- Hard Drives For Video Editing Machine
- Video Editing Programs For Mac
- Hard Drives For Video Editing Mac Software
- External Hard Drive Video Editing
Apple didn't get its reputation for performance and accuracy from nowhere.
I just set up a desktop for a friend of ours who does photo and video editing. Mac display keyboard shortcuts. His tower has 4 HDDs of 4 TB each as storage drives and 2 SSDs to dual boot Win-10 and Ubuntu 18.04 from each.
- Format Hard Drive (Mac) 1. Connect the external hard drive to the computer. Click Go on the top tool bar, and select Utilities. Open Disk Utility. Select the external hard drive on the left-hand side.
- With as much as 1TB of space, the hard drive makes up for the perfect addition to your video editing collection. It makes the perfect solution for a massive collection of photos, music, and videos. Toshiba has also done well to include an extra storage bag for convenience.
Everything from phones to paper-thin notebooks are engineering to work efficiently, and this makes their MacBooks ideal for all levels of video editing.
Besides integrating extremely well with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and many other third-party photo/video editing software, they offer a streamlined experience that will work well in any freelance or industry position.
In this guide, we'll point out some key points for choosing the best MacBook Pro that will most effectively work for video editing at various levels, and showcase some of our own recommendations as well.
Quick Summary
- For the casual creative, we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 256GB SSD, which offers quality performance without unnecessarily bulking up the specs. It doesn't offer touch bar, but it is portable and sturdy.
- If you certainly aren't a hobbyist but not a pro either, 13-inch MacBook Pro with 512GB SSD is a better choice. The storage has been beefed up a bit, and the touch bar offers a new dimension of functionality.
- Lastly, the professional creative looking to max out their performance power would be best served with a 15-inch MacBook Pro with i9 Processor and 512GB SSD. This model offers insane amounts of processing power, though you'll likely still want an external monitor for the sake of screen space.
Is MacBook Pro Good for Video Editing?
In this case, it isn't about whether or not a Mac will be effective for video editing, but a matter of how much power you really need.
If you just plan on doing minor work for youtube, you won't be troubled by extensive renders or clamoring for screen restate, so it doesn't make sense to pay for specs built for something ten times as processor-intensive.
However, if you plan on doing digital animation or working in 4K, it's definitely time to look at higher-end machines that will be able to handle what you're throwing at them.
If you're not planning on editing videos in some way, you should not treat this article as a collection of the most powerful MacBooks overall. Mac os x apps for windows.
Intensive computer work demands different specs depending on what you plan on doing, so you can't assume the best for editing will be the best for say, gaming.
Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing: What to Consider in 2020?
Graphics
The key to a fast render is a high quality dedicated graphics card, and while lower-level work will likely be fine using an integrated card, you'll want a dedicated one for anything beyond the casual home video or Youtube vlog. Dedicated graphics allow your computer to utilize RAM (Random Access Memory) specifically for the high-quality visuals you'll be rendering as effectively as possible.
Processor
The processor is going to be handling every detail of your video as you build it, so you're going to want to look towards the latest generations of the Intel i5 and i7 lines. Since video software can make use of multiple threads as well, these will benefit you while creating your project.
RAM
The final element that will make or break the performance of your MacBook while working on video editing is RAM. It's used in every aspect of your computer's execution of processes, and you'll want a minimum of 8GB for amateur work, with a goal of 16GB if you're editing professionally.
Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing in 2020: Our Picks
1. Casual Video Editing: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB)
If you're going to be editing home videos and content for Youtube, you probably won't be doing intensive 3D renders or completely utilizing heavy programs even if they are installed. This version of the 13″ MacBook Pro comes with the processing power to reach your goal without unnecessarily overcompensating.
Pros:
- The 13″ model is extremely portable, so you'll have editing power at your fingertips wherever you go.
- RAM is the perfect amount for this type of user and should last several years.
- SSD drive means that renders and saves will be completed faster than with a physical HDD disk.
Cons:
- SSD is pricey, which is why this model only comes with 256 GB in disk space. You'll definitely want to purchase an external drive to compensate for this when storing your videos.
- Additionally, this model uses an integrated graphics card which will be fine for this level of editing but doesn't offer room for growth.
2. For Amateur Movie Making: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 512GB)
Whether college student or budding short-film director, you need power and a modern flair without the expense of a professional setup. This model of MacBook is a great compromise, offering Apple's latest touch bar and touch ID technology packed into a 13″ body powered by an integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655.
Pros:
- Offering both portability and power, this modern masterpiece has all the specs to get you where you want to go without any unnecessary bulk.
- The brand-new touch bar is also included and known to have great integrations when working in Final Cut Pro or the Adobe Suite.
Cons:
- While offering more space than the aforementioned 256GB model, it's still a bit on the small side for storing large video files.
- It also has an integrated graphics card, which is slightly less than ideal.
3. For Professional Creatives: 15-inch MacBook Pro (2.3GHz, Intel Core i9 processor, 512GB)
Truly a top of the line machine, this MacBook Pro model was built for precision and nothing less. The 8-core i9 processor can stand up to just about anything you throw at it, it has a powerful graphics card UHD Graphics 630. The 15″ screen offers some more real estate than the smaller 13″ models.
Pros:
- It has nearly unbeatable power between the mix of RAM, dGPU, and processor.
- The beautiful screen will produce accurate colors and the touch bar will allow you to work even more effectively in your favorite editing programs.
- You have the option to choose more storage space if needed.
Cons:
- When editing professionally, you need all the screen space you can get, and no size laptop is going to be able to offer that. If you don't have an external monitor, check out our recommendations.
Useful Mac Video Editing Resources
Just getting started with editing your own videos? LifeWire offers a great tutorial on getting started, from which software will be the most useful to whether you'll fare better with some peripherals. Also, check out this complete video editing tutorial for non-editors on Mac:
A fan of iMovie? MacWorld has made a fantastic list of best tips on how to get the most out of Apple's video editing software for macOS.
You could also check out this list of free and paid Mac video editing apps (TechRadar), which will let you experiment before deciding exactly what you need in a paid program.
Final Words
Video editing is a prime example of technical work that eats RAM and CPU power like no other. Luckily, a MacBook Pro was made to stand up to these things and is sure to perform if you've picked an adequate model.
What set up do you currently use to edit videos? Let us know and share which specs you think are most important for productive work.
Hard Drives For Video Editing Machine
Apple iMac 2019 SSD vs Fusion Drive for Video Editing
The new Apple iMac 2019 computers are now available. If you use Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premier or Davinci Resolve you might be wondering which hard drive to purchase.
I am shocked that in 2019 apple are still producing Fusion Drives in their systems and not just going full solid state. The price of solid state drives are so cheap right now it might be time to retire the Fusion Drive.
I have been editing with Final Cut Pro X on a Late 2015 i5 iMac I purchased in 2016. This was my first apple computer and it's been great. My late 2015 iMac has a fusion drive and it has been an overall pretty decent experience. The main reason I opted for the off-the-shelf model was basically I was unable to wait a few days to receive a custom mode. Coming from PC video editing FCPX sped up my rendering times with 1080p footage like you wouldn't believe. Having the GPU handle a large of the rendering is amazing.
My Late 2015 iMac has done really well and I have edited and produced hundreds of videos with it. Since moving into the 4k realm it still does well but I believe it could be better. When I shoot in 10bit 4K or color grade Cine-D the system performance is starting to really struggle.
Go for Speed over Storage
If you are creating video content I really believe the best way to achieve the optimum results is to customize the latest iMac 2019 modes rather than buying an off the shelf one. Not only should you upgrade the video card, ram, and opt for the new core i9 CPU – you should definitely ditch the Fusion drive and opt for the 512-1TB SSD.
Now to be clear, the Fusion drive has a part of the storage that is a solid state but it's not the same sort of experience as an actual solid state drive. For this reason, I am choosing to go for the 512GB. The reason I am choosing the 512 over the larger SSD's is the price. I don't plan on actually storing anything locally on the computer.
If you're not into video editing or you use it occasionally for simple projects the Fusion drive will do the job but I feel like it's the bottleneck in my current iMac. My next iMac will 100% have the Solid State Drive (SSD) option.
The Best Editing Experience
Video Editing Programs For Mac
One of the cool things about the recent iMac range is they all come with Thunderbolt 3 ports. This means you can connect external SSDs to the computer and get the same types of speeds you'd expect from the internal SSD. So what does this mean? It means you should purchase a Samsung SSD T5 drive and use it as a scrub drive. A scrub drive means you import and work from that external drive instead of the internal drive. This will ensure you don't have any storage issues on your system drive and will help Final Cut Pro X function better and faster.
Hard Drives For Video Editing Mac Software
My 2019 iMac Specs
I plan on upgrading this year with the following computer to make video editing a breeze!
- 27″ Retina 5k Display
- 3.6GHz 8-core ninth-generation Intel Core i9 processor with Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
- 16GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory
- Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 8GB of HBM2 memory
- 512GB of SSD storage
I decided not to get a 2017 iMac or the 2018 iMac Pro. I was waiting for a regular iMac with a core i9 because the price to performance will be awesome. Just make sure you upgrade the hard drive to an SSD. If you're confused over which iMac 2019 graphics card to get I spent a day writing an article about that exact question.
External Hard Drive Video Editing
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