Copy link to clipboard
Copied
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
Processor: 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Startup Disc: Macintosh HD
Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2048 MB Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB
I'm not shootng 4K.
Should I upgrade anything for better performance? Perhaps the graphcs card or?
Thanks
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Since you are not editing 4K, it's possible to edit relatively smoothly, but it can never be guaranteed, because whether it previews smoothly depends on what is in the timeline (formats, resolutions) and how complex it is. The best chance you have is if you are mostly editing one or two tracks with cuts only and maybe some titles, but with few (or better yet, no) transitions or effects, with all media on fast storage, using editing formats that don't require a lot of decoding/decompression (since that taxes the CPU). When you add transitions, effects, and tracks, the load on the CPU goes up a lot unless you used effects that can be accelerated by your graphics hardware.
Upgrading your current Mac is not an option. There are no CPU or internal graphics upgrades available for any Mac laptop, and 16GB is already the maximum amount of RAM for your model.
If you want to edit smoothly, keep your productions simple. Using as few tracks as possible, and as few effects and transitions as possible. If you need a lot of those in your production, you will need a more recent or more powerful computer.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Thunderbolt 2 is faster than USB 3, but Thunderbolt 2 is already on the way out because of Thunderbolt 3, so drives with a Thunderbolt 2 port won't be common or as affordable. If using SSDs with video, the best USB drives to go for right now are USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gb/sec).
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Editing formats refer to the type of file that the footage is, such as H.264, DNxHD, etc. Although Premiere Pro supports most formats these days, some formats are better than other in terms of the amount of computer resource they require to 'interpret' and playback the footage.
H.264, for example, requires a lot of computer resource, as it is heavily compressed to make the files smaller. This means that Premiere must draw more CPU power to play it back smoothly. Something like MXF, although the file sizes can be larger, is less compressed, so it is a better format for editing with, as less CPU power is required to 'unravel' the compression.
It can be tricky to understand, but once you do, it can make planning your productions much smoother.