macBook Pro 14 - M3 chip

Provided you outfit it with at least 16GB RAM, you'll probably be OK. Be warned, though, that the base model M3 MacBook Pro has some significant deficiencies when compared to the M3 Pro or M3 Max models. I'd advise you to compare the three to make sure you get what you need. Note that 4K video editing requires more "horsepower" than is needed for photo editing.

(I have no issues running Photoshop/Lightroom on my 15" M2 MacBook Air, but I don't do any video editing).

Suzettemac wrote:

Thanks for the info, Mike. Can you give me an example of the deficiencies? I'll check out the M3 Pro and the M3 Max.

~Suzette

Compared to the M3 Pro and M3 Max variants, the base model M3 limitations are:

• Two Thunderbolt/USB 4 (USB-C) ports (others have 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports)
• 100GB/s memory bandwidth (vs 150GB/s)
• RAM limited to 24GB max (vs 128GB)
• Supports 1 external monitor (vs minimum of 2; more depending on Pro or Max model)

In my opinion, the two biggest drawbacks to the base model are its lack of support for 2 external monitors, and its 24GB maximum RAM.

Depending on the type of video editing you do, it's possible that 16GB RAM is sufficient. But if you're doing "heavy duty" video editing (or like to have gobs of browser tabs and gobs of applications open at the same time), then I'd recommend at least 24GB RAM.

What makes the decision a bit more difficult is that MacBooks aren't user upgradeable. So if you get a Mac with 8 GB RAM and decide later on you really need 16GB, you can't upgrade. And the same is true for internal storage. I always advise getting what you think you MIGHT want within the next 5 years.

Hope this helps!