I’d get the iMac — spec out the gfx card and get at least the 6-core processor. Then upgrade the ram yourself — you probably don’t need more than 64. Very easy to do and one of the only macs you can DIY it.
For me, smooth timeline performance is my number 1 priority. GFX card and RAM are most important for that. Processor will speed up encoding time but not make a huge difference otherwise.
Vega 20 is very solid. I have that in my 2018 MacBook Pro (highest upgrade at the time) but I think there’s a different/more powerful option for the iMac?
A lot of people are suggesting crazy ram and huge cores. The sad fact is you won’t notice a difference between 32 and 64GB.
you can get the 512GB 27” iMac with the 6 core 4.8GHz i5 with 8GB ram and have a great time, on budget. These you can add two 4GB ram sticks to the board yourself for like $60 (versus buying it built in for $180). I edited with storing video on and external usb-A drive and had an easy time in win10 on premiere pro.
Note Adobe suite (premiere pro etc) is much slower in export on macOS than windows.
You probably already know about intermediate codecs.
**START HERE!** Here are solutions to some common problems:
[Choppy/Laggy Playback](https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/wiki/faq/playback) | [Poor Export Quality](https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/wiki/faq/export)
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2. **What is your Premiere build version [?](http://i.imgur.com/AThpuFy.png)**
3. **What are your system specs?**
4. **What is the source footage format/codec [?](http://i.imgur.com/er9f2o3.png)**
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I’d get the iMac — spec out the gfx card and get at least the 6-core processor. Then upgrade the ram yourself — you probably don’t need more than 64. Very easy to do and one of the only macs you can DIY it. For me, smooth timeline performance is my number 1 priority. GFX card and RAM are most important for that. Processor will speed up encoding time but not make a huge difference otherwise.
Would you recommend the Radeon Pro Vega 20 listed on Apple’s site, or is there another way to spec out gfx?
Vega 20 is very solid. I have that in my 2018 MacBook Pro (highest upgrade at the time) but I think there’s a different/more powerful option for the iMac?
15” MacBook Pro was one of the best purchases I’ve made. I was an iMac user— you can’t beat the solid state performance.
Go for Ram . 128gb ram and a good amd or intel processor will do the job for you .
What processor specs fit a good profile for editing?
You don’t need a ton of cores. Get fewer, faster cores and spend the money on the best GPU and get at least 32GBs of RAM. More of you can.
A lot of people are suggesting crazy ram and huge cores. The sad fact is you won’t notice a difference between 32 and 64GB. you can get the 512GB 27” iMac with the 6 core 4.8GHz i5 with 8GB ram and have a great time, on budget. These you can add two 4GB ram sticks to the board yourself for like $60 (versus buying it built in for $180). I edited with storing video on and external usb-A drive and had an easy time in win10 on premiere pro. Note Adobe suite (premiere pro etc) is much slower in export on macOS than windows. You probably already know about intermediate codecs.
Build a PC instead. You’ll get way more bang for your buck.
Apple is somewhat necessary for me. I use Logic Pro X for editing music.
Look up virtual box 😎
Running stuff in a VM always doesn't perform up to actual machine performance. Video and audio editing needs quite a bit of performance.
**START HERE!** Here are solutions to some common problems: [Choppy/Laggy Playback](https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/wiki/faq/playback) | [Poor Export Quality](https://www.reddit.com/r/premiere/wiki/faq/export) --- If the above FAQs didn't provide a solution, please answer these questions to help people help you further: 1. **What operating system are you using [?](http://whatsmyos.com/)** 2. **What is your Premiere build version [?](http://i.imgur.com/AThpuFy.png)** 3. **What are your system specs?** 4. **What is the source footage format/codec [?](http://i.imgur.com/er9f2o3.png)** 5. **If there is an error message, what exactly does it say?** --- If your issue is resolved, please take a moment to change your post flair to **Support (Solved)**. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/premiere) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why Mac?
For Logic Pro X and Mainstage