Laptop reccommendation for DaVinci Resolve

Hello
I am currently looking for a laptop to use da vinci on and have narrowed it down to apple mcbook (M1 or pro), either 14 or 16. Which would davinci work best on please?

I can only recommend from what I have used.

I have an original 13" M1 with 16GB ram, and a New 16" M2 MAX with 96GB ram. I am a DIT for film and TV, and the M1 had no problem working with RED R3D, Sony and BMD braw files. - Just make sure to only debayer for the resolution you need ( no need to display 8K on screen while editing. 1080 at 1/4 res debayer looks pristine on screen. ) and it will play back fine. Just up the timeline res before output.

All the plugins work in Resolve Studio on the M1, but if you are a serious power user ( huge node trees, heavy Denoise settings, tons of Fusion FX work ) I would go for the highest speced machine you can afford.

The 16" machines have a bit beefier cooling system, so if you are doing large renders I'd suggest that. Just get as much RAM as you can afford. Getting the lowest available RAM will usually cause the OS to create a swap file, and that will wear on the internal SSD heavily.

Just my 2 cents.

I got the 14" M1 Max when they were released in 2021 and am very happy with it. I chose the 14" for weight and portability when travellling- there was not much difference in price between it and the 16" but the weight difference is significant for me. I use it mostly with an external monitor so the smaller screen is not an issue. As Kyrad777 says, the 16" models might be a bit better for large renders as they have better cooling systems than the 14' models but there is probably not a lot of difference for most real world performance.

The 13" machines have max RAM of 24GB which may be limiting down the line. These 13" Macs also have ordinary retina screens in contrast to the 14" and 16" Macs which have XDR screens.

Keep in mind that nothing can be upgraded in these Macs so it is sensible to get more than you think you need at the time of purchase.

I have both a 13" M1 air with a mere 8GB memory and 16" M1 Max with 64GB.
Both do quite fine with 1080p footage which is all I need (as proxies) to edit a feature I'm working on.

I got the 13" from Costco which has a 90 day return policy and doubles the manufacturer's warranty. So it's a good option for trying it out - and keeping it if you like it!

I tried the 14 and the 16" at an Apple Store. Found the screen of the 14" a bit too tiny and the sound is better on the 16". Later I learned that the 14" may even throttle under heavy load, which mine never does.

So, I'm very happy with the M1 Pro 16", which you may find discounted now that the M2s are out. But for ultimate portability, the MB Air M1 can handle quite a bit of video editing. I'd go for 16 GB RAM, though.

I would have gotten 16GB but Costco didn’t sell it at that time so I got the 8. Surprised at how well it works just the same. But yes I’d go for the 16 if it were available.

The 16 GB of RAM are just better for longevity of your SSD. The M1 is very good at swapping to the SSD, but that can be quite a load on the long run.
For those considering the M2: there's a secret downgrade by Apple. They sell the base model with a single SSD now, which is only half as fast as all the others, which are actually kind of RAIDed double SSDs.