Lag playback even when using proxies on short 4k clip Macbook

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Working on a Macbook 2013 2.9 Dual core i5, 8gb ram, Inetl Iris graphics 6100

Adobe - 2021 15.4.1

Working with DJI Drone clips

I know this is not the ideal system for editing 4k but if I can do this task in Imovie I should be able to do it with PP right? Im also trying to get an understanding if this is a bug with the software or something else I'm missing before continuing my journey with Adobe CC that just recently began. 

I'm getting a weird issue where the playback for a clip is fine until I bring in another clip or even a picture from the Source panel onto the timeline, at which point it has unbearable lag. When editing in the timeline, I can splice, add transitions with no noticible playback lag. As soon as I add a clip from the source panel or drag a picture on the timeline, playback goes to sh#%.

This is while using Mercury Playback(Metal). Switching to (Software Only) helps a lot but, how is it going to work once I start adding more video and effects. Should I just use Software Only with this system?

Testing this with 2 clips and a picture that total lest than a minute on timeline all together.

Things I have tried that didnt help issue:

- transcoding the DJI H264 file to Apple ProRes 422 LT

-Tried using proxies - Cineform Low and ProRes Low

-Set resolution to 1/8

-Tried moving the file to internal ssd drive
-Cleared cache

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Ann Bens]

Adobe Premiere Pro CC System Requirements

[Conrad C]

4K is a challenge on that computer, especially if you compare your Mac to the system requirements Ann Bens posted.

The way it works on current computers is that the video editing software looks for the least strenuous way to handle it (order may not be exact):

A. Does the file use a codec that the CPU has acceleration support for? (such as Intel QuickSync)

B. Does the file use a codec that the graphics hardware has acceleration support for?

C. Can the computer throw more CPU cores at it?

D. Can the computer increase CPU frequency?

E. Is there enough RAM to cache already rendered frames to avoid having to re-render them?

F. Is there enough fast storage to cache already rendered frames to avoid having to re-render them?

Demanding video tasks go fastest when the computer can get the job done with A or B, which can work so well that you actually see the CPU not having to do as much work (Example: Apple M1, or PC with powerful Nvidia GPU). If basic rendering has to be passed to the CPU un-accelerated, things get ugly. The further down the list you have to go, the more desparate the situation gets.

On your 2013 dual-core i5 Mac with integrated graphics only, it works like this:

A. Probably not, try B.

B. The Intel integrated graphics hardware is too weak for hardware acceleration, try C.

C. CPU is an i5 with only two cores, try D. (All Macs are now 4 cores or more)

D. The limited laptop cooling system (compared to a desktop) constrains how long maximum CPU can be sustained, so high temperature forces the CPU to throttle down from 2.9GHz.

E. Laptop only has 8GB RAM, try F.

F. If it has an SSD, that’s good, but if it is close to being out of space, things will slow down a lot.

Basically, each part of that MacBook Pro looks around for help, but no other components are powerful enough to help, so 4K is going to be laggy and stuttery. It sounds like there is barely enough power to play one track smoothly in an editing timeline. That is not surprising for a computer with those specs.

If that MacBook Pro had more of something, it would be somewhat less painful — it was possible to buy a 2013 MacBook Pro with more RAM, better graphics, and more CPU cores. However, that 8-year-old MacBook Pro is under-specced in too many areas for 4K editing.

I had a 2011 quad-core i7 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and discrete graphics, and even that was not a good 4K editing machine. It's somewhat better on my 2018, but really only productive when using discrete graphics (through an eGPU, which a 2013 cannot use).