What's the bare minimum Mac I can use for ProRes HQ?

I'm limited by budget and also want the option to be portable. I was wondering if I only shoot PRORES on the pocket camera what's the cheapest system that can smoothly edit ProRes? I mean even the cheapest Mac Mini is Quad core so wondering if I'm throwing money away getting the fastest system I can afford.

What kind of performance could I get on the lowest specs of Mac Mini, iMac and MacBook?

I would be interested in people's personal experience?

The problem with all of those is that the GPU is built onto the motherboard. No chance of upgrading.
I had a MacBook Pro until about a month ago. I actually sold it to fund a Hackintosh build. Best computer-related decision I've made.
My macbook was from early 2011 and it really struggled with a lot of stuff in Resolve. I think the main problem is that the macbook, iMac, and Mac mini are not particularly good at keeping the CPU cool and it maxes out quickly.
My new hackintosh (which only has an i5 and only cost about $800) has little to no trouble with ProRes in resolve and I'm fairly certain it can be attributed to more efficient cooling, and a dedicated GPU.

Is there any reason it absolutely has to be small or is it just a convenience thing?

It all depends on the software you want to run.

Resolve for example won't run on a Mac mini as it requires much better graphics processing power.

Final Cut Pro however will run on a Mac mini as its minimum spec is an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU with an Intel HD 3000 graphics card.

You would need faster drives for editing on the Mac mini tho. That its biggest bottleneck for editing.

It all depends on the software you want to run

Good point. Haha I think the hard drive is upgradeable in those three computers right? At least I know it is in the macbook...

As Jeff says... If budget is an issue you chooses are limited on the Apple front.

A Hackintosh could be an option. I currently run Resolve on a Hackintosh with great results. I also have a 17" MacBook Pro for when I'm on the road and a Mac mini for simple editing and admin.

Here is my £2300 build:
http://www.adamroberts.net/blog/davinci ... sh-part-1/

There is also a parts list for a sub £1k build.

I'm just not technical minded to bother with a hackintosh plus I'm overseas so getting stuff shipped ends up a false economy. To me it's really all about FCPX. I've tried trials of Premiere and just don't like it, if FCPX was PC I would go PC in a heartbeat. I plan to edit within FCPX and use plug ins like filmconvert. It might not be wise but I think I'm going to keep away from Resolve and keep things simple and focus of editing rather than color.


Anyone used ProRes HQ on the latest Mac Mini or lower spec iMac?

There was quite a bump in performance from the 2011 machines as far as I understand.

FCPX on lower end Mac performs "ok".

It performs better on the iMac (even the entry level one) than the Mac mini because the iMac has a better GPU that helps accelerate FCPX's internal rendering (the processing that allows for real time efx).

Add a thunderbolt external drive for your footage. The internal drives are slow and will slow FCPX down.

A MacBook air (2013) with the Intel haswell apu should do well. A low-end iMac with a few SSD s should do nicely too provided you aren't trying to go too crazy in software.

I'd say the minimum workable solution would be a MacBook Pro 15" model with Retina display. For editing and grading (in Resolve) that is. If Resolve isn't used, then a Mac Mini or MacBook Air could even work, would not be as fast though due to the lack of a dedicated GPU.

I'd say the minimum workable solution would be a MacBook Pro 15" model with Retina display. For editing and grading (in Resolve) that is. If Resolve isn't used, then a Mac Mini or MacBook Air could even work, would not be as fast though due to the lack of a dedicated GPU.

You'd be surprised how little the GPU is used (except in Resolve). I currently have a decent laptop (i7 4700, 16gb ram, 1.12tb etc) and due to issues with nvidia my dedicated GPU doesnt work, yet editing in Lightworks is silky smooth no matter what I throw at it.

But I do agree to an extent, I'd want atleast 1080p panel and dedicated graphics if it was my only editing system.

ProRes is an edit codec (or at least that was it's originally intended use), so it is designed to be easy on the system (as its expected you'll be decoding muliple clips of it at once, but does require faster drives than some other codecs. Traditionally shooting codecs and delivery codecs are heavier on the decode, but since decode isnt the issue in shooting (in camera decode of R3D is quite poor), and only one stream of video at once is expected with a delivery codec in general the codecs magic is aimed elsewhere.

This is why some software (FCP7 for example) can really struggle with h264 in a complex edit, while being fine with the much higher quality ProRes.

Also, running the system and applications of an SSD makes a huge difference, so ideally get a Mac with a built-in SSD.

Also, running the system and applications of an SSD makes a huge difference, so ideally get a Mac with a built-in SSD.

I've heard that a lot. But the iMacs have a SSD or a fusion drive option. Would people recommend a straight SSD internally then external fast storage or would it be just as good to get a fusion drive?

I have a macbook pro from June 2012.

Its the 13 inch model, so has only the basic graphics card, hd intel 4000 or something like that.

Because of this I cannot use Resolve. I upgraded my RAM to 16gb and use FCP X for all my video editing.

I have been downloading and playing with the ProRes files supplied by John Brawley and they have been working fine on my mac within FCP X. If anything it is actually a smoother workflow now because these files are in the native format that fcp x requires, where as with all my previous h.264 footage from my GH2 that had to be rendered and converted to prores in the background while I worked on it.

I would prefer a bigger screen if I am honest, but if your question is "can my make handle prores hq" my answer would be yes!

Also, running the system and applications of an SSD makes a huge difference, so ideally get a Mac with a built-in SSD.

I've heard that a lot. But the iMacs have a SSD or a fusion drive option. Would people recommend a straight SSD internally then external fast storage or would it be just as good to get a fusion drive?

SSD, no doubt. I'm assuming the fusion drive is an SSHD/hybrid drive (correct me if I'm wrong) which is a mechanical drive with several GB of SSD cache. This makes it faster than a normal mechanism drive and cheaper than true SSD but the performance gains of a real SSD make it a better option. I like to have small SSD for OS and 1-4TB of SSHD storage for editing.

Hope this makes sense phone is playing up so proof reading is rough.

Not only 1080p ProRes HQ, but 4K (3840 x 2160) ProRes HQ, too.

In my informal tests, there’s no significant performance penalty working with ProRes HQ 4K vs. 1080p size files.

For example, my >3 yr. old MacBook Pro 17″ can easily edit & composite at least 4 concurrent ProRes HQ 4K streams from a single 7200 rpm SATA-3 hard drive via eSATA-3 in FCP7.

Mac & Windows users with newer hardware, software and faster I/O (such as USB-3 & Thunderbolt) should have no issues handling ProRes HQ 1080p & 4K files.

-

The cheaper iMac options only have 512mb graphic cards compared to the top model that can be 1-2gb. Would I really have a problem free time editing with just 512mb on FCPX, I say just cause its the recommended spec for FCPX but often having more than recommended is advisable. I also want to keep my options open to dip into Resolve later, maybe....


I'm bouncing between going budget and then then thinking sod it I may as get the best I can so I don't regret it later. Apple I think spend as much time pricing their stuff in annoying ways as they do designing their stuff. groan.....

I'd get at least the 1GB GPU if I were you.

I'd get at least the 1GB GPU if I were you.

Yeah I think you might be right, apple are pretty sneaky about how they configure. To get 1gb card I have to get the top spec one and then I may as well add to make it 2gb. They know video editors will want it so hold back on putting at least 1gb on the cheaper iMacs.... Grrrr

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro running FCPX and FCP7 and I just did a multi cam edit with 7 layers of ProRes 422HQ, and it edited just fine. You don't need hefty specs to edit ProRes 422HQ.

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro running FCPX and FCP7 and I just did a multi cam edit with 7 layers of ProRes 422HQ, and it edited just fine. You don't need hefty specs to edit ProRes 422HQ.

The question is more about da Vinci resolve and if any of the lower priced macs with 512mb cards will do the job with ProRes HQ in Resolve?

be good to hear anyone real experience...

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro running FCPX and FCP7 and I just did a multi cam edit with 7 layers of ProRes 422HQ, and it edited just fine. You don't need hefty specs to edit ProRes 422HQ.

The question is more about da Vinci resolve and if any of the lower priced macs with 512mb cards will do the job with ProRes HQ in Resolve?

be good to hear anyone real experience...

I can run Resolve on it, but it's slow and I have use an external monitor since the built in monitors resolution isn't supported. I recommend finding the latest version of Apple Color before they discontinued it. It's great for color correcting ProRes 422HQ, and it's fast on older machines.

The GT650M in the iMac is the same as the MacBook Pro. It just has less video ram.

Resolve needs almost 1GB for HD work. Does not matter if the source is ProRes HQ or CinemaDNG. It's the resolution of the timeline that counts.

In most cases 512MB will not be enough for working in HD.

Should be fine for 720p timelines.

The GT650M in the iMac is the same as the MacBook Pro. It just has less video ram.

Resolve needs almost 1GB for HD work. Does not matter if the source is ProRes HQ or CinemaDNG. It's the resolution of the timeline that counts.

In most cases 512MB will not be enough for working in HD.

Should be fine for 720p timelines.

What do you mean by 720p timeline. are you talking about how you set the window on your viewer or you simply can't work with 1080p HD?

Your project delivery settings. As in what the project will be exported as.

The source does not really matter. You could work with 4K sources files. Resolve only processes the data at the resolution of your project timeline.

So if you project is 720p and your source is 4K RED or 2.5k CinemaDNG or ProRes HD it would be fine.

If your project was 1080p it will probably struggle as you have to little video ram.

The cheaper iMac options only have 512mb graphic cards compared to the top model that can be 1-2gb. Would I really have a problem free time editing with just 512mb on FCPX, I say just cause its the recommended spec for FCPX but often having more than recommended is advisable. I also want to keep my options open to dip into Resolve later, maybe....


I'm bouncing between going budget and then then thinking sod it I may as get the best I can so I don't regret it later. Apple I think spend as much time pricing their stuff in annoying ways as they do designing their stuff. groan.....

VRAM is only important in relation to resolution, so how high your panel's native resolution is and what you are using it for. If you're in resolve 1GB is an ok amount but you also need to take into account the processing power.

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro running FCPX and FCP7 and I just did a multi cam edit with 7 layers of ProRes 422HQ, and it edited just fine. You don't need hefty specs to edit ProRes 422HQ.

The question is more about da Vinci resolve and if any of the lower priced macs with 512mb cards will do the job with ProRes HQ in Resolve?

be good to hear anyone real experience...

Jimmy, Peter Chamberlain of BMD has a little experience with Resolve and he recommends the iMac with the 2 GB video memory. Peter is the Resolve Product Manager. I've learned the hard way that Apple skimps on the video memory and best to go with the most they will support in my opinion since you can't upgrade later

Rick Lang
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