My iMac is dying , so I need to replace it .
The 2020 iMac has these specs: 8 Core Intel i7, AMD Radon Pro 500 XT 8GB, 64 GB Ram. All the photo editing programs are struggling now with all the AI stuff in them. Machine is shutting down randomly and getting hardware errors and the dreaded spinning wheel. I only do photo editing with Lightroom , Photoshop and a couple of plugins. My camera the Sony A7R5 has 61GB files. I don't do much if any video or 3D rendering or gaming. I store my photos on a external SSD drive.
Cost is a consideration . I am looking at the following :
I am a novice with computer hardware, but the below seems a big improvement over what I have been using.
Mac mini
M4 Pro Chip
14 Core CPU
20 Core GPU
64 GB Ram
1 TB Storage
Will this take into the future for a few years I looked at the MacStudio, but not sure I need all it offers. I may be wrong
Also, as to monitor, are there alternatives to the Mac monitors ?
Thanks so much for any suggestions and help. This is a sizable investment and I need some experienced input .
I had a 2017 iMac that I used for the sony 60MP raw files. It was actually fine except for the AI edits / denoising which took way too long.
I debated between the Mac mini you listed and a Mac Studio with 64GB ram / 40 GPU. A lot of forum posts suggested the Mac mini was more than enough power and studio bordered on overkill. I ended up getting the studio.
However outside of AI / pano stuff, the studio doesn't really doesn't seem that much faster than my iMac. However for AI edits it's much much faster, but not so fast that I couldn't wish for a faster computer. Denoising still takes maybe 15s and AI local masks take noticeable time. Mac mini will be slower than the studio. You can find benchmarks online.
Going by way of the mini also requires a monitor, keyboard and trackpad so keep that in mind when summing up the cost. No question the mini you spec'd will be a very good improvement over your intel 2020 iMac. That said, the mini does not come in the MAX chip version which has significant higher processing cycles along with more cores. Given you'll have to be getting a monitor, I'd highly recommend you look at the MBP M5 Max that should be announced next week. It will definitely out perform the mini. Run it in clamshell mode with the monitor. This is what I did when I replaced my iMac late 2015 with a MBP M1 Max back in 2021. It's been struggling lately though thanks to LR Denoise. I'm currently looking to upgrade to the M5 Max based upon what I see next week.
Denoise speed correlates to the number of GPU cores in a Mac, almost independent of the CPU, speed or cores. Of course other (most?) tasks depend on the CPU so definitely not to be overlooked but take a look at GPU cores in whatever Mini/Studio options you are evaluating. There are sometimes 2 options for any given CPU.
mcbroomf wrote:
Denoise speed correlates to the number of GPU cores in a Mac, almost independent of the CPU, speed or cores. Of course other (most?) tasks depend on the CPU so definitely not to be overlooked but take a look at GPU cores in whatever Mini/Studio options you are evaluating. There are sometimes 2 options for any given CPU.
birdied wrote:
My iMac is dying , so I need to replace it .
The 2020 iMac has these specs: 8 Core Intel i7, AMD Radon Pro 500 XT 8GB, 64 GB Ram. All the photo editing programs are struggling now with all the AI stuff in them. Machine is shutting down randomly and getting hardware errors and the dreaded spinning wheel. I only do photo editing with Lightroom , Photoshop and a couple of plugins. My camera the Sony A7R5 has 61GB files. I don't do much if any video or 3D rendering or gaming. I store my photos on a external SSD drive.
Cost is a consideration . I am looking at the following :
I am a novice with computer hardware, but the below seems a big improvement over what I have been using.
Mac mini
M4 Pro Chip
14 Core CPU
20 Core GPU
64 GB Ram
1 TB Storage
Will this take into the future for a few years I looked at the MacStudio, but not sure I need all it offers. I may be wrong
Also, as to monitor, are there alternatives to the Mac monitors ?
Thanks so much for any suggestions and help. This is a sizable investment and I need some experienced input .
The issue with your current machine is likely mostly attributable to the older Intel processor. I had a iMac of similar vintage until this last year and I was having similar issues to those you report. (That iMac was essentially the highest-spec version of the 27” machine with lots of memory and internal SSD.)
I moved to a M4Pro Mini like the one your describe and it is a surprisingly powerful solution for the work you say you do. I have more SSD capacity than your setup, but that’s for a particular reason that may not be relevant in your case. I think 64GB ram is a good choice.
Mine is attached to a pair of 27” monitors, plus various external storage devices for primary image file storage and multiple backups.
Do you need to go for a Studio Mac instead of the Mini? If your needs are more extreme, perhaps. But from your description, the mini should be fine for you. It is for me and my use is not exactly low-end, casual stuff.
Do total up all of the potential connections you’ll need an dmake sure that the Mini offers them. In my case, my monitors also have additional thunderbolt/USB-C ports so I have more that I could ever actually use.
Final point: I think there is a combination of the fear that our systems might not be fast enough combined with a desire to own the fastest machine on the planet that compels a lot of people to buy more computer capability than they will actually need. And it is true that it is better to over-spec a bit than to make the mistake if under-speccing a computer and regretting it. But some of the “improvements” that people hope to see from the higher spec systems range between minimal/meaningless and imperceptible. Take the so-called Max chips for example. They do, in fact, perform faster than something like a Pro chip… but that speed is likely not going to buy you much if you are doing basic Photoshop work. (If you are doing high end video, or maybe mixing 64 channels of audio, the story may be different…)
gdanmitchell wrote:
The issue with your current machine is likely mostly attributable to the older Intel processor. I had a iMac of similar vintage until this last year and I was having similar issues to those you report. (That iMac was essentially the highest-spec version of the 27” machine with lots of memory and internal SSD.)
Nowadays the GPU is so necessary for Adobe. I'm sure no iMac or most other computer in 2020 had anything like what is expected today.
EB-1 wrote:
Nowadays the GPU is so necessary for Adobe. I'm sure no iMac or most other computer in 2020 had anything like what is expected today.
EBH
+1
As already posted it's GPU for Denoise. On the Windows side you can take a pretty old CPU machine and update just the GPU and go from a system that would not run Adobe Denoise to (with the current LRC) running 60MP files in about 20 seconds.
New Mac Minis will be introduced. Make sure that you get more than 1GB main SSD. The new Thunderbolt 5 external drives are fast, but not as fast as the internal drive. Also, I would consider at least 64GB of memory..as your build notes. GPU will be used more and more as “AI” features are introduced.
Whatever you do, buy soon! SSD and RAM prices are totally mental and expected to get worse before they crash in a couple years. So suddenly a $5000-6000 computer in 2024 is now a $20,000+ computer to replace in 2026.
bwcolor wrote:
New Mac Minis will be introduced. Make sure that you get more than 1GB main SSD. The new Thunderbolt 5 external drives are fast, but not as fast as the internal drive. Also, I would consider at least 64GB of memory..as your build notes. GPU will be used more and more as “AI” features are introduced.
If you just run apps off the SSD, 1TB should be plenty for most users. (If you plan to use the internal SSD for file storage, all bets are off. But with lots of image files one is almost certain to host them on external media.
Yes, the SSD may be slightly faster than a good Thunderbolt 5 drive… but for most people that will be a difference that really doesn’t matter and/or is not worth the cost.
Again, for anyone other htan power users (do much high end video? Really huge still images with tons of layers?) 64GB will be plenty for photo purposes.
4 weeks ago I was looking at the mini with 1 tb internal and up-grade the ethernet connaction to a 10 gbs versus a studio. The person at the store told the main deference was the video refresh speed on the monitor plus a few other, I just a studio with a 1 tb internal and running a NAS for storge since I use the iPad pro on location.
gdanmitchell wrote:
If you just run apps off the SSD, 1TB should be plenty for most users. (If you plan to use the internal SSD for file storage, all bets are off. But with lots of image files one is almost certain to host them on external media.
SSD costs are about the same whether internal or external.
I looked at the MacStudio, but not sure I need all it offers. I may be wrong 