Mac or PC for video editing for my DJI Mini 2?

[Chris Rees]

I am looking to buy either Mac or PC for my video editing. I have done a little editing quite a few years ago before even 1080P was around.
Got a budget of around £700. Quite tech savvy but just wondered what sort of processing power you guys are adopting.
I won't be using Final Cut or Premiere Pro, probably Filmora or Power Director.
8 or 16gb RAM? Is Quad Core really necessary for 4K editing? SSD OR HDD? Video Card?
Finally, pro's and cons of working with proxies as opposed to native files?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Chris.

 

[mmlaverman]

A number of months ago I switched from PC to a iMAC and very happy with the iMAC, but the learning curve was steep. I edit 4K drone videos and very happy with 16gb RAM and always recommend more when working with 4K footage. This is one opinion and I'm sure many will recommend PC over MAC.....

 

[THE CYBORG]

Go for what you are used to.
I am a PC man, once inherited a Mac and hated the thing.

 

[FASTFJR]

I am looking to buy either Mac or PC for my video editing. I have done a little editing quite a few years ago before even 1080P was around.
Got a budget of around £700. Quite tech savvy but just wondered what sort of processing power you guys are adopting.
I won't be using Final Cut or Premiere Pro, probably Filmora or Power Director.
8 or 16gb RAM? Is Quad Core really necessary for 4K editing? SSD OR HDD? Video Card?
Finally, pro's and cons of working with proxies as opposed to native files?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Chris.

I've been using Apple products for 35 years. I use both Apple and Windows computers at work. For graphics and video editing I prefer Apple. I work I use a high end iMac. 128GB of Ram, 4TB SSD. At home I use a 2015 MBP with 16 GB of ram and a 1TB SSD drive. It rips thru 4K iMovie files pretty good. Prior to that I was using a 2010 MBP 17 inch, the computer worked well and still does, it just couldn't do 4K. Look at Apple refurbished, sometimes you can get some great deal. My Apple computers don't die, I need to kill them to get a new one. My Art department has 8 iMacs running 24/7. Some are 8 years old

 

[Howard70]

I doubt you’ll get a definite consensus on this one! I suspect you can definitely do well in either platform. As the Cyborg suggests going with the platform you’ve used before is a good strategy - that way the time you invest in learning will be spent on learning video editing rather than system stuff.

If you have iPhones and iPads already then you might be pleased with the nearly seamless integration across your mobile devices and a Mac computer (assuming all your mobiles and the Mac use the latest operating systems).

When I was younger with a more restricted budget, a more agile brain and enjoyed finding my own solutions to problems I was a Windows advocate. Now I find comfort in the cozy blanket of the Apple world! That’s not to say it is better (I don’t think it is), but for me and my wife it is easier.

Howard

 

[NLOL]

Both technologies are perfectly capable, it's the horsepower in the one you choose that counts - and your performance expectation.. The mysteries of computers causes a marginal, but perfectly adequate computer when you buy it, to become less than adequate a year later. Buy a little more machine than you think you need. You can easily upgrade memory after the purchase, so if it's a choice, now, between processor or memory, get the faster processor - but if it's a choice between a faster processor and faster graphics get the faster graphics. Get the faster graphics. Got it - all the CPU and memory in the world wont overcome weak graphics.

As to PC vs MAC. It's a personal/character/cultural thing. Personally, there is one I find impossibly obtuse, and one I like. I know others that feel exactly the same way about the choice but reverse their preference. Both technologies are receiving good upgrades and advance in parallel. A simple suggestion - stick with what is familiar to you. Changing operating systems is difficult - an unnatural act.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Ford or Chevy?

 

[Coskier]

Covered often in the Editing section of the Video/Photo part of this board. FWIW, I love using my iPad Pro and LumaFusion.

 

[Chris Rees]

I've been using Apple products for 35 years. I use both Apple and Windows computers at work. For graphics and video editing I prefer Apple. I work I use a high end iMac. 128GB of Ram, 4TB SSD. At home I use a 2015 MBP with 16 GB of ram and a 1TB SSD drive. It rips thru 4K iMovie files pretty good. Prior to that I was using a 2010 MBP 17 inch, the computer worked well and still does, it just couldn't do 4K. Look at Apple refurbished, sometimes you can get some great deal. My Apple computers don't die, I need to kill them to get a new one. My Art department has 8 iMacs running 24/7. Some are 8 years old

Thanks, I first used Apple in 1989. Come a long way since that tiny 9" screen on the Classic. Haven't used since 2006 though (G5). I didn't know iMacs can board 128gb RAM, wow! Thanks for your input.

 

[reaperman]

The new Mac Mini M1, is in your budget if you already have a decent monitor.

 

[lturner241]

I've also used Mac for years and the M1 Mini is my next buy. However a lot of apps are still not running native for the M1 processor, which is a new development from Apple. However, I would think that it won't be long before most apps are silicon ready. The performance stats from this little box are quite staggering but the downside is that the memory is built into the single chip so you cannot upgrade. The options are 8 and 16GB so for future proofing would go for the latter.

 

[Filaofsoul]

This is a good topic. I have to agree with NLOL It's a personal/character/cultural thing. I have been editing on MAC's at work for years with Final Cut Pro but I do not like the operating system of Apple for everyday use and did not want one for home use not going to mention that darn Apple Store. Once I crossed over to 4k my windows computer at home would not handle 4K. I don't buy from Box stores most not enough juice for me. Had one built. As NLOL stated I went with high end graphics card $800 --mother board able to handle 128 GIG RAM installed 64 --1TBSSD, i7..... and it has not missed a beat! Finally having a computer with open architect allows me to be future proof.. 8K???

 

[Jet skier]

Which ever you choose make sure it has a solid-state drive SSD and at least 16 GB RAM. I switched from PC to Mac and never looked back

 

[reaperman]

I've also used Mac for years and the M1 Mini is my next buy. However a lot of apps are still not running native for the M1 processor, which is a new development from Apple. However, I would think that it won't be long before most apps are silicon ready. The performance stats from this little box are quite staggering but the downside is that the memory is built into the single chip so you cannot upgrade. The options are 8 and 16GB so for future proofing would go for the latter.

Im far from a computer guru, I picked up a M1 mini with 8gb of ram when they came out. This little guy is fast as lightning. From what I have read about the efficiency of the M1 chip, it handles ram totally different. Therefore, not as much is needed. This is my first Mac, and I often ask myself why Apple can make an easy task so complex. I'm getting good handle on it, its just different than windows in some ways.

 

[JoelP]

I think the key is have a quality GPU like those of Nvidia. These are available for both Mac and PC. I use a Surface Book 2 with DaVinci Resolve 17. The capability of this free SW is amazing, but you need a good GPU to run it.

 

[itallica]

Which ever you choose make sure it has a solid-state drive SSD and at least 16 GB RAM. I switched from PC to Mac and never looked back

32gb of ram if you want smooth 4k editing. 16 will drive you crz. I've got a decent video card but thinking of upgrading to rtx ... Them things is amazing. I wouldn't buy a new computer right now without a ray tracing graphics card.

 

[Dale D]

I am looking to buy either Mac or PC for my video editing. I have done a little editing quite a few years ago before even 1080P was around.
Got a budget of around £700. Quite tech savvy but just wondered what sort of processing power you guys are adopting.
I won't be using Final Cut or Premiere Pro, probably Filmora or Power Director.
8 or 16gb RAM? Is Quad Core really necessary for 4K editing? SSD OR HDD? Video Card?
Finally, pro's and cons of working with proxies as opposed to native files?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Chris.

I am using iMAC with 16 GB RAM and it is not enough to run Premiere Pro, so I edit everything in PROXY mode. I was told the minimum I needed was 32 GB. I am waiting for Apple to release the M1 chip with the iMAC. I left Android and PC's 3-4 years ago. The happiest days in my life. My Dell PC was always in need of repair, very succeptible to bugs and viruses. The computer tech was at my house at least once a month. To heck with PC. Apple OS is more intuitive for the creative arts, including Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, etc. I would never go back to a PC.

 

[Chris Rees]

I am using iMAC with 16 GB RAM and it is not enough to run Premiere Pro, so I edit everything in PROXY mode. I was told the minimum I needed was 32 GB. I am waiting for Apple to release the M1 chip with the iMAC. I left Android and PC's 3-4 years ago. The happiest days in my life. My Dell PC was always in need of repair, very succeptible to bugs and viruses. The computer tech was at my house at least once a month. To heck with PC. Apple OS is more intuitive for the creative arts, including Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, etc. I would never go back to a PC.

Have to agree with you there Dale, Mac has always been the father of graphics based work, was in print and then publishing for many years and it's the defacto standard. The reason I questioned Mac over PC is the way the chip interprets data. 4K Editing is bound to be way more hungry than Adobe CS ever was. It's a minefield! I'm leaning towards Apple I must admit, and the M1 chip on the Mini is slowly winning me over, just gotta find a decent monitor aswell, oh well!

 

[Dale D]

Have to agree with you there Dale, Mac has always been the father of graphics based work, was in print and then publishing for many years and it's the defacto standard. The reason I questioned Mac over PC is the way the chip interprets data. 4K Editing is bound to be way more hungry than Adobe CS ever was. It's a minefield! I'm leaning towards Apple I must admit, and the M1 chip on the Mini is slowly winning me over, just gotta find a decent monitor aswell, oh well!

Chris:

I am not sure you are in on the recent thread in this forum about the M1 chip. I have been a great fan of Colin Smith and his Photoshop Cafe site for years. Here is a very informative video he recently made on the M1 chip. Essentially, it is amazing but don't buy it yet! wait for the beta and first issue to work out the bugs and get in on there 2nd issue. Here is a great video he made on it.

 

[tck444]

Seems about $1000 might get you there, but could create a bottleneck with any piece of hardware? I was frustrated with my PC setup until I got 32 GB RAM and better video card with minimum 4GB RAM. Quite a few YouTube videos on the subject.