Which Computer for Video Editing?

[nelsonic]

Editing video requires a decent machine, I find that even editing 1080p on my current mac requires rendering time and exporting videos takes hours. I feel that a high-spec machine is worthwhile investment to save time and reduce frustration.

My first instinct is to buy a 2018 Mac Mini because it's compact and RAM-upgradeable.

• 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)
• 8GB 2666MHz DDR4
• Intel UHD Graphics 630
• 512GB SSD storage (non upgradeable but PCI-E so v. Fast!)
• Gigabit Ethernet (this is probably "enough" considering our network cabling is 1GB Cat 6E)

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/3.0ghz-6-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-4.1ghz-256gb#

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/3.0ghz-6-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-4.1ghz-256gb £1,429 which is *$1,817.25 USD 😕

While it is certainly possible to upgrade the RAM, it's also expensive given that it only has two slots:

see: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/11/08/how-to-upgrade-the-ram-on-the-new-2018-mac-mini

My biggest gripe with the Mac Mini besides the price is the integrated graphics chip:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-UHD-Graphics-630-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.257928.0.html
Which for Davinci Resolve is a non-starter (Resolve uses the GPU for rendering).

https://youtu.be/qzSYLdVjFqA

The GPU shares system memory (RAM), so if you are running a demanding app like Reason, Logic, FCP or Resolve and have a few videos in your timeline, RAM will rapidly be exhausted!

By contrast buying an older Mac "Pro" might be a better option for video editing:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mac-Pro-5-1-2012-3-46GHz-12-Core-128GB-RAM-GTX-980-250GB-SSD-USB3/162931000593

It comes with 128GB RAM and a GTX 980 4GB Graphics Card!

a Third option is to build a "Hackintosh" nelsonic/nelsonic.github.io#510
But given that Davinci Resolve can run on Linux ... (a Mac may no longer be necessary!!)

https://youtu.be/CuEPD0i9gmk

http://www.logicalincrements.com/articles/videoediting

If you plan to edit with Resolve, you absolutely need a powerful graphics card, as that software is powered primarily by GPU instead of CPU.

https://youtu.be/7-s04b5zel8

Next Action

• Determine how much Linux PC we can build for €1000 and €2000
• Calculate the Power Consumption of the PSU for the custom-build.
  e.g if it's 1kW it costs €0.16/hour to run i.e. €2/day
  it might be worth it to buy the Mac Mini which only consumes 85W ... 🤔

Preferably:

• Nice-ish but budget-friendly case with expansion options. (ideally lockable)

• AMD Ryzen processor

• Good Graphics Card

• 64GB or even 128GB RAM

• SSD (I've already ordered a good one on "Brack Friday"...)

• Use whatever keyboard and mouse combo we have "lying around" until we feel the need to upgrade.

• Which Linux OS is best for simplicity and workflow UI?

[nelsonic]

@EdwardCodes once you have learned a bit of Davinci Resolve #53
and felt the "bottleneck" of having an "older" (slower) PC for video editing,
please consider dedicating a few hours to researching custom-building PCs from components
so that we have 4K capable video editing stations.
(note: we aren't going to switch to 4K because it's a waste of disk space!
but there will be certain situations where we will want to have 4K for videos I'm planning,
and having powerful video editing computer(s) is a good idea to not waste time waiting for renders)

Come back to this in the "break" between Christmas and New year. 😉

[nelsonic]

I briefly considered a 2017 iMac:

• 4.2GHz i7 (Quad Core)
• 64GB RAM
• 2TB Fusion Drive
• Radeon 580 8GB
  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/iMac-27-2017-4-2GHz-i7-64GB-RAM-2TB-Fusion-Drive-Radeon-580-8GB/152787136172
  

But after watching this comparison I feel that the Mac Pro is better value for money and faster ...

https://youtu.be/LmOVfR_0OcY

This one has an insanely powerful graphics card:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Mac-Pro-5-1-2012-3-46GHz-12-Core-128GB-RAM-Titan-Xp-12GB-1TB-SSD/152713349912

This GPU is probably massively overkill ... but this is how much it costs alone:
https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-TITAN-Graphics-Card-900-1G611-2530-000/dp/B0757DSD6D

For comparison, a PC with a similar amount of RAM, CPU and GPU costs almost $5.5k:
https://silentpc.com/elite-pcs/photo-video-editing-pc

I've watched a few videos on Video Editing on Linux and the codec/transcoding/drivers issues
seem to be more hassle than it's worth to use an Open Source OS ...

https://youtu.be/hksW66jw1jA

So I'm increasingly thinking that a Mac Pro is the way to go ... 🤔

[ghost]

@nelsonic agreed 👍

[nelsonic]

Predictably, I've done a ton more research into this ...
a more affordable way of having the best graphics card on any (recent) Mac: External GPU!

This is a good article on the "usefulness" of eGPUs with Mac OS:
https://hackernoon.com/egpu-with-macos-how-useful-is-one-really-68f7651cba24
The eGPU described by Alex Wulff's article is the GIGABYTE Gaming Box Radeon RX 580 8GB

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Gaming-Graphic-Card-GV-RX580IXEB-8GD/dp/B07CCK527Y/

Note I also read: https://www.gamingscan.com/best-external-graphics-card
But most external graphics cards use insane amounts of Power! 450W! i.e. 8c/hour. €1/day

This Mac Support article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208897 has a good summary:

Thunderbolt 3 is a version of USB-C https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208368

Only available on MacBook Pro 2016< and iMac 2017<

Way more detail on Thunderbolt 3: https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

Annoyingly "Not all USB-C ports are the same" ... 🙄

https://youtu.be/xLs_0wHcv4A

Blackmagic eGPU 3 month Review - Video Editors BEWARE!

https://youtu.be/pDKUn05ZAnI
Max tested the eGPU with 3 different MacBook Pro Configurations:

And with 3 different video editing programs: Premier Pro, Final Cut and Resolve.

"The fastest laptop actually got slower with the eGPU" ... baring in mind that was the $3,500 i9 beast!!

Pros:

• Very quiet in operation (well designed cooling vents and silent fans)
• Designed specifically by Blackmagic Design for use with Resolve.

Cons:

• Cannot upgrade the graphics card in the unit.
• More expensive than buying a housing unit and separate (upgradeable) GPU.

Search eBay for "blackmagic egpu" https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=blackmagic+egpu example:

Alternative proposed by Max:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1338299-REG/sonnet_gpu_350w_tb3z_egfx_breakaway_box_350.html

This "research" is taking up way too much of my mind-time ... ⏳ 🙄 (#OneTrackMind ...)

Decision

So I've made the call and ordered the best (value for money) MacBook Pro for video editing.
I ordered a 2017 MacBook Pro 15" with Touch Bar and 16GB RAM:

This is the best value-for-money portable video editing machine.
It is far more portable than a comparable Mac Pro and since the CPU architecture is far more recent the main "bottleneck" is avoided.

This Laptop will be loaned to whoever is doing the video editing for @dwyl videos
For the foreseeable future that person will be @EdwardCodes
(who already has a MacBook Pro but has seen "frame dropping" while editing in Resolve 15 ...)
Edu will track his experience while rendering and exporting 1080p video.
If the editing experience is "sluggish" we can consider an external GPU (see above).

Also, given that this laptop still costs £1,869 direct from Apple:
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/FPTR2B/A/Refurbished-154-inch-MacBook-Pro-28GHz-Quad-core-Intel-Core-i7-with-Retina-display-Space-Gray

I feel that there is zero risk in this purchase.
If Edu (or whoever is doing our full-time video editing) "out-grows" this machine,
we can easily sell it on without losing much money.
The fact is that this machine will be many times better than Edu's MBP 13" 2012 for video.
His machine is "fine" for writing code, but it "chokes" badly on rendering in Resolve.
I'm confident that he will have a superior experience with the MBP 15" 2017.

Done.

NOTE: @EdwardCodes I'm still tempted by a Mac Pro (desktop) for myself.
But I'm going to resist the temptation to spend more money until the MacBook Pro 15 arrives
and we test it together. If the rendering time is "OK" and you're happy to do most of the editing for the dwyl/braga videos, then we can "get by" with only the Laptop. 👍

[nelsonic]

Original Listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113429285070

Not too much description:

Pristine condition
Comes with charger and non Apple postage box

But that's all I really need to know.

[nelsonic]

Recommend watching this:

https://youtu.be/6ix2Xg2I0Jo

Conclusion: yes you can spend less cash on building your own PC,
but the "full package" of a Mac has a "synergy".

When we "outgrow" the MacBook Pro 15, we will re-visit this issue.
I think we're going to be "OK" for 1080p video editing for the next few months. 👍

[nelsonic]

Next: #86 💭