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Archive 2013 · Apple Mini for photo processing?

  
 
sma shooter
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


Hi,

A friend asked whether an Apple Mini computer would work well for processing photos. She has a new, large, and well-calibrated monitor that works well with her PC. She already has a Macbook Air for travel, so she doesn't necessarily want to buy a MacBook Pro for her photo work, Mac desktops are out of her price range, and buying an iMac would mean her monitor might be redundant. She figures a Mini would allow her to keep her monitor, but she is unsure whether it would limit her work. Apparently some ardent Apple fans have told her there would be no trouble, but someone at B&H sales suggested other Apple models or going with a PC computer instead. I decided to seek the wisdom of the group! If you're pleased with the processing you're doing on an Apple Mini, I'll be happy to pass your thoughts on to her. Many thanks!



Nov 27, 2013 at 01:18 PM
DougVaughn
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


I purchased a Mini a year ago after having an iMac for four years. Coupled with my Dell Ultrasharp 24" monitor, it has been my best configuration yet for photo editing.

In fact, I just bought a second Mini for my wife, and it was delivered from B&H yesterday. She kept getting jealous watching how fast Lightroom rendered previews compared to her computer, so... Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, or whatever for her.

If you can afford just a little more, I highly recommend the solid state drive coupled with the normal hard drive (think they label it "Fusion Drive"). It allocates the SSD for programs and temporary work space, making things blazing fast compared to a normal hard drive. Also, get the i7 processor.



Nov 27, 2013 at 01:37 PM
Dave_EP
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


I have a MacMini (amongst other macs) with 16GB ram, 2TB internal drives and 6TB of external RAID. Other than it being slightly slower that my main machine, there is nothing about it that limits what I do.




Nov 27, 2013 at 03:29 PM
arbitrage
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


Because LR and PS are mostly dependent on CPU and RAM and not dependent on Graphics cards, the mac mini is a great option for photo editing. I just wonder why Apple hasn't upgraded the line to Haswell yet?? Maybe waiting till after the MacPro release so they don't affect sales of it

And I totally agree that for overall computing sanity make sure you get at minimum the Fusion drive if not a dedicated SSD. No amount of CPU, memory or graphics can make the type of difference to everyday computing speed that just switching to SSD storage makes.



Nov 27, 2013 at 04:14 PM
Dave_EP
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


arbitrage wrote:
Maybe waiting till after the MacPro release so they don't affect sales of it


Do you really think someone looking to spend $4K+ on a MacPro is going to change their mind and buy a Mini because it has has well?




Nov 30, 2013 at 06:19 AM
Bifurcator
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


Hehehe…

__
But ya, to the OP, it should be OK. Really tho, a ten-year-old machine of average spec for the time and just upgraded to 4GB or so, should also "be OK". OK is as OK does.

My GF is using a Power Mac G5 with 6GB and just whatever video card it came with (GeForce 5200 or something). It's a single core at 1.8GHz and is about 10 years old. It's just fine for editing her 12mpx RAW files. The difference between the newest high performance and ancient or low spec tech isn't all that much if your main thing is photo-editing! I use that PPC machine from time to time and I could totally use that on a daily basis and not be too uncomfortable with it.





Nov 30, 2013 at 06:42 AM
CAlbertson
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


sma shooter wrote:
Hi,

A friend asked whether an Apple Mini computer would work well for processing photos. .....!


The mini can work well. It can be MUCH faster than her Macbook Air. There is a lot of room for configuration.

Whaty ou don't say is what software she uses. But in any case more RAM helps as do fast disks. What kind of storage depends on how large her library is and how fast it is growing.

A top of the line Mini can have a 2.6 GHz i7 Quad Core CPU, 16GB RAM and a large 1TB "Fusion" drive that is very fast. A Mini spec'd like that is not cheap But even the low-end Mini is not really low end and will be faster than hit Macbook Air.



Dec 01, 2013 at 04:27 AM
CAlbertson
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


arbitrage wrote:
Because LR and PS are mostly dependent on CPU and RAM and not dependent on Graphics cards,....


Yes, the Apple software will take advantage of the GPU by using OpenCL so there is some advantage to an Aperture/PS workflow. Esppecially if you have two Macs. (Aperture is set up to allows moving subsets of a library across two computers.)

One other option: Don't buy another Mac and use the Macbook Air. Connect the Thunderbolt port in the "Air" to the monitor and larger disk drive. Get a Thunderbolt "hub' that connects disks, monitor and Ethernet to the Air. You can even use an Apple bluetooh keyboard



Dec 01, 2013 at 04:35 AM
Bifurcator
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


PS too. PS uses OpenCL for a number of things. LR currently doesn't tho - that's true. Maybe the next version will?



Dec 01, 2013 at 05:54 AM
pr4photos
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Apple Mini for photo processing?


I use a mini for all my processing needs at home, and a MacBook when on the road. Works great!


Dec 01, 2013 at 08:33 AM





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