What's the best computer to run Millumin ?
This article explains what is important to consider, when choosing a computer to run Millumin.
Graphic Card
Millumin mainly uses the graphic card, so the better your GPU is, the better the performances are.
When possible, choose a model of computer with a dedicated AMD or Apple M1 GPU, not with an Intel GPU alone. You can compare graphic cards scores on
this website.
On the other hand,
an eGPU can be an efficient solution to use high-end GPUs. However, it is not supported by Apple M1 machines.
Here is
a test with a MacMini 2018with an eGPU running 3 x 4K displays (equivalent to 12 x 1080p60 displays).
If you uses multiple graphic cards, keep in mind that real-time rendering can only be processed by a single graphic card at one time, then the result must be transfered to other graphic cards, which is time consuming. Other real-time softwares have this hardware limitation as well.
Nowadays, this limitation tends to fade away, but in general, a machine with one powerful GPU is better than a machine with several low ones.
Apple M1
Apple is now producing its own processors, the first ones being called Apple M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max. For info, Millumin V4 is optimized for both Intel and M1.
If you want to buy an Apple M1 machine, keep in mind that depending on the processor family, the number of external displays will be limited :
- 1 external display for Apple M1 machines with an embed screen (MacBook and iMac)
- 2 external displays for Apple M1 machines without any screen (MacMini)
- 2 external displays for Apple M1 Pro machines
- 4 external displays for Apple M1 Max machines
However, each external display can run at 4K or higher. If you own a device such as
a Datapath FX4 or
an AJA HA5-4K, you can get 4 displays out of one Thunderbolt port of your computer.
There are also DisplayLink docks, such as
the Plugable one, but from experience frame drops can arise (this may be fixed in later DisplayLink update).
Drive and RAM
The drive is important too. If you use big files, you need a good one that can read fast enough : for example an internal SSD, or an external RAID drive.
The CPU speed or the RAM size are not that important nowadays, as hardware-acceleration is widely used.
Optimizations
For recommendations about codecs, please
read this post.
When building your show, click on the "Optimize" button, then follow the recommendations provided by Millumin to optimize your project.
![]()
Millumin Help
