Re: MacMini vs MacStudio for photography: worth the pain?
RustyBug wrote:
It's apparent that we'll simply have to agree to not agree…
I was literally coming back to this thread to say the same thing.
Hopefully we have laid out the arguments here for our contrasting perspectives on what level of computer is necessary/effective for photographic use, and readers and assess them in light of their actual needs.
melcat wrote:
The question then becomes what some more luxury buys you, and the thing that stands out for me is that the Studio is likely
to be a much quieter machine under load…
In the meantime, my 2019 27″ Intel iMac still does the job…
To the first point, I have yet to notice any sound from my mini at all. If a fan is coming on, I don’t hear it.
Regarding the second point, those 2019 iMacs were really amazing machines. I had the i9 version with 40GB ram and 2 TB SSD and, aside from a few issues it was still working quite well for my Bridge/ACR/Photoshop work.
Why did I replace it? A few things:
1. It seemed pretty clear to me that this will almost certainly be the last version of the Mac OS that it is compatible with, and it will be left behind in future versions.
2. While most actual operations were still fine on this older machine, I was starting to encounter a few delay issues that were affecting my work. I was getting some odd slowdowns while Time Machine backups were in progress. (And, yes, I looked into solutions and none were relevant/successful.) I was having some issues with Spotlight on by external enclosure that holds my image files.
3. Given all of the talk of tariff wars with China (where these things are produced) and other countries, I decided to make the move sooner rather than later.
BTW, my experience with that iMac — a less that top-end machine that performed extremely well for over 5 years — is probably the final chapter in my process of coming to realize that we don’t need the expensive super-high-specification machines to do serious work any more.
PIOK wrote: Could someone tell me if Mac Mini M4 PRO or Mac Studio has an optional button for changing from 110 to 220 V? ( like some equipment has )
Sometimes I travel to my home in Europe for extended period. Can I switch to 220 V
From Apple site "Line voltage: 100–240V AC" ---- I think I just need regular adapter or buy cable in Europe
I can’t give you a definitive answer to that question, but with other devices that have that indication I have always just used a regular cable adapter that simply uses the correct local plug. I know that is the case with Apple chargers for things like iPads and laptops, and that’s what I’ve done when traveling.
Re: MacMini vs MacStudio for photography: worth the pain?
RustyBug wrote:
It's apparent that we'll simply have to agree to not agree…
I was literally coming back to this thread to say the same thing.
Hopefully we have laid out the arguments here for our contrasting perspectives on what level of computer is necessary/effective for photographic use, and readers and assess them in light of their actual needs.
melcat wrote:
The question then becomes what some more luxury buys you, and the thing that stands out for me is that the Studio is likely
to be a much quieter machine under load…
In the meantime, my 2019 27″ Intel iMac still does the job…
To the first point, I have yet to notice any sound from my mini at all. If a fan is coming on, I don’t hear it.
Regarding the second point, those 2019 iMacs were really amazing machines. I had the i9 version with 40GB ram and 2 TB SSD and, aside from a few issues it was still working quite well for my Bridge/ACR/Photoshop work.
Why did I replace it? A few things:
1. It seemed pretty clear to me that this will almost certainly be the last version of the Mac OS that it is compatible with, and it will be left behind in future versions.
2. While most actual operations were still fine on this older machine, I was starting to encounter a few delay issues that were affecting my work. I was getting some odd slowdowns while Time Machine backups were in progress. (And, yes, I looked into solutions and none were relevant/successful.) I was having some issues with Spotlight on by external enclosure that holds my image files.
3. Given all of the talk of tariff wars with China (where these things are produced) and other countries, I decided to make the move sooner rather than later.
BTW, my experience with that iMac — a less that top-end machine that performed extremely well for over 5 years — is probably the final chapter in my process of coming to realize that we don’t need the expensive super-high-specification machines to do serious work any more.
Re: MacMini vs MacStudio for photography: worth the pain?
RustyBug wrote:
It's apparent that we'll simply have to agree to not agree…
I was literally coming back to this thread to say the same thing.
Hopefully we have laid out the arguments here for our contrasting perspectives on what level of computer is necessary/effective for photographic use, and readers and assess them in light of their actual needs.
melcat wrote:
The question then becomes what some more luxury buys you, and the thing that stands out for me is that the Studio is likely to be a much quieter machine under load…
In the meantime, my 2019 27″ Intel iMac still does the job…
To the first point, I have yet to notice any sound from my mini at all. If a fan is coming on, I don’t hear it.
Regarding the second point, those 2019 iMacs were really amazing machines. I had the i9 version with 40GB ram and 2 TB SSD and, aside from a few issues it was still working quite well for my Bridge/ACR/Photoshop work.
Why did I replace it? A few things:
1. It seemed pretty clear to me that this will almost certainly be the last version of the Mac OS that it is compatible with, and it will be left behind in future versions.
2. While most actual operations were still fine on this older machine, I was starting to encounter a few delay issues that were affecting my work. I was getting some odd slowdowns while Time Machine backups were in progress. (And, yes, I looked into solutions and none were relevant/successful.) I was having some issues with Spotlight on by external enclosure that holds my image files.
3. Given all of the talk of tariff wars with China (where these things are produced) and other countries, I decided to make the move sooner rather than later.
Mar 09, 2025 at 09:44 AM
Previous versions of gdanmitchell's message #16769054 « MacMini vs MacStudio for photography: worth the pain? »
Could someone tell me if Mac Mini M4 PRO or Mac Studio has an optional button for changing from 110 to 220 V? ( like some equipment has )