What current Mac do I need to cope with large Photoshop layers?

BillN_33 said:
I have about 850Gbte of used storage on my iMac - can you explain how this external storage would work with the LR Catalog - would I then need to plug another storage disk into the external storage that held my LR Catalogue
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My raw files are stored on a NAS as these take the most space and don’t need to be on a fast disk drive for editing.

My catalog is stored on my internal SSD on the Mac for speed and then backed up to the NAS automatically.
 
ecoleman said:
My raw files are stored on a NAS as these take the most space and don’t need to be on a fast disk drive for editing.

My catalog is stored on my internal SSD on the Mac for speed and then backed up to the NAS automatically.
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Unfortunately I have no idea what as NAS is
does it cost money?

I'll google it
 
BillN_33 said:
Unfortunately I have no idea what as NAS is
does it cost money?

I'll google it
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A NAS is a network attached storage. Basically an external hard drive that can be accessed by anyone on the network but with lots of other bells and whistles.

You could use a standard USB external hard drive instead.

Edit, I say hard drive because I’m old school but you’d probably want an external SSD with USB-C connectivity these days. Still a lot cheaper than paying for Apple storage
 
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I bought my BenQ SW271C Pro 27" IPS monitor from The Flash Centre at the Photo Show. Their telephone backup was also very good during the set up phase.
 
psybear said:
That's the spec of the Studio I was contemplating, I have to say I was fairly confident it would easily cope with the files I am talking about. Yeah an improved Mac Mini could be an option, just not sure I can afford to wait. How are you finding the Studio display, is really worth the money in your opinion?
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The Studio display is just superb. Clear text and very bright when needed. Ignore all the hype around the inbuilt camera. It's as good as my iPhone one.
Yes, its not cheap but nothing apart from the top-end Apple Pro Display XDR comes even close.
 
Adamcski said:
Is the Mac mini any good? Or would it be better to just get larger laptop with the M1 chip?

I know naff all about MACs so will pop into apple later and have a natter
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The M1 variant with 512GB mem is not bad but don't touch the one with the Intel chip. Apple is expected to release new variants M2 possibly in the very near future so be careful, if you go into an Apple store they might not mention that:)

The advantage of using the Mini is that you can attach a separate monitor of your choice and it doesn't have to be an Apple one.


Useful guide here: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#mac
 
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wornish said:
The M1 variant with 512GB mem is not bad but don't touch the one with the Intel chip. Apple is expected to release new variants M2 possibly in the very near future so be careful, if you go into an Apple store they might not mention that:)

The advantage of using the Mini is that you can attach a separate monitor of your choice and it doesn't have to be an Apple one.


Useful guide here: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#mac
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But you can only spec that with 16gb ram it appears.
 
Adamcski said:
But you can only spec that with 16gb ram it appears.
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As of today yes, that's why I would wait for the impending release of the new Mac Minis, the Intel one will be withdrawn. Otherwise, you could go for the Studio but that is one big price jump if your budget can stand it.
 
wornish said:
As of today yes, that's why I would wait for the impending release of the new Mac Minis, the Intel one will be withdrawn. Otherwise, you could go for the Studio but that is one big price jump if your budget can stand it.
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I'm only an amatuer but have prioritized spending the next 12 months focusing on learning Affinity and post processing. My current laptop is okay, but it uses 30-40 odd % of the ram just opening the software lol
 
Thanks to the info received here and some more online research I've more or less made up my mind on the way forward.

I've ruled out getting a high spec MBP and linking to external monitor for a couple of reasons. Firstly the reason I have the MBA is to have something to take on the road when travelling. A high spec MBP would be a very expensive item to be potentially leaving in an unattended car etc. Plus it would leave my wife with no computer at home.

So I'm probably going to get the Studio. The base model with 32gb should be more than enough for my needs. And I've just ordered a 2TB Crucial external SSD drive so I'm not bothered by the 512gb SSD in the base model.

I also already have a half decent monitor - a Benq SW240 that I occasionally use with the MBP - so I can defer the decision on the monitor for a while.

And I see that John Lewis have £100 off the base Studio currently - that plus their 2 year warranty probably makes it a better buy than the Apple refurbished version.

Thanks again for all the input.
 
psybear said:
Thanks to the info received here and some more online research I've more or less made up my mind on the way forward.

I've ruled out getting a high spec MBP and linking to external monitor for a couple of reasons. Firstly the reason I have the MBA is to have something to take on the road when travelling. A high spec MBP would be a very expensive item to be potentially leaving in an unattended car etc. Plus it would leave my wife with no computer at home.

So I'm probably going to get the Studio. The base model with 32gb should be more than enough for my needs. And I've just ordered a 2TB Crucial external SSD drive so I'm not bothered by the 512gb SSD in the base model.

I also already have a half decent monitor - a Benq SW240 that I occasionally use with the MBP - so I can defer the decision on the monitor for a while.

And I see that John Lewis have £100 off the base Studio currently - that plus their 2 year warranty probably makes it a better buy than the Apple refurbished version.

Thanks again for all the input.
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Excellent choice.
 
psybear said:
Thanks to the info received here and some more online research I've more or less made up my mind on the way forward.

I've ruled out getting a high spec MBP and linking to external monitor for a couple of reasons. Firstly the reason I have the MBA is to have something to take on the road when travelling. A high spec MBP would be a very expensive item to be potentially leaving in an unattended car etc. Plus it would leave my wife with no computer at home.

So I'm probably going to get the Studio. The base model with 32gb should be more than enough for my needs. And I've just ordered a 2TB Crucial external SSD drive so I'm not bothered by the 512gb SSD in the base model.

I also already have a half decent monitor - a Benq SW240 that I occasionally use with the MBP - so I can defer the decision on the monitor for a while.

And I see that John Lewis have £100 off the base Studio currently - that plus their 2 year warranty probably makes it a better buy than the Apple refurbished version.

Thanks again for all the input.
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got the same model earlier in the year, no £100 off though, I paid full whack.
You will not be disappointed, it really is an excellent piece of kit.
 
Nikon f1.8 said:
got the same model earlier in the year, no £100 off though, I paid full whack.
You will not be disappointed, it really is an excellent piece of kit.
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Good stuff. What monitor are you using with it?
 
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