Hi everyone,
I wanted to ask if anyone else is experiencing similar issues after the latest major update of Topaz Video.
My setup:
- Mac Studio M3 Ultra — 28 CPU cores, 60 GPU cores, 96 GB unified memory, 1 TB SSD
- macOS up to date
Workflow:
- Source: 8K ProRes 422 HQ (3 seconds)
- Task: Upscale to 12K and export as H.265 (HEVC) MP4
- Model: Artemis only (no stabilization, interpolation, deinterlacing, or other modules)
Symptoms:
- The 3-second job takes around 30 minutes.
- The machine overheats heavily during the render.
- Activity Monitor shows ffmpeg + Topaz using 45–60 GB RAM, GPU utilization at 95–100%, and ffmpeg >200% CPU.
- This behavior is new — I didn’t see this level of slowdown before the latest update.
- I’ve attached screenshots (CPU, GPU, Memory tabs + the update screen).
Context:
On a MacBook Pro M1 Max (32 GB RAM), I used to render 16K videos (2 minutes) in about 18 hours — slow, but at least consistent and predictable. On the M3 Ultra, the efficiency feels worse despite the much stronger hardware.
Questions for the community:
- Has anyone else noticed performance drops on M3 Ultra after the latest update?
- Any tips on settings/optimizations for Artemis at 8K→12K H.265 export? (memory usage, encoder presets, etc.)
- Do you think the M2 Ultra (24 CPU, 60 GPU, 64 GB RAM) performs better in this scenario, or is it essentially the same?
This is critical for my workflow, so any insights, comparisons, or workarounds would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
