I'm choosing between an M4 Mac Mini with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, or a PC with a Ryzen 5 7500F, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and an RTX 5060. Both systems cost about the same. My main work involves editing 4K camera footage and screen recordings for YouTube, along with Photoshop, Illustrator, and DaVinci Resolve. I won't be using especially heavy effects, but I'd like the better overall editing experience and enough room to upgrade later.
2 Answers
The PC is probably the safer long-term option for DaVinci Resolve. The RTX 5060 gives Resolve dedicated GPU acceleration, and the desktop can be upgraded later with more RAM, additional storage, or a faster processor. Sixteen gigabytes is usable to start, but 32GB would be a much better target for 4K editing. The Mac may be excellent for straightforward editing, but its fixed memory and storage make future upgrades more expensive or inconvenient.
For your workflow, both should work well, but the better choice depends on the software. Apple Silicon is very efficient with common video formats, and the Mac Mini may feel faster in some editing tasks, especially with ProRes and applications that are well optimized for it. It’s also quiet and compact. The main drawback is that the 16GB of unified memory cannot be upgraded, so demanding 4K projects or running Resolve, Photoshop, and Illustrator together could become limiting.
Most of my footage is 4K camera video and screen recordings for YouTube, without many complicated effects. I’d mainly be using Photoshop, Illustrator, and DaVinci Resolve.