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Our 2014 MacBook Pro is showing signs that it may be preparing for retirement. I’m thinking of replacing it with a desktop machine, as mobiles and tablets seem to be used mostly for the day to day tasks.
The desktop would be used primarily by an A level student for photoshop and a bit of product design.
I was thinking that a Mac mini would fit the bill, but for similar money, would a pc give more bang for bucks?
Help and guidance much appreciated!
If it was me buying a new machine for running Photoshop I’d just get one of the 24” iMacs.
I was thinking that a Mac mini would fit the bill, but for similar money, would a pc give more bang for bucks?
Yes.
Do you / they want a Windows machine though? This is really a personal preference question.
or perhaps no? 🤔I was thinking that a Mac mini would fit the bill, but for similar money, would a pc give more bang for bucks?Yes.
Everything I’ve read suggest that, when we are [i]specifically[/i] talking about Photoshop, an M1 Mac beats the living hell out of similarly priced or even more expensive Windows/Intel machines (due to the architecture being especially adept for whatever PS is asking it to do)
https://9to5mac.com/2021/02/18/m1-macbook-pro-photo-editing/
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/photoshop-on-apple-m1-macbook-50-faster-than-on-intel-models-adobe-says/
The M1 Macs are impressively good. Not sure how equivalent PCs compare these days.
Photoshop generally doesn't require a lot of power, it'll happily run on a cheap machine. You'd probably want a decent monitor though.
Windows and MacOs are quite different, and if you've spent a lot of time on one, it can take a good while to become comfortable with the other. So that's something to consider.
M1 Mac Mini or iMac will make very light work of Photoshop. If you're used to Mac then Windows will do your nut in!
15" MacBook Air due out later this year with an M2 chip - just plug in a suitable monitor
Do you need all that grunt? Unless you'e a power user then it might be overkill
Do you also need to buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse? By the time you add those then you're into macbook air prices.
I looked into Windows Desktops for my parents last looking for a cheaper alternative to their ageing iMac. I couldn't find anything even vaguely competitive. My Dad wasn't impressed by the noise levels of windows box fans either. And he's deaf as a post!
I think that if you need a desktop i.e. need loads of processing and storage then maybe a custom built windows box could be good. But for most people now a macbook air and external monitor is all that is needed.
IME performance is similar across the two platforms as far as image editing goes, so it comes down to preference and budget.
I'm Windows and tend to go for a laptop vaguely aimed at gaming for all my image/video/audio needs.
iMac M1 might make (a lot of) sense when you factor having to buy a high end screen to match/replace your mbp. Can also be bought with a trackpad if you prefer them to mice (I do!)
Very neat package too obviously
Thank you all for the advice and suggestions.
I had to do this recently as my old PC started to give up the ghost, every PC I looked at that had decent memory and build quality was over £600, so I bought an 8Gig M1 MacBook Air, £900 from Apple, they gave me 10% discount to bring the price to that of John Lewis, just ask, JL will also do it on % finance if you want to spread the payments. If you want one with more memory you have to order it, takes about three weeks but the 8 Gig M1 can be had in store there and then.
It's rapid and handles Photoshop and Adobe camera Raw easily, it's significantly quicker than my mates pre M1 16Gig MacBook Pro.
If they're a student they should get educational discount if you search for it & pop in their school email address (presuming they have one...)
yes if you are just retouching photos. If you're dealing with very large print images or composites/montages etc with loads of effects, I've had stuff that's made my old Mac cry in the past 😂 Fortunately I've now got a Studio so those days are long gone 😎Photoshop generally doesn’t require a lot of power, it’ll happily run on a cheap machine.