Hi everyone! It’s Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2024 weekend here. I always get a lot of questions from people on which computer, laptop, monitor and hard drives they should get. So I thought I’d write down a few general thoughts and update this as time goes on. I originally made this post in 2020. But I revise it every year, so this is the fourth version (though not much tends to change)
Also, I released a new course this week on my Image Quality (Noise, sharpening) workflow with Topaz Photo AI. Click Here to Find Out More and Take Advantage of the Sale and to find out more about how to purchase Topaz Photo AI with their Black Friday discount.
As we get started, keep in mind there is NO WAY to spec out the perfect computer and tell you exact specs on what you should get. But hopefully this helps point you in the right direction or maybe keep you from getting something you may regret in a year.
DISCLAIMER: Please don’t message me asking for more details on this topic. There are thousands of combinations of computers, screens and monitors, and I won’t be able to respond to any questions on “Should I buy this…”, or “Can you elaborate on this…”. Thanks in advance! ๐
The Hard Truth to Come To Grips With First
The first thing to come to grips with is this. No matter which photo editing app you use (Adobe, ON1, Luminar, Capture One, Topaz, etc…), you are involved in one of the MOST INTENSIVE things you can put a computer through.
You may think you’re just an amateur photographer… just in it for hobby and fun, without a lot of requirements because you don’t have clients. But the moment you fire up one of those apps, you’re putting yourself in to the top 1% territory, when it comes to the specs you need for your computer. You require just as much power as a teen’s gaming computer or a pro wedding photographer editing thousands of photos. Your normal web browser or word processing app is nothing compared to the resources a photo editing app requires. So set your expectations (and Budget!) accordingly, knowing that running these programs is the hardest thing you can ask a computer to do. And if you want speed, then the cheapest option is never going to be the best.
Laptop vs. Desktop (or Tablet)
First, do you want a laptop or desktop? A laptop is portable and I’d ONLY go with this option if you absolutely need portability. If not, my recommendation would be to get a Desktop computer. A max’d out laptop (in most cases), will never be as fast as a desktop for similar money (generally). And in a few years, your laptop will start to feel very slow, and is typically not as upgradable as a desktop.
For me personally, things have changed a bit. I used to do all of my editing on an Apple iMac. I had an Apple MacBook Pro as well, and it held up okay. But remember, I need to be portable. Running an online business is 100% my livelihood. I travel often, and I need a laptop because I do teach on the road, travel, work remotely, etc… I need to have a computer with me all the time.
Anyway, one of the pain points for me is that you can guarantee whatever I wanted to work on was on “the other computer” when I had both laptop and desktop. So, back in 2021 I decided to trade in my iMac and laptop to Apple – while purchasing a new one. Then I ordered one of the MacBook Pro’s with the M chips (specs below). I now plug this in to a monitor (read on for which one) when I’m in my office – and the laptop has become my only computer. After nearly 4 years, I can say that I’m very happy with the choice and have had absolutely zero problems with it. And it still runs everything pretty fast, to the point where I don’t feel I need a new one yet.
What about a tablet?
While we do have a decent workflow with a tablet, I think of it more as an “extra”. Lightroom Classic isn’t available on the tablet and Photoshop only has some features (and not typically the ones you really want). So if you only use a tablet, you’ll need to use Lightroom on the tablet (not LR Classic) and be all in on the cloud, since it doesn’t work with local storage.
I’ll also add this. In my experience of diving head first in to this workflow this past year, I found that you’ll need a fairly well spec’d out iPad (preferably an iPad Pro). I tried doing a mobile workflow with a Samsung tablet that cost around $400 and it was painfully slow, so just remember that. As I mentioned, the tablet for you should only be an “extra” workflow option, for certain travel situations – not your main editing tool.
And, If you want to use it as an alternative travel workflow, then great. Heck, I’ll even teach you how with a course. ๐
Apple or Windows?
No matter what anyone says, it just doesn’t matter. No matter how passionately they argue with you, itโs a personal choice. Don’t think either one will be faster than the other, or better for photographers or anything like that. Many will disagree, but you wanted my opinion so there it is ๐ I will say that on average, you can get a better spec’d out PC for the same money vs. an Apple product.
But personally, I’m an Apple user and I don’t see myself switching in the future. For me, the extra money is worth the experience I get, but I know many great photographers that are PC based. When that photo gets shown on Social Media, a website, or printed on the wall NOBODY can tell you which operating system it came from. Like I said… it just doesn’t matter. And if you think it does matter then there’s probably a website you can argue that on – but this ain’t it ๐
Onto the Specs…
Okay, onto the specs. Keep in mind I am as un-tech-savvy as any person out there. As I mentioned, please don’t send me questions asking me to elaborate because I won’t be able to. But here’s what I know:
PROCESSOR: Your main computer processor is one of the biggest things that will get you speed. Get the best one, with the most cores, you can afford. I can’t give you an exact number because there are too many with all M1’s, M4’s, i7s and i-this and multi-core-that’s. Just get the best one you can configure or afford. You won’t regret splurging on this choice, so splurge away. But for me, I’d get the highest M-number I could get. Some options:
1. Prioritize High Single-Core Performance:
Both Photoshop and Lightroom benefit significantly from strong single-core performance. Processors with higher clock speeds can enhance responsiveness and reduce processing times for tasks such as applying filters and adjustments.
2. Go for Multi-Core Processors:
While single-core performance is important, certain things, like batch processing and exporting, utilize multiple cores. A processor with a higher core count can really improve your speed.
โข Intel Core i9-14900K: This processor offers 24 cores (8 performance and 16 efficiency) with a boost clock speed up to 6.0 GHz, providing good performance for some of the more demanding tasks in Photoshop and Lightroom.
โข Apple M4 Max: For Mac users, the M4 Max chip, has up to 12 performance cores and 40 GPU cores. This is one of the newest Apple offers and will give you the longest lasting option you can get.
RAM: Right now for most applications the “minimum” specs are 8GB of RAM. That means that’s the absolute minimum for the software to operate. And when you buy the absolute minimum of anything be prepared for absolute minimal performance.
Most companies recommend 16 GB of RAM. Again, “recommend” is the word they use to get around making you spend a ton of money on a computer. And with recommended specs, you will still get minimal performance. I would suggest at least 32GB so you have room to grow, and I personally went with 64GB on my laptop. On my previous iMac Desktop, I ordered it with 8GB of RAM cheap option, and then went to Crucial.com and ordered the 64GB Upgrade kit and upgraded it on my own (it was super easy to do – took about 3 minutes and again… I’m not tech savvy at all).
HARD DRIVE: I’d recommend at least a 1 TB Internal SSD drive. They are fast and they are what you’ll put your applications on so they can be accessed very quickly. Plus, 1 TB gives you room for extra stuff. But don’t plan on putting your photos on your internal drive because you’ll run out of space.
Most people will end up putting photos on external drives. I use externals for all of my photos. I don’t use RAID or NAS (I don’t even know how to spell them!). I just keep it simple – put it on the drive and make sure that drive is always backed up (I use Carbon Copy Cloner on the Mac but I’m sure there’s a program for PCs if you look).
Graphics Card: This is a really tough one to write about. There are just too many options and every program uses the graphics card in different ways. I would say get at least 4GB of RAM (or VRAM or whatever they call it) for your graphics card. My best suggestion is to do a Google search for “Minimum Specs for Lightroom (or Photoshop or whatever software you use)”. It will take you to Adobe’s website and under “Graphics Card” there are typically recommended specs and even a “Read More / GPU FAQ” or something similar.
But if it’s me, and I went to configure a new computer, I saw I had an option for + $400 for a better card and + $600 (a 16GB graphic memory) for an ever better card. I’d get the best card. If you can afford it, do it. If you can’t get the best one, I’d go with 8GB if you can.
What About Monitors?
NOTE: I have since purchased an Apple XDR screen for my laptop that I wrote about here.
Okay, this is another really tough area. 99.9% of your photography will be seen on a device of some sort when you share it (phone or tablet). So get used to the fact that you have ZERO control over how your photos are seen to everyone else in the world. You can get the best screen in the world, calibrate your monitor every day, and it won’t do any good. The best you can do is just edit consistently.
You’ll read a ton about sRGB and Adobe RGB, etc… So my suggestion is decide if you are printing A LOT or not, and how important this is. If it’s important you’re going to spend more money. If you think you’re going to print at least every week or two (lab or at home), then you may want to spring for a more expensive monitor that comes close to supporting the Adobe RGB color space. If not, no need to go with an expensive monitor like BenQ or Eizo.
I used an iMac so it had a nice glossy bright screen, and that’s what edited on mostly. If I was going to print, I’d proof the photo on my BenQ screen. But I hate the way my photography looks on the BenQ screen. Photos always look better on bright glossy screens. Think about who views your photos and where they view them… most people look at photos on their tablet, phone and maybe computer too. Most of those have bright glossy screens, so the rest of the world sees your photo a certain way. But if you have a screen that’s really meant for color proofing for printing, you’ll see your photos differently. So I try not to use a matte screen much, unless I’m printing, and even then I’ve printed enough I’m able to proof on my Apple screen now.
I know that all sounds vague, but my advice is that most of you reading this aren’t printing often. So don’t buy a screen that is made for printing, or you’re wasting money. Even if you don’t have a screen made for printing, you can easily dial in your settings and develop a workflow to get a good print with any screen (I do, and don’t use the BenQ anymore).
Finally, if you need something a little more concrete here’s some suggestions:
- At least a 23″ screen. I’d actually recommend nothing smaller than 27″ if your eyesight is as bad as mine ๐
- What about 4K, 5K Screens? I think they’re great, but make sure you can change the native resolution. Some of those high pixel screens use a really high resolution that makes it hard to read the text. Some screens will let natively change resolution so that you can read everything and it’s still great quality.
- Remember the larger the screen the more strain you put on your graphics card and computer overall – which in turn translates to your photo apps running slower. And if you add a second screen you’ll want to make sure you have a great graphics card that can handle it. Nobody thinks about this and wonders why their computer is slow. Two screens require a lot more from your computer than one.
- Apple came out with the Studio display a while back. If you’re an Apple user, that’s what I’d get and not think twice about it.
- Dell Ultrasharp monitors are good. Honestly, all Dell’s are good.
- LG Screens are good too. Not sure if they make glossy ones anymore but that’s what I’d look for.
- BenQ makes good photo monitors if you want to spend more and print a lot. Don’t get one if you don’t print. I hate to say it, but it’s a waste of money and you’ll be seeing your photos on a surface that nobody else will.
- Eizo also makes good screens and they fall in to the same category as BenQ – don’t get one if you’re not printing a lot.
External Hard Drives
I wrote last year about my hard drive and backup solution. Since then, I’ve switched hard drives to a Samsung 8TB SSD drive. The drives are really meant to go internally in your computer, but for another $15 I added this enclosure which plugs in to any USB port. Super simple to use, so even if you’re not techie, you’ll have no problem.
For those that remember, my previous hard drive was 8TB as well, and I didn’t go up in size on purpose. I’m tired of clutter. If you’re not a workflow pro with a specific need, then Almost none of us have 8TB of photos worth keeping. And contrary to the popular saying, I don’t feel that “storage is cheap” – well, GOOD fast storage that is.
So recently I’ve gotten really good at deleting photos. It’s just too much. I have Terabytes of 9-bracket HDR photos that sit and do nothing because I already picked a photo from the shoot that I like 10 years ago. I also deleted PSDs and TIFFs for photos that are finished because I know myself, and I’ll never go back and re-edit them.
So I went on a photo-deleting-rampage, and got my photo library down to something that comfortably fits on to an 8TB drive, with room to grow. And I’m more picky than ever about what I keep. Not only that, I just feel better about my photo library. It’s lean, easy to look through, and I don’t have terabytes of bad photos looming over my head anymore.
Overall I have no complaints about this switch. Oh and I have no idea how to even spell NAS or RAID or anything else that complicates hard drives, beyond the one that plugs in to your computer. In my opinion those options are for experts, which I know there are a bunch of here. Just don’t let those experts tell you it’s easy – it’s not. My advice is to go old school, and simple ๐
PS: I do also use BackBlaze.com as an extra layer of Cloud backup protection. Cheap and easy!
Finally… Try It Out
My last piece of advice is to buy something you can try out. That may be harder with a computer, but with a monitor it should be easy. Make sure you get something that you can return. And make sure you watch the return policy. I’ll personally never buy anything from that “Blue/Yellow” electronics store because I hate their 14-day return policy. I’m just so used to 30 days that I inevitably forget and get stuck with something I didn’t want. But this time of year, most places will give you until January to return things. And if it’s shipped to you, pay attention to the return policy shipping fees. You don’t want to get stuck spending $100 (or more) just to return something that you don’t want.
Final Thoughts…
One final thought and it’s more of a way to think about this. Whatever computer you get will feel fast for a total of about 24 hours. After that, you settle into working on it and it will feel slower again. It’s just the way it works. No computer speed ever consistently exceeds our expectations for a long period of time. It may sound harsh, but you know I’m right ๐ Good luck!
PS: Don’t forget to check out my Topaz + Adobe Workflow course, as well as grab Topaz Photo AI while it’s on sale.
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results youโve always wanted.
Matt do you still like your 8tb ssd drive. Have you had any issues with it yet.
Iโm needing to travel more and want to upgrade to an 8tb ssd.
Just curious if you would choose this drive and case again.
Thank for your great lessons.
Wes
Hi Wes. I like it as much as you can like a hard drive. It does the job of storing my photos and hasn’t broke yet if that helps. And yes, I would choose it again.
Matt are you still liking your Samsung 8tb SSD and cheaper housing for it. Iโm wanting to go more mobile with my Lightroom classic setup. Iโm currently using 2 8tb HD drives one for a working disk for my catalog and one as backup for same.
I want to move to the smaller SSD drives.
As always thanks for your input and great training
Hi Wes. I like them as much as you can like a hard drive ๐
But yes, I still use them and have no need for anything new. Thanks
Thanks Matt
Hi Matt. My PC desktop is 5.5 years old, and I am currently in the process of replacing it with a new desktop, and external drives for backup (they are 5 years old too). So your article is very timely in helping me to assess hardware configurations on my new PC.build, there is a lot of great information here.
But to me the most valuable piece of advice in this article is to become a fanatic on culling and deleting images that you don’t really need. If you can keep your image library to a manageable size, then it makes some hardware decisions simpler, easier and less costly. In preparation for my migration to a new PC, I too have gone on a deleting rampage. I was able to reduce my storage needs by 33%, by deleting images that I’ll never go back to edit. Going through this exercise was quite liberating. Good advice !!
Hi Matt, you state ” Lightroom Classic isnโt available on the tablet”. This statement is not accurate – you are limiting yourself to Apple and Android tablets when you say this. I have a Windows tablet (Surface Pro 9 w. Core-I7 processor, 16 GB RAM) and it runs Lightroom Classic just fine (as well as Photoshop). It also runs Topaz AI-Photo, but lacking a high-powered dedicated graphics card that is rather slow.
thanks. extremely helpful!!!!
Hi Matt. Your email is timely as my aging iMac will not accept the latest OS needed to allow full access to newer PS AI features. I now look forward to arrival of a Mac Mini with considerably enhanced specs and a Dell monitor reported to be compatible with Mac OS. This pairing will more than meet my editing needs.
Your email gave me the assurance I needed to select and purchase. Not the usual agonizing process would normal for a non techie.
Hi Matt, thanks for this update. I reconfigured my entire set-up after reading your post 2 or 3 years ago. I have a Mac Book Pro and use two separate SSD. One is the primary external drive and I use Carbon Copy Cloner to back it up to a second external drive. If I purchase the Samsung 8TB drive and move all my photos to it, will lightroom know where to “find” the photos on the new drive? Will the same files and structure be kept within lightroom?
A slightly related question, do you leave your photos on the external drive while editing in lightroom or do you move them to a temporary folder on your laptop – I have read conflicting articles about which method is faster.
Thanks
Greg
Hi Greg. All of my photos are on external drives. Thanks.
Hi Matt-Your article and its links are very timely for me because I need to update my tech and at 77 years I am definitely not a techie.
I print for club competitions and for my wall using my iMac using Lightroom Classic’s Soft Proofing feature. What do you think of this feature?
Hi George. I don’t believe in soft proofing so I’m probably no the person to ask. I never use it. Thanks.
Good article and you admit to not being a techie which is fair enough. The intel processor recommendation is *not* a good idea. Firstly those processors are very difficult to cool, the 13th and 14th gen intel processors have been plauged with reliability issues and the AMD alternatives are cheaper, more reliable and offer better performance class to class. photoshop in particular seems to be optimised for AMD cpus. if you want to go intel the 12th gen 12900K can be got quite cheap and doesn’t have the same threat of manufacturing faults but in a world where the Ryzen 7900, 7950, 9900 or 9950 exist why would you?
I have Intel 13th generation Intel Core i9 HX 24-core CPU, runs very well with all applications mentioned in Matt’s article and more. I believe my 13th gen. processor isn’t on the “problem list”. I’m aware of the discussion about problems, touch wood everything good here.
Hi Mark
Do you know anything about the new Intel 15th gen CPU and the AI integration? Is it worth waiting for ( available with computers shipped durin first quarter)?
Thanks!
Thank you. Interesting to see your opinion on things. Enjoyed the article.
Very helpful. Thanks.
Wow! Such a good and useful post!
I made the switch from Windows to Apple about two years ago. I got a top of the line MacBookPro with 16″ screen, M2 chip and whatever tech goodies I could get in it, namely for foreign travel usage and Photoshop processing. What a mistake. At my tender 75 years of age, I just couldn’t get the computer to work the way I hoped it would, and was ready to throw it out of the 5th floor window of the apartment we were staying in, in China. I spent close to $2,000.00 for the thing, and was willing to give it away. Getting Apple support was an oxymoron. They just don’t give a s..t because of their internal policies about providing instruction to walk-ins. We then went to a Best Buy, and the sales person was more than happy to show me how to do what I wanted and did it in less than two minutes. Don’t even to bother Apple for two minutes of support. I gave the MacBookPro to my 39 year old daughter upon our return from China. Never again will I consider an Apple product. I’m glad you have had such good luck with Apple.
Excellent! A great piece of sensible advice delivered in straightforward language that makes a lot of sense to those of us who just want to get on with our photography and who donโt want to have to understand all the unnecessary techie jargon associated with software and hardware. Many thanks for this.
I’m a self admitted ‘Apple Boy’ (boy – not really – just male and old) – Another good reason to but Apple is customer service, especially if you live in the UK where its a rare commodity. I broke my MacBook Pro twice recently, out of warranty (clumsy Apple Boy).
You click ‘Phone Me’ on their site, phone rings instantly (DON’t Have it your pocket). There’s only one ‘press 1 for….’ bit. It’s press 1 for ‘ready now’!
And you’re immediately speaking to a human. They ship out a packing box (Monday), a courier collects from home the next day, it comes back, it’s perfect (Friday).
Sure you have to pay for the fix, they quote you upfront. If when they open it its more difficult (like, spilt drink in keyboard), they email, requote, explain, with pictures of damage, you can say no and as far as I know it comes back no charge (I said yes).
(Closing lid with metal bit of USB C lead still in under the screen was my other – wrecked the screen)>
I’m happy to pay for service, but only if it’s good. My experience so far is 100% +ve. I know of nothing else like this over here!
Great guidance as always. My favorite part is “Like I saidโฆ it just doesnโt matter. And if you think it does matter then thereโs probably a website you can argue that on โ but this ainโt it ๐” This might be the best answer ever to the Apple/PC debate.
๐
Yep. Pick the one you like or are used to. macOS is slightly less problematic than Windows and troubleshooting issues is a bit easier since there is no DLL and driver hell to get drawn intoโฆbut Windows has improved a lot so the gap is a lot smaller than it used to be.
Matt: Are you still using Carbon Copy Cloner? I got it based on your advice from last year and couldn’t be happier!
Yep.
Matt, thanks so much for your advice articles!!! I have purchased several of your courses and like them all. Will continue too as needed but realize I can have an over abundance of courses and get overwhelmed….its called being a knucklehead…ha!
I appreciate your article, I use a Macmini latest rendition. I have an LG 27″ monitor that supports pantone colors and calibrate it and seems to be great. I use Oraco solid state enclosures and put M.2 Ssd 2TB cards in them. Seems to work ok, speed etc. My next purchase is a printer.. gonna push Prints for the new Year see how that goes.
your article is spot on for everything, great job from a guy that is a techy
Joe D
I liked your article. I agree with all of it.
I was an IT guy and NAS and RAID are easy for me, but I donโt use them.
Keeping it simple is the best way.
Iโm over 75 and my eyes arenโt as good as they used to be.
A few years ago I bought a 4k LG 43 inch tv as my external monitor.
I would never go back. Bright, sharp, good color, can change resolution.
Norman, you must not be a printer if you are using a TV monitor!
Isn’t that most people? Not many people actually print these days do they?
Excellent tips and advice Matt. I thing the RAM (Apple calls it “unified ram”) on M series Macs is better than regular RAM (whatever that means, I’m not an expert on RAM, but from what I’ve read about unified ram, it’s supposed to be quite good). I edit on an M3 24″ iMac, 16 GB RAM, with a 13″ M3 MacBook Air, 16 GB RAM, for traveling.
Excellent advice and suggestions. Takes a lot of the pressure, and legwork off my plate.
Matt, your comment about tablets that โ Lightroom Classic isnโt available on the tablet and Photoshop only has some featuresโฆ youโll need to use Lightroom on the tablet (not LR Classic) and be all in on the cloud since it doesnโt work with local storageโ is news to me.
I just bought a Wacom Intuos Pro S; it works with LRC, PS, PS(B) and other apps. All my pictures are in external volumes.
I am not a professional photographer and my rent does not depend on this hobby.
Iโm learning (at 84 years of age) how to use LRC and PS and I follow your tutorials in the process. Thank goodness PS remove tool helps me get my fingers in most of the pictures I take (with my iPhone16PM).
Thank you for this article; itโs black Friday tomorrow and Amazon is happily waiting for me.
Alll the best
Thanks so much for the recommendations and specs! I’m about ready to buy a new computer and this should help immensely. You’re always very generous with your knowledge and tips.
Thank you, Matt, you have indirectly confirmed some thoughts I have been having recently. Currently, I have a large Windows desktop and a MacBook Pro. However, in a few years’ time when I retire, my wife and I will be moving to a smaller house. I had been considering the idea of moving to laptop only but retaining my 27″ screen. Reading of your change to laptop plus large screen was very helpful.
BTW, talking of the large screen, let me give a shout out for my Asus PA279CV: it’s everything I want as an amateur for photo editing and the occasional tweak of a video.
Excellent recommendations. Using Raid drives never made any sense to me, how to use them that is.
My question is with respect to storage. I have one catalog with approximately 400,000 photos, about 15tb of data. The catalog dates. back to 2011. I am concerned about the size of the catalog and also back up to the cloud via Backblaze B2. I don’t travel that much but when I do, I carry my Macbook air and a 5tb lacie rugged to download the photos that I take and then transfer them to my NAS. I don’t know how I could get down to just an 8tb drive. Are there photos I could delete? Sure but the hoarder in me won’t let me do that. I have my catalog broken down into four main categories. Could I create a distinct catalog for each category going forward? I currently operate on an IMAC 2020 with a 3.6. 10 core Intel Core 19 processor, An AMD Radeoen Pro 5700 8 GB with 32 GB of memory. I am happy with the size of the display and the performance of the IMAC and really don’t want to upgrade my equipment at this time. Suggestions on how to break up my large catalog? I am sure this can be done but I am intimidated by the thought.
Stop using LRC and ditch the catalog all together ๐
Sorry to be a smart assโฆ but other than that I donโt have any suggestions. I just know Iโm much happier with LR (local mode) in the last year.
Thereโs no reason to break up a catalog and if you do youโre mostly negating the need for a catalog in the first place.
Thanks!
I use LRC and it has a catalog. I am unaware that it is not needed??? Do you have information about how to ditch the catalog? Thank you.
Hi Roger. Check out this link: https://mattk.com/evolving-with-lightroom
You just saved me $1500 (re Ben-Q and its best use)! Thanks a million.
Thanks Matt. This is so well timed, both my iMac and laptop are not keeping up with photoshop and Lightroom anymore, so I am in the market to replace them. I was considering laptop only with a screen for when I am home. You have made that decision easier
You’re the best Matt. I’ve been following and using your videos for a long time. You always give way more than what we pay for.
Just sending thanks and greeting and salutations! Your voice has been with me throughout my photography journey and you do a wonderful job with great personality. And to the point of the above points you shared: after a ton of deliberation and time spentโmy M4 Pro MacBook Pro is in the mail. Itโll be my new desktop. Also, thereโs a new 5k ASUS monitor that looks like itโll be great with the MacBook. Itโll have to wait till my wife forgives the laptop thoughโฆ
Or just pile it on… why relive the forgiveness phase twice?!!! ๐
LOL! I love some of the whit in the answers!
Thanks for the guidelines. 4K monitor not necessary – that was a surprise. I have a 4K monitor now, and I like it. However, going directly from an HD monitor to a 4K monitor, it just looks natural to me. But, it sounds like I could have saved some money had I know 2K would have worked just as well.
4K is good… Just need to be careful of resolution. Some screens won’t let you natively set to a lower resolution and their defaults are really small text that’s hard to see. Most apple screens are good for that though.
Great info Matt. I recently ditched my old iMac for a new mini with a M4 processor and the max memory. So far very happy and it pairs well with my BenQ monitor which is amazingly Adobe RGB compliant. I mainly do printing, so that is the reason I had this monitor attached as a secondary to my iMac. I am curious how you feel about NAS storage as I am not nearly as good or aggressive as you are on culling images. I now seem to have a growing batch of external disks and am worried about failure albeit I back them all up to the cloud. However would love to see if you (a) have used a NAS, (b) can recommend one if you did, and (c) how big you recommend.
Thanks again for all you do to share and make us better photographers!
Did you read the article?
Great advice, Matt!
This. Is. What. We. Needed. Thanks Matt !
One advantage of Apple silcone (M series) machines is that the memory is unified. CPU and the GPU use the same bank of memory instead of the GPU having its own separate memory. This is designed to make the system-on-a-chip more efficient. So A users don’t have to worry about the graphics memory so much, especially if they load up with RAM.
I have the same Macbook Pro that you have (except it’s the 16 inch version) wth the M1 chip and 64 gig plus the 2-terabyte ssd. I live for 6 months in Florida and 6 months in Georgia. I keep an Apple Studio display in both places and keep the laptop with me wherever I go. This setup works very well for me.
Great post. I worked for IBM for 30 years including PC development manager and Project Manager. The day I left IBM I bought a Mac. My biggest regret is not buying Macs for all my developers. PCs would be different if I had. And I love your 24 hours speed comment, it is so true.
Your MBP is a beast! Thanks for the great info as usual / unfortunately, have an Apple Studio coming from blue/yellow next week but wonโt look back as itโs the best match for Mac mini enroute.
What type of backup system do you use ? RAID, or ?
What a brilliant and realistically based set of GUIDElines. Now the difficulty but of going through all the specs lists!
Thank you, Matt
Now, that was a great blog, or post, or article – whatever. Extremely helpful, despite the thoughtful lack of very specific recommendations – more about how to think about what to get (or aspire to get) and less about telling you exactly what to get. Just right. Thank you!
I did take your advice Matt and this year I purchased the Apple studio display monitor. Big, glossy and the colors are magnificent and worth the big $$$.
Wow! This was just the information that I needed to configure a new MacBook Pro. Thanks so much for the excellent advice.
As a Windows user, you are helping me with a window laptop suggestion.
Thanks for the info
Great information!
This advice is worth a lot of gold. Thanks for breaking it down and communicating it clearly. I agree with everyone you have written and my equipment/workflow is very similar. Keep up the great work.
Also, I upgraded my Topaz AI after reading your earlier post about using it. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Well I wish you shared this a week earlier. I did a lot of research when I decided to update from my current very old Macbook Pro. It was an easy decision for me to stay with the Macbook Pro. The hard part was deciding which chip, memory and ssd. My budget was $2800, however I went over that slightly and took advantage of a pre-Black Friday sale. I decided upon the M4 Max, 38 GB, and 1T ssd. It just arrived yesterday! I’m excited to see how it performs.
Any thoughts on mice, pens, or tablets for accuracy in drawing lines, boundaries, etc.?
Hi Barry. I use an Apple trackpad only. Thanks.
No Wacom tablet/pen?
No. I stopped using mine years ago. Just wasn’t something I felt was helping my photography anymore.
Thank you Matt for simplifying challenging purchases.
I kept hearing that all you need is a laptop and that the tower is fast becoming obsolete, but when I needed to change and tried to go to a laptop (Dell XPS) I found I needed a powered hub to run all the stuff I had connectedโscanners, printers, monitors, external drives, Wacom tablet, etc. etc. and it not only bogged down, but the hub kept shutting down. I went back to a tower with lots of USB C and 3 ports and everything works much better.
I also like two monitors, and I do print and sell a few here and there, so I have two BenQ Photographer’s monitors. I don’t do video, so I don’t need 4K or whatever it is. I am told that you don’t need a gamer’s computer to do good Photoshop, since it doesn’t utilize more than 2 or three cores, but I have an I9 and an 8Gb video card. 64 Gb of RAM is what I have always tried to maintain. More might be better, or might be just overkill. Works for me…
Great advice and just in time for me to use. you made it very easy to understand!
I’ve had excellent luck with LG monitors. The P3 color space is very close to Adobe and seems more standard. A P3 monitor costs no more than a cheap gaming monitor. My concern is the move to more of an AI-assisted workflow. AI requires massive computation for learning and a lot less for daily use. Can the Apple 32-core AI processor keep up with 10K core Nvidia 24 gig cards? We don’t know at this point. We need to keep an open mind and review what the new functionality will require for our expectations.
Matt,
I will share my last experience with the upgrade the pc. I have been doing this computer-based processing and graphics for the better part of 30 years. Had a photo business and did event-based work. I ran a wide format service bureau for 17 years. So I have some basic knowledge of computers and software.
I upgraded mu Dell PC to a new monster machine. Lots of RAM, big ssd. the box I ordered has front access to additional ssd. I paid a lot of money for this thing. From the time it arrived and was setup it never worked properly. I paid for a high-end warranty. Dell was slow to move on fixing or repair. After way to many phone calls and emails a tech was scheduled to my home. He had all kinds of reason to not show up. After a long fight another secondary teh was sent. Dell had decided one issue was the mother board was bad. the second tech was on a very tight schedule and could not get in and out fast enough. The box would not boot after his work and I to almost bribe him to fix. NONE of the front access ssd trays have ever worked.
Dell just gives the run around and had no real interest in this mess. I had to hire a local tech do make this piece of junk function. I paid over $4k for the Dell unit and had to invest another $1k+ to get it functional with the extra ssd setup. It is slow, and I am not impressed with it.
Too much info. buy with great care. Make sure whoever you buy from has the capacity and commitment to make sure your new box works as described by the salespeople. I have bought my last product from Dell. Sad becasue over the 30 years I have purchased many boxes from them. Old saying, buyer be ware.
Hi. Why didn’t you have someone build you a computer. I have had very good experiences buying computers off Ebay where I get to specify the components. I recently purchased an i9 computer with 128 gb ram (maybe overkill but I’ve been spoiled with the ability to leave 20 tabs open) and an RTX 3060ti (research pointed to this as a minimum). All for less than $2,000.
Hi Alan. Would you mind sharing some details about how you purchased you computer on ebay?
Excellent advice. I followed similar specs last year. I also need a fast internet connection, as some of the editing is in the cloud, so to speak.
Thank you very much that was excellent
Do you use a Thunderbolt connection for your 8TB external hard drive? Why did you get an internal hard drive and put it in a case instead of just an external hard drive?
Hi Elizabeth. They are USB connections. And I got internal drives because they were MUCH cheaper and there weren’t many 8TB drives with a direct USB connection to begin with. Lastly, as I usually mention… if I’m being 100% honest, I have a few techie minded friends so I didn’t even look much. I mentioned I was in the market for new drives and I blindly buy what they tell me to buy because I trust them ๐ The last thing I want to do is spend time researching hard drives. Thanks.
Thanks for the article. This was very helpful.
Just my 2 cents: SSDs are great – as long as theyโre not used for long term storage. (Due to their inherent design). And make sure theyโre backed up.
For backup I use a Network – attached storage (NAS) device – with (NAS qualified) conventional hard drives.
For backup safety, my NAS has 2 hard drives in a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) 0 configuration (mirroring). This way if one of the backup drives fail, the other drive still has a good copy of your backup data. Personally, I consider the RAID aspect VERY important. [Although this may sound complicated, itโs really not hard to set up.]
A correction:
=> It’s RAID 1 that’s mirroring. This is what we want for data protection. With (2) 4TB disks in this configuration, the total storage the system sees is 4TB, with exact copies of the data written to each drive.
RAID 0 is striping. In this configuration data is split between the disks, potential giving faster disk write and read times. However, if one disk crashes the entire array becomes unreadable. With (2) 4TB disks in this configuration, the total storage the system sees is 8TB.
I agree with Art about using a 2 drive RAID1 array. If you look at the probability of a failed restore after a drive failure, this is the MOST RELIABLE way of doing it. Better than RAID5, even RAID10. All very technical but there are plenty of RAID calculators on the web and you can confirm this using one of them.
I use a LaCie 36 TB (2x18TB drives, total of 18TB available in RAID 1). It is significantly cheaper than RAID5 or RAID10. Maybe a little slower but simple. If one of the drives fails, I would just replace it and copy everything from the other drive.
Raid is great if one drive suffers a mechanical failure but if one drive gets wiped by mistake, bug or ransomware it will copy the blank drive to the other!!! This happened to a friend recently and he has permanently lost tens of thousands of images.
The hard drive info is great and didnโt even know an internal HD โjacketโ existed! Great timing as I moved to a D850 and know Iโll need the space with the larger files. Thanks!!
Great advice Matt! I recently traded for an M3 iMac with 1TB SSD and 24GB of RAM. It was super fast, for about a day. ???
Great information. I have a Drobo and since they are out of business, and it seems i lose information about 2 times a month i need something to take its place. Its a pain in the…. to constantly import the missing folders.. What do you recommend.
Would you be so kind if i sent you a few photos to critique and offer some advice. its fine if you don’t have the time as i am quite certain you are asked all the time.
Sure thing. Just send in an email to the SUPPORT link here on the site. If you can upload them somewhere and send links there that will help.
Looks like your link at the bottom of this article is broken. Love the article, though, and your straight forward advice โ thanks!
One other negative about laptops: the GPU
If you push it (and editing photos does that), it gets really, really *HOT*!
The thing is supposed to back off when it gets too warm. “Supposed” being an operative word. Mine melted at least one solder point, rendering it inoperative. I Googled around and other folks had the same issue. SO, it doesn’t always back off.
MORAL: get a desktop unless you need a laptop. If you get a laptop, get a blower for it and watch out for it getting too warm to touch comfortably.
Thanks for the solid, practical advice. One thing to consider with Apple M chips. The unified memory works with everything on one chip. As a result, you can get away with less RAM than you previously thought.
I have a Mac Studio (M2 Max) showing up on December 12. I am pairing with an Apple Studio Display (with the vertical adjustment). I no longer print myself. If I did, I would have gotten the BenQ SW272U monitor.
I also like the simplicity of your approach to put everything (image files, Lightroom catalogs, etc,) on one portable, fast SSD (and obviously have backups). In the past I used G-Tech drives, QNAP NASโs etc). Now I am trying a LaCie SSD Pro (with a Thunderbolt 3 connection).
Thanks, Matt. Youโre pointing me in the right direction for some things and confirming my stuff is fine for other things.
Thanks Matt. Any thoughts on a good mouse for fine editing?
On my laptop I use the trackpad. When I plug it in to the monitor I use Apples external trackpad. Does the trick just fine for me ๐
Sage advice. Thank you!
HI Matt, thanks as always for your “real life, down to earth” explanations. No one does it better. Fred
Matt, thanks for the advice. I like that you were realistic, not the EIZO and computer pieces to match. That level is unnecessary, certainly for personal work. My ensemble of equipment fits your recommendations. I have been using Photoshop, etc. for a long time and the equipment that I now have is perfect. For a printer, really the toughest choice for me, I am pleased with an Epson XP-15000 with genuine EPSON ink. That’s bit more expensive ink, but using the printer only for photos is keeping the cost reasonable.
Also the graphics card doesn’t really make a huge difference so long as it exceeds the minimum requirements. I use a fairly old GTX 1070Ti graphics card with a latest intel 14th generation processor, 32GB 3200MHz DDR4, Western Digital M.2 NVMe SN770 black and a Samsung 870 Evo SSDs and it runs lightroom and photoshop very fast.
Speed of the RAM also makes a big difference. DDR4 3200Mhz is the sweet spot for photography and there’s not much benefit in using faster RAM. The latest DDR5 RAM is expensive and not all motherboards can use it. Also it can end up running software slower than DDR4 RAM. 2 sticks of RAM are better than 4 sticks due to the way the processor accesses the RAM so for 32GB its better to use 2 x 16GB rather than 4 x 8GB.
Great info as usual Matt!! Thank you!!
Thanks Matt. My IMac died, well would not support latest Adobe up grades. I got the new Mac Mini, M2Pro. Contacted Adobe and they said I would be fine with 16GB, did get 1TB HD and 27″ monitor. Adobe RGB way to expensive, for me. So far working fine. Way faster that the old IMac. Great article. Thanks
Ah, Matt. You always agree with me. Or…maybe I agree with you. I have learned a lot from you, many thanks! I’ve been a Mac user since 1985. I worked for Mike Markkula for five years in the mid-2000s, so Apple is in my heart and soul. But I’ve also been a Windows user and a Windows system admin, so I know PCs as well. You are right, in the end it’s just a matter of user experience, a matter of choice, and I have in the past found Windows to be a bit faster for some things, but no big differences. I simply like the elegance of the Mac OS and always have.
Okay, I’ll just add a little more about my more relevant experience. I still have a couple 27″ iMacs, and a couple 2012 Mac Pro monster tower that is maxed out in every respect and still serviceable for LR and PS and Topaz, etc. But I needed something with a smaller footprint, and faster too, so I bought a Mac M1 Max Studio with 64GB and a 4TB SSD. And for the time being, I wanted access to all my old photos, going way back, including scans of 35mm work; even 4TB wasn’t going to be enough so I sought storage solutions that would allow me to work on images from external drives. (I am currently working to cull this huge herd of images I’ll probably never work with again, and most likely have forgotten about. The main reason I bought the Studio was for all the ports, 4 Thunderbolt, 2 USB-C and so on.
The first solution I found was the use of 2TB Crucial P3 Plus PCIe SSDs ($98) in Sabrent 10Gbps PCIe enclosures ($24). Blackmagic speeds of about 950 MB/s write and over 500 MB/s read, fast enough. But fast enough is never enough, so later when I decided I needed more space and more speed, I tried an Acasis Thunderbolt enclosure and upped the Crucial PCIe to a 4TB module at a total cost of around $300. Write speed: 2500 MB/s; Read: 2200 MB/s. But that’s not really why I decided on the Acasis and the 4TB drive.
Here’s why: I bought the Mac Studio because I haven’t been traveling, but I do have a remote office where I work 5 days a week and was using one of the old Mac Pros; I also have another room in my house separate from my home office where I love to recline and still get some work done, so I used a very old 2012 14″ MacBook Pro there (still working well today), but terribly slow and mostly useless for LR and PS. As we know, when we get used to faster systems, old systems seem interminably slow, and when I saw a good deal on a 16″ Mac Book Pro M1 Max with 64GB and a 1TB SSD, I went for it. I couldn’t justify the internal 4TB SSD, and knowing that an Acasis Thunderbolt enclosure would work well enough and hold all my current working catalog of photos as well as a volume for all my docs, the problem was solved.
Now I could eject the Acasis (or Sabrent) external drive and attach it to the MacBook Pro. But, that caused issues with Lightroom and it quickly became an annoyanceโI hate annoyances. Somehow, I stumbled on the rather (almost scarily) perfect solution in an app called Resilio Synch. I didn’t put a lot of faith in it at first, but once I got it set-up and running, which is extremely easy to do, it is amazing! Now, I have duplicate SSDs (4TB Crucial PCIe drives in Acasis enclosures) connected to the Thunderbolt ports on all three of my Macs. Oh, I forgot to mention, I bought a Mac Mini M1 for my remote office that only has the maximum of 16GB RAM and a 1TB internal SSD. Yeah, it’s not as fast as the Studio or the MacBook Pro with Topaz and other intensive apps, but I am constantly surprised at how well it performs with the 4TB external drive.
Resilio constantly synchs my three computers with identical drives, almost instantly (on a fast network and internet connection). I’ve been using the free version but will buy the pro version for personal use soon. I no longer have to connect and disconnect any of the drives and they are always in synch.
As far as the Samsung 8TB SSD in an external enclosure, I completely agree with youโit’s an excellent choice. I have a few older Samsung SSDs, 500GB and 1TB, that I also use in external enclosuresโmore than adequate for most purposes.
As for displays, oh I lust for that Apple display! But for now I settle for a couple very good 27″ Dells. Someday…someday, Apple in my eyes.
Here are links to the products I mentioned above, no connection to me, not for my profit. Personally, I prefer buying from B&H whenever possible and some of these are available there as well:
ACASIS THUNDERBOLT ENCLOSURE:
https://www.amazon.com/ACASIS-Enclosure-Compatible-Aluminum-External/dp/B0BB74BQVN/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=33YHOWULBIFJJ&keywords=acasis+40gbps+m.2+nvme+ssd+enclosure&qid=1700915087&s=electronics&sprefix=acasis%2Celectronics%2C96&sr=1-1-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
CRUCIAL PCIe DRIVES:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B25M8FXX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
SABRENT USB-C PCIe ENCLOSURE:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RVC6F9Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
RESILIO SYNCH:
https://www.resilio.com/individuals/
Oh, just one last comment. I recently decided to do something with my old 2013 27″ iMacs, so I attached a 250GB external SSD and used Carbon Copy Cloner (like you, I’ve been using CCC for many years) to clone the boot drive; with the apps and OS on that drive the iMac now performs most admirably and has new life! Catalina is the last OS it can be updated to, but thatโs good enough. I don’t know what to do with it, but it is nice to look at!
Thanks again, Matt. Happy Holidays to all!
Very helpful thanks Matt.
Great article
Thank you. As a result of a failed C: drive on my old computer I just bought an HP Omen gaming machine with the best chip and graphics card I could afford. My grandson tells me I can play games that have ray tracing, whatever that is. He is well impressed. And I love the light display in the case! But the best thing was buying a 34″ curved monitor. I have so much screen space that the plug-in panels don’t overlap my photo when they are open. Brilliant!
Thanks for the article – especially the 8TB External drives (and the enclosure). Appreciated.
Worth reading, thanks! Do you primarily use P3 for your monitor calibration? I just bough a Studio Display but am unsure if it can be calibrated very accurately for printing due to less coverage of the RGB spectrum. Have an old NEC but donโt think itโs compatible with the M1 iMac. What resource for learning about all these questions? Kelby says he doesnโt calibrate his Mac displays now. What am I missing? Thanks.
โI learned the same lesson years ago when I ditched the desktop in favor of a laptop that could always travel with me. I would add that, if youโre interested in astrophotography then all the recommendations about memory and storage should be in bold type. Also, there are some very useful astrophotography tools that specifically require an Nvidea graphics card. Somewhat specialized, but if thatโs your thing itโs important.
Thanks for the information. Much appreciated. I just ordered the 8T Samsung drive.
Thanks, this is just what I was looking for. I am really disappointed that Apple has ‘dumbed-down’ the iMac, now available only with 24-inch monitor and only 24GB RAM and only with M3 chip not M3 Pro. I am currently using my beautiful 27-inch iMac with 32GB RAM that I purchased in 2016, but it can only use MacOS 11 which will not install LcR v13 and important new PS features will not work. I have been waiting for the M3 chip announcement, but now iMac is not a good option. I guess I will get Mac Studio, but I am again disappointed that it is available with M2 chips, which I hate to purchase now but I cannot wait until this machine also gets the M3 chip. My current iMac is absolutely gorgeous and runs great, but it is locked out of the new operating systems. What a shame, and to make it worse the trade-in value for it is zero!
@Kenna
Yoou might give a look at “Open Core Legacy Patcher” to upgrade your Os : it works fine You can even run Sonoma !
Been there and done that and now working on a 14″ M2Max MacBook Pro and am still angry that I can no longer use my beautiful i27 for the same reasons you mention. I have a Dell 27″ monitor but it is no match for the fantastic i27 screen.
My problem exactly. What a shame. I had a solid state put in my 2015 iMac and it’s like a new machine but can’t get the Adobe upgrades.
My old Windows desktop is a bit like my “grandfather’s axe” with multiple upgrades over the years, but has finally reached the point where it needs to be retired. Laptops have come a long way since buying my PC, so I looked around and eventually pre-ordered a Framework 16″ laptop, for which I still have to wait a while. It will be a huge upgrade in performance that will make the processing of my photos a lot less tedious. It has an AMD Ryzen processor and I’m configuring it with 32GB RAM and 2 SSDs, a 1TB for the OS and programs and a 4TB WD SSD for data, that Amazon recently had on a really good special. I’m still debating as to whether I should get the the graphics module for the expansion bay now, or perhaps wait for an even faster one later, possibly as my next upgrade. In any case, it’s fully user upgradeable. My current, relatively new, 3TB hard drive will become an external backup and I’ll use my 27″ screen along with it’s high-res 16:10 screen.
@Kenna
You might give a look at โOpen Core Legacy Patcherโ to upgrade your Os : it works fine. You can even run Sonoma on machines of 2012
!
Earlier this year I accidentally spilled a drink into my Alienware laptop. I couldn’t afford a new replacement so bought a second hand Dell G7 laptop which was a step-down from the Alienware in almost every area except Graphics card. 4Gb GX 1090 to 8Gb RTX 2070. I transferred the 32Gb of Memory and a 2TB SSD and to my astonishment, discovered I had a much faster computer. I am sure that the Graphics card made the biggest difference.
Hopefully the drink was worth it! ๐
I print a lot and found the eizio cg2420 remarkable in how accurately it reproduces when I print whatโs on the screen with a minimum of further editing to make adjustments
I have a few older external drives. Two WD Passports. One works on one of my computers but get a “Not Accessible Parameter is incorrect” on one computer. He same message for the other Passport gets the same message just on the other computer and doesn’t work on my other computer. Can’t get an answer from WD. Also have a Sandisk SSD Extreme Portable that works on both computers but want a new external and am seeing many comments saying these have data loss problems not solved. So I went to your link and you recommend a couple Samsung externals. Was considering the Samsung 870 QVO SSD 2TB. Think that’s a good choice? Thanks!
Just ordered the new Light room class. I have an older version. I also have several other classes from a while ago. Was wondering about the classes being update. If I download, I have several downloads left, will those be updated to any current info? I’m especially interested in the Topaz class as I use Topaz a lot.
Awesome, fam. Clear and concise. My set up mirrors yours. Iโm grabbing an M3 for an upgrade.
Cheers
Matt – I went through buying a new computer in โ22 (M1 iMac), so I really didnโt need to read this recommendation, but I really enjoyed it and found it helpful in lots of ways. Itโs so rate to hear or read someone being clear about what they recommend or what they donโt recommend. Very nice job.
Sorry, so โrare,โ not โrate.โ
Comment *Only truth. Nothing to add and nothing to take away. very valuable and universal advice, which is rare. Greetings from Poland, from the city of “Przemyลl Fortress”.
It might be too technical for this discussion but I would make sure the motherboard supports additional RAM. My Asus ROG Strix X 299-E motherboard supports up to 256 GB of RAM and I loaded it to the max when I saw a sale on RAM and I never regretted this decision. Just a thought. Always enjoy your comments and videos. Happy Day After Thanksgiving.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Keep up your good work. Enjoyable; and productive.
Thanks Matt, I find articles like this helpful. Not telling me what to buy. But helping me logically think through the decision process.
What do you think about the Mac Mini?
Thanks for your advice.
Thanks Matt for sharing this excellent information. I am pleased to say that am in line with the majority of your recommendations. This is an excellent article . All the best to you and your family in this holiday season.
Hey Matt: Thanks for the update. I’ll pass all of this on to my computer guy. For my needs I’m just a hobbiest who enjoys the science of it all. I like to keep busy and PhotoShop sure keeps me busy. If I live to bee 100 I’ll never learn it all. But your lessons and presentations brings it much closer to me. Thanks so much. Have a very happy Christmas Season.
Matt this is a great article on configuring. I have been configuring PCs for decades and your suggestions are almost identical to how I would config my own Desktop PC. I appreciate the reinforcement for what I would buy today if I needed an upgrade.
I really appreciate your positive, clear, realistic advice!!
Thank you!!
Excellent article, Matt. It’s so good to hear someone say “it doesn’t matter” in regard to the the Apple vs Windows debate. I recently went through the process of upgrading my older Macbook Pro (which I still use for other purposes) to a desktop Windows PC whose specs meet my needs and setup meets my budget. The changeover was pretty painless and I too went through a process of culling old photos and improving my photo organization along the way. This house-keeping is probably a good intention for each of us to set in 2024, whether planning to get a new computer or not. I know I feel lighter already!
For someone not tech savvy you know all the phrases, you are like me, you know enough to ask the right questions and gget there in the end. Your logic is foolproof, we have all cut corners or costs and later regretted it. I currently use a windows based laptop which I have had for 4 years and a BENQ screen. Technology in the software we all use has leapt forward as has A.I. I am now at the stage of needing to change harware, you have convinced me to have a long hard look at Apple products since i do not travel as much. Thank you for a really good article.
All great information Matt. My personal preference is to future proof my investments and max out on memory & storage. You may not need memory right now, but operating systems and applications are NEVER going to get smaller. One TB internal storage is a starting point. Post editing can increase files sizes dramatically, and again, camera resolutions are NEVER going to decrease, only increase. As for monitors/screens, get the one that portrays the best real world colours and one’s eyesight. As for laptop vs. desktop, if you max out on memory/disk, upgrades will not be required, and portability is extremely valuable if not essential.
Also, one may want to consider cloud storage for photos. A good service will support local copy well. I use OneDrive on a decent internet connection. No worries about backing up (which I do anyways because I like the comfort of knowing my bases are covered) or drive noise or local loss due to catastrofic events (fire/theft). The plus being I can store/retrieve/access my photos from any place in the world with an internet connection if there happens to be no locally stored copy on my laptop. Cloud files can be encrypted (in storage) if desired or transit VPN’d if maximum security is required.
One point worth adding is that as AI is growing as a potentially essential aspect of photo editing, a capable GPU is part of the equation now. Whether integrated with a CPU or not, it considerably speeds up things like denoise for example (among other actions) as well as display performance. And as of late the inclusion of an NPU (Neural Processor Unit, again integrated or not, is growing in importance. It performs certain AI tasks (I am told) 10,000 times faster. Personal experience has reduced my denoise times from 20 minutes down to 15 seconds or even as low as a few seconds after using a fast GPU and an NPU.
Keep up the great advice Matt. Look forward to your future publications.
For PC users: Back up with (local) Second Copy) and (cloud) Backblaze
Thank you good to know I have what you recommend also that how people see my stuff after I sent it is not my problem
Your’e so right with that last sentence. No computer stays fast. After sometime it slows down. My experience ๐ as is with many. You did not mince words. You wrote it just as it appeals to non-techies like me. Thanks much.
I went to Lenovo website. Configured a computer the way I like for Black Friday sale. Well, it sets me back by $2500 with good return policy. I hope I like it. I have a ton of photos and I do post processing. Thanks for your no-nonsense article. I liked it,,!
Going shopping today. I have an earl yer version of your Light room Systems. Will buy the $19 sale course. But my major problem is getting another external drive. I have two WD passports.Keep getting a message “not asses-able, Parameter is incorrect”. Also have a Sandisk Extreme portable Extreme Portable SSD. Reading bad reviews on these. Is the Samsung 870 QVO SSD 2TB a good buy?
I have been very happy with Samsung’s ssd’s. I have a few internal units that are super easy to use with a docking station. Cheaper in the long-term since you can swap them out. Check out B&H for the Samsung’s and recommendations. I also have a couple of external Samsung ssd’s which have been very reliable so far.
Thanks Matt – Your advice, as always. is spot on. Keep up the good work
Jack
I have a question about the Laptop + Display solution: We used to use “Laptop docks”, where you could insert the closed laptop and connect a display + keyboard externally through the dockยดs or laptopยดs ports. Now -for some reason- “Conputer docks” are out of fashion, or donยดt exist at all. The way you use your laptop, just connecting the external display, as you say, means that you must use the keyboard on the laptop to use its keyboard, with the laptops creen flipped open. which sounds cumbersome to me.
Am I missing something?
There are several USB3/Thunderbolt Docks for laptops now. These greatly simplify using a laptop as the main computer. I use a Plugable Thunderbolt doc. It has 2 monitors, all my USB devices and also provides power to the laptop. One simple connection to the laptop does it all. (MacBook Pro M1-Pro in my case)
I wonder what Matt might suggest for external storage.
Hi. It’s listed under the “External Hard Drive” section. Thanks.
Hi Matt-
Great article. But I’m not yet convinced to get rid of my 2017 27″ Retina 5K iMac. My BenQ might object. Anyhow,
have you ever written (or seen) an article like this for printers? I’m looking and I don’t see a definitive choice. Between ink choices and the machine, it’s hard to decide.
Thanks for your years of hard and good work. Been with you most of the time.
Hi Dick. No worries. It wasn’t meant to convince anyone of anything. Just answering a question I often get about recommendations. As for printers, I’ve used Epson for 20 years so it’s not an article I could do. I’m not familiar with the other printers. I’ve been a fan of Epson and at this point the only decision you’d make is whether to get a 17″ larger printer or a smaller 13″. Thanks!
I am faced with having to replace my Mac if I want to run the latest version of Lightroom so I am VERY grateful for this advice. Thank you so much for saving me hours of research.
I have several Topaz apps, but now the new upgraded apps seem to require the new M1 chip, which means I would have to upgrade my hardware. Is it worth the expense of a new computer? I have LR, PS, Luminar in addition to Topaz Mask AI, Sharpen AI, Studio 2, Gigapixel AI, Jpeg to Raw AI,Denoise AI, and Adjust AI. So you can see why I’m disturbed that my Topaz apps are now useless to me or so it seems. I contacted Topaz and basically they said I would have to upgrade my hardware. So my question is how compromised in my editing am I with out the Topaz apps?
Hi Joel. First, Iโve never seen anything from Topaz that says they โrequireโ an M1. They may suggest it, and just about every software company should. But Iโve never seen anything on their site about requiring it. Nextโฆ it Sounds like you have just about every app under the sun. Iโd try them out and do some comparisons to see what works best for the quality and speed combination youโre trying to find. Good luck.
Awesome article! We do video as well as photos and find the GPU and the amount of RAM is essential. Have gone to allocating one PC for Video since it requires heavy resources. Another PC generally is for LR & PS, etc., however, sometimes need to bring images into Premiere Pro. One more consideration on our part when purchasing hardware.
If you are into technical analysis one site you can check out is https://benchmarks.pugetsystems.com/benchmarks/ – Puget Systems also provides a benchmarking suite for Lightroom and Photoshop – so you can measure your existing system as well…
The advice came just in time as my laptop is really struggling to cope with LR latest version. Specially on masking.
Got a liquid cooled monster desktop PC with your specs and the speed is amazing!
IBM’s high end mainframe computers used to be water chilled, and I do mean chilled.
Thanks for the good advice and keep the advice and courses coming!
Perfect timing! I too had an iMac and small MacBook Pro. Just made to decision to sell the iMac, upgrade the MacBook Pro and buy a 27″ monitor to use when I’m editing at home. Makes so much more sense when traveling, which I do often. Thanks for the recommendations as well. I had already ordered a Dell monitor, so thanks for the confirmation that I made a good choice! New MacBook config mirrors your recommendation. I was trying to decide between the 32 and 64GB, but I always say, get the most you can. Even if you don’t need it now, you will need it soon! Thanks again Matt.
HI. I’d love to know which Dell monitor you ended up buying. I too am thinking to replace my 2015 27″iMac with a macbook pro and 27 inch monitor. The apple monitor is too expensive. Would love to know about a Dell. Thanks.
Matt, great article and advice.
An excellent article Matt. All the better for being your honest thoughts and experiences.
Thatโs what I like about your training courses – no fancy sales pitch, just plain facts and good honest advice.
Thank you for your help and insights over the years I have been following you.
Ken
I’m a hobbyist/amateur photographer and just bought the LG27″ UQ 85-R-W 27″monitor. The 32 ” seemed too huge for photography. Did a lot of research and landed on this one!It’s new, just released. LG and M1 had better reviews than any other except for their horrendously priced Studio Display. Bought Topaz too!
Matt,
As you’ve pointed out several times over the years Adobe software is sensitive to memory.
More memory means faster workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Based on my tests with a variety of Apple M1 and M2 computers the processing time for a test batch of 35 R6 bracket sets (5 frames each) blended to HDR 24GB of main memory in an M2 MacBook Air and 128GB of main memory in a Mac Studio Ultra the time difference was 6:34 for the MBA and 5:56 for the MS Ultra.
Hi,
I am a graphic designer and my files are used for offset or web printing in CMYK. What monitors would you recommend that have the best accuracy for showing how CMYK files will look in printed form (printed magazines, posters etc.). Thanks!
Hi Jacqueline. Unfortunately I’m not the best person to ask about that as I’m not in that business. No monitor actually displays CMYK because those are ink colors – so my best advice would be to ask some one in your industry what they use. Good luck!
Jacqueline,
A have done a few projects that ended up being printed via CMYK for desktop books. I also photograph artwork that is being exhibited by museums and has to be printed in the catalog for the show.
I’ve found that the color management from camera to distribution TIFF file is critical.
I do everything in ProPhoto color space and make sure my monitor is calibrated.
For the past several years I’ve used a variety of Benq monitors but just about any reasonably good monitor that can be calibrated using X1 or Datacolor calibration software will work.
FINALLY, a reviewer (or commentator, if you will) who says what they think about something and this is what I would do and this is what I did. Very refreshing!!
Very interesting and educationnal
I use alaptop and i bought a monitor for working on my photo because the screen is bigger and it goes better
Thank you very much
A very brave thing to do! I really appreciate your willingness to be forthcoming and give your opinion on a topic more controversial than anything except American politics.
Matt, youโre absolutely the best of many good instructors, and a great guy as well. All the best to you and your family.
Thanks William. And politics aren’t controversial at all. You either agree with me or you’re wrong. See… easy right?! ๐ ??
I suggest keeping at least one old desktop or laptop if one has room. I use one for searches on the internet, bank and financial correspondence, email, etc. That way I can keep my processes with photos and videos away from the dangers lurking on the internet as much as possible. I use my aging laptop when travelling. It is able to see what I photograph even if I can not edit on site. I can use it for corresponded, have my presentations while travelling and Zoom sessions. I use Dropbox so I can use my manuscripts on any computer and work on them. I have been using computers since the late 1960s Talk about change!
Thanks Matt. I too use 27″ iMAC 2017. Great but slow at times. I appreciate your discussion about the M1 chip and monitors used for printing. I print mostly and end up printing on multiple sheets just to get it perfect. It’s easy to blame my monitor (lol), but now I have reason ??โโ๏ธ
Good article that covers the bases
He did not mention calibration of monitors? Seems important.
It’s pretty easy to find a 100 % sRGB monitor. I always get a 16:10 ratio – less black bars on the display for 3:2 images .
Hi Ernie. Thanks but this doesn’t have anything to do with topic of choosing a computer or screen. Best!
If one wants to use a calibrated monitor then the monitor choice capabilities in this area are very important. I have not used a BenQ monitor but they seem to be serious about calibration. I use NEC monitors with SpectraView. However, it seems they may be cutting back on this support.
Iโve learned over the years that people serious about calibrated monitors already know what they need. They are the most advanced of advanced and typically not following my advice since I recommend not to calibrate.
Thanks! Just what I needed today. My eyes get bleary reading all the specs. Now I know what to look for!
Thanks Matt! Very helpful in shopping for an upgrade from my 2012 iMac.
A year ago, I bought a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro (16GB RAM and 1TB SSD) to supplement my trusty old 2017 iMac (like Mattโs). With just two more payments, the laptop is fully mine. ? I like it, but I still use my iMac for photo editing because of its 27-inch screen. Iโm thinking about getting a Mac Studio, but hereโs my advice for those considering a laptop in a situation like mine. I really wish I had spent a bit more to get 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. Why? Then I could get the new 27-inch Studio Display ($1600) and forgo spending the money on a Mac Studio (~$3200 for my ideal configuration). So, Iโm waiting to see if Apple comes out with an โaffordableโ 27-inch iMac with Apple silicon in 2023. There are lots of Apple options, but my iMac keeps chugging along and processing my photos (no video editing for me, which helps in reducing high-end configurations). Hope this helps. And thanks, Matt, for another excellent communication!
Great info. Thanks
Hi Matt,
Last February I purchased a LG Ultrafine 27″ monitor. It had problems that LG was not able to resolve. First of all, it arrived dead in the water. I returned the DOA machine for a different one. It was DOA as well, except I realized the problem was the power cord. I hooked a different heavy-duty cord and all was well–except that if I made the mouse larger, things did not display correctly. If I wanted to choose item one I had to highlight item 2. Again LG was no help. Turned out that the problem is the screen fails to follow standards for accessibility tools. I paid a lot of money so I bit my tongue (Dad said “Never EVER bite a bullet. It may be the last thing you do”). :).
So the screen has performed very nicely with those changes.
I followed your advice from last year about backing up my photos. I am IT-savvy (IT support person for 40+ years). But I use a MAC and as of last year had not found an even adequate backup solution for it. I now use CHRONOSYNC and find it is easy to use and does go good job of backing up photos.
Another thing I have done that has helped. I put on a separate drive photos (jpg only) which I can share with others–family, friends, etc. I use IBI from Scandisk.com aka Western Digital. The IBI drive is a network drive so it can easily connect to all my computers. I can now send links to pictures I want to share instead of sending a copy of the picture. It easy to export from LRC. There are now many ways to safely share links to photos instead of sending the photo itself. IBI works for me.
I do very little travel, photograph my cats and the outdoors around Chicago as a hobby. I use a minimac with 64G of memor. It can easily handle both LRC or photoshop and a VMWare version of Windows 11. All photos are stored on an external thunderbolt drive (fastest I could get).
Maybe this post is too long, but I know someone will find it useful.
My choices are the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with the i7 processor and 16GB of RAM for portability and the Surface Pro Studio also with the i&7 processor and 16GB as my desktop. Both are touch screen.
I have rebuilt the Surface Studio by changing the hybrid mechanical HDD/128GB SSD to a 1TB SSD plus a 2 TB internal drive and it is very quick. Having the ability to get inside my computers and change them up is the reason I stick to Microsoft.
I was a long-time Win-tel user, as a matter-of-fact, I owned the original IBM PC-1. I switched to the Mac Studio with the revved-up M1 chip and 64 Gb of RAM, a 1 Tb SSD and the Studio monitor when it ws released earlier this year. It just works. I had an expensive MS Surface with the the latest processor and replaced it with a 13 inch MacBook-Aire for travel. Once again, it just works and it all integrates with my iPhone and iPad. The experience with cloud-based Lightroom is seamless. Your article regarding the M1 chip tipped me to the Apple experience. It costs more, but I am enjoying it. Thanks for your excellent advice and your tutorials are top-notch.
Great stuff….plain english. One thing I might add: Apple support is reason enough for me to stick with Apple.
100% agree! I highly dislike them as a company, as a whole – but their products and support are great.
Hi Matt
Thanks for your thoughts I have just gone through the same process and ended up with ordering the latest MacBook Pro which whilst it is only 13in has the latest m2 chip. When I ordered it with 16GB of RAM the Apple salesman thought I was over future proofing it. Time will tell. I will take a close look at your suggestions for a monitor.
Regards
Two years ago I bought a purpose built Pc from Puget Systems that I thought was a screamer. Last year I bought a MacBook Pro like yours only with the 16โ and half the storage. That laptop smokes the PC. I couldnโt believe how much faster it was.
Mahalo Matt!
Good article and wonderful timing! I am considering a new laptop. It will be Apple with an M2 chip. Yes I wondered about software, as you did, and like you I have seen many companies leap on M1/M2 based offerings. If fact I think I see a little ‘king of the mountain’ with non-silicon based’ trying to stay competitive. But I just use your software, and all is good. JB
In November of 2021 I ordered exactly the same MacBook Pro that you describe above to transition from an aged Windows desktop to Mac. The laptop arrived in January of 2022 and I have been thrilled with it! At home I have a 25″ monitor and a mouse but when I travel everything comes with me and the 14″ screen, while small, is tremendous.
You hit it out of the park with these suggestions,
Mark
What price? I didn’t see anything more than 16gb on the Apple website.
Hi Matt, I recently bought the 14″ macbook pro M1 as configured above, and it’s great, with the 32 GB ram. But you are very right. After a short period of time, it’s just another computer not going as fast as I want. But it’s still nice. But your thoughts on monitors if very timely, and much appreciated. I think you just saved me a couple hundred bucks and some unnecessary angst.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
Thank you so much for this article! I am going to replace my ancient MacBook Pro and was looking at specs just yesterday. I had kind of decided on exactly the model/specs that you listed above. Glad to know that I was pretty much on target.
Just what I needed!! Do you have ESP or what?? I need to get a new computer too. I currently have a laptop because I used to go around a lot and travel but I donโt anymore so Iโm thinking Iโm getting a desktop instead. Thanks for all the tips. Very helpful information.
Suzanne
I need an iMac, their 24โ 8-core can only have a max of 16gb RAM, from what I have read, that with the M1 chip, It is more like the old Chip with 32gb Ram.
Do you agree
Great article. You gave a lot of great down to earth information
Thanks for the great common sense advice! I have a Dell inspiron desktop with a 27 inch Eizo monitor which I use for detailed post processing.
Just bought a Dell 17 laptop to enable me to do basic processing when on the move so I donโt have loads to do after I transfer my images to the desktop by copying and pasting the images along with the LR catalogue. A bit of a work around but it seems to work OK
Matt,
Now that the new iMac Studio equipment is out, will you consider the new 27″ Studio display?
After being with Microsoft/Wintel since the IBM PC-1 came out circa 1984 – I just switched to the Apple Studio system. Wow!
Thanks for your insight.
Hi Art. Nope… now that I have the 32″ inch XDR screen it’ll be tough to go back to a 27″. I love it and the extra space! Honestly I haven’t even looked at the new stuff that was announced. I’m the kind of person that once I decide on something and pull the trigger (new laptop and screen) I don’t look back – so I couldn’t even tell you if it was a good display or not (but I’m sure it is). Thanks!
And this is why you have become my favorite photography teacher! I’ve been looking to upgrade, but I have been overwhelmed with all the newest and latest choices that have come out since buying my 2015 MacBook Pro. Thank you so much for creating articles and tutorials like this. I have learned so much from you over the past couple of years.
In DPreview.com’s, “Laptop Review: Apple M1 Max MacBook Pro (2021) – Back with a vengeance,” (https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/laptop-review-m1-max-macbook-pro-2021-back-with-a-vengeance) they mentioned an important point that many people overlook and you also forgot to mention, i.e.
There’s no two ways about it, the M1 Max is the performance champ we expected it to be. It can legitimately cut your rendering and export times in half compared to the largest, most powerful, and heaviest PC laptops on the market… and it can do it on battery.
It is that “ON BATTERY” comment that is so important. Not only do the M1 MBPs run at the same speed while plugged in or while on battery, but they actually use very little power, especially compared to the PCs. With the PC laptops, however, there were HUGE performance degradation on battery, plus on some heavy duty functions that used less than 1% of the MBPs battery power, the PCs burned up to 40% of their battery charge. DPreview basically said that for much of the image editing and especially video editing that the PCs on battery were basically useless.
“No other laptop on the market can compete with the new MacBook Pro’s combination of power, efficiency, design and build quality.”
And if anyone reading this doesn’t agree with what I’ve written, please read the Preview lab test results. Don’t argue with me, I’m just reporting the test results.
Thank you for the thoughts. I upgraded to a Dell core i5 with Win 10. At the time, the i5 was actually faster than the i7’s 32 Gig main memory. It has 1 TB SSD internal and 2TB HD internal. I use external USB 3 drives for large storage and backups. Anyway, one thing that works well for me is this: The internal SSD holds all my apps, and has room left over. I manage all my work at the win Explorer File Folder level. I created a Temp working folder for my photo post work on the SSD drive. I create and name a folder under the Temp folder and move my photo files from the SD card to that named folder. I then manage which photos I want to keep/delete. I edit and save photos and then move the folder off to one of the Hard Drives for storage and backup. Using the SSD drive for post processing has the advantage that all immediate work is being done from the SSD – the fastest drive on the system.
Can you elaborate more please?
?. JK thanks for all of the info.
Thank you Matt. I bought a Ben Q about 8 months ago because I do print a lot. Nice to get conformation that I made the good decision! In previous articles about monitors you spoke about no one prints today…
Sadly they donโt but Iโm glad that a few still do! ๐
Nasim Mansurov of PhotographyLife has a build he recommends for PC users. I had Titan put together a desktop for me.
8 GB graphics card, 64 GB of RAM solid state drives etc.
Matt, we’re all big users of the TOPAZ software but I’m wondering if they are updated to run natively on the M1 chip and if not, do they run at the same speed as on your previous iMac, slightly faster or a lot faster. Specifically Gigapixels, how doe sit compare speed-wise with a fast pre-M1 chip. Thanks for all you do for us!
Thanks for this article, Matt. It’s timed perfectly for me since I have been looking at a new MacBook Pro with M1 chip and your discussion of the various options was enlightening. I do print a lot, so not quite sure what to get for an additional monitor.
I loved the article. I purchased a M1 chip MacBook Pro also and love it. I have a 2019 iMac that I hate. What monitor did you purchase to go along with your MacBook Pro?
Hello Matt, I appreciate you taking the time and thought to share this information. There is no such thing as a perfect set up and your common sense approach to what is needed is most helpful. Again thank you for your help.
Thanks much for this discussion! Very down to earth and helpful. I am not a tech type. Please let us know when you find a monitor you enjoy working. Thanks again!
Thanks Matt for the article. As I write this on my 13 year old Dell XPS Desktop, I know I’m gonna be looking for a new computer pretty soon although I have to say this machine has been stellar. The other stellar aspect about it is Dell’s technical service. I bought their concierge service and continue to do so despite the computer’s age. It’s cheap and they keep my machine running top notch. My C drive crashed a couple of years ago (I didn’t lose any data), and they helped me get it back up and running. I used MAC a million years ago, but to be honest – I am a PC amidst the Mac users and I plan on sticking to my Dell. I had to put in my 2 cents. LOL You’re right about one thing; it does not matter what you use. It’s the results you get that count and that’s the nut behind the keyboard and not the machine. The machine is only a tool. You’re a terrific teacher and I appreciate your common sense approach and that you use the KISS principle in explaining. Great job. Happy holidays to you all.
Matt, thank you for the wonderful article. You are a great teacher.
My 2 1/2 year old PC from Puget Systems was built for PS and LR. Puget Systems helped me configure my system as they clearly explained all the tradeoffs.
I ordered a customized system from Puget Systems last year, like you, built for PS and LR. I LOVE working with them! I also bought a new MacBook Pro like Mattโs only with the 16โ screen as Iโm not using an external monitor with it. Iโll tell you now that the MacBook is substantially faster than the system I bought from Puget. Having said that I still love my Puget system and use it more. Mostly because of the 32โ monitor and tablet input.
Just want to add a shout out for Puget sounds also! They are awesome if you want a PC.
Thanks Matt as always for your thoughts and your teaching!!
Ditto on Puget Systems. Mine is 4.5 years old. The SSD is only 512GB, which is under half full. 32 GB of RAM. I configured it as a quiet system except that I didnโt go for a low-speed HD. It has a 4TB WD Gold HD. I added an old HD as a backup for photos that came from my old PC. Puget was great to work with though pricey. I had been a Dell user for years but I left when they stopped offering complete configurability. I have an extended gamut NEC monitor and do lots of printing.
Add my kudos for Puget Systems. They do a great job of putting together a system that will meet your needs and they use quality components. Of course, you pay a premium price. I have always built my own systems in the past but decided to treat myself a few years ago and have been very happy. At the time my wife said we were all going to die from Covid so treat yourself. Ha.
Thank you once again Matt, for stripping the subject to its essentials. Good common sense advice.
Hey Matt, Hope you and your family are well.
My brother and I are going to Iceland next month and I actually just ordered a new Mac book pro albeit with M1 chip and 32 mb of ram.
I was wondering if you had any advice or could do a tutorial about working with LR on both a laptop and desktop. For instance, is it better to use separate catalogs or synch the catalogs later etc
Thanks in advance.
Me too! Iโd love to see how you handle your catalogue Matt. For me, when I go on a trip like you are describing (and I sure would like to go on that one!) I start a new catalogue on the laptop. I organize everything into folders by date and place just like I would at home. Then when I get home I export the laptop catalogue to the desktop and merge it with my main catalog on the desktop. Pretty easy really.
Iโve asked this question many times in many places and there just isnโt a way to run one catalogue on two machines.
The real problem starts if you try to use the Lightroom sync feature to the cloud.
Hey Ed and Larry. It’s all covered in my Lightroom System course if you have it but way too much to write here. In short, there is no magic bullet. If you want to work on a laptop and desktop you’ll have to copy your catalog back and forth. It’s not elegant and LR (Classic that is) isn’t meant for a multi-computer workflow, so don’t expect it to be simple. That’s why the LR “Cloud” version is gaining in popularity. It makes this process simple. Still a bit expensive on the storage side though. Thanks!
Helpful link, as mentioned by Matt, above: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html
Matt, as always, your article is exceptionally helpful since I’m a hardware know-very-little type of gal. Thanks so much.
I will keep this for future reference just to point me in the right direction when the time comes.
Enjoy your new MacBook!
I disagree with your comment on Mac vrs PC. For the most part, if you are using a computer, you’re probably better off getting one that you’re used to. If you have a reason to change, than change. However, if you are getting your first computer, get the kind that most of your friends have (or at least some of your better friends who are willing to help you along). This is because you’re probably going to have questions and it’s a lot easier to go to a friend multiple times than the computer maker’s phone service. But YMMV
What would you recommend for a tablet, size and brand?
Thanks forall the info!
Hi Peter,
I have been very happily using a Microsoft Surface Pro since they came out years ago (I am an early adopter). I am currently on version 6 with the i7 chip and 16GM of RAM.
Thank you so much for this guidance, Matt. My HP Envy 23 seems to be on its last legs, and I’m starting to put out feelers for a replacement. Your fun writing style is much appreciated, too…no nose in the air, there! ๐
Thanks Matt for the great article. Happy Holidays!
My first photo computer was the original Mac Pro tower desktop and 30 in. Apple Cinema Display. I kept those going when the graphics card and boot-up disk both died. Got replacements on the internet and installed them myself. It lasted until a few months ago. When the new iMac Pros came out, I scored one right away for $1000 off (not from Apple). I made the jump because I couldn’t upgrade the software any longer. I personally like the high res monitor. I’m putting all my photos on an external hard drive with a second back-up. I was running both computers, depending on photos. The old Mac Pro has died again. That was a long run for an original Mac Pro. The iMac Pro has handled every update so far on the photo software. Hope it lasts as long as my Mac Pro did. Th new Monterey operating system, along with photo software upgrades, has it running fast for now. Apple is high priced, but I have hade great luck so far.
Built my first PC from a kit in 1976. Since then I have had just about every conceivable variation of desktop. laptop, server.
Last year I bought a Mac Mini 8G 256G ssd, the lowest model. It is not only cheapest computer I have ever had, but it is the fastest. It is connected to a 43″ LG 4k TV and a 27 BenQ monitor. I run Photoshop, Lightroom and Topaz with no problems.
The Mini is currently marked down, recommend getting 16G 512G SSD to extend shelf life
Hi Norman, I need badly a new or used iMac and thought about the mac mini because of the cost. Reading your post and saying you’re quite happy with the mini, I might have a look again at it. It looks like a toy to me, but it sounds a good deal to you and other people. Thanks.
Hi Matt: Great article and good advice. I have 1 suggestion for those who don’t need portability and already have monitor(s) that they like: Wait for a Mac Mini with the M1 Max chip and then configure it like your Macbook. I’m currently using a 2021 Mac Pro with 2 6-core 3.33GHz Intel Xeon processors, 32G memory and a AMD Radeon RX 580 with 8G vram. The system runs appls like Photoshop, Topaz, DXO, etc. quite quickly and reliably. BUT, I can not run the latest versions of those apps because I can’t update the OS past 10.14. So, I’m stuck and waiting for the Mac Mini with the M1 Max to be announced. That should cost less than a similarly configured MacBook Pro and I don’t need the MacBook’s monitor and keyboard. Hopefully, that will be announced in the next few months.
Hi Matt,
I am considering moving over to Mac from my PC desktop and laptop. I have read that there is a new Mac Mini coming out in the next few months and wondered if it would be worth waiting for.. The Macbook Pro looks to be a great option as well and portable.
Just throwing this out to think about. I was a hardcore gamer, and then we had kids. So I moved onto photography of the kids. My gaming PC spits out adobe quicker than a Busta Rymes rap. The horse power of the NIVDIA graphics card, and the motherboard high speed dual channel XMP @ 64meg ram set a super highway for Adobe to spread her wings and consume all the resources she needs without impacting performance overall. My top of the line Dell gamer laptop is the same. Had I approached Adobe coming up to minimum specs, I would have lost interest due to performance. But when I can run 2 or 3 Creative cloud apps at once with out crashing or buffering, I would say it is overkill but worth the expense in the long run, if you can afford it.
Lol, I just purchased a BenQ four days ago. I did buy it strictly for printing, and yes, I agree with you (of course, I do) that images look better on my Macbook Pro 2019. I considered an EIZO monitor as they are the boss but went for the BenQ. I also have the LG Ultrafine 24 inch 4K Monitor that I bought with my Macbook Pro, and that monitor does rock. Still, I find the high resolution of this monitor continually sets me up for a huge disappointment when my print comes out of the printer. In any event, thank you once again for the excellent tips. Fyi, you have a solid and loyal following up in Canada.
If you haven’t already decided on a display, take a look at the LG UltraFine 27MD5KL-B 27″ 16:9 5K IPS Monitor (available at B&H). It’s EXACTLY the same display as you had on the 27″ iMac, so it you really liked that, you will be 100% happy with this. If you have a thunderbolt port available, this will work on your new M1.
Hi Lori. Is it a glassy glossy screen like the iMac? Most monitors I’m finding are matte and I want glossy/glassy/in your face bright and contrasty like my iMac ๐
Yes it is glossy. Great monitor.
Thanks for the suggestion. Going to look at it.
Hi Lori – I have the same question as Matt does. Is this a glassy, glossy screen like the iMac? I’m on the same quest. Replacing my iMac with the 14″ MB Pro but don’t want to give up the great screen I’ve got on the iMac. Do you know?
I also have an LG, I remember reading somewhere that (probably mac rumors) that LG was going to be the company making Apple monitors after they discontinued making monitors.
So I bought a LG 32UN550-W.AUS 31.5″ 4K UHD and have been very happy with it. I do not like that I have to control the volume and brightness through the monitor, but for less than $500 american I will cope. I am running a mac Studio with M1max 64 memory 4 TB Storage. Love it all
Quite a brave article! I feel that choice of operating system Apple or Windows should be added to the things one should not talk about in polite society along with politics, religion and money, and you can add camera brands to that list as well!
I recently went through a similar process and after about 25 years being surgically attached to a laptop I have gone for a desktop and made the most of getting it fully spec’d up.
I saw one comment about things getting cheaper all the time, in normal times this is true, but at the moment with supply chain issues, components such as graphic cards are getting very expensive.
One thing to consider in the laptop/desktop question is how many monitors do you want to attach as this is where I have had problems with updates to Topaz and Adobe having issues accessing the graphics card with a multiple screen set up with a laptop. With a desktop you can probably attach one, two, three, four screens.
Great recommendations Matt. Spot on. As a retired geek, I tell people the same thingsโฆ or I tell them to get something like gamers use, because they are another set of users that work their computers as hard as photo/video people do.
Wow $3,500+ for the Apple M1 as you specified! I suppose if I had to make a living using my computer, as you do, then it may make sense as a business expense. I am just a hobby photographer and I use a 2019 HP Envy desktop with an i7 Intel chip, 16 GB RAM, and a 1GB Graphics card. I find I can import, process, and export my RAW photos quickly enough using Lightroom, Photoshop Elements 2021, and Topaz.
Thanks for your review. I enjoy your webinars.
Kudos to you Matt. Excellent article and very thorough. Even though you ask people not to, I see this is a very recurrent topic on your “Ask Matt Kloskowski” FB group asking “Should I buy this or that”, “Do you recommend Mac or Windows”, etc. My suggestion would be to pin this article at the top and people can keep referring to it.
On an unrelated note, your Topaz Deep Dive work is very good. Great work ๐
Also consider offsite backup of your data, even if you have two to three backups at home. You could lose everything with a fire, flood, weather, etc. I use BackBlaze to backup my NAS, but there are many options for cloud backup services.
Offsite backup is really important, and it doesn’t have to be in the cloud. I swap an external hard drive out every month, putting it in my safe deposit box, and then updating the one that was in the box. Fires and earthquakes are very real here in northern California. I also have a 10 minute evacuation list, and the second or third item are the two external hard drives on my desk
As Jay does, I also use BackBlaze to back up to the cloud. It’s only $70 per year (there is a per month option and a trial period) for unlimited space and size. Plus, it works on the road as well as at home. Best of all it’s AUTOMATIC! Can’t beat it. (And no, I don’t work for them)
Hi Matt,
You mention upgrading the memory in your 2017 iMac (a desktop) yourself. As I’m sure you are aware, it is impossible to upgrade the RAM in the latest Apple MacBooks (i.e. laptops), so it is vital to purchase the correct amount of RAM upfront. You might wish to clarify this, just in case a reader misinterprets what you have said.
Best wishes,
Barry
Puget Systems is a great place to find Photoshop and Lightroom benchmarks for processors and graphics cards. You don’t have to buy a custom system from them to check out the benchmarks.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/
My last 2 and current computer bought in 2015 are Puget computers. They are fantastic and the tech support is very fast and very good, for the life of the computer. They will help you configure one if you want. Since my computer is getting old and maxed out at 32 Gb of RAM and the video card is only 2 GB I will probably get a new computer from them in 2023. I configured one already that is a little over $3k.
Any thoughts on using a curved screen for editing?
Hi Paul. Nope. I’ve never tried one. Looks fun, but beyond the interesting aspect of owning a curved screen it doesn’t really offer any benefit other than it’s cool (which is totally okay to get something in my book) ๐
Hi. What do you back your external drives to?
I have 2 curved screens, and love them. Some may never notice the difference, but I feel the images come across as more crisp, and more comfortable to my eyes. Experience may vary with the user though.
Hi Matt. Thanks for the info. I am a desktop windows user. I find that 32 gb RAM is best. If you are looking for a monitore to use on your desktop, then I suggest looking intl HUion touch screen options. I find that editing in Photoshop on the actual picture very helpful. I really enjoyed the Wildlife and Topaz courses. I am still working my way through Composition. This course is harder and very in depth. All your courses have helped me improve my photography very much.
Thanks again.
I was just discussing buying a new desktop. I have been working off a laptop, and have now realized it does not have the computing power I need for editing. Was okay when I was just using PS Elements, but it often struggles with LR and PS Thanks so much for your insight, this is just what I needed.
Matt, excellent article. Thank you. I will archive the article for future reference.
Thank you Matt, this is vert timely! I have a 10 year old IMAC 27IN 2010 16G RAM with High Sierra, Ive dead ended on the operating system and can no longer get upgrades from Adobe on Photoshop and Lightroom past 2020.
I need to make a decision in the next few months. I want to stay with the IMAC 27 in. I also have a 24 in Apple monitor. I buy all my photography gear and IMACs through B&H Photo in NYC.
Thanks for this article!
Jim
I have a pristine IMac 27″ from 2012 and just discovered the new IOS push is limited to machines from 2014 and newer.
It forced me to push the button from Apple for a new 27″ IMac. I understand Adobe is working thru betas to have their tools work on their new chips.
Costco has them, but I had a hard time getting Apple to agree to Apple Care. If you use the Apple card it is no interest for 12 months and 3% back. Not trying to sell anything…. just trying to get the best deal
Hi everyone,
Good news for old chaps ! Recently I encountered the same problem : an old MacPro 2010 that wouldn’t accept any Os above Mojave. But there is a solution: OpenCore Legacy Patcher and a long very precise but rather easy tutorial at https://ww.youtube.com/watch?v=n9_FiCdlKg8 to guide you to a Monterey machine running the latest Adobe upgrades.
Although the actions are (almost) over: one thing that is not mentioned is to store a backup of your photos and of the Lightroom Library and other important (photoediting) software on an external harddisk that you only use to store these items and afterwards disconnect from the computer. If something bad happens (e.g. powersurges, computermalfunction, ransomware) your precious items are safely stored.
Hi Matt,
Let me echo all of the wonderful comments that you are receiving.
I purchased a new laptop (Dell XPS 15, 32GB, 1T, I7, FHD) on Black Friday and was pleased to learn that my purchase aligned nicely with your recommendations.
All of the above recommended suggestions you make are just about what I was going to write on here. You beat me to it… again. ๐ Thank you for all you have given me for the past 20 years.. Youtube tutorials – Ps and Lr TIPS all my passion for photography and post editing has been because of your way of explaining things that at first seem very complex yet you make them very simple and easy to understand kind of like your courses purchased thru mattk.com online store. Love them. Stay safe.
Thank you so much. Nice to know I am not the only person who finds Photo editing laptops only last two years. Anyone know why manufacturers seem encourage us to 3rd party RAM if we want 32 + GB of RAM
Hi Philip – you’re welcome. I don’t know of any manufacturers that “encourage” it. From anywhere I’ve ever shopped they seem to really want you to upgrade on their site so they get the money.
I started my photo editing in the 90’s on a Compaq PC, however when Windows Vista came out with all its bugs and crashes, I switched to an Apple Mac Pro workstation in 2007.
In 2013, I bought a newly refurbished Mac Pro workstation at a considerable discount from Apple (with full warranty), when the processor became too old on my 2007 model to run the new 64bit architecture. It could no longer be upgraded.
Eight years later, my 2012 Mac Pro is still running fine on the Mojave OS. The thing about the Mac Pro (which is a tower), you can install up to 4 HD’s internally inside it! I’m running with 1 x 1T which has all the OS, docs etc; and 3 x 2T which has all my photo & video files. It’s easy to add or change HD’s as your archive grows. Unlatch the side panels, undo two screws, and pull out the shelf holding the HD. I have about 50,000 images and a growing video archive, as I start editing video using Final Cut Pro X.
Yes Mac Pro’s are expensive (especially the latest incarnation), but it’s what you would expect for top-of-the-line gear that can last in my case, 8 years and counting! MacPro’s are used in universities, science labs, and even in recording studios running Avid Pro Tools. They are durable, rugged, reliable and very stable. No crashes or blue screens on my device, plus excellent technical support when needed from the Apple techs.
One last suggestion – protect your investment with a UPS – an Uninterrupted Power Supply. APC – The American Power Corp makes excellent units which have surge protection and an internal battery, so if the power suddenly flickers and goes out (especially during winter storms or lightning tempests), you can safely keep on operating for about 10 to 15 minutes then safely shut down your computer. No lost files or work! I also have my monitor, phone, printer and wifi switch plugged into it too. Here’s a similar model to what I use:
https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/Back-UPS-PRO-BR-1500VA-SineWave-10-Outlets-2-USB-Charging-Ports-AVR-LCD-interface/P-BR1500MS
Consider a UPS as insurance, and to prevent zero downtime or damage from an electrical line surge or brownout, especially during the hot summer months. I have had my unit 13 years, and had to replace the battery just once. And it has cut in many times when the power went off, and saved my work.
Hope this helps!
Cheers from Montrรฉal
Update to what I wrote above:
I started out with 8gb of RAM/memory on my Mac Pro workstation, but upgraded it myself to16gb with new memory cards from MacSales.com. The RAM cards are mounted on a pullout tray, (like the HD’s) and can be easily changed by anyone in a three-step process. I will probably upgrade them to 32gb for my increasing video editing work.
You can buy memory cards, batteries, peripherals and HD upgrades for your iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro workstation, including refurbished units at a discount from MacSales.com. They have instructional videos online on how to do it, and sell the tools to open MacBook Pro laptops too!
https://eshop.macsales.com/configure-my-mac/macbook-pro
Hope this helps!
Frederic in Montrรฉal
I left Apple years ago. 3 year old Macbook Pro crashed 1 month after incredibly expensive warranty expired and I had brand new full charged battery in it at time. I remember calls to apple assistance and they wouldn’t even answer even the simplest of questions until I agreed to pay $50.00/hour to talk with them{I had questions related to paid in house training that they used to do in their tampa international mall store and related to all photos disappeared when finally got high end laptop going again}. Needless to say I have stored my photos on external hard drives ever since , but this was years ago. I made appointment with their so called genius bar and they were over 3 hours late seeing me. In the end they were arrogant and cocky and could only retrive maybe a dozen out of 15,000 photos. My husband recovered all but 15 photos and is PC man, and reinforced why he, with computer engineer father, hates apple. They are in control, not you. Over years have done a lot of online research on apple computers and shocking of the amount of problems with them and undercover footage of how corrupt they can be. Just ask anyone who repairs computers and apples are the worst. Love my PCs ever since and if anyone really wants to go all out, Puget is the way and comparing tit for tat is actually more affordable and higher quality.
True. Repair people might have a hard time fixing a Mac.
But Iโve had a long string of Macs since 1985, and except for a few bad hard drives and worn out mice, NONE of my machines had actually โbrokeโโ even though I use them all day (Iโm a graphic designer) and typically keep my machines for at least 4-5 years.
Hi Frederic,
If you want to upgrade your MacPro to Monterey , have a look on my comment to Jim Chernesky (above)
Regarding disk drives & desktops – I would suggest you add an additional SSD for swap / scratch / cache / lr backup / temp type files and where possible another to act as a ‘under development’ drive, leaving the main drive for the O/S, programmes.
On the alphabet soup that is CPUs and laptops – people need to be aware that laptop cpus are normally low power consumption versions, so a laptop intel i7 is NOT the same as a desktop i7 – https://www.cpubenchmark.net/ – is a good comparison site.
Finally, tune the heck out of it – processing software, O/S, gpu cards – all have preferences or configurations which can be tuned.
For me its Windows, 64GB of RAM, 10TB of RAID 10 Hard Drives and yes 4GB of VRAM on the Graphics card. 2 off BenQ Monitors 24 inch.
I find using a dedicated SSD 512GB for Photoshop’s Scratch Disk and an overflow for Lightroom also speeds things up. Photoshop is a memory hungry application RAM is so important.
Great timing, thank you. I need an new computer to handle PS and have researched all kinds of resources and here you are with all the answers.
I also ordered texture brushes from you but have not added them to my old computer. When I am ready I assume I can go to your website and figure out what to do from there. Obviously I am not a techie.
Dear,
I am presently working with a 6 years old Toshiba P870, with an i7 processor. I ‘ve just been seeking for possibilities to give it a second youth and my conclusions are rather different than yours.
Invest for a TOO long term in hardware is a nonsense since prices are always decreasing.
First of all, we suppose the computer is an x-64.
OK for the motherboard and the processor, specifically for a laptop, because they cannot be updated, and update these sole components in a desktop is not easy. Then, for a new computer chose at least a new top performing i5 ( even fast as my old i7 ), an i7 would be better for the long term. Faster would be luxury.
RAM: I read on web sites for gaming that 2x 4Gb is better than 1x 8Gb, some new photographic programs prefer 16Gb ( also better 2x 8Gb ) they accord that more than 16Gb is not useful, but I think it is better is the POSSIBILITY exists to upgrade it later to 32Gb when the RAM will be cheaper — DDR4 is better than DDR3 and you cannot interchange it later — “L” is for “low voltage” what allows a longer battery autonomy — pay also attention to the “CL” of the RAM; the lower the faster it works.
GRAPHIC CARD: mine was originally ruled with an “open GL 3.2” pilot if I remember well, anyway unable to support the new versions of Luminar 4 and ON1-2021 ( those require at least “open GL 3.3” and ON1-2021 even recommend <> ) — fortunately the computer technician could upgrade my pilot on last July to OpenGL 4.2.
HDD: rather than minimum 1To in the laptop as Matt says, prefer a SSD, that will allow the computer to work faster. Last year I changed my “normal” HDD for a 250Gb SSD and used my old HDD as second embedded HDD. If you have only one slot, I think a 500 SSD is sufficient, provided you have a fast connection to connect a larger external (portable) HDD ( 4Tb is cheaper than 100โฌ, you can buy several ones, and larger SSD will be less expensive in a few years ).
Connections: Then pay attention to have at least one fast connection ( USB3.1 or faster ) for an external HDD.
About the capacity of the HDD. My personal needs are these:
– one shot in 24Mp RAW + native JPG = +/- 30Mb => 30 shots = 1Gb /// I am taking +/- 20 shots/day => I need 1 CD-Rom/day or +/- 250Gb/year on my HDD
– if you use the side-files of your development pgm, you won’t need very much additional space
– one TIF file with 24Mp can take more than 150Mb => 6 TIF files = 1Gb.
Backups:
I use the second embedded HDD to store the files I do not process. I have 2 HDD for daily/weekly backups and a third HDD for monthly backups. I do not discard my original SD-card before having checked the 3 copies. When on holiday, I take one set SD-cards + one set of USB-sticks of sufficient capacity + 1 SSD of 250Gb ( 40โฌ ) to make 1 daily backup + 1 backup of the backup. I check the second new backup daily ( if the 2nd backup is good, the first one is also good ).
Hoping these thoughts will be useful to some of you …
I have a 2018 Mac Mini with the 16 GB RAM and 1 TB HDD you recommend. I agree with your analysis of the situation. I do photo editing and HDR as well as Video editing and thought 2018 Mini would last me a long time. If graphics performance turned out to be too slow I knew I could add an eGPU. Now Apple has brought out the M1 which costs about the same as the eGPU. I’m not complaining! In retrospect I should have seen that depending on Intel graphics was a mistake. Better your Intel iMac and Macbook pro with their graphics cards. Because I am in the middle of cataract operations I decided to treat myself to a good 4K monitor. I might be able to actually see what my geeky son is talking about in the photos we discuss. I have the Dell 27″ ultrasharp in transit at a nice Black Friday discount. We’ll see how I go with the smaller details with my new eyes on the 4K Dell compared to peering through my glasses dimly at the 24 inch HD Dell I have. So thanks, a really helpful article that gives an overall perspective without getting into the weeds
Further information.
It was late in the Belgian night when I wrote my post.
First of all thanks to Matt for his thoughts.
SSD: write/read velocity goes from +/- 300 to above 500 Mb/sec – velocity is important if you use the SSD as first drive in your computer
USB-sticks: write/read velocity goes from +/- 30 to above 400 Mb/sec – pay attention to this factor according to your needs
For both material, velocity and price are not directly proportional.
Pay attention to the quality of the screen ( I mean the hardware: contrast, nb. of pixels, refreshment rate, etc. ), and don’t forget you cannot change it on a laptop.
Further information I forgot when I wrote my most late in the Belgian night.
First of all, I forgot to thank Matt for its thoughts.
SSD: read/write velocity goes from < 250Mo/sec ( generally +/- 500Mo/sec to above 2500Mo/sec — it is important if you use it as first hard disk in your computer ( typically โC local driveโ with windows )
USB sticks: read/write velocity goes for +/- 30Mo/sec to above 300Mo/sec — choose it according to your needs
For both material, price and velocity are not linked.
Pay also attention to the quality of your screen ( hardware: contrast, brightness, nb. of pixels, refreshment rate, etc. ), especially for laptops because it is not possible to change it separately afterwards.
Excellent article Matt. For a โnon-techieโ guy, you knocked it out of the park!
Only one additional comment I would make is if someone should need a laptop for mobility, it is a great idea to consider purchasing a dock with a keyboard, mouse (or other pointing device) and larger external monitor to use when they are at home. Gives one a bit of the best of both worlds (desktop/laptop).
I sort of agree with the general principal of buy the best you can afford for a lot of this. But as an accountant, it is not always the best idea from a cost per year of useful life perspective.
Over the years I have found that often the better answer is wait until they announce the latest new model and buy the 6 months ago model instead which is usually 20-30% cheaper than the latest model. Upgrade the heck out of that (faster graphics card, more memory etc. which will also be way cheaper than upgrading the latest model. Yes I might get 6 months less life out of it before it becomes too slow / not supported, but if you are getting say 5-6 years+ life, reducing to to 4.5-5.5 +years but saving 20-30% is still a very good deal.
Brilliant idea to buy an iMac with minimum 8GB RAM and immediately upgrade with Crucial RAM. I will definitely do this when I upgrade my iMac next year. It will save me $300+ to have 64GB. Thanks!
I agree that the new direction for Macs are interesting. I am apprehensive due to Apple’s history moving to other silicon bases and the support from the software community. The Mac Pro is really my ideal system and what I have used for the pas 11 years.
Unfortunately, they are now priced out of the realm of reality and the technology base is older generation which cannot take advantage of new 3rd party hardware.
As for the M1 silicon, it is an interesting design concept, but it is not the only innovation, Both AMD and Nvidia are pushing the envelope with multicore CPUs/GPUs. Of course none of these are usable in a Mac environment unless you go the Hackintosh route.
The performance of the Adobe suite and Davinci Resolve in these new environments far outweigh what is a achievable in the comparable Mac. They also offer the advantages of being up gradable.
I really prefer the MacOS to Windows (I’ve used both for nearly 30 years). I’m a computer engineer who does nature photography and videography on the side. It’s my passion. I was burned buying the Trash can Mac Pro and find I that having to add storage and peripherals externals was costly and now hard to migrate to anything else. Thunderbolt is moving along and I now would have to buy an TB2 to TB3 adapter for my editing storage Not a good idea for maintaining performance.
My goal is to have a flexible system where I don’t need to worry about relying on external devices for everything (this is what any Mac would require except for the Mac Pro). So WIndows is my only recourse. I know with proper backup of the system disk and maintaining it without trying lots of different software all the time, I can keep WIndows running efficiently. Image backups using Acronis or other backup utilities keeps me safe with a bootable backup of the system. If I want MacOS capabilities (Facetime, Message, etc…) I can run MacOS in a VM and use those features with my iPhone, AppleTV and 13″ Macbook Pro (yes, I have that to take into the field when travel to go on a shoot).
IMHO on the state of things Mac vs. PC
Hi Lee,
Like you, I have a Mac Pro too, two in fact. I started with a a new unit in 2007, then bought a 2012 refurb unit with full warranty from Apple when my older unit would no longer support OS software updates. I changed my ram/memory from 8gb to 16gb with parts from MacSales.com. They sell a full range of parts, if you need to upgrade your MacPro.
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Frederic in Montrรฉal
I had my windows computer built a few years ago with two graphic cards, one for each of my monitors. This has worked great for me and allows independent color calibration of each monitor
Two video cards – one for each of your two monitors is a great idea! Think I will do that too!
Cheer and thanks!
Thanks Matt..it is one thing to come up with the funds to purchase “the dream machine” which will meet todays and future needs. I see us in a catch 20 cycle…the new mirrorless sensors (not all) but most are 45 meg. pixil…transulation more storage space! Are we all going to be printing bill-boards for New York Time Squart…not likley. Cloud storage is another bill to pay. When you get older and have a wee bit of flex funds to spend, the older mind sometime can’t quite keep up and know the “best system”. As always you have given your trusting readers great information and much to think about. Happy Thanksgiving to our Americal friends! From Canada with love, lets all do our part to get Covid numbers under control…as soon as possible. God Bless
Thanks for the article. I just purchased a Dell Ultrasharp so good to know you find them favorable. Won’t ask any tech questions but I am curious as to why printing is a factor when considering a monitor. I don’t share my photos online so printing (lab) is the only way I display. Challenging process at best.
Printing requires a calibrated monitor (and frankly a calibrated printer) if you want your printed images to look the same on paper as they do on your monitor. Hence spend more on a high quality printer that can match the color gamut of your edited photo. If you’re only posting images online in the sRGB color space, any monitor should be sufficient and no matter how precise your editing, it’s going to look different on everyone else’s devices anyway.
Hi Larry. Because the print is a very different surface than the screen. You need to get a screen that matches the surface of a print better and a bright glossy screen is not it. For me, they are the best to look at and fun to edit on, but they don’t give as good a representation of the print. That said, if you have a workflow and it works… don’t change it. Nothing else matters than you’re happy with the output.
Matt, here’s something to consider for desktops: two SSDs. I have one for the C: drive and all software and the other as a fast working store for the pictures during my initial development. After I’m happy with the initial development, I move them (using LR CC) onto my server. As processing tools get better, I will revisit old RAW images and re-process them, sometimes that moves them back to the fast local store to speed things up.
I built my current box in 2010 with as you say, the fastest processor (6 core!! woo woo) and the most memory the motherboard would hold. By adding large SSDs and upgrading video cards, I still have an acceptable performing computer with current tools.
I won’t build another box until I can get 2X higher performance and that’s not available yet in my price range.
Matt, Can you tell me what I can do to get the latest PS and LR update on my 2013 iMac? I cannot upgrade it from High Sierra to get the latest updates.
Thanks.
Mickey.
Hi Mickey – I cannot… but a quick Google search on your specs, OS, etc.. should be able to ๐
My girlfriend has an older iMac too, which cannot be upgraded to the latest OS like Mojave or later, so you may have to buy a new iMac. With Black Friday sales on, now is the time to do it!
That said, you can still use your old iMac it to watch Netflicks movies, which is what we do together!
Hope this helps. Stay safe and be well.
Cheers from Montrรฉal
Hi Mickey, I saw your comment. I had the same problem and had to upgrade to Catalina to get the upgrade to work. I think it’s the operating system that’s limiting you, it was my problem.
Matt, thank you for this very timely and helpful article. You have answered many of my questions and concerns when ordering a new computer. The comments section is also very useful. Thanks
Huge thanks for this advice, Matt. I was on the point of replacing my 2011 iMac with the new MacBook With the ARM chip. Having no need for a portable, I will wait for the new iMacs with the M1 chips. And buy an affordable dell monitor because I prefer a non-reflective screen.
If people really want a PC that is built for LR & PS go to Puget Systems https://www.pugetsystems.com/ they will build you a PC that is hands down the fastest and most efficient for photo editing. I am saving for one now and can’t wait to be editing on one of their systems!
Very good advice if you don’t want to get in trouble assembling by yourself.
Even better, build one yourself. I did it last year and maxed out the specs for about half the price of a puget system.
Thanks for the article. Iโve been thinking about a new computer for a while (a 10yo iMac). When PS2021 came out, I knew I had to bite the bullet and get a new iMac (I hardly ever use Lightroom or video) Your article confirmed what I ordered was a good choice. Display is 27โ 5K, 32G RAM, 1T SSD, 3.8GHz i7 8core 10th gen processor. I waffled on what video card because I donโt know that much about them and even the sales person I talked to would have gone with the one I picked, Radeon Pro 5700 8GB. Iโm happy with my purchase.
I basically agree with what you’ve said.
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The important thing to do is first define what you want to do with the computer. Since this is an article in a photo mag, photo/video editing is the natural assumption. Don’t let a store clerk sell you the top of the line, most expense computer in the catalog. You probably don’t need all that “horsepower” and you really don’t need to pay the price premium.
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Desktop vs Laptopp/tablet is as you say. Only if you absolutely need to be portable go with a laptop. But the price will be 50% or more for similar specs, with little option of upgrading the hardware in the future.
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I like your description of the CPU’s. Yes, they are a collection of alphabet soup and numbers. I recommend that the “average” user stay away from the “BLEEDING EDGE” hardware. You pay a significant premium for the top of the line CPU. Right now that is a “i9” and “10th generation” (Comet Lake) (11th generation, “Rocket Lake” is supposed to come out spring 2021). So taking a step down to “i7” and at least a couple of numbers down from the top “best/fastest” model they have will save you big bucks.
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RAM, 8GB is absolute Min, 16GB or more is better. Buying RAM upgrades from the builder is expensive. You probably could buy a 32GB upgrade for the same price as upgrading to 16GB from the builder.
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An Addon Video card is a must for for photo/video editing. While the built in video support on the intel chip is getting really good, the addon card is the way to go. Again, more RAM is better. And this is a place where it is harder to DIY the ram, so just buy the video card with the most ram you can afford.
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One option you didn’t mention is dual monitors. With the addon video card, dual monitor support is trivial to do, basically plug and play. Many photo/video editing programs actually support dual monitors, putting the tools on one monitor and the image on the other. Personally, I like to set one monitor in the default “landscape” orientation and the other rotated 90 degrees in “Portrait” orientation. I don’t do photo editing, so I like having a 40-50″ 4K monitor plugged into my 13″ 1080P laptop.
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Monitor Video “resolution” is another good question.
8K, while there are a few (ridiculously priced) TV’s at 8K, very few computers support it, and you really don’t need it.
4K, is a good place. You can get good monitors are reasonable prices. But what are you going to be doing with your Photo’s/Videos. 4K video is still just catching on, most TV’s are still 1080P. Photos, if your photos are being produced for Pinterest or other online display, 4K resolution will give you nothing extra in image quality, just bloated file sizes and hence slower download speeds. Ultra high resolution photos are only useful if you have a high end photo-real printer that is larger than 8.5*11, or you plan to use only a small portion of the image.
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“4K resolution will give you nothing extra in image quality, just bloated file sizes and hence slower download speeds.”
Your monitor has absolutely no effect on the file size of your image. That is entirely dependent on your camera sensor and the editing that you do (i.e. do you edit in raw, do you save your files as a psb or tiff, with or without layers, etc.). As Matt mentioned, a high resolution 4k monitor is overkill for basic photo editing and for a number of reasons could actually make your editing more difficult.
After running a Windows software business from roughly 1990-2015 I switched to Mac when I retired and the biggest difference has been doing much less tech support for my wife, although there were also many other differences and I still regard Windows as a dinosaur. I use a Macbook Pro and a 27″ iMac with two 27″ monitors. 16GB of main memory is enough and I don’t know why I would need a video card upgrade because I’m not doing much video or gaming. My hybrid drive is 3TB. For serious work, I hate trackpads. I have used trackballs in the past but now use just an Apple Magic Mouse. I do a lot of nature photography but also do a huge amount of restoration and even some hand coloring of 19th and early 20th century photos. That requires a lot of image enlargement and very fine mouse control. Some of my images start at 500MB to 750MB in size or more, because they are scans of 8×10″ glass negatives and in a few cases even scans done in pieces of 12×20″ glass negatives from the VLF (very large format) days of photography. My current photo project is a book of 125+ local history stereoviews and I have restored and enhanced all of them. That’s a different kind of photo processing from what people do with their own new photos.
Oops. Can’t edit. The Windows business was 1990-2005, not 2015.
Matt I am with you all the way on this one. You are so very correct. I use a PC and always buy the most I can afford so that I am in the game a bit longer. I love how you tell it like it is.
Thanks for a great overview. You are the best!
Thank you very very much for this excellent article. Filled with valuable insight. I will refer to this when ready for my next iMac.
Deciding on a computer build is not easy. I am not technically proficient either. But I have configured on Dell’s website multiple times, had a computer built for me after that, then upgraded components several times after that. This is very possible with a desktop PC. The main thing I have learned is that it pays to study the requirements needed, looking at various websites. My decisions follow what you have written fairly closely.
There are a few significant differences. I learned that 1TB was not big enough for all my photos and documents. And 2TB external hard drives for backups were filling up too fast. As a result, during my last upgrade, I went with two 4TB internal HDD hard drives, not consumer grade – both have a 5 year warranty. I already had a 500GB SSD drive, so use that exclusively for running Windows 10 and a few other programs that only want to live in the same place as Windows 10 [“C” Drive]. Other memory-intensive programs live on one 4TB drive [“D” Drive], and all photos, documents, and internet functions are on the other 4 TB drive.
Another consideration when configuring a computer is to know how much space the components are going to require. My first custom build was fine at the time, and also for upgrading some components. But the last time, it was necessary to buy a larger tower. [The person doing the build for me found that the old tower was too small for what I wanted inside it. The new one has more room inside so was able to add extra fans, there is also space for more internal drives!]
One thing I am curious about – why a glossy screen? I have an older 27″ Dell Ultrasharp and the screen is not glossy. It shows off the colors beautifully. My laptop has a glossy screen and the reflections make it less user-friendly for photo editing.
One website that I found helpful was pugetsystems.com. They build computers, and their website lists the specifications they use for different purposes. Plus there is a lot of information on their website. For my first custom build, I used their specs as a guideline only. Checked them again more recently, but chose to use some different types of components because wanted to stay with those with which I felt comfortable. Of course, I also know people through some photography forums that were very helpful as well.
My PC, now running Windows 10, is over 8 years old. It has an Intel i7-3770K 4-core processor overclocked to 4.2 Ghz, 32 GB RAM, and an NVIDIA Quadro P2000 5 GB graphics card driving two 4K BenQ monitors. The system runs pretty smooth for most things. However, I do see a slowdown doing a few things in Lightroom and Photoshop. And it can’t handle certain effects, such as Adjustment Layers, in Premiere Pro without first rendering the clip. I’m pretty sure some of the speed issues could be taken care of with a newer computer with the newer processors and perhaps a better graphics card, but I am hesitant to spent the money not knowing this in advance. I’ve asked a number of people, but no one seems to know.
I have a similar configuration with a far modest graphics card and after increasing RAM to 32 Gb it keeps running smoothly in Lightroom and Photoshop; I’m also able to keep Photo Mechanic open in the background.
In the last couple of years the AMD Ryzen CPUs became faster than Intel’s; that’s what all gamers comment and they should know because their requirements are far more serious than those of creators.
The new AMDs 5000 series will launch in a few days meaning that the present models 3700 to 3900 (super fast for editing) will become very affordable. I just purchased the 3800x version with a 30% discount.
Regarding motherboards, as gamers switched massively to AMD, all manufacturers are offering a wide diversity of options. The 450 chipset very affordable, the 550 mid of the road and the new 570 rather expensive.
Check Asus, Gigabyte and MSI, I preferred Asus for decades but the other two enjoy also very good reviews.
For the graphic card follow Matt’s advise and check with Adobe, if you are not editing video you don’t need more than 4 to 6 Gb in the graphics card itself.
The most important component to consider for the new motherboards is the M2 hard drive (actually they are a tiny circuit board) . The NVME type (not the SATA); with speeds of at least 6 to 10 times faster than SSDs. They are becoming affordable and most motherboards accept two of them, freeing regular sata ports for extra drives.
These new technologies brought also much higher temperatures, paying attention to case ventilation became important.
Thanks, Matt. Another great article filled with logic and common sense. What more could we ask for?
Could you explain the BenQ comment ? Iโm looking for a 2nd monitor for my iMac. I was thinking of the new 32inch dell (roughly$800) but there are BenQ and Samsung and Eizo options that are cheaper.
Whatโs special about BenQ and printing ? If Iโm not printing would you suggest that dell is better ?
This just for you to look at and through. Not plugging, I am curious also and this could be an entry.
Benq has a line of photo editing monitors that are fairly pricey. For example, I have a Benq SW271, which retails for almost $1100. It is a 4k monitor, which covers 99% of the Adobe RGB color spectrum and allows for hardware calibration. My images look great on this monitor.
BenQ has a line of less expensive photography models that come color-calibrated and are extremely consistent with little color drift over time. In fact, they are so consistent I’ve gotten sloppy with using my color calibration tool because it just never drifts. The PD2500q is what I’m using, it’s only $300 for a 25″ model (there’s larger models available), their are also 27″ and 32″ versions available. Nice set of inputs, I use the DisplayPort to daisychain two of them together.
The BenQ precalibrated monitors that are NOT 4K are very affordable and enjoy excellent reviews. I’m planning to upgrade to a 32″ to replace my pretty old Samsung.
For a while now I was using iMacs but after my second one gave the ghost I decided to go with a non- all-in-one Windows based expandable desktop. What I realized is that a gaming machine (which I like to do) is also a perfect photo editing machine. Fast CPU, a lot of memory, large SSD, Extremely powerful video card with much memory. The bottom line is that with one computer I satisfy both my computer needs. Also the good thing is that most if not all photo software usually has both a Mac and a Windows version so no new software needs to be purchased, just transferring the license.
Any PC good enough for games will be the best possible for editing. Gamers have outrageous (and expensive) hardware requirements. If you don’t use it for games, step down a few notches, save a lot of money and get a very suitable system.
Still, follow gamers reviews just for some guidance, whatever is good for them will be far than enough for editing.
Only video could be very demanding but photo editing doesn’t put much strain on present available hardware.
Perfect timing, Matt. My HP pc is windows 7 and needs to be replaced with windows 10. I agree with you that in configuring buy as much as you can afford without going overboard. Your suggestions are very welcome. Thanks!
I bought an Eizo CS2420 a year and a half ago, and I cannot get it calibrated to get good prints. Their customer service is horrible! I’ve talked to people at Eizo, Nvidia, Adobe forums, professional photographers, Eizo in the UK, an Eizo related group in Australia, and I still cannot get good prints. Right now I am working with X-Rite. I was able to calibrate my 10 year old NEC without a problem and won some awards locally.
What I also found out is that there are a lot of people in computer related customer service that don’t have a clue about calibration, and calibration related issues. This includes Eizo, and Nvidia. If you are going to calibrate a monitor, do a lot of research before doing so. The biggest difference I’ve seen between my old NEC, Eizo CS2420, and other current monitor manufacturers is that they have taken away the Contrast Slider. I personally think this is a mistake. So far, the only other company that still offers the Contrast Slider in addition to Black Level and Brightness is ASUS.
Thank you Matt for that honest and simple explanation. My computer seems to tick all the boxes so I am ok for awhile. I wish you would also help us with external hard drives. I have about 6 of them and I cannot open 2 of them. Very frustrating. I did not back up my photos a few years ago so I have lost a lot of photos. They say it is not if you will lose your backups, but when.
I backup daily all to a small portable 4tb drive that I keep out of the house when I’m out. These drives are unexpensive and pocket size. Daily backups are fast and can be set to launch automatically every day or even several times a day if you do professional work.
Frequent backups and keeping its drive safe is the only defense against Murphy’s law.
I had the same issue with not being able to open external hard drives. I bought a new one and keep all of my images on it. I also back that and the hard drive on my Dell Desktop (yes, Dell – not MAC) to Carbonite. I’ve been able to recoup all of my images from Carbonite. It’s not terribly expensive and works well. I keep no images on my computer’s hard drive. Any images that are on there are downsized copies of images on the external drive.
Wish I would live close enough to your place of business and attend on site workshops.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I just sent out a request to my camera club for which Macbook Pro to buy, for Photoshop intensive work. Maybe it’s time to go back to the desktop, though I do have a great Ben Q monitor.
Thank you Matt! I am stuck with a laptop as we are on the road most of the time. But all that is on my laptop are the programs to run the software. I keep everything on external hard drives. Sometime give us your take on external hard drives and their value/use/saftey. I’m always afraid that one will die!
Don’t need to be afraid because for sure drives die at some point. Just keep everything duplicated, small portable drives are unexpensive, pretty fast and easy to manage.
I love your practicality, Matt. Most of us are not printing much and instead share our images downsized in online albums, websites, or competitions. So as you write, no need to spend a lot on a monitor as almost any 23 inch and above will do the job nicely. Of course RAM is important but as long as one has 16 GB or above, I find getting a better graphics card most important for post-processing speed. So we agree.
Thanks for this, Matt. It’s good information at the level I can handle. I’m not ready for a new computer quite yet so will print this out and consult it when I’m ready. Best wishes to you, Diana and the boys. Joan
Thanks Matt, great advice. Especially for those of us who area also at the 10,000 foot level or higher! I love all of your classes that I have taken. You’re a terrific teacher. Thanks
Wow Matt, this is a great article! Perfect timing for me as my 2007 iMac is on itโs last legs & Iโm fast thinking of a replacement. Thank you so much for your informative opinions.
Have a wonderful Christmas with your family & be well.
Matt, I used to do all my editing on a maxed out Desktop MacPro (2010). When I was looking to finally replace it, I thought long a hard about another desktop vs a laptop. I spend a fair amount of time at our cottage, so portability was important. I used to keep my images/catalog on a portable G-drive and used my desktop at home and a laptop on the road. Here is what I replaced it with… I purchased a new 16″ MacBook Pro (64GB Ram) with the added 8GB Radeon 5500M video card and 4TB hard drive, but then added a 32″ 4K Monitor and a Razor eGPU with an 8GB Radeon RX 5700 to drive the graphics. The eGPU performs significantly better for all the heavy editing. Best of both worlds… Desktop like performance at home yet still portable. The Thunderbolt framework gives the ability for excellent high speed additions to a Laptop.
Thanks, very sensible horses for courses. I especially like your comments on monitors.
1. You say don’t get a laptop due to performance constraints. Know this: MacBook GPU chips are held down with solder and can get _really_ hot. I overloaded the workload and it *UNSOLDERED* itself. The repair cost was the same as replacement cost.
2. Windows was designed from the get-go to be easily maintained by an IT department. That means they have a lot of hooks for remote maintenance. That’s another way of saying it’s designed to be manipulated from over the net. They keep working on it, but it is a fundamental design issue.
3. Linux is safe and secure, but photo software companies refuse to re-compile their products for it, so forget it.
4. get an iMac (mine is a 2017 w/ 48GB RAM + 12 TB storage)
This is a timely article with all the Black Friday ads, pick me, pick me! I really appreciate your response about the BenQ monitor and printing needs. I had no idea about that. I have a Dell 4K monitor that I use with my Macbook Pro and that works well. Thanks.
What a coincidence you wrote this right now. Iโve bought my very first Mac after 35 years with PC. On Monday I will get my iMac27 2020. With all the extras available. Iโve always said: I want a really powerful machine when I retire from work. And now Iโm there. Thanks for making me feel I made the right decision when I chose to pay all that money for the extra powerful options. All the best for the coming seasons.
How about the Wacom tablet vs mouse for PP?
Definitely! Once I started using a tablet, I wouldn’t go back. Now I use a laptop, so unless I am doing *serious* PS/LR work on the road, I’m just use an external mouse.
But the Wacom tablets for sure.
Wacoms are great but a mid of the road alternative are trackballs. They can be very precise and easy on your wrist.
Thank you for the insights. They were very helpful and, no, I wonโt ask for any more specific info ?. This was just right!
I actually run a 7,1 Mac Pro. With 96 Ram. I tried running a PC with Windows 10, I had four disks on it, system, photo, video and my junk disk. One day came into my office to work only to find the PC down. I had to put a new system disk in and reload Windows 10, only to find other disks were not there. A little more research on the computer revealed the disks were there but not available because they had no drive letter. Windows 10 had done this all on its own. Once I have the drives a letter they were back. But I could not have this as a work computer. So I bought a new Mac. Thankfully I am tech savvy as I was a Unix systems administrator for Intel Corporation
Just to throw a wrench into your thinking process it seems Apple is moving over to their own in-house M1 chips.with integrated processors and RAM that will revolutionize the way system and graphic memory is accessed and allocated. So far independent reviews have the early models outperforming comparable PC and Mac machines, even in emulation mode. One of the bottom lines is that large amounts of RAM may not be necessary to achieve great performance as is conventionally believed. 2021 should be an interesting year for Macs…
Thanks so much Matt. You are one of the most thorough persons I have ever had the pleasure of learning from!