Help choosing the right computer, monitor and drive

Hi I know that this may be a very usual generic question here. But after searching in many YouTube tutorials and also based in the actual moment when M2 chips seems to be next door increases my doubts ratio.
I was happy as a pro photographer with my 2015 i5 iMac 27” 3 TB Fusion Drive 5k screen Ram:32 and 2 Gb graphic card. Since I started seriously editing drone footage with DaVinci 18. I’m editing 4K clips in 60 and 30 fps in H265 and ProRes 422HQ output. If I do not use Fusion and only color grading without tracking masks I can manage with my actual computer. But I use to need to track all the time masks and also use Fusion and my computer is not ready for this.

I’m a Mac guy since 2015 and have several computers and also a 2015 MacBook Pro and I love the sync between all of them with passwords, safari bookmarks and all so that and I am unhappy to switch my main working computer to a Windows machine.

I am contemplating both scenarios pc and Mac but would be happier to stay in Mac. I am pro photographer and starting to be a pro videographer so my computer needs to cover the pro needs. But my budget today is lower than used to be before and I need to measure how much I spend on my machine. I do not have monitor since I use an iMac so that would be an extra and I need at least 27” and even better 32” covering 99% or RGB.

My first nightmare is about my budget for the computer shouldn’t exceed beyond $2500 not including the monitor. Mac Studio the base one with 1Tb is in my budget. But maybe for the same budget can I get a custom desktop pc with a better benchmark?

My second question is about if Ram 32 is enough or need to upgrade to 64?

My next question is about drives. My initial idea is using my internal 1 TB M2 disk creating two partitions one for system and the other partition for cache and have one external Usbc drive one M2 for render output and a huge traditional mechanical HDD for storage. My question here is if upgrading to Mac Studio 2Tb which is really expensive do I get any speed improvements. I mean that having inside a third partition with the files that I am working with or…. I’m not a tech expert… and I am lost configuring how to optimize the drives in a Mac Studio to get a budget friendly configuration that would be efficient. For example using usbc M2 external drives instead the more expensive thunderbolt ones? I’m very confused about the drives and their speeds.

Another nightmare is about M2 chips expected to land based in rumors this month or early 2023. I could wait some few months if an updated M2 Mac Studio is next door. I did not mention MacBook as an option since I need at least 24” monitor or bigger.

My last question is about monitor. Traditional photo editing has been needing Adobe RGB monitor many of the images needed to be printed. Nowadays 95% of the photos have an online sRGB destination. Looking for a 4K an 99% RGB monitor is not easy below $1.600 my budget is about $700. I found a 27” BenQ with is RGB but 2k and there are many 4K monitors out there that are only sRGB for a very good price and even upgrading to 32”. I’m open to receive your suggestions about monitor advice. I personally prefer 32” than 27”.

Sorry if I am wrote a very long message.

Hi anyone who can give me a help hand with my next DR computer?

I’m a Mac guy since 2015 and have several computers and also a 2015 MacBook Pro and I love the sync between all of them with passwords, safari bookmarks and all so that and I am unhappy to switch my main working computer to a Windows machine.

My first nightmare is about my budget for the computer shouldn’t exceed beyond $2500 not including the monitor. Mac Studio the base one with 1Tb is in my budget. But maybe for the same budget can I get a custom desktop pc with a better benchmark?

I think you filled in the answer yourself pretty well. You like Mac. So get one For your usecase I don't think you really need a super beefy windows machine. The Mac Studio runs pretty well from what I hear from people.

My second question is about if Ram 32 is enough or need to upgrade to 64?

Upgrading RAM via Apple on a Mac is unethically expensive. I don't think you need 64 in your use case but if you can spare the money it's welcome of course.

I’m very confused about the drives and their speeds.

M2 drives are more than fast enough to process 4K H265 and ProRes.

Looking for a 4K an 99% RGB monitor is not easy below $1.600 my budget is about $700.

What do you mean with RGB? AdobeRGB?

If you want 4K with wider gamut than sRGB this is an option but it's 98% DCI-P3. I can't say how much of that covers AdobeRGB as the location of the primaries are in a different place.
Dell Ultrasharp U2723QE

Any other option will likely be more expensive at a 4K res as you mention.

A few thoughts:
– There's always a better/faster machine around the corner. If you need one, buy it now.
(but maybe wait for the Apple event in November)
– 32 GB RAM is fine if you don't plan a lot of Fusion (aka compositing) work.
- The drives in the Macs are plenty fast, with the only exception being the new MB Air with 256 GB.
– Don't go for the Ultra, it's overpriced. Get the Max.
– Don't spend too much for internal drives, external ones are plenty fast.
– That Dell monitor is a good suggestion.
– If you don't need a laptop, don't get one. They are always more expensive for the same power.

and I love the sync between all of them with passwords, safari bookmarks and all so that and I am unhappy to switch my main working computer to a Windows machine.

By all means, get the machine you like (a Mac, that is). Just so you know, all those creature comforts you mention there are available on Windows as well.

My first nightmare is about my budget for the computer shouldn’t exceed beyond $2500 not including the monitor. Mac Studio the base one with 1Tb is in my budget. But maybe for the same budget can I get a custom desktop pc with a better benchmark?

If you're comfortable with Mac, I'd say buy the best Mac Studio you can afford. 64GB of RAM is better, and the Ultra (which might be out of your price range) is better still. I think the Mac Studio is a better performer overall than the MacBook Pros.

My next question is about drives. My initial idea is using my internal 1 TB M2 disk creating two partitions one for system and the other partition for cache and have one external Usbc drive one M2 for render output and a huge traditional mechanical HDD for storage.

I'd say, get just a 1TB SSD for the internal boot drive, and use the fastest external TB3 (or even TB4) drives you can afford. The G-Tech RAIDs are good, and there's also some really fast small SSDs out there that could do the job, though they're not cheap. You could potentially get a bigger internal drive if you wanted to split half for the system and half for Gallery/Cache.

My last question is about monitor. Traditional photo editing has been needing Adobe RGB monitor many of the images needed to be printed. Nowadays 95% of the photos have an online sRGB destination. Looking for a 4K an 99% RGB monitor is not easy below $1.600 my budget is about $700.

Noted editor Jonny Elwyn has some advice on affordable monitors:

https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video ... onitors-2/

Doing it for $700 will be tough. There are BenQ displays that can be calibrated, but my advice would be to up your budget to $995 and wait for the Black Friday sales: the 48" LG OLED's will go down to that level in 2 weeks.

There is no need to make 2 partitions on the main boot drive. Monterey and the coming OSs all require a drive formatted as APPS which has within it a partition for the operating system, and a separate on3 for the data stored on the primary drive.

Marc‘s advice is right, of course, but probably not in the budget.
For external storage, I use Samsung NVme SSDs in an Acasis enclosure, connected by TB. They are plenty fast, even enough for RAW out of an ArriLF (35MB per frame).

The issue is that the OP indicates have very intensive Mask use with DaVinci Fusion, i don't know how much Mac Studio (which is what makes more sense in Apple line) is okay for that and a Intel based PC with a Nvidia card which have strong mask performance would not be better.

I’m editing 4K clips in 60 and 30 fps in H265 and ProRes 422HQ output. If I do not use Fusion and only color grading without tracking masks I can manage with my actual computer. But I use to need to track all the time masks and also use Fusion and my computer is not ready for this.

I think is an important part of his request.

I'll give you some numbers for my humble machine when I'm back at work.

The issue is that the OP indicates have very intensive Mask use with DaVinci Fusion, i don't know how much Mac Studio (which is what makes more sense in Apple line) is okay for that and a Intel based PC with a Nvidia card which have strong mask performance would not be better.

I’m editing 4K clips in 60 and 30 fps in H265 and ProRes 422HQ output. If I do not use Fusion and only color grading without tracking masks I can manage with my actual computer. But I use to need to track all the time masks and also use Fusion and my computer is not ready for this.

I think is an important part of his request.

This is key really. If the OP has to use Fusion then this might be an argument for a PC as certainly some Mac silicon users here report problems with Fusion (although Windows users do also). However, if he needs a PC to run Fusion smoothly he will probably need to invest in a high end PC which might be beyond his budget.

One possible solution to the Fusion dilemma would be to invest in Apple Motion which has good tracking facilities and runs very well indeed on Macs.

One thing to take strongly into account is the time and energy required for a Mac user to transition (or re-transition) to Windows. For a professional time is money as they say and it might be far more economical to stay with Mac. Given potential problems with compatibility or suitability of the different hardware components in a WIndows machine for running Resolve (evident from the large number of posts here) in comparison to the simplicity of choosing and running a silicon Mac, it's a no brainer really.

I don't think there is budget issues in PC line since he said to have $2500 to spend without monitor. A good enough 24Gb RTX3090 can be for $1000 and that should be the most expensive component. Then a 12700 Intel CPU is competitive enough and not into the diminishing returns of an expensive 12900...
But always check the numbers at the moment of buy

Also don't think Apple to PC or vice versa will be difficult if the person is willing.

Below is done with a laptop w/RTX 3080 so signifcantly weaker than a desktop 3090 , maybe the OP can compare with his current work and experience.

If he can get into an Apple store and can try it in a Studio to compare.

Edit: just noticed the Uli above said he will show some data on Apple.
Edit2: op should get Intel CPU because of Quicksync capability of hardware decode HEVC 422

Well, my machine was very busy over the last hours, but I can tell you one thing now.
Footage from an Arri Alexa, coming in as ProRes 4444 XQ (no proxies, full res) in an UHD timeline. A single oval window is tracked in the Color page slightly faster than realtime. Still 18.0.4, BTW.

Need a specific test? Drop me a small .dra via a transfer service.

Sorry for haven’t reply I was busy outdoors and hadn’t time to check this post.
I have decided to go on a Mac Studio M1 Max. Only would change my mind if Apple releases a new M2 jewel before Black Friday. I pretend to get the advantages of Black Friday discounts.

About CPU M1 Max. GPU I did doubt about 24 or 32 cores but seems to don’t make great changes in DR so I stay in 24. RAM is my nightmare since I have to pay very overpriced when upgrading from 32 to 64 I have been reading that 32 works fine with DR but fusion in general demands as much RAM you can pay. I n fusion I don’t do so complicated things, just tracking masking what is hard to do in Color FX. That overpriced RAM increase to 64 is a nightmare in this moment.
My disk will be 1Tb to have the system and the cache. I am not sure if I need to do a partition or not if I use the internal M.2 for system, apps and cache. I read in this post that I don’t need to split. Don’t doing partitions would bring any disadvantages? I was thinking about keeping separated partition to allow cleaning better the older cache files and having all of them under control in a known location. Any help on this will be great.

Don’t upgrading Ram would allow me to have more budget room for choosing the monitor. About color space I want to clarify that when I write RGB I am talking about Adobe RGB 98. As a photographer and newbie videographer I still edit my images in RGB98 but because I have been doing this for years. Nowadays I after downgrade these RGB98 Tiff LZW to th higher JPG sRGB quality since 99% of my images have a screen destination instead the traditional analog printers. So I am seriously thinking about how necessary would be to pay more for a 99% Adobe RGB98 color space 2k 27” Benq monitor. Instead getting a 27” or even better 32” 4K sRGB screen for a similar price. Since both have 100% REC 709.
What do you think about BenQ PD3220U? I could go up to $1.1K monitor if I don’t get the RAM upgrade to 64 an I stay on Ram 32.

Marc‘s advice is right, of course, but probably not in the budget.
For external storage, I use Samsung NVme SSDs in an Acasis enclosure, connected by TB. They are plenty fast, even enough for RAW out of an ArriLF (35MB per frame).

Hi since you are using TB external enclosures I would like to ask if yo can clarify me some crucial doubts about connection speeds.
If I keep the cache and the system in the internal M.2 disk. On external disks I was thinking to have one external M.2 USBc for video files I am working with and another maybe traditional SSD with an enclosure (500-600 MB/s) for rendered files. Aside a 5TB HDD for storage of previous words and backups.

My doubts are about if there’s any advantages using the Thunderbolt speed on external M.2 compared to the same disk with an USBc enclosure (1000 MB/s). Thinking about storing the video files that I am working with. I don’t know if there’s a bottleneck here. I am not expert at all but I think that the really disk high speeds are needed for system, apps and cache. Meanwhile the files I am working with would be fine stored in a 1000 MB/s USBC storage. But maybe I a wrong and would be happy to understand in which files or processes the extra TB speed provides advantages compared to the USBC connection. I know speed is many times faster. But I don’t know in which case I am needing this speed advantages. Would you clarify for me? Thanks

I’m a Mac guy since 2015 and have several computers and also a 2015 MacBook Pro and I love the sync between all of them with passwords, safari bookmarks and all so that and I am unhappy to switch my main working computer to a Windows machine.

My first nightmare is about my budget for the computer shouldn’t exceed beyond $2500 not including the monitor. Mac Studio the base one with 1Tb is in my budget. But maybe for the same budget can I get a custom desktop pc with a better benchmark?

I think you filled in the answer yourself pretty well. You like Mac. So get one For your usecase I don't think you really need a super beefy windows machine. The Mac Studio runs pretty well from what I hear from people.

My second question is about if Ram 32 is enough or need to upgrade to 64?

Upgrading RAM via Apple on a Mac is unethically expensive. I don't think you need 64 in your use case but if you can spare the money it's welcome of course.

I’m very confused about the drives and their speeds.

M2 drives are more than fast enough to process 4K H265 and ProRes.

Looking for a 4K an 99% RGB monitor is not easy below $1.600 my budget is about $700.

What do you mean with RGB? AdobeRGB?

If you want 4K with wider gamut than sRGB this is an option but it's 98% DCI-P3. I can't say how much of that covers AdobeRGB as the location of the primaries are in a different place.
Dell Ultrasharp U2723QE

Any other option will likely be more expensive at a 4K res as you mention.

Thanks for your advice. As I wrote in the previous post I will go for the Mac Studio M1 Max. I would like to know if your advice about the 27” Dell monitor will also apply to the 32” version: U3223QE
I visually like more these Dell than the BenQ that I was looking at.

Marc‘s advice is right, of course, but probably not in the budget.
For external storage, I use Samsung NVme SSDs in an Acasis enclosure, connected by TB. They are plenty fast, even enough for RAW out of an ArriLF (35MB per frame).

Hi is this the mentioned enclosure?
acasis.com/collections/acasis-ssd-enclosure/products/acasis-usb4-0-mobile-m-2-nvme-enclosure-40gbps-compatible-with-typec-thunderbolt-3-interface-solid-state-nvme-ssd-universal-tools

When you use this enclosure with an M.2 disk what do you exactly use this for? For storing the video files that you are working with? Or you can use it for cache? I think this kind of external TB3 storages reach up to 1500MB/s in spite that M2 disks reach 4000 an Thunderbolt port also support this 4000 MB/s but I see that these TB3 enclosures run a little faster than the USBc 1000MB/s. I have a little mess with disks, speeds, and connection ports. If someone can clarify all these doubts about external drivers in a Mac Studio computer

OK, here we go:

Yes, that's the enclosure I use. I get close to 2 GB/s write and 2.5 GB/s read with a Samsung 980 Pro inside and the drive connected by Thunderbolt. But I mentioned that option only to tell you that you won't need heaps of expensive internal storage. I use that storage only for a specific project with large image sequences, where I need the throughput.

For anything else you'll be fine with regular Samsung T5 drives (T7 shield should be fine too) and regular USB-C connections. They'll give you close to 400 MB/s throughput. I work from those with footage from H.265 all the way to BRAW Q0 or ProRes 4444. Which should also tell you that you don't need the Ultra to get those extra TB ports on the front. Mechanically, USB-C and Thunderbolt ports are identical, but not every USB-C port supports Thunderbolt too, which also needs other cables (with a lightning symbol).

I can keep the cache (which I don't need that much anyway) on one of those too, I can't see much of a difference having the cache on the Acasis or internal. But it's important to have them connected when you start DR, so you don't confuse the software.

The main advantage of SSDs are far better access times, pure throughput would still suffice for most formats from modern spinners (which I use only for archival these days). But with SSDs the whole thing is so much more snappy.

In your case I'd aim for the Mac Studio M1 Max and rather spend the money on extra GPU cores than on internal storage. Apple's mid-level systems are normally the better buy, with the top machine overpriced and just to show off. Very few folks will really need the Ultra (and might be better off going for a massive PC anyway). Coming from that 2015 iMac you'll be nothing short of impressed, both by speed and by silence of that little box.

SSD are much more reliable than mechanical disks, that is also a point to consider.

Well, I'd never trust my income to any single storage. I've seen SSDs die too.

OK, here we go:

Yes, that's the enclosure I use.......Ultra (and might be better off going for a massive PC anyway). Coming from that 2015 iMac you'll be nothing short of impressed, both by speed and by silence of that little box.

That was so helpful and well-explained! I'm double checking the Apple Studio specs and found that the USB-C connections are USB-C 3.1 instead of the standard of the enclosures I find in Amazon which are USB-C 3.2. I read in some comments that even if I use the M.2 disk in these new USB-C 3.2 (gen-2) enclosures, it will not run close to 10 Gbps, and will run at 5 Gbps. So I see a waste of money purchasing M.2 with USBC enclosures if I pretend to run them at 10 Gbps.

So since what I'm learning here with your help and reading the enclosures reviews, while we are talking about Mac Studio (not another computer), There are 3 ways for external, please review my data if I'm confused:

1/ Traditional SSD as the Crucial MX500 with a USB-c enclosure (no matter which generation) That will run at the max speed of the disk 500 MB/s

2/ M.2 Disk in a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 enclosure that will run at 460 MB/s (Since enclosures 3.1 Gen2 seem to don't offer the full 1000 MB/s bus speed due to the Mac Studio having a 3.1 Gen 2 port). In this case, I have no advantages to buying an expensive M.2, that runs at the same speed as a cheaper SSD-SATA about 500 MB/s

3/ M.2 Disk to get it worth the extra price, using the proper Acasis TB4 enclosure and will get the advantage speed of 2 GB/s (2000 MB/s) write and 2.5 GB/s (2200 MB/s) read with a Samsung 980 Pro inside, which I will get the advantage of the TB speed and will run 4 times faster than any of the listed 1 and 2 options

So from what I'm beginning to understand option 2 makes non-sense and I have to go to 1 or 3. And let me know if I understood well, Using option 3/ I can assign the cache to that disk since that 2000 MB/s speed will cover the same speed for cache that an internal cache M.2. Did I understand well? This way even a basic 500 Gb Mac Studio won't need the upgrade to a 1TB internal disk... or I did not understand well.

notice I'm asking, not affirming. since I'm trying to order in my mind how speed changes depending enclosures, bus and disks.


Thanks again

Yes, you will be fine with external drives instead of wasting money on larger internal ones. But I doubt that you'll notice the difference in everyday work between a standard SSD over USB-C and an Acasis plus 980 Pro via Thunderbolt as long as you are not using ProRes 4444 XQ for caching.
I'd start with regular SSDs and see how it feels.

Yes, you will be fine with external drives instead of wasting money on larger internal ones. But I doubt that you'll notice the difference in everyday work between a standard SSD over USB-C and an Acasis plus 980 Pro via Thunderbolt as long as you are not using ProRes 4444 XQ for caching.
I'd start with regular SSDs and see how it feels.

Well… I have already purchased the Acasis TB4 enclosure an a 2 TB Samsung M.2. It’s maybe a little more expensive but far away so far than upgrading 2 TB of internal disk in a Mac Studio.

Now I have my Mac Studio decided and also the external drives purchased and learned a big about transfer speeds in external disks. I still have doubts about 2 things.

1/ if I purchase 1 TB internal storage and create a separate partition for cache. Which size would you assign for DR cache. I was thinking 350 Gb for cache and 750 Gb for system and apps. Does it sounds logical?

2/ The monitor. I like the Dell Ultrasharp U3223QE and U2723QE Both are the same series and 4K resolution but the 27” has more DPI than the 32” since have the same resolution and bigger size. I wonder if working at 2-3 feet from screen pixels would be viewable or would I have noticeable downsides. My point is keeping the timeline as down as possible to allow as much height as possible for the viewer without needing to purchase a second monitor for the viewer. Now in my 27” I see very small size the viewer, smaller than a small tablet screen size. But I know in this post I got 2 recommendations for this monitor but only about the 27”.

Thanks

You'll like that Acasis. One of its advantages over other enclosures is dual use. You can connect it to USB-C on a machine without TB and it's going to work, just slower. Other enclosures are either/or. Take care to use the included thermo pad, it has passive cooling. And don't get shocked if it gets hot. I keep mine upright for better heat dissipation.

I'm working here all day long in front of a 27" UHD (by LG), set to 1440 by 2560. It's large enough and still quite readable for my ageing eyes. But the beauty of MacOS: there are no scaling problems! Set the screen as it fits you.

Partition size depends completely on your needs. I have quite a few programs, including large ones like Topaz', Affinity, FCP-X and all the BM stuff plus hundred of smaller helpers. They are all sitting in about 300 GB together with the system on my half TB. My cache is on the Acasis (permanently connected). So, if I had 1 TB just halving it in two would be adequate.

You'll like that Acasis. ....

Wow ! The Acasis with a Samsung M.2 in a TB4 connection moves files at 2800 MB/s write and 2700 MB/s read. That's a piece of amazing stuff! thanks for your advice. My older Crucial SSD (Not M.2) via USBC is about 390 MB/s compared to the Acasis is a rocket. so happy with this.

You'll like that Acasis. ....

Wow ! The Acasis with a Samsung M.2 in a TB4 connection moves files at 2800 MB/s write and 2700 MB/s read. That's a piece of amazing stuff! thanks for your advice. My older Crucial SSD (Not M.2) via USBC is about 390 MB/s compared to the Acasis is a rocket. so happy with this.

On Uli's suggestion above, I sourced one of these on Amazon with just a 1TB Samsung M.2. The performance is unbelievable. I'll use it for an external cache drive (for proxies) and see how it performs. This is with my MacBook (see my signature). I intended to get a larger Samsung M.2 but for some reason they are hard to come by and the prices were pretty high. I'll see how this goes and upgrade in the future or buy another Acasis / drive combo (they really aren't that expensive).

Actually, the honor is not on me, somebody else recommended it in this forum. I was about to buy an Orico enclosure until I saw a lot of bad experiences in the last moment and read that suggestion.
I’ve been using it for most of this year, including some massive Arri RAW stuff, and couldn’t be happier.