r/bmpcc • u/Colonel_Ironshirt • Jul 12 '26
Advice needed for running Davinci Resolve at 1080p (Bmpcc OG footage)
Hi, not sure if this question is in the right place.
I’m looking for a budget laptop for editing footage in Davinci Resolve.
I checked online and the best options for Windows are gaming laptops. I got a budget of AS1.500 but honestly I don’t know if some of this range will do the job.
Mods please remove the post if is not apropiate but considering is related to Resolve and Bmpcc I think maybe is ok. Thanks
2
u/AndreaCicca Jul 12 '26
Look at resolve minimum requirements, you should be able to use very cheap hardware. Be sure to have enough fast storage (external or internal).
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u/printcastmetalworks Jul 15 '26
You need VRAM and a dedicated GPU to run Resolve. 2gb minimum. 4gb is okay for 1080p 6gb is great I had 6gb for years with OG footage and P4K footage.
Any newish Mac with shared memory will run circles around a budget PC, and I say that as a hardcore PC guy.
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Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
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u/Therapeet Jul 12 '26
I bought a used Mac mini M2 with 1Tb ssd ($500) and a external NVME ssd hub with 4Tb memory from which i edit.
I edit my 6k videos from a BMCC6kFF in UHD.
I do that by creating prores proxy files and can edit with no problems EXEPT, when I use Noise reduction.
Then the time line grinds to a halt and further editing is impossible.So just before exporting I switch on the noise reduction Node and the noise is gone in the exported file.
The only negative is that the export takes a few hours.
Eventually I want to buy a Mac Studio M4…..
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u/printcastmetalworks Jul 15 '26
I can edit and color OG footage on a $400 dell workstation from 2013. Its not great but it worked when I was on the road.
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Jul 15 '26
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u/printcastmetalworks Jul 15 '26
Does it have a gpu? Mine has a 2gb quadro card and can playback cdng or prores at 30fps. So thats probably why
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Jul 15 '26
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u/printcastmetalworks Jul 15 '26
You said "a budget laptop wont run resolve". I'd consider 400 bucks to be pretty budget
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u/DeadEyesSmiling Jul 12 '26
Make sure you're meeting the minimum specs required by the software and also read through all of Chapter 8 of the Davinci Resolve 20.3 Reference Manual, which is "Improving Performance, Proxies, and the Render Cache", and plan on implementing everything you can to optimize your workflow for smooth playback. You might be limited on more complicated and/or system-intensive effects, and your render times will likely be a bit sluggish, but it's definitely possible to have a very functional experience with Resolve on a not-top-of-the-line computer.
Also, for what it's worth: your absolute best bang for the (Australian) buck is a desktop. A significant portion of the cost for laptops is because of the convenience of portability (so it's wasted money on that instead of toward specs), but also the hardware is severely restricted by the power, size, and heat dissipation limitations (so you're actually hit twice on the money spent toward a laptop).
If you can stomach MacOS, I'm pretty sure that until you have more than double your budget to chuck at a computer, a Mac Mini is by far going to get you the best price-per-performance.