Slow exports, dropped frames, and "disk full" warnings kill creative momentum faster than anything. If your edits are stuttering, the cause is almost always storage or your GPU. Here is a practical guide to how much SSD space and graphics power you actually need for video editing in DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro. (Not sure your machine can run Resolve at all? Start with our DaVinci Resolve system requirements guide.)
How much SSD space do you need for video editing?
Video files are large, and editing software generates even more data on top of them — cache, render files, proxies, and backups. As a rough guide:
- 1080p projects: budget around 5–10 GB per finished minute once you include source footage and cache.
- 4K projects: budget 30–60 GB per finished minute, more for high-bitrate or RAW formats.
A practical minimum is a 1 TB SSD for active projects, with a separate larger drive (SSD or HDD) for archiving finished work.
How much free space should you leave on your SSD?
This is the question that trips up most editors. SSDs slow down dramatically when they get too full, because the drive needs free blocks to write efficiently. Keep at least 15–20% of your SSD free at all times. On a 1 TB drive, that means never letting your working space drop below roughly 150–200 GB. Leaving that headroom keeps write speeds high and protects the drive's lifespan.
Internal vs. external SSD
Edit from a fast drive, always. An internal NVMe SSD is ideal for your active project and cache. If you work across machines, a high-quality external SSD over USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt is fast enough to edit directly from. Avoid editing off spinning hard drives or SD cards — that is where most playback stutter comes from.
What GPU do you need for DaVinci Resolve?
DaVinci Resolve is heavily GPU-accelerated, more so than most editors, so graphics matter here. A few guidelines:
- 1080p editing and grading: a modern GPU with 6 GB or more of VRAM handles this comfortably.
- 4K editing, noise reduction, and effects: aim for 8–12 GB of VRAM or more.
- Heavy effects, multiple LUTs, and fusion work: the more VRAM, the smoother your timeline.
VRAM is the number to watch — running out of it is what causes Resolve to drop frames or throw memory errors during playback.
The fastest performance win nobody mentions
Hardware helps, but how you build your look matters too. Stacking many heavy real-time effects forces your GPU to recalculate every frame on playback. Using optimized, GPU-friendly assets — like well-built LUTs and pre-rendered film textures and grain instead of a tower of live filters — keeps your timeline responsive even on modest hardware. MoonBear's effects are optimized for smooth playback and fast renders, even in 4K and 6K workflows.
Quick reference
- SSD size: 1 TB minimum for active work; archive elsewhere.
- Free space: always keep 15–20% free.
- Edit drive: internal NVMe or fast external SSD — never a hard drive or SD card.
- GPU: 8 GB+ VRAM for comfortable 4K work in Resolve.
Get those four right and most performance problems disappear.