DaVinci Resolve System Requirements (2026): Minimum and Recommended for Mac, Windows and Linux

DaVinci Resolve 21 needs at least 16GB of RAM and a GPU with 4GB of VRAM on Windows, an Apple Silicon Mac with 8GB of RAM on macOS, and 32GB of RAM on Linux. Below are the full DaVinci Resolve system requirements for PC, Mac and Linux, straight from Blackmagic Design.

DaVinci Resolve is an insanely good piece of video editing software and free of charge. Let’s see what requirements you need to run DaVinci resolve efficiently. 

DaVinci Resolve 21 System Requirements

These are Blackmagic Design’s minimum requirements for DaVinci Resolve 21 (version 21.1.1, updated October 2026) on Windows, Mac and Linux, from the DaVinci Resolve support page. Each system is different, so scroll down to yours.

DaVinci Resolve system requirements for Windows

Here are the system requirements to run DaVinci Resolve 21 on Windows:

• Windows 10 Creators Update or later.
• 16GB of system memory, or 32GB when you use Fusion.
• An integrated or discrete GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM. The advanced AI tools need 16GB of VRAM, and background rendering needs 32GB of RAM and 12GB of VRAM.
• A GPU that supports OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 12.8, with official drivers from AMD or Intel, or NVIDIA Studio driver 581.57 or newer.
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.9 or later if you monitor through a Blackmagic card.
• On a Windows on Arm laptop: Windows 11 for Arm, a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor and 16GB of memory (32GB for 4K or Fusion).

*Not sure your NVIDIA card is supported? Check its CUDA support on NVIDIA’s CUDA GPU list.

Further Reading: How to Remove Background Noise in DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve system requirements for Mac 

Now we are onto the Mac. Let’s have a look at the DaVinci Resolve requirements for Mac. Here we go:

• An Apple Silicon Mac. Intel Macs are not on Blackmagic’s list for DaVinci Resolve 21.
• macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
• 8GB of system memory, or 16GB when you use Fusion. The advanced AI tools need 16GB, and background rendering and analysis need 32GB.
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.9 or later for monitoring.

Apple Silicon is now a must. Blackmagic’s requirements for DaVinci Resolve 21 list only Apple Silicon Macs, so check your Mac before you update DaVinci Resolve. An Intel Mac should stay on an earlier version.

DaVinci Resolve system requirements for Linux

Here we delve into the minimum system requirements of DaVinci Resolve for Linux. Let’s take a look below: 

• Rocky Linux 8.6.
• 32GB of system memory.
• A discrete GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM. The advanced AI tools need 16GB of VRAM, and background rendering needs 32GB of RAM and 12GB of VRAM.
• A GPU that supports OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 12.8, with official AMD drivers or NVIDIA Studio driver 580.119.02 or newer.
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.9 or later for monitoring.

DaVinci Resolve 18 Reference Manual

Below is the official DaVinci Resolve 18 Reference Manual, kept here for anyone still on version 18. Blackmagic publishes the manual for the current version on its support page.

The DaVinci Resolve 18 reference manual offers detailed operational information on how to use DaVinci Resolve for editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, audio post production and finishing.

Here is the table of contents inside the reference manual:

• DaVinci Resolve Interface
• Setup and Workflows
• Ingest and Organize Media
• The Cut Page
• Edit
• Editing Effects and Transitions
• Import and Conform Projects
• Fusion Fundamentals
• Fusion Page Effects
• Color
• Color Page Effects
• Resolve FX Overview
• Fairlight
• Deliver
• Advanced Workflows
• Project Libraries, Collaborative, and Remote Workflows
• Menu Descriptions
• Regulatory Notices
• Safety Information
• Warranty

Here is the DaVinci Resolve 18 Reference Manual [PDF]

It’s a pretty large PDF file, so it may take a moment to download.

DaVinci Resolve 18 Supported Codecs Manual

We were also able to get a copy of the PDF for the DaVinci Resolve 18 Supported Codecs.

This reference list provides you with a quick and easy way to identify the formats and codecs supported by DaVinci Resolve 18.

It is broken up in 3 sections:

• MacOS
  • Video
  • Video – Miscellaneous
  • Still and Sequence Formats
  • Audio
• Windows 10
  • Video
  • Video – Miscellaneous
  • Still and Sequence Formats
  • Audio
• CentOS 7.3 (CUDA)
  • Video
  • Video – Miscellaneous
  • Still and Sequence Formats
  • Audio

Here is the DaVinci Resolve 18 Supported Codecs Manual [PDF]

It’s a pretty large PDF file, so be it will take a few moments to download.

What is a GPU?

A GPU is known fully as a graphic processing unit. It’s essentially a card that is used to accelerate the graphics and rendering of video in DaVinci Resolve.

Ideally, you need to have these implemented to ensure you’re running DaVinci Resolve at it’s optimum, a slick editing workflow is what you need to have to ensure you’re efficiently managing your editing duties. A fast GPU will accelerate this.

What is a CPU?

A CPU stands for a central processing unit. A CPU is a chip attached to the motherboard that receives information from the other parts of your and processes it. 

The CPU needs to be quick for DaVinci Resolve to process multiple pieces of information at one time. The quicker the processing, the smoother the actions within DaVinci. It’s imperative that you have a strong and quick central processing unit to ensure that you are able to edit with speed and efficiency.

Additional DaVinci Resolve Resources

If you are looking for more tutorials, walkthroughs and troubleshooting on DaVinci Resolve, here are some additional posts about DaVinci:

We hope this article on DaVinci Resolve System Requirements was useful to you! Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments; we love to hear from you!

Happy editing!