Need a new imac
Discussion
wyson said:
Na, I’ll go against the grain here and just say you should get a new mac ASAP and not faff around on a 11 year old machine. Any Apple Silicon Mac will knock the socks off your current one. Unless you have a specific reason for waiting, I’d just get any Mx iMac, they are all more than powerful enough for most users.
Not sure what your budget is, but you won’t go wrong with an Apple Studio display and Mac Mini or Mac Studio. If you don’t mind a smaller screen a iMac 24inch is also great value.
Also, did you consider your internet connection or router might have flaked out?
I think its time for a new machine. CheersNot sure what your budget is, but you won’t go wrong with an Apple Studio display and Mac Mini or Mac Studio. If you don’t mind a smaller screen a iMac 24inch is also great value.
Also, did you consider your internet connection or router might have flaked out?
Edited by wyson on Tuesday 25th June 20:44
I collect my new 16” MacBook Pro on Friday. Just couldn’t hang on any long, as my 10 year old 15” is struggling with new software. DXO PureRaw 3 tortures it, PureRaw 4 not even worth trying.
I considered an iMac or Mac Mini, or Studio, but I really don’t want to be in the spare room for hours while editing etc.
I considered an iMac or Mac Mini, or Studio, but I really don’t want to be in the spare room for hours while editing etc.
kojak said:
Time for a new machine I think.
Cleared some space from internal hard drive and managed to back up my photos. Just got to decide whether to go for a 24" MAC and bigger capacity etc, MAC mini or basic MAC Studio.
Thank you everyone
Mac Studio is overkill for photo editing. Basic Mini or iMac will be perfect Cleared some space from internal hard drive and managed to back up my photos. Just got to decide whether to go for a 24" MAC and bigger capacity etc, MAC mini or basic MAC Studio.
Thank you everyone
I have an iMac 24" M1 and a MacBook Air M3
The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
joropug said:
I have an iMac 24" M1 and a MacBook Air M3
The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
But some prefer a larger screen, even if the quality drops off. The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
Tony1963 said:
joropug said:
I have an iMac 24" M1 and a MacBook Air M3
The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
But some prefer a larger screen, even if the quality drops off. The screen on the iMac is superb, it's very fast and completely silent. I've never heard the fans kick in - had it 3 years.
A Mac mini might offer the same performance as the iMac but to buy a screen as good as the iMac. and a webcam, speakers, keyboard, mouse etc...works out way more expensive.
I re-built my iMac and sold it on Marketplace - think I got about £300 for it (had 32Gb ram) So that helped offset any uplift in cost.
When I specced up my Mac Mini - ensured it was Maximum Ram, but then got an external 2TB nvme, and a 40gbps enclosure - then installed/and now run the OS from this.
These are quicker/cheaper than maxing out the internal disk
Faster External Disk for M2 Mac Mini
If you only want it for static use as a desktop, iMac is the best solution, mainly because of the built in screen. There doesn't seem to be any external monitors of the same quality, unless you start spending mega money.
A few years back I went from 2011 iMac (and 2015 MacBook for out and about) to M1 Pro MacBook Pro and an external monitor, as with the Apple Silicon, there's no performance penalty for choosing a laptop, and it means I only need to run one Lightroom catalog etc. If it was purely for home use, I'd stick with an iMac though.
You probably want to spec 16GB RAM though, as you cannot upgrade it. I also have an M1 MacBook Air for work, that has 16GB RAM and performance wise, I can barely notice the difference between my much more expensive MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip.
A few years back I went from 2011 iMac (and 2015 MacBook for out and about) to M1 Pro MacBook Pro and an external monitor, as with the Apple Silicon, there's no performance penalty for choosing a laptop, and it means I only need to run one Lightroom catalog etc. If it was purely for home use, I'd stick with an iMac though.
You probably want to spec 16GB RAM though, as you cannot upgrade it. I also have an M1 MacBook Air for work, that has 16GB RAM and performance wise, I can barely notice the difference between my much more expensive MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip.
Ken_Code said:
There’s likely to be an M3 Mac mini out this year, so it could be worth waiting a couple of months.
There’s always something around the corner. At some point, you just have to buy the thing. When I bought my current MacBook Pro in mid-2014, the Apple salesy person asked why I was buying such a high spec one. Well, here I am, ten years later, and it’s still an ok machine except with DXO PureRaw, so I think my decision has been justified: go as high spec-wise as you can, you might get a whole chunk of extra use out of it.
Here’s food for thought:
On my mid-2014 15” MacBook Pro, i7, 16Gb ram, it took over ten minutes per image to process in DXO PureRaw 3.
With my new MacBook, 16”, M3 Pro, 36Gb ram, but in PureRaw 4, nine. No no no, not nine minutes, nine seconds!
Ok, I’ve read that PureRaw 4 is faster anyway, but blimey. I can batch-process at last!
On my mid-2014 15” MacBook Pro, i7, 16Gb ram, it took over ten minutes per image to process in DXO PureRaw 3.
With my new MacBook, 16”, M3 Pro, 36Gb ram, but in PureRaw 4, nine. No no no, not nine minutes, nine seconds!
Ok, I’ve read that PureRaw 4 is faster anyway, but blimey. I can batch-process at last!
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