s just for me – you can never have enough storage.
Ethernet
Unless you have a network optimized for 10G, which requires a 10G switch, 10G server connections, and 10G cables, a 1G Ethernet port on the computer will be fine.
Because I like playing with blinking lights, my office network is optimized for 10G.
CONFIGURATION RECOMMENDATIONS
If you have the money, buy whatever you want. There’s no harm in buying more than these specs; load your system however you want. However, if you are on a budget, here’s what I recommend as the best way to allocate your limited dollars.
NOTE: I ended up buying one of these systems. Here’s what I bought and why.
To Save Money – but still be productive editing video.
MacBook Pro – UPDATED
Size: 14″
CPU: M4 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU
RAM: 24 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Price: $1,999.00 (US)
iMac
CPU: M4 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Gigabit Ethernet
Price: $1,699.00 (US)
Mac mini
CPU: M4 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Price: $999.00 (US)
Better Performance
MacBook Pro – UPDATED
CPU: M4 Pro, 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU
Size: 16″ (easier to see the interface)
RAM: 24 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Price: $2,699.00 (US)
iMac
CPU: M4 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU
RAM: 24 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Price: $2,099.00 (US)
Mac mini – UPDATED
CPU: M4 Pro 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU
RAM: 24 GB
Storage: 1 TB
Gigabit Ethernet
Price: $1,599.00 (US)
High-End
MacBook Pro – UPDATED
CPU: M4 Max, 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU
Size: 16″ (easier to see the interface)
RAM: 36 GB
Storage: 2 TB
Price: $3,899.00 (US)
iMac
CPU: M4 10-core
RAM: 32 GB
Storage: 2 TB
Price: $2,699.00 (US)
Mac mini – UPDATED
CPU: M4 Pro 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU
RAM: 24 GB
Storage: 2 TB
1G Ethernet (10G if your network supports it)
Thunderbolt 5
Price: $2,199.00 (US)
SUMMARY
It’s important to remember that you don’t need to buy the fully-loaded version of any system to get serious work done. Apple charges a fortune for RAM and storage. You can buy more RAM, but I wouldn’t buy more than 48 GB; your system won’t use it for video editing. More GPUs are better than boodles of RAM.
Also, it is FAR cheaper to buy external storage, while providing room on your internal drive for macOS, applications and work files. If you need real speed, buy external Thunderbolt 5 SSDs when they become available.
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91 Responses to Configure an M4 Mac for Video Editing
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← Older CommentsHi Larry!
1. With the MacBook Pro (in the category called “To Save Money”) the spec for Unified Memory is 24gb, however under the Mac mini option it is only 16b. Both have 1TB storage, both have 10 Core CPU & 10 Core GPU. Would it also be useful to up the spec on the Mac mini M4 to 24gb Unified Memory? Was it just an econonmical decision? Or are those two different machines comparable exactly as stated?
2. If I would also like to utilise iMovie, or the Final Cut Camera App on an iPhone Pro/Pro Max, would it still be advisable to go with the 1TB storage option, or would 512gb be enough would you say? -Bearing in mind it would still have to function as a phone with all that entails for average storage demands too. Any advice on this greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Jasmine:
I consolidated all your questions in to one post. To answer them:
1. In the “To Save Money” category, I listed the lowest cost system that could reasonably be expected to handle most video tasks. 24 GB of RAM is always better than 16 GB. However, more than 48 GB is not worth the extra money as NLEs don’t use that additional memory.
2. I never advise getting 512 GB of storage. The operating system and popular apps take about 250 GB. One hour of 4K ProRes takes 221 GB. 512 is just not enough space for any kind of serious media work – especially because, for performance reasons, we may store media externally, but render on the internal drive. I recommend 1 – 2 TB of internal storage. Again, more than that is not worth the cost.
Hope this helps,
Larry
Thanks Larry, just to check -that is 1TB even for editing on an iphone? Would the App be somewhat optimised for an ios device? It’s a choice of two that I have; either the larger screen of the Pro Max to edit on, but with only 512gb internal storage, or the lesser real estate of the Pro screen, but with 1TB of storage to play with. You would then choose the additional storage over the benefit of having the bigger display?
I ask about the Mac mini under the “To Save Money” heading, as for my budget I would also have one of two options only; either the base M4 with 2TB of storage, OR with the extra 1TB + the beefed up 24gb of Unified Memory, for the same price.. I’m guessing you’d go with the extra UM, is that a fair assumption to make?
Thanks in advance, wrestled with this decision for way too long now!! 🙂
Jasmine:
Oh…! Wait a minute. You are asking about editing video on an iPhone? My M4 table does not discuss iPhone or iPad editing. They don’t use the same chips, they don’t run the same software. So, none of my comments apply to iPhones, or iPads. I don’t use those devices for media editing.
For the Mac mini, given your choice, I’d recommend 1 TB of storage with 24 GB of RAM.
Larry
Larry, hi! I have a question about external rendering. Is it a bad idea to buy 512gb mac if I’m going to render videos external on my ssd? Or it’s not even possible at all?
Sorry for kinda dumb questions, I’m just really new in all this stuff and want to figure this out
Andrew:
Not a dumb question at all. The answer is “it depends.” It depends upon how much space you need to store apps, how much space for the operating system, and what else you want to store on that system. Also, you can’t always control where rendering takes place – or, if you don’t pay attention, the NLE will store renders on your internal drive by default. You can change this, but you need to constantly pay attention.
That being said, yes, you can work with 512 GB, but 1 TB – though more expensive – will give you more room to work. On my system, macOS takes 75 GB and my applications another 108 GB. So that leaves 320 GB for other stuff. My “other stuff” takes 700 GB, so, for me, 512 GB would not be enough. You situation is different, I’m just sharing mine.
So can you? Yes. Will you need to pay attention to where files are stored? Yes. Will your system work OK if you do? Also yes.
Larry
Thank you very much for your reply!
Right now, I’m leaning towards the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro with 1TB of storage. The only thing that worries me is the rather numerous complaints that, even with light usage (working in the browser, using Notion, and watching videos without video/photo editing), many users experience battery drain from 100% to 0% within 8-9 hours. That sounds pretty disappointing for such basic tasks. But I’m still trying to figure out how common this issue is and whether it’s typical for this version or if people simply happened to encounter a manufacturing defect.
In any case, I’ll definitely look into it myself. I realize this isn’t really related to the main topic of the article. Thanks again! Your article and responses to the comments have been incredibly helpful!
Legend Larry! The last thing I will bug you with is whether you would ever recommend an Apple certified refurbished device just to economise even further for adding extra specs. If you feel comfortable commenting on those machines.
Thanks again. Warm regards from London.
Jasmine:
I have never purchased one of these, but they come with a full Apple warranty, cost less and work the same. I don’t see any reason not to consider one.
Larry
Hi again! Larry, in your opinion, which display is a better choice: a standart glossy one or nano-texture?
Better is relative.
If you have something bright behind you, the nano-texture will diffuse it so you don’t get a headache. If you don’t, the standard display is fine.
Some say that standard does a better job displaying color accurately – but I haven’t tested that feature, so I don’t have an opinion.
In other words, if you don’t need to reduce glare from a window or other bright source behind you, there’s no reason to get the nano-texture.
Larry
I would like your advice for editing 1-2hour 4k videos on FCP. What configuration would you recommend?
Aly:
Any of the configurations in this article will EASILY handle eding 1-2 hours of 4K media in Final Cut Pro. Pick the one that fits your budget and workflow.
Larry
Hi Harry,
Is it worth it to buy the extremely priced “extreme” Apple XDR 32″ display? I do so-called professional grade videos but my living doesn’t depend on it. However, I’d love to get my hands onto a larger monitor than the 27″ 5K Apple display I currently use.
Thank you for you brilliant answer!
Marc
Marc:
Maybe, but probably not. The monitor has not been updated in a long time, but the answer actually depends upon the work you are doing.
Let’s back up a step. You can easily add a 32″ monitor to your computer without breaking the bank. LG makes some nice ones. They are not as color accurate as I would like, but you’d be using this monitor for the interface, not judging final output. The system I prefer is a minimum of two monitors. Resolve, Premiere and Final Cut all work better when displayed across two monitors. OR, you can keep the interface on your larger 32″ soon-to-be-purchased monitor, the get a smaller 27″ reference monitor for judging color. Don’t attempt to run the interface AND judge color on the same monitor. You’ll spend more than you need and gets results you won’t be happy with.
If you are editing SDR (ie. Rec. 709) media, you don’t need the XDR. For Rec. 709 work, I much prefer BenQ – which is a fraction of the price. BenQ is noted for the color accuracy for Rec 709 work.
If you are doing HDR, AND you are being paid for your work, I recommend a 27″ reference monitor from Flanders Scientific. these are not cheap, but they guarantee that the colors you see on them are accurate. then, get a 32″ monitor from LG or BenQ to run the interface.
Once you separate in your mind the difference between having a large monitor to run the software and a smaller, more accurate monitor to judge colors, your decisions get easier.
As a note, I just finished editing 61 ten minute interviews. For this, I used three monitors. Two for the interface (LG) and one to judge color (BenQ). You don’t NEED that many, but, golly, is it cool to look at.
Larry