DaVinci Resolve Running Slow on Mac? Try These 8 Fixes

DaVinci Resolve is a powerful tool that helps you edit videos, grade color, and add visual effects. Despite its excellent features, many users have complained that Davinci Resolve is running slowly on Mac. This is quite frustrating, especially when you’re working on large projects with high volumes of footage.

Many factors can lead to DaVinci Resolve’s slow issues. Now, let’s explore the possible reasons why DaVinci Resolve is so laggy on your Mac. Then we’ll learn how to make DaVinci Resolve run faster on your Mac. Hopefully, you can have a smoother workflow when utilizing DaVinci Resolve.

Why Is DaVinci Resolve Running So Slowly on My Mac?

From project to software issues, several factors can lead to the slow performance of DaVinci Resolve.

Project Issues

• You’re working on high-resolution footage like 4K, 6K, or 8K. This can consume many resources and slow down DaVinci Resolve.
• The projects you’re processing contain a large number of clips, complex effects, or multiple layers.
• You’re using media that is not good for editing. For example, you’re editing footage with high data rates or unsupported codecs.

Software Issues

• Incorrect settings or preferences can make DaVinci Resolve run slowly.
• If the installation files of DaVinci Resolve are corrupted, the software may not run properly.
• Your DaVinci Resolve has bugs or errors.
• Your DaVinci Resolve cannot be fully compatible with the current macOS.

Hardware Issues

• If your Mac doesn't have enough RAM or GPU, it might struggle to run DaVinci Resolve smoothly.
• If you continue to use the CPU at high usage levels, you may slow down the performance of DaVinci Resolve.
• The performance of DaVinci Resolve heavily relies on the GPU. Outdated or incompatible GPU drivers can cause the software to lag.

How to Make DaVinci Resolve Run Faster on Mac

Having figured out the reasons behind the slow performance of DaVinci Resolve, we’ll learn how to make DaVinci Resolve run faster.

1. Manage High-Resolution Footage

If you’re processing 4K, 6K, or 8K videos, you need substantial memory and processing power. This is because DaVinci Resolve needs to handle a large amount of data when working with such footage. In this process, the software will quickly overwhelm the resources of your macOS, and slow down the rendering time and other performance.

On the one hand, you can create proxy files that have a lower resolution. DaVinci Resolve allows you to generate proxy media, which can be used during the editing period. Then, when you finish editing the media, you can switch back to the original high-resolution files.

On the other hand, you can transcode the high-resolution footage to a more manageable format. For example, you can transcode 4K footage to a 1080p resolution for editing. You can make it through DaVinci Resolve’s built-in tool.

2. Simplify Complex Projects

If your media project has a large number of clips, complicated effects, or multiple layers, it can also slow down the performance of DaVinci Resolve. Each element in the timeline is likely to increase the amount of processing power. To address this, you can:

• Break down the project into smaller parts. This enables you to handle each segment more efficiently.
• Use simpler effects and utilize fewer layers in your timeline. If you want to use complex effects, render them as separate clips.

3. Optimize Playback Quality

High-quality playback settings require more processing power and memory, especially when you’re working with high-resolution footage. By adjusting the playback quality settings to a lower resolution or reducing the preview quality, you reduce the computational load on your system. Then your DaVinci Resolve will become more efficient. During the process of editing, you can lower the quality of playback. And then you can increase the quality for the final rendering. This can help reduce lag and make it easier to work on your project.

4. Optimize CPU Usage

To make DaVinci Resolve work faster, optimize your Mac's CPU usage. We know that the CPU has an important function in terms of processing and video editing. If your CPU is busy with numerous apps or processes, it will weaken DaVinci Resolve’s performance. You can close programs you do not require to be running currently. By freeing CPU resources, your DaVinci Resolve can take advantage of more processing power.

To get more CPU resources, launch Activity Monitor on your Mac. Via Activity Monitor, you can identify what apps or background processes are consuming CPU resources and close them accordingly.

Meanwhile, you can use BuhoCleaner to monitor the CPU load in real time. The BuhoCleaner menu bar app lets you track CPU load, temperature, fan speed, RAM usage, and more, all at a glance.

Besides, you can disable startup apps with BuhoCleaner. This can also reduce CPU and RAM usage next time and speed up your boot time.

5. Update GPU Drivers

DaVinci Resolve’s performance depends heavily on the GPU, even more than on the CPU or RAM. You can check for GPU driver updates on your graphics card manufacturer’s official website.

Keeping your GPU drivers up to date ensures your graphics card performs at its best and takes advantage of the latest features and optimizations for DaVinci Resolve. Driver updates often include bug fixes, performance improvements, and better software compatibility.

6. Upgrade RAM

You may need plenty of RAM to deal with big video files, complex effects, and multiple layers at the same time. If there is not enough RAM, you have to utilize more virtual memory. This is much slower compared to physical RAM. After upgrading RAM, you provide DaVinci Resolve with more memory to utilize. In this case, it can load and process video data faster.

To check if your Mac supports RAM upgrades, you can:

1. Click on the Apple icon and choose the “About This Mac” icon.
2. Choose “More Info” and “System Report”.
3. Select “Memory”. It will indicate whether your Mac model has empty slots for more RAM.
4. If yes, navigate to websites like MacSales (OWC) to find the right RAM for your Mac model.

Besides, you can use BuhoCleaner to free up RAM. This can also make your applications run faster.

7. Check and Adjust DaVinci Resolve Settings

Incorrect DaVinci Resolve settings and preferences can also impact the performance of DaVinci Resolve. Here is how to check and optimize the settings of DaVinci Resolve.

1. Open DaVinci Resolve.
2. Navigate to Project Settings.
3. Check the settings one by one.
4. If possible, adjust the “Memory Usage” slider to allocate more memory to DaVinci Resolve.

8. Uninstall and Reinstall DaVinci Resolve

If possible, uninstall DaVinci Resolve and then reinstall it. This can resolve issues like corrupted files, incomplete installations, or incompatibilities from previous versions. Over time, prolonged use may cause the software to become fragmented or corrupted, leading to bugs, crashes, and slow performance. Reinstalling DaVinci Resolve from the official website gives you a fresh, clean version, which can help it run faster and more reliably.

Besides, make sure your DaVinci Resolve version is fully compatible with your current macOS version. If it has compatibility issues, update your macOS or install a previous version of DaVinci Resolve.

Conclusion

The “DaVinci Resolve running slow on Mac” issue often results from project complexity, software settings, or hardware limitations. Video editing and processing can consume a large amount of system resources. If DaVinci Resolve starts to lag, focus on optimizing your Mac’s RAM, CPU, and GPU. At the same time, try simplifying your video projects to improve performance.