Need help with processors for Macs

[OlegOlesyaKotovRozovsky]

I'm planning on purchasing my first Mac (ever) for video editing and everyday things. I'm forsure getting an iMac with at least an 1TB Fusion Drive or maybe an 512GB SSD total. For the MacBooks I'm getting an 256GB SSD but it's more like 512GB SSD. I'm getting at least 16GB of memory. But I don't know what kind of processor that I need for 4k video editing @ 30fps sometimes, but more like 1080p @30fps or 60fps for all the time along with the normal video editing programs.

Should I get something under the 10,000 Geekbench scores (I already know the answer is no), or get something in the 12,000 to 14,000 range or something in the 14,000 to 18,000 or above 18,000 In Geekbench for video editing.


The devices that I'm looking at is the
iMac 21.5-inch
iMac 21.5-inch Retina
MacBook Pro 13.3-inch with Touch Bar
MacBook Pro 15.4-inch with Touch Bar
Mac Mini

What kind of Geekbench scores should I be looking at? I don't want something that's underpowered, or has too much power, something in the middle is good enough for me.

 

[OlegOlesyaKotovRozovsky]

I'm planning on purchasing my first Mac (ever) for video editing and everyday things. I'm forsure getting an iMac with at least an 1TB Fusion Drive or maybe an 512GB SSD total. For the MacBooks I'm getting an 256GB SSD but it's more like 512GB SSD. I'm getting at least 16GB of memory. But I don't know what kind of processor that I need for 4k video editing @ 30fps sometimes, but more like 1080p @30fps or 60fps for all the time along with the normal video editing programs.

Should I get something under the 10,000 Geekbench scores (I already know the answer is no), or get something in the 12,000 to 14,000 range or something in the 14,000 to 18,000 or above 18,000 In Geekbench for video editing.


The devices that I'm looking at is the
iMac 21.5-inch
iMac 21.5-inch Retina
MacBook Pro 13.3-inch with Touch Bar
MacBook Pro 15.4-inch with Touch Bar
Mac Mini

What kind of Geekbench scores should I be looking at? I don't want something that's underpowered, or has too much power, something in the middle is good enough for me.

I'm going to use Final Cut Pro X.

 

[1050792]

You need the fastest processor you can afford, an i7 specifically. Get one with the fastest i7 you can buy and you're good to go.

 

[Juicy Box]

I know you didn't ask this, but I would go with an SSD or at least a 2TB Fusion.

Apple nerfed the 1TB Fusion Drive a few years ago and it only comes with a 32GB SSD.....

 

[velocityg4]

16GB RAM is pretty lean for 4K video editing. Pugetsystems recommends 64GB for 4K. It really depends on how much video you are editing. As their recommendations are for professional workloads.

Depending on your workflow. Drive speed can make a big difference. I'd get a large SSD over a fusion drive. Although a small internal SSD and large external SSD makes more sense on an iMac. As portability is not a concern and it is more economical. $160 will get you a USB 3.1 Gen 2 enclosure and nice 1TB SATA SSD which is less than going from 256GB to 512GB on an iMac. $300 will get you 2TB and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 enclosure.

As for the CPU. The more cores/threads the better. Unless the task can be offloaded to the GPU. Then GPU speed is all important. As a weak GPU can beat a 28-core Xeon in GPU accelerated tasks.

 

[jtara]

Forget Fusion Drive. That was a stopgap measure. IMO it has no future. SSD.

16GB RAM is awfully light.

Depending on the apps you will use, graphics processor can be at least as important as CPU. Most high-end video editing software will take advantage of the graphics processor.

Who cares about a difference between 10,000 and 14,000 Geekbench?

Pay attention to the multi-processor scores.

GeekBench is a very general measure. You should be looking at other benchmarks for the specific programs you will be using.

There is no such thing as "too much power" unless you are only using it for web browsing and email. Video editing or programming... time is money!

 

[MSastre]

Stay away from a fusion drive if doing video editing.

 

[glenthompson]

The 1tb Fusion drive is useless for most uses due to the small SSD. The larger sizes have a 128gb SSD which can be fine for many workflows. For significant video editing it will probably still be a bottleneck.