Buying advice for editing

[NorthStar_IT]

Good morning everyone,

Very undecided about buying a new Mac, I hope someone can help me decide.
I will make a long introduction (sorry for that), but it is the only way to explain my needs and type of use.

Over the past few years I have changed my mind several times about the machines I had, this is because my needs were also changing and because I am passionate about technology.
Until a few years ago I had an iMac27 i5 fusion drive (bought for amateur video and photo editing), sold for a 12" iPad Pro (hoping, as advertised by Apple, it would replace a computer...), sold for an iPad mini 6 (which I still use a lot for entertainment at home on the couch and on the go). Another piece of hardware I have at home is a Benq 2k monitor, which I only use with a gaming console and is not optimal for what I would do with this new mac.

Now that I have a little more time, I would like to have a machine again for video and photo editing, both at the amateur level.
4K 60/120fps video sources from APSC camera and action cams. Photos from APSC camera.
As frequency of use, let's say at most #1 video editing per week (with Vimeo and Youtube destination), along with a few dozen photos (that I never print).

Where I would use this mac : probably 99% at home.
I'd like to keep it for several years, but given my track record, I'm not ruling anything out.
Would it be comfortable to use it even sitting on the couch? Yes of course
If it were "anchored" to the desk instead? I think I could live with that.
Budget : I had in mind an amount about 2k€, up to around 2.5k€ if it makes sense.

I evaluated the following alternatives and found the following offers (I am in Europe, so prices in Euros)
- iMac 24" M3 16gb 1t at €2275 (15% less than Apple Price)
- Mac mini M2 pro 16gb 1t at €1580 (15% less than Apple Price)
- MacBook Pro 14" M3 pro 18gb 1t at €2150 (33% less than Apple Price)

I need to add a good monitor to the shopping list as well (even with the MacBook Pro, as I don't think it's ideal to do editing on a 14", right?), so I have selected the following:
- Dell ultrasharp U2723QE €540
- BenQ PD2725U €680
I also have to consider a budget for audio speakers if I chose the mac mini. Let's say another €150

Where I got to with my reasoning :
- My initial idea was the iMac. It is the least powerful of the 3, but I really appreciate the fact that it already has everything, so a clean setup and ready-to-go.
- I evaluated the Mac mini because of the greater power of the M2 Pro over the base M3 of the iMac and the same price (considering external monitor and speakers). Is there that much difference in power on balance I wonder?
- I also considered the macbook pro M3 pro because, besides being the most powerful of the 3, it is the best deal at a discount. However, by adding the monitor I will be beyond the budget I have set. I wonder, is it worth going over budget for what I need to do with it and how I would use it?

I've said it all.
In my place and with my use, what would you do?

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks a lot
N

 

[Fishrrman]

None of the above.
You want either an m2pro Mini or a Mac Studio.
You want MORE THAN 16gb of RAM -- 32gb minimum.

Also be aware that 4k video is going to EAT UP drive space at an alarming rate.
1tb may "seem small" all to soon.

Get a good 4k display.
Or perhaps an Apple Studio display (kind of pricey, in my opinion).

 

[NorthStar_IT]

None of the above.
You want either an m2pro Mini or a Mac Studio.
You want MORE THAN 16gb of RAM -- 32gb minimum.

Also be aware that 4k video is going to EAT UP drive space at an alarming rate.
1tb may "seem small" all to soon.

Get a good 4k display.
Or perhaps an Apple Studio display (kind of pricey, in my opinion).

Thanks for you feedback.
From what you say I understand that among those three machines you would choose the Mac mini, but with a different configuration. I will try to make some evaluations along these lines.

I had considered the basic Mac studio M3 Max with 1t, but with a good 4k monitor and speakers we are way over the budget I had in mind. I am not planning to spend 3k+€.
I'm aware it's on another level, at the same time I feel I need much less for what I'm going to do.

I also understand that more is always better, but I don't do this for work and unfortunately I have to deal with a budget.
What concrete advantage would I have with more than 16gb of ram, editing maybe one video a week (probably less), an amateur video without too much pretension or effects?

As for SSD capacity, I have some external solution in mind, but this is another story and other money by the way 😂

 

[NorthStar_IT]

I wrote a lot in the first post, but I think not enough about the kind of video editing I will be doing.

I wrote that I would do at most one video edit a week, realistically though I think it will be less.
At certain times maybe one a month.
The videos will be 4K, but short videos : 30/40 minutes of footage with a final output of about 5 minutes.
Usually one video stream, one audio stream, some color correction and stabilization.
No 3d or heavy filters usually.
I hope this can help.

 

[mmkerc]

Assuming your video editing is "simple" all three machines should be powerful enough to easily handle the workflow you describe. Simple BTW for me means cutting and splicing video, adding/editing audio tracks, and minor video effects. All three should easily handle photo editing tasks. Key though is I would get as already suggested more ram.

Given that, and that it seems you would prefer the mobility of a laptop I would go with an M3 14" 24 gb ram, 1Tb SSD. MacBook Pro which will run about 2000€. I would stick with a less expensive monitor (to stay within budget), the high resolution and refresh rate while nice, aren't IMO required and would allow for some good bluetooth speakers.

 

[ignatius345]

Also be aware that 4k video is going to EAT UP drive space at an alarming rate.
1tb may "seem small" all to soon.

But also if you're doing a ton of video editing, you're going to be using external drives. I think you just need enough space to store the project you're actively working on -- the rest can go onto an external. That budget money is better spent elsewhere, versus spec'ing a 2TB internal from Apple for the better part of $1K extra.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

Assuming your video editing is "simple" all three machines should be powerful enough to easily handle the workflow you describe. Simple BTW for me means cutting and splicing video, adding/editing audio tracks, and minor video effects. All three should easily handle photo editing tasks. Key though is I would get as already suggested more ram.

Given that, and that it seems you would prefer the mobility of a laptop I would go with an M3 14" 24 gb ram, 1Tb SSD. MacBook Pro which will run about 2000€. I would stick with a less expensive monitor (to stay within budget), the high resolution and refresh rate while nice, aren't IMO required and would allow for some good bluetooth speakers.

You assume well about the kind of editing I do now. In the future I hope to improve, but for now that is how it is.

Regarding ram, in an absolute sense I agree with you that more is always better, I wonder though in my workflow where I would see benefits other than a faster video export time. We are talking in any case of a few minutes probably.

As for the type of machine, I don't need a laptop, I only considered that MacBook Pro because of the huge discount I found on it, and that's why I was wondering if it was worth considering the specs/price ratio.
This computer would never leave the house, maybe even stay in the same room all the time.
Although I don't need portability, if I were to find the right solution with a laptop, why not.

I understand that you would recommend a MacBook Pro M3 base version, not the version with M3 pro. From what I know, the MacBook Pros running the base version of M3 have somewhat castrated hardware compared to their bigger brothers with M3 pro (e.g one fan only). If what I say is correct, I wonder if it makes sense to save money on this.
As for price, I am going to pay around €2100 for the configuration you suggested, so almost identical to the m3 pro with 18gb of ram.

Regarding the monitor, I don't rate below 4K 60hz and I from what I saw online, editing with Mac the ones I selected are good “compromises”.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

But also if you're doing a ton of video editing, you're going to be using external drives. I think you just need enough space to store the project you're actively working on -- the rest can go onto an external. That budget money is better spent elsewhere, versus spec'ing a 2TB internal from Apple for the better part of $1K extra.

This was exactly my thought

 

[ignatius345]

This was exactly my thought

Just make sure that external gets backed up, is the only thing. People forget to do that and then post on here about how they lost everything because the drive died 🙀

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Good morning everyone,

Very undecided about buying a new Mac, I hope someone can help me decide.
I will make a long introduction (sorry for that), but it is the only way to explain my needs and type of use.

Over the past few years I have changed my mind several times about the machines I had, this is because my needs were also changing and because I am passionate about technology.
Until a few years ago I had an iMac27 i5 fusion drive (bought for amateur video and photo editing), sold for a 12" iPad Pro (hoping, as advertised by Apple, it would replace a computer...), sold for an iPad mini 6 (which I still use a lot for entertainment at home on the couch and on the go). Another piece of hardware I have at home is a Benq 2k monitor, which I only use with a gaming console and is not optimal for what I would do with this new mac.

Now that I have a little more time, I would like to have a machine again for video and photo editing, both at the amateur level.
4K 60/120fps video sources from APSC camera and action cams. Photos from APSC camera.
As frequency of use, let's say at most #1 video editing per week (with Vimeo and Youtube destination), along with a few dozen photos (that I never print).

Where I would use this mac : probably 99% at home.
I'd like to keep it for several years, but given my track record, I'm not ruling anything out.
Would it be comfortable to use it even sitting on the couch? Yes of course
If it were "anchored" to the desk instead? I think I could live with that.
Budget : I had in mind an amount about 2k€, up to around 2.5k€ if it makes sense.

I evaluated the following alternatives and found the following offers (I am in Europe, so prices in Euros)
- iMac 24" M3 16gb 1t at €2275 (15% less than Apple Price)
- Mac mini M2 pro 16gb 1t at €1580 (15% less than Apple Price)
- MacBook Pro 14" M3 pro 18gb 1t at €2150 (33% less than Apple Price)

I need to add a good monitor to the shopping list as well (even with the MacBook Pro, as I don't think it's ideal to do editing on a 14", right?), so I have selected the following:
- Dell ultrasharp U2723QE €540
- BenQ PD2725U €680
I also have to consider a budget for audio speakers if I chose the mac mini. Let's say another €150

Where I got to with my reasoning :
- My initial idea was the iMac. It is the least powerful of the 3, but I really appreciate the fact that it already has everything, so a clean setup and ready-to-go.
- I evaluated the Mac mini because of the greater power of the M2 Pro over the base M3 of the iMac and the same price (considering external monitor and speakers). Is there that much difference in power on balance I wonder?
- I also considered the macbook pro M3 pro because, besides being the most powerful of the 3, it is the best deal at a discount. However, by adding the monitor I will be beyond the budget I have set. I wonder, is it worth going over budget for what I need to do with it and how I would use it?

I've said it all.
In my place and with my use, what would you do?

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks a lot
N

Easy. I would buy a Macbook because portability is important and there is no need not to go with portable. All-in-ones are bad for lots of reasons, so the iMac is out. The Mini is excellent, but it too is out because it is sessile like the iMac is. [I have used MBPs as desktop replacement computers since 2011; currently using an M2 MBP with 96 GB RAM]

So Macbook. The Macbook Pro is much better in every regard than the Macbook Air, so only go MBA if that is all that finances permit.

RAM is important for your usages but M3 over M2 is not, so to optimize value consider getting an M2 MBP with additional RAM; minimum 32 GB, 64 GB recommended.

Agreed that money for mass storage should be spent on external drives (I use OWC) rather than paying Apple SSD prices.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

Easy. I would buy a Macbook because portability is important and there is no need not to go with portable. All-in-ones are bad for lots of reasons, so the iMac is out. The Mini is excellent, but it too is out because it is sessile like the iMac is. [I have used MBPs as desktop replacement computers since 2011; currently using an M2 MBP with 96 GB RAM]

So Macbook. The Macbook Pro is much better in every regard than the Macbook Air, so only go MBA if that is all that finances permit.

RAM is important for your usages but M3 over M2 is not, so to optimize value consider getting an M2 MBP with additional RAM; minimum 32 GB, 64 GB recommended.

Agreed that money for mass storage should be spent on external drives (I use OWC) rather than paying Apple SSD prices.

In my use let's say portability is worth zero, I would use this computer only at home in the studio, perpetually connected to an external monitor that I will have to buy.
I consider that MacBook Pro only because I would get a big discount on it (exactly twice the discount compared to his other options), otherwise I wouldn't have considered it.

I love the idea of the iMac because in the past I had a great time with the 27" and loved its simplicity and the minimalism of that machine.
I am in doubt about the iMac 24 M3 only because I would have preferred the m3 pro option

 

[Allen_Wentz]

In my use let's say portability is worth zero, I would use this computer only at home in the studio, perpetually connected to an external monitor that I will have to buy. I value the MacBook Pro only because I would get a big discount on it

If portability had zero value (which I find unfathomable) then compare specs competence M2 Mini versus the M3 MBP you get a deal on. The M3 MBP is a substantially stronger computer, and will better cope with the less-than-ideal RAM you propose..

Note that whatever you get IMO 32 GB RAM should be your minimum; if you choose what you list, the box will run but will be sub-optimal. Less optimal as time goes on.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

I was doing some thinking and I came to the conclusion that my real doubt in the end is about the chip.
If I had the same chip options available on all 3 machines that I mentioned, I would choose the iMac.

Now what is holding me back is that on the latest 24" iMac, there is only the basic M3 option.

That said, the real question is whether I would live comfortably with the basic M3 for what I need to do, or would I regret an M2 pro or M3 pro in the medium term (I don't say long term because I know myself and I might sell this machine before it gets too old 😂).
What do you think?

As far as Ram is concerned, I might also think about taking an extra step, I will evaluate.

 

[PaulD-UK]

You haven't mentioned which video editing software.
Adobe software is not particularly optimised for Mac OS.
Da Vinci is highly optimised, but also has high system requirements
Apple's Final Cut Pro - according to people round here ;-) runs fine even on M1 Macs...
Haha. Not so.

I find when trying to edit even 1080p video on an M1 Mac mini 16/512 can make the interface become like stirring treacle, if you are using un-transcoded camera original source footage, once the project timeline gets to any length. 15mins or more.

A surprising amount of FCP's internal CPU operations remain single threaded, processes like noise reduction or stabilisation. which puts the M1 at an obvious disadvantage, as does its lack of a hardware engine for ProRes.

For 1080p projects the 16GB RAM is never not enough, though memory pressure remains fully yellow. But swap remains 0GB. However 4K video may stress the Mac more, and there is not much left in reserve most of the time.

You are considering M2 and M3 Macs, and in my opinion the faster the better, so an M2Pro CPU is no help in ST operations but might help with interface redrawing.

So it's not just exporting the final video being slow.
A slower machine can mean every editing decision has to wait for a moment until the interface and timeline redraws itself.

Part of these delays stem from using external SSDs (even fast TB3 ones) so editing as much as possible on the internal disk helps. 1TB gets filled very quickly, but can be acceptable with careful disk management, offloading unused material to external disks.

@Fishrrman's choices of an M2 Pro mini or a Mac Studio are good suggestions - if the Studio is beyond your budget at the moment, aspire for that in the future.

An M3 Pro mini (or M3 Max Studio), would be significantly better. As it is likely? they will come along in the next few months. Particularly for single threaded operations.
Or the M3Pro laptop, now.
But editing of anything of any complexity does need a good chair, and a big screen and a mouse IMO.

 

[danwells]

Unfortunately, this iMac is not the powerful iMac of your memory. In the Intel era, the 21" iMac was a simple home computer with very limited specs, while the 27" was MUCH more than that. The 27" iMac often featured relatively slow GPUs. but it had a lot of CPU power and generous RAM expansion potential.

The only Apple Silicon iMac we've seen so far (the multicolored 24") is in the spirit of the 21" iMac (actually a bit MORE restricted), and has nothing to do with the 27" model.

I think something with an M2 Pro or M3 Pro, with 32 or 36 GB of RAM, is what you're looking for.. I agree with the consensus that external SSD storage will serve you well, and you want either 512 GB or 1 TB internal (some things HAVE to live on internal storage - I think the Applications folder has to be internal, and local copies of most cloud storage files are also required to). The Applications folder alone makes 256 GB too tight of a squeeze.

An M3 Pro 14" MBP would be the best option mentioned so far - if you prefer a desktop, can you wait until June? The chances of an M3/M3 Pro Mini appearing either in the upcoming March updates or at WWDC in June are pretty good. The M3 Pro Mini is also likely to lead to very good deals on the M2 Pro Mini for a while.

Another option is that an M2 Max Mac Studio base model is not that expensive. You can get one for $1699 refurbished (I just checked the Apple Refurbished store) or $1795 brand new. It has 32 GB of RAM by default. It only has a 512 GB drive, so consider whether you can get your applications plus your cloud-synced files into that...

 

[MacProFCP]

Good morning everyone,

Very undecided about buying a new Mac, I hope someone can help me decide.
I will make a long introduction (sorry for that), but it is the only way to explain my needs and type of use.

Over the past few years I have changed my mind several times about the machines I had, this is because my needs were also changing and because I am passionate about technology.
Until a few years ago I had an iMac27 i5 fusion drive (bought for amateur video and photo editing), sold for a 12" iPad Pro (hoping, as advertised by Apple, it would replace a computer...), sold for an iPad mini 6 (which I still use a lot for entertainment at home on the couch and on the go). Another piece of hardware I have at home is a Benq 2k monitor, which I only use with a gaming console and is not optimal for what I would do with this new mac.

Now that I have a little more time, I would like to have a machine again for video and photo editing, both at the amateur level.
4K 60/120fps video sources from APSC camera and action cams. Photos from APSC camera.
As frequency of use, let's say at most #1 video editing per week (with Vimeo and Youtube destination), along with a few dozen photos (that I never print).

Where I would use this mac : probably 99% at home.
I'd like to keep it for several years, but given my track record, I'm not ruling anything out.
Would it be comfortable to use it even sitting on the couch? Yes of course
If it were "anchored" to the desk instead? I think I could live with that.
Budget : I had in mind an amount about 2k€, up to around 2.5k€ if it makes sense.

I evaluated the following alternatives and found the following offers (I am in Europe, so prices in Euros)
- iMac 24" M3 16gb 1t at €2275 (15% less than Apple Price)
- Mac mini M2 pro 16gb 1t at €1580 (15% less than Apple Price)
- MacBook Pro 14" M3 pro 18gb 1t at €2150 (33% less than Apple Price)

I need to add a good monitor to the shopping list as well (even with the MacBook Pro, as I don't think it's ideal to do editing on a 14", right?), so I have selected the following:
- Dell ultrasharp U2723QE €540
- BenQ PD2725U €680
I also have to consider a budget for audio speakers if I chose the mac mini. Let's say another €150

Where I got to with my reasoning :
- My initial idea was the iMac. It is the least powerful of the 3, but I really appreciate the fact that it already has everything, so a clean setup and ready-to-go.
- I evaluated the Mac mini because of the greater power of the M2 Pro over the base M3 of the iMac and the same price (considering external monitor and speakers). Is there that much difference in power on balance I wonder?
- I also considered the macbook pro M3 pro because, besides being the most powerful of the 3, it is the best deal at a discount. However, by adding the monitor I will be beyond the budget I have set. I wonder, is it worth going over budget for what I need to do with it and how I would use it?

I've said it all.
In my place and with my use, what would you do?

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks a lot
N

Any current machine will work for you. However, I agree with those that say none of the machine you chose are correct.

My recommendation:
MacMini with the Pro Chip
32 GB ram
512 or 1 TB hard drive

1. Wait until the M3 MacMini and Studio come out, probably in a few months.

2. You NEED 32 gb of ram for real editing. I know people will come from all over saying they edit just fine with only 8 GB. I do varying levels of editing and have used laptops with only 16 gb for small edits. There is a noticeable difference. Get as much ram as you can afford.

3. You WILL be using external drives for almost all content storages, so don't let Apple take advantage on the storage. Get enough storage to keep your files and the occasional Desktop junk. I typically get 1 TB but even 512 should work.

4. Absolutely get a 4K monitor and a decent set of speakers.

Wish you the best.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

You haven't mentioned which video editing software.
Adobe software is not particularly optimised for Mac OS.
Da Vinci is highly optimised, but also has high system requirements
Apple's Final Cut Pro - according to people round here ;-) runs fine even on M1 Macs...
Haha. Not so.

I find when trying to edit even 1080p video on an M1 Mac mini 16/512 can make the interface become like stirring treacle, if you are using un-transcoded camera original source footage, once the project timeline gets to any length. 15mins or more.

A surprising amount of FCP's internal CPU operations remain single threaded, processes like noise reduction or stabilisation. which puts the M1 at an obvious disadvantage, as does its lack of a hardware engine for ProRes.

For 1080p projects the 16GB RAM is never not enough, though memory pressure remains fully yellow. But swap remains 0GB. However 4K video may stress the Mac more, and there is not much left in reserve most of the time.

You are considering M2 and M3 Macs, and in my opinion the faster the better, so an M2Pro CPU is no help in ST operations but might help with interface redrawing.

So it's not just exporting the final video being slow.
A slower machine can mean every editing decision has to wait for a moment until the interface and timeline redraws itself.

Part of these delays stem from using external SSDs (even fast TB3 ones) so editing as much as possible on the internal disk helps. 1TB gets filled very quickly, but can be acceptable with careful disk management, offloading unused material to external disks.

@Fishrrman's choices of an M2 Pro mini or a Mac Studio are good suggestions - if the Studio is beyond your budget at the moment, aspire for that in the future.

An M3 Pro mini (or M3 Max Studio), would be significantly better. As it is likely? they will come along in the next few months. Particularly for single threaded operations.
Or the M3Pro laptop, now.
But editing of anything of any complexity does need a good chair, and a big screen and a mouse IMO.

Thank you for your feedback, all very interesting considerations.

With this machine I am in doubt between Davinci and Finalcut, never used Davinci, but I would like to try it.

As for the ram, you are all convincing me to take an extra step and I am considering it.

I then agree with you on your last sentence.

If I told you : M3 on iMac with 32gb of ram?

 

[NorthStar_IT]

Unfortunately, this iMac is not the powerful iMac of your memory. In the Intel era, the 21" iMac was a simple home computer with very limited specs, while the 27" was MUCH more than that. The 27" iMac often featured relatively slow GPUs. but it had a lot of CPU power and generous RAM expansion potential.

The only Apple Silicon iMac we've seen so far (the multicolored 24") is in the spirit of the 21" iMac (actually a bit MORE restricted), and has nothing to do with the 27" model.

I think something with an M2 Pro or M3 Pro, with 32 or 36 GB of RAM, is what you're looking for.. I agree with the consensus that external SSD storage will serve you well, and you want either 512 GB or 1 TB internal (some things HAVE to live on internal storage - I think the Applications folder has to be internal, and local copies of most cloud storage files are also required to). The Applications folder alone makes 256 GB too tight of a squeeze.

An M3 Pro 14" MBP would be the best option mentioned so far - if you prefer a desktop, can you wait until June? The chances of an M3/M3 Pro Mini appearing either in the upcoming March updates or at WWDC in June are pretty good. The M3 Pro Mini is also likely to lead to very good deals on the M2 Pro Mini for a while.

Another option is that an M2 Max Mac Studio base model is not that expensive. You can get one for $1699 refurbished (I just checked the Apple Refurbished store) or $1795 brand new. It has 32 GB of RAM by default. It only has a 512 GB drive, so consider whether you can get your applications plus your cloud-synced files into that...

Thanks for the suggestions, I will also evaluate the M2 series Mac studios, I hadn't thought of that.
If I told you too: iMac 24 M3 with 32gb of ram?

Ps. I can wait until June

 

[NorthStar_IT]

Any current machine will work for you. However, I agree with those that say none of the machine you chose are correct.

My recommendation:
MacMini with the Pro Chip
32 GB ram
512 or 1 TB hard drive

1. Wait until the M3 MacMini and Studio come out, probably in a few months.

2. You NEED 32 gb of ram for real editing. I know people will come from all over saying they edit just fine with only 8 GB. I do varying levels of editing and have used laptops with only 16 gb for small edits. There is a noticeable difference. Get as much ram as you can afford.

3. You WILL be using external drives for almost all content storages, so don't let Apple take advantage on the storage. Get enough storage to keep your files and the occasional Desktop junk. I typically get 1 TB but even 512 should work.

4. Absolutely get a 4K monitor and a decent set of speakers.

Wish you the best.

Many thanks!

1. I will evaluate

2. All of you have convinced me for this extra step of ram

3. I feel the same way. Do you think 512 is in any case a bit tight in the medium term, or I can easily live with that internal storage?

4. Absolutely

Thanks

 

[Allen_Wentz]

You assume well about the kind of editing I do now. In the future I hope to improve, but for now that is how it is.

Regarding ram, in an absolute sense I agree with you that more is always better, I wonder though in my workflow where I would see benefits other than a faster video export time. We are talking in any case of a few minutes probably.

As for the type of machine, I don't need a laptop, I only considered that MacBook Pro because of the huge discount I found on it, and that's why I was wondering if it was worth considering the specs/price ratio.
This computer would never leave the house, maybe even stay in the same room all the time.
Although I don't need portability, if I were to find the right solution with a laptop, why not.

I understand that you would recommend a MacBook Pro M3 base version, not the version with M3 pro. From what I know, the MacBook Pros running the base version of M3 have somewhat castrated hardware compared to their bigger brothers with M3 pro (e.g one fan only). If what I say is correct, I wonder if it makes sense to save money on this.
As for price, I am going to pay around €2100 for the configuration you suggested, so almost identical to the m3 pro with 18gb of ram.

Regarding the monitor, I don't rate below 4K 60hz and I from what I saw online, editing with Mac the ones I selected are good “compromises”.

When discussing RAM, folks who say things like "...talking in any case of a few minutes probably." fail to grasp RAM and how it works with OS/apps. That kind of comment comes from watching too many useless YouTube videos with presenters seeking clicks trying to sensationalize, so they create meaningless metrics.

We buy computers to compute with. Less than optimum RAM means less than optimun computing. The box still works with less RAM, just not as well, and it always gets less good over time.

 

[PaulD-UK]

Haha. I gutted an old 27 iMac and turned it into a 5K monitor. So I’ve got Apple Silicon on an iMac screen.

I suspect that 18GB ‘might’ be enough RAM. The fact that (with 16GB) I can’t push my long-form 1080p HD edits into running out of memory and using disk swap means that less memory may be workable.
If it means not breaking the budget.

 

[NorthStar_IT]

When discussing RAM, folks who say things like "...talking in any case of a few minutes probably." fail to grasp RAM and how it works with OS/apps. That kind of comment comes from watching too many useless YouTube videos with presenters seeking clicks trying to sensationalize, so they create meaningless metrics.

We buy computers to compute with. Less than optimum RAM means less than optimun computing. The box still works with less RAM, just not as well, and it always gets less good over time.

Yes indeed a lot of my assumptions probably come from the videos you are talking about.

It may also be that on the iMac 27that I had long ago I put so much ram that I now assume that everything always runs smoothly 😅

 

[MacProFCP]

Many thanks!

1. I will evaluate

2. All of you have convinced me for this extra step of ram

3. I feel the same way. Do you think 512 is in any case a bit tight in the medium term, or I can easily live with that internal storage?

4. Absolutely

Thanks

I typically do not buy with less than 1 TB so, if needed, I can do a quick edit with files on my desktop.

If your needs are less 512 might be OK. If you can afford 1 TB, get it.

Good luck!

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will also evaluate the M2 series Mac studios, I hadn't thought of that.
If I told you too: iMac 24 M3 with 32gb of ram?

Ps. I can wait until June

I agree with others who suggest that a Studio is your ideal box.

An iMac may be good at the moment of purchase because they look good and can be quite competent. Good for pro studios with multiple designers.

However all-in-ones have the huge flaw that they do not allow upgrades without getting a whole new box. OK for a large design studio but terrible for a one-person shop like me. If you decide in two years you need an M5 Mac with more RAM, you would need to replace the display even if it fits your workspace perfectly. Or if you decide in 6 months that you want a bigger display because you moved your workspace around, you would also need to replace the computer even if it still fits your workflow perfectly.

 

[profcutter]

I’d say that you probably don’t want anything less than a pro or max, but m1 m2 or m3 is less important. I have a max 32GB ram MacBook and it’s been great so far, just a few slowdowns on intensive filters in Davinci. I think you could probably manage with 16, but why not do 32. Everything else is up to you. Mini, studio, MacBook Pro, they’re just different containers. I think if you’re good with a desktop, then why not get a mini 2 pro or max with a 5 k monitor. If you need a portable, then it’s not such a penalty like it was in the past. Get the MacBook Pro and find an external 4 or 5k monitor. Grab a good set of headphones for audio monitoring as well.