Mac Mini M1 vs. Mac Pro 5,1 12-core - is it an upgrade?

Is the base-level M1 an upgrade for using Resolve? (Sorry if this has been answered - I searched and didn't find the answer.)

Mac Pro 5,1, upgraded to 12 x 3.46GHz, 64GB, SSDs, ATI Radeon RX560.

Just trying to get an idea whether it's worth picking one up just for video editing, now that the base model with 8GB is dropping (and I can just resell it when Apple comes out with more serious Apple Silicone Macs).

TIA

By the way, the only thing I found here was a YouTube video.

Please.

I went to first grade and learned how to read. Without exaggeration, it would take *seconds* to convey the same information that some random guy prattled on about for 15 minutes.

This is not what video is for!

My opinion: no, not yet. I do think the new M1 Macs coming out in October will be more powerful and will work better with Resolve.

My opinion: no, not yet. I do think the new M1 Macs coming out in October will be more powerful and will work better with Resolve.

That’s what I am hoping for and waiting for. And if that is the case, I wonder how committed is BlackMagic to continue with upgrades and support of Resolve for the M1/X or M2 architecture; or will we get stuck with an old unsupported version.

...I wonder how committed is BlackMagic to continue with upgrades and support of Resolve for the M1/X or M2 architecture; or will we get stuck with an old unsupported version.

Are you worried that Apple may drop the M1/X/M2 architecture and then BMD will stop supporting it, also?

I guess that could happen but it would seem at this point that Apple is paving the way for M1/X/M2 as the future for all their Mac products... I can't see them going back to Intel any time soon - hopefully BMD is committed to supporting M1/X/M2 and its successors as long as Apple continues to support them.

That’s what I am hoping for and waiting for. And if that is the case, I wonder how committed is BlackMagic to continue with upgrades and support of Resolve for the M1/X or M2 architecture; or will we get stuck with an old unsupported version.

All the evidence so far suggests BMD intend to be at the front of the pack in supporting Apple hardware. They supported M1 before most or even all of their competitors (not including Apple's FCPX of course). They supported Metal before most or even of all of their competitors. Many professional tools still don't support Metal, years after it was first introduced and OpenGL deprecated (most BorisFX tools, Nuke, many of the 3D apps like Blender, Maya, etc)

Based on past experience I would not have any worries about BMD providing fast and complete support for any and all new Apple HW.

Considered that the current M1 models are all entry-level, I'm impressed how well DR is running on these.

But a MacPro 5,1 with a good GPU (if you can get one) should still be quite competitive as long as you don't need hardware decoding of modern GOP-codecs.

This is still my main edit machine.
Handles anything my PMW F55 can throw at it including 4K raw, GoPro8 4K H264 and 4K H265 from my drone.
Even done some tests with 8K ProRes transcoded from Red Raw. Possible but not fun.
Also works fine over 10GBE from my QNSP server.
I'm playing a waiting game with Apple silicon wondering if the 5,1 will retire first or will I?

I'm playing a waiting game with Apple silicon wondering if the 5,1 will retire first or will I?

And you've still got a fair amount of potential upgrade capacity in that machine, in the sense that you could put in a much more powerful GPU - like a 6800XT or 6900XT with 16GB, or the 32GB Pro equivalents (at a much higher cost) - and that'd increase your GPU power by a factor of 2 or 3.

Wouldn't help with ProRes which is all CPU bound, but any Color effects and general Timeline performance would likely see a big boost.

Of course such a GPU would be a bit of a dead end in the sense that it seems unlikely the Silicon Macs will ever be able to use an AMD GPU. But then you could always sell it at such time as you decided to go Silicon.

At least the ‘cheesegraters’ are upgradable, other than the ‘ash tray’.

Considered that the current M1 models are all entry-level, I'm impressed how well DR is running on these.

But a MacPro 5,1 with a good GPU (if you can get one) should still be quite competitive as long as you don't need hardware decoding of modern GOP-codecs.

The Radeon RX560 - exact version recommended on Apple's support page - was, frankly, the cheapest Metal-capable one you could get to update to Mojave. Those two factors were the only ones in my decision, because audio and music (95% of what I use the machine for) don't need anything more.

And I don't want modern GOP, even if it's just a codec.

At least the ‘cheesegraters’ are upgradable, other than the ‘ash tray’.

I'm playing a waiting game with Apple silicon wondering if the 5,1 will retire first or will I?

And you've still got a fair amount of potential upgrade capacity in that machine, in the sense that you could put in a much more powerful GPU - like a 6800XT or 6900XT with 16GB, or the 32GB Pro equivalents (at a much higher cost) - and that'd increase your GPU power by a factor of 2 or 3.

Wouldn't help with ProRes which is all CPU bound, but any Color effects and general Timeline performance would likely see a big boost.

Of course such a GPU would be a bit of a dead end in the sense that it seems unlikely the Silicon Macs will ever be able to use an AMD GPU. But then you could always sell it at such time as you decided to go Silicon.

Yes, however I couldn't justify any investment in an Intel Mac today, let alone in an expensive GPU card.

And even the entry-level M1 Mac Mini has eight GPU cores, which is part of the subtext to my question.

Are you worried that Apple may drop the M1/X/M2 architecture and then BMD will stop supporting it, also?

Not remotely plausible.

I don't believe that there is a simple answer to a potentially very complex question. Is a Ferrari better than Toyota van? It depends on what you task it with.
MY M1 MBP is faster at transcoding DNxHD115 to H264 than either of my other computers, which it does quietly. Any i7 could beat my top spec trash can MacPro (when I had it) in transcoding to H264 due to QuickSync in the i7 chips. I was surprised had how well the M1 can play 8K R3D (quarter res) in an HD timeline, but the iMacoPro kills the M1 in transcoding the R3D files to DNx.
The great thing about buying an Apple computer from an Apple store is that you can make the purchase, run significant tests, and if you don't like the result you can return it within 14 days for a full refund. Everyone uses their machines for different tasks. The only way way you will find out if an M1 is an upgrade for you is to try it. Having said that, Marc is right in suggesting to wait for the next iteration of the Apple chip which should be coming in the next few weeks.

Obligatory car analogies aside, I actually think I got very good answers about the M1!

I personally don't really care about rendering or transcoding speed, or 8K - or taking lots of kids to soccer practice - but I do care about being able to edit a multicam and having the machine keep up.

And yeah, I read the Mac sites and know all about the next M rumors. For me the big thing is RAM access (for loading large sample library templates, not for Resolve). I could get by with 32GB begrudgingly, but I have 64GB in my current machine and don't want to upgrade to a downgrade.

Thanks!

We will know more starting tomorrow from Apple. I hope it’s going to be exciting hardware specs as rumored.

For me the big thing is RAM access (for loading large sample library templates, not for Resolve). I could get by with 32GB begrudgingly, but I have 64GB in my current machine and don't want to upgrade to a downgrade.

From what I see with my stopgap Mac mini with 16 GB, 32 GB in the next generation might be as efficient as 64 in other architectures.

For me the big thing is RAM access (for loading large sample library templates, not for Resolve). I could get by with 32GB begrudgingly, but I have 64GB in my current machine and don't want to upgrade to a downgrade.

From what I see with my stopgap Mac mini with 16 GB, 32 GB in the next generation might be as efficient as 64 in other architectures.

At first I wondered whether that might actually be the case, but I don't see how it's possible if you're streaming audio or (less critically) video files.

Files being streamed get loaded into head start RAM buffers rather than directly off the drive (even SSDs are considerably slower). RAM is RAM, regardless of the processor.

Now, the OS itself probably uses less RAM, but memory is memory and storage is storage. If the computer runs out of memory it will go to virtual memory - i.e. using the hard drive as swap memory. You don't want that if you're streaming hundreds of audio voices in real time - the machine will glitch like crazy.