Oh yeah. I've used DaVinci Resolve on a PC for several years. In order to edit 4K video well, you need a PC with 32GB RAM and a strong GPU with about 8GB VRAM. For 8K you need a GPU with 16GB of VRAM.
Amazingly, the new unified M1 system on a chip with 8GB of total ram can actually edit an 4K timeline without requiring optimized media or reducing the display resolution to prevent stuttering and render 4K and work well with a $699.00 8GB M1 Mac Mini and the new M1 DaVinci Resolve 17.1 beta specifically made for the M1 SoC. It's able to do 4K exceedingly well and at a performance level that easily matches and in many times beats $3K+ DaVinci Resolve PC workstations.
Let that resonate, an 8GB $699.00 computer that is phenomenal for creatives. Also it's not an Intel CPU, but uses Rosetta 2 translation from Intel code to the Arm CPU base the M1 is on. In benchmarks it comes exceedingly close to the Intel Macs and the amazing thing is that's with the translator in process. Applications that have been recompiled for the M1? Blazing fast.
For only a little more, you can get the 16GB version and I suspect that will have the sufficient memory space for 8K editing. I don't have 8K sources at this time. My Panasonic GH5 can do 6K in anamorphic mode, but the cost of anamorphic lenses has kept me at 4K 10-bit 4-2-2 content.
Hardware requirement comment that includes a discussion about the M1. https://www.richardlackey.com/davinci-resolve-system-requirements/
Apple advertised it as a paradigm, and it is if a creative using the newer versions of the software for the M1 processor. For those that look at gaming, most of the AAA however will run with the Rosetta 2 translation and do not do as well. However, since the M1 silicon is Apples SoC moving forward for all their platforms, the developers will be coding new for M1 and likely several of the top AAA games may have a recompiled update at some point.
It's not all performance roses. Some applications don't run well or at all with the Rosetta 2 translator, but it's not many. Several benchmarks will contrast non-M1 compiled applications and show the prior Intel M1 Mini's are faster, but discount that a software emulator is running.
The other performance issue is that while the 8 core GPU that performs amazingly well , it is fully integrated in the SoC and at this time other GPU's cannot be used, including eGPU chassis on the Thunderbolt connection. However, I expect that the M1 will eventually have driver support to allow the use of eGPUs with the M1 and the Big Sur OS. Appears that the drivers just need to be updated for the new M1 ARM and Big Sur OS. In this case, it would be possible to have an M1 Mini and an eGPU with sufficient VRAM for 8K video for still less than the total cost of a high end Puget Systems DaVinci Resolve workstation. https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...nderbolt-3-egpu-gives-hope-for-future-support
How in the world it works so well? Someone with the full understanding of how the M1 SoC works would need to explain it, but for the price there is nothing else in the world that offers the same price/performance ratio, nothing. Repeat that, nothing at the same price/performance ratio.
Last edited: Nov 23, 2020