Qualified Apple Mac Systems for Media Composer April 2024

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Earliest MC
DNxIO/IQ
Version DNxIV/IP
System GPU DNxID Memory Nexis Notes**
Supported

iMac 24” – M3 8 or 10-core on MC 2023.12 TB4(USB-C) 24 GB Nexis 24.2 Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Dec 2023 M3 MacOS 14.x *1 *5 min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4+4) (Sonoma) or Support 16 GB Memory option not qualified
later with the M3
Mac Pro M2 60 or 76-core MC 2022.12.3 TB4(USB-C) 64 - 192GB Nexis 23.3 10Gb ethernet RJ45
June 2023 MacOS 13.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis
Ultra-24 core CPU (16+8) later Support
Mac Studio M2 30/38-core on MC 2022.12.3 TB4(USB-C) 32 - 96 GB M2 Max Nexis 23.3 10Gb ethernet RJ45
June 2023 M2 Max MacOS 13.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis
Max-12 core CPU (8+4) 60/76-core on later 64 - 192GB M2 Ultra Support
Ultra-24 core CPU (16+8) M2 Ultra
Mac Mini – M2 Jan ‘23 10-core on base MC 2022.12.3 TB4(USB-C) 24 GB or 32 GB Nexis 22.12 10Gb ethernet RJ45 option
Base-8 core CPU (4+4) M2 MacOS 13.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis 16 GB Memory option not qualified
Pro-10 core CPU (6+4) 16-core on Pro later Support with the M2 or M2 Pro
Mac Studio M1 24/32-core on MC 2021.12 TB4(USB-C) 32 or 64 GB M1 Max Nexis 21.12 10Gb ethernet RJ45
March 2022 M1 Max MacOS 11.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis
Max-10 core CPU (8+2) 48/64-core on later 64 or 128 GB M1 Support
Ultra-20 core CPU (16+4) M1 Ultra Ultra
Mac Mini – M1 8-core on M1 MC 2021.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 GB *4 Nexis 21.8 10Gb ethernet RJ45 option
Sept 2020 MacOS 11.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis
8 core CPU (4+4) later Support
iMac 24” – M1 8-core on M1 MC 2021.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 GB *4 Nexis 21.8 1Gb ethernet RJ45
Sept 2020 MacOS 11.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis
8 core CPU (4+4) later Support
iMac Retina 5K 27" AMD Radeon Pro MC 2020.4 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 128 GB 2666 Nexis 20.3 10Gb ethernet RJ45 option
3.8 Ghz 8-core Intel i7 5700, 5700 XT *1 Mhz DDR4 min - No Isis
3.6 Ghz 10-core Intel i9 *3 Support
Aug 2020

Rev 35 April 30, 2024

 Earliest MC
DNxIO/IQ
Version DNxIV/IP
System GPU DNxID Memory Nexis Notes**
Supported

Mac Pro 2019 AMD Radeon Pro MC 2020.4 TB3(USB-C) 48 to 192 GB 2933 Nexis 20.3 DP 10GbE RJ45 Onboard
8 to 28 core Intel Xeon W 580X, Vega II, *1 Mhz DDR4 min - No Isis MacOS 11.5 or later required for
Series W5700X, W6800X, Support W6800X, W6900X
W6900X 580X, Vega II EOL

iMac Retina 5K 27" AMD Radeon Pro MC 2018.10 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 64 GB 2666 Yes
3.6 Ghz 8-core Intel i9 575X, 580X, Vega *1 Mhz DDR4
March 2019 48
iMac Retina 4K 21.5" AMD Radeon Pro MC 2018.10 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 32 GB 2666 Yes
3.2 Ghz 6-core Intel i7 560X, Vega 20 *1 Mhz DDR4
March 2019

Rev 35 April 30, 2024

 Earliest
DNxIO/IQ
MC DNxIV/IP
System GPU DNxID Memory Nexis Notes**
Version
Supported*

Mac laptops
13” or 15” Macbook Air – 10-core on M3 MC 2023.12 TB4(USB-C) 24 GB Nexis 24.2 Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
M3 - March 2024 MacOS 14.x *1 *5 min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4+4) (Sonoma) or Support 16 GB Memory not qualified
later Choose 70 Watt power adapter
MacBook Pro 14/16” M3 10 core GPU on MC 2023.12 TB4 (USB-C) 24 - 128 GB M3 Nexis 24.2 16 GB Memory option not qualified
Dec 2023 M3 MacOS 14.x *1 *5 Depending on min - No Isis with the M3 MBP
M3 – 8 core CPU (4+4) 14 or 18 core (Sonoma) or CPU/GPU selected Support
Pro - 11 core CPU (5+6) GPU on M3 Pro later Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Pro -12 core CPU (6+6) 30 or 40 core dock required for Nexis
Max-14 core CPU (10+4) GPU on M3
Max-16 core CPU (12+4) Max
MacBook Pro 14/16” M2 16 or 19 core MC 2022.12.3 TB4 (USB-C) 32, 64 or 96 GB M2 Nexis 22.12 16 GB Memory option not qualified
Jan 2023 on M2 Pro MacOS 13.x *1 *5 Pro/Max min - No Isis with the M1 Pro or M1 Max
Pro - 10 core CPU (6+4) 30 or 38 core (Ventura) or Support
Pro -12 core CPU (8+4) on M2 Max later Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Max-12 core CPU (8+4) dock required for Nexis
MacBook Pro 13” M2 10-core GPU on MC 2021.12 TB4(USB-C) 24 GB Nexis 21.8 Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
June 2022 M2 MacOS 12.4 or *1 *5 16 GB memory option min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4p+4e) later NOT qualified Support
Mac Book Air – M2 8 or 10-core MC 2021.12 TB4(USB-C) 24 GB Nexis 21.8 Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
June 2022 GPU on M2 MacOS 12.4 or *1 *5 16 GB memory option min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4p+4e) later NOT qualified Support
MacBook Pro 14/16” M1 14 or 16 core MC 2021.12 TB4 (USB-C) 32 GB M1 Pro Nexis 21.8 16 GB Memory option not qualified
Nov 2021 on M1 Pro MacOS 12.x *1 *5 32 or 64 GB M1 Max min - No Isis with the M1 Pro or M1 Max
Pro - 8 core CPU (6+2) 24 or 32 core required Support
Pro -10 core CPU (8+2) on M1 Max Apple TB4 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Max-10 core CPU (8+2) dock required for Nexis
Mac Book Air – M1 8-core on M1 MC 2021.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 GB *4 Nexis 21.8 Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Sept 2020 MacOS 11.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4+4) later Support

Rev 35 April 30, 2024

 Earliest
DNxIO/IQ
MC DNxIV/IP
System GPU DNxID Memory Nexis Notes**
Version
Supported*

MacBook Pro 13” M1 8-core on M1 MC 2021.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 GB *4 Nexis 21.8 Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
Sept 2020 MacOS 11.x or *1 *5 min - No Isis dock required for Nexis
8 core CPU (4+4) later Support
MacBook Pro 13" Intel IRIS plus MC 2020.4 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 32 GB 3733Mhz Nexis 20.3 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
May 2020 Catalina OS *1 LPDDR4X min - No Isis Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
2.3 Ghz Intel i7 4-core Support dock required for Nexis
10th gen Intel
MacBook Pro 16" AMD Radeon MC 2020.4 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 64 GB 2666Mhz Nexis 20.3
Nov 2019 Pro 5300M, Catalina OS *1 DDR4 min - No Isis Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
2.6 Ghz i7 6-core or 5500M, 5600M Support dock required for Nexis
2.3, 2.4 Ghz i9 8-core
MacBook Pro 15" Intel UHD630 MC 2018.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 to 32 GB 2400Mhz Yes Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
2.6 Ghz i7 6-core or AMD Radeon *1 DDR4 dock required for Nexis
2.3/2.4 Ghz i9 8-core Pro 555X, 560X,
Mid 2019 Vega 16,20
MacBook Pro 13" 2.8 Ghz Intel Iris Plus MC 2018.12 TB3(USB-C) 16 GB 2133Mhz Yes Apple TB3 to GbE adapter or USB-C
4-core Intel core i7 – 655 *1 LPDDR3 dock required for Nexis
Mid 2019

Notes:
*1 - TB3 (USB-C) to TB2 adapter required for DNxIO
*2 - Apple TB2 to TB3 adapter required for DNxIQ, DNxIV, DNxID, or DNxIP
*3 - Customer reported issues with iMac 2020 & AMD 5500 XT and external monitor. iMac crashing with Premiere Pro, Davinci, & Safari
*4 - Disable Bin & Phonetic indexing and drop media cache to 1GB due to M1 - 16 GB unified memory limit

*5 – AJA driver 16.2.2 or later required for DNxIV/DNxIP in any M1, M2, M3 system

*6 - Customer reported issues with M1/M2 systems with BMD IO device – hang, audio drop outs, crashes. BMD fix in driver 12.8.1 Also,
some fixes are in MC releases 21.12.8, 22.12.3, 23.3.1 and later.

3rd Party Open IO Supported Hardware: Each vendor qualifies their own hardware to work with various host CPUs. For updated lists of
Rev 35 April 30, 2024
 supported 3rd party hardware configurations visit the vendor’s website. See the Open IO Frequently Asked Questions on the Knowledge Base
for links to their websites.

Configuration Guides: http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/user_guide/en269631

Mac Minimum Specifications

Computer: Avid-qualified Mac-based computer

Mac OS X
➢ Sonoma (14.x) – Requires MC 2023.12 or later
➢ Ventura (13.x) – Requires MC 2022.10 or later
➢ Monterey (12.x) – Requires MC 2021.12 or later

Processor:
➢ Intel core i7, i9 or Xeon (with hyper-threading – 4C/8T, 6C/12T or 8C/16T or higher) – 2.3 Ghz or higher
➢ Apple Silicon Processors - M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra , M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max
➢ M1/M2/M3 CPUs require MC 2021.12.x, 2022.12.x or 2023.x and Rosetta 2 support

Memory: (More is better – see Media Cache settings in MC)

➢ 16 GB RAM minimum for basic standalone MC with minimal effects (no interplay or Media Central) – DNxHD/DNxHR/ProRes formats – Intel only
➢ 24 GB RAM minimum for Apple silicon processors running Rosetta 2
➢ 32 GB RAM minimum required to support Interplay or Media Central, background transcoding, Dynamic Media Folders, full-frame stereoscopic
3D, FrameFlex 4K workflows, Raw format AMA plug-ins, Long GOP media editing, PhraseFind AI and other high-performance HD workflows
➢ 32+ GB RAM minimum required to support Media Composer |Cloud, UHD/4k/8k Media Editing and other high performance UHD workflows.
➢ RAM listed is what Avid tested as part of the qualification process. Adding more memory is supported as long as it adheres to the manufacturer’s
recommendation

Graphics card:
o Only Apple optional graphics cards: AMD Radeon Pro
o Intel on chip graphics,
o Apple M1, M2, M3 on chip graphics
o Graphics and driver must be supported by Apple

Internal hard drive:

o Minimum 512 GB M.2 PCIe SSD or SATA SSD

Rev 35 April 30, 2024

Revision Rev Change
5/11/2014 1 Initial rev
11/21/2014 2 Mac OSX 10.10 (Yosemite) performance notes for 12-core Ivy Bridge and dual 6-core Westmere
12/2/2014 3 Changes for MC 8.3 release
2/3/2015 4 Sonnet DX Thunderbolt Adapter available
3/6/2015 5 iMac Retina 5K qualification, Mac Pro “Ivy Bridge” GPU update
3/25/2015 6 MC | Cloud specs, high-core Yosemite Note update
8/21/2015 7 2015 MacBook Pro update
9/2/2015 8 DNxIO Qualifications
9/25/2015 9 Removed Thunderbolt 1 machines from DNxIO qualification column
6/1/2016 10 Added support both the 5k 27” and 4k 21” iMac
6/30/2016 11 Removed iMac 21.5,Mac Book Pro 15” and 17” early model 2011
2/16/2017 12 Added MacBook Pro 15”
5/11/2017 13 Updated Mac Pro Ivy Bridge added DNxIQ.
7/23/2017 14 Added Mac Pro 2017 iMac Retina 5k, 4k
11/13/2017 15 Updates for MC 8.9.4 – add DNxIV
2/7/2018 16 Add iMac Pro
7/7/2018 17 Remove old systems
8/21/2018 18 Add new Mac Book Pro models
9/21/2018 19 Updated iMac Pro Nexis support columns
12/5/2018 20 Add 2018 Mac Mini
5/5/2019 21 Remove old systems
7/23/2019 22 Add 2019 Mac Book Pros
4/14/2020 23 Add Mac Pro 2019, MBP 16” with MacOS 10.15 (Catalina)
8/17/2020 24 Add iMac 27” 5k Retina
10/22/2020 25 Remove Nitris/Mojo DX
4/30/2021 26 Add note for M1 NOT supported
10/8/2021 27 Add graphics options for shipping systems
12/7/2021 28 Add Apple M1 system support
4/30/2022 29 Add Apple M1 Studio
6/24/2022 30 Add Apple M2 on MBP and MB Air
12/1/2012 31 Remove older systems from 2017 that are no longer qualified
4/27/2023 32 Add Apple MBP M2 Pro & Max – remove 2013 Mac Pro
8/15/2023 33 Add Apple Mac Pro & Studio with M2 Max and Ultra CPUs
1/4/2024 34 Add Apple M3 systems
4/30/2024 35 Add Apple Macbook Air M3 laptops

Rev 35 April 30, 2024