Good day,
I would like to ask what minimum parameters are needed for smooth editing of 40mpx photos in photoshop?
I've heard that macOS is more powerful than Windows and can perform better on the same parameters.
Thank you in advance for your reply.
eMac
You’re comparing an i3 processor to an i7 processor. You’re also comparing a 512GB SSD to a 5400RPM spinning drive. The Turbo Boost is great for short operations, but causes a lot of heat buildup and quickly the processor is throttled down to it’s spec. That’s probably why exports are slow, the files are being processed at 1.8 GHz or even slower depending on the temps.
If you upgraded the i3 processor to an i7 processor and the slow spinning drive to a large SSD, you’d have a comparable or faster computer with a larger screen. The iMac has better cooling and can boost the processor speeds for a longer period of time. I would still opt for more than the minimum RAM because of the time and cost of upgrading a 21” iMac. The 27” iMac’s are easily upgradable for any user and requires no tools or special knowledge.
You’re comparing an i3 processor to an i7 processor. You’re also comparing a 512GB SSD to a 5400RPM spinning drive. The Turbo Boost is great for short operations, but causes a lot of heat buildup and quickly the processor is throttled down to it’s spec. That’s probably why exports are slow, the files are being processed at 1.8 GHz or even slower depending on the temps.
If you upgraded the i3 processor to an i7 processor and the slow spinning drive to a large SSD, you’d have a comparable or faster computer with a larger screen. The iMac has better cooling and can boost the processor speeds for a longer period of time. I would still opt for more than the minimum RAM because of the time and cost of upgrading a 21” iMac. The 27” iMac’s are easily upgradable for any user and requires no tools or special knowledge.
It would be pleasure for me you to look at it.
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.6ghz-quad-core-processor-1tb#
I thought about that, but I want 1TB Fusion Drive instead of 1TB ATA Drive.
Here is what Adobe says the bare minimum specs are for running PS and Lightroom on a Mac,
InternetInternet connection and registration are necessary for required software
activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.
I’m certified in Lightroom and also an Adobe LR beta tester. Speed is a critical issue for many LR users and that’s a moving goal with every new version. I personally use an 2017 iMac 27” with a 4 core i7 processor. It’s clocked at 4.5GHz with TurboBoost. Some LR and PS filters and operations can utilize the Hyper Threading (uses all 8 cores) and this helps a lot. But many of the filters etc. rely on just a single core and clock speed is a big advantage here.
I’ve maxed out the RAM at 64GB, purchased from OWC/Mac Sales. This is essential if you want to run both LR and PS at the same time and have RAM left over for the system.
Adobe is gradually moving many of filters and operations over to the graphics processor/video card. The biggest card you can afford will help future proof your computer a little. I use the AMD 580 Radeon Pro which was the largest available at the time. My computer will take an External GPU (eGPU) through the Thunderbolt 3 ports, so I do have an upgrade path for the GPU.
Purchase the largest SSD you can afford. Do not buy the Fusion Drives. They will slow down the LR catalog and other operations. Use fastest storage for you digital files. I use a Drobo 5D3 which housed 5 12TB 7200RPM drives connected through Thunderbolt 3. I would look at faster RAID systems than the Drobo to help with your 40 GB files and help future proof your storage. It must be Thunderbolt 3 comparable to maintain decent throughput with regard to speed.
I hope this helps.
Hi, welcome to the Apple Users Community.
Please take it from someone who has one of those mentioned above...don't do it!
Get a 27" you will thank yourself when you want to improve the RAM. It's a no brainer, seriously. I wish I had done that now.
Best of luck
This unit would have serious performance issues with both Lightroom and Photoshop. The Graphics card is very limited and you would almost immediately need to purchase and eGPU. This would add an additional $700 to $1300 to the cost. The drive you spec’d is a 5400rpm ATA and is unsatisfactory and you’d experience numerous wait states/spinning beachball. Even moving up to the Fusion drive would not be enough for the file sizes you’re talking about. The 8GB of ram is not enough to run both programs at the same time. While the RAM can technically can be upgraded, it’s described as difficult. This definitely is not for novices or less experienced technicians. It takes 2 hours for an experienced tech to do the RAM upgrade.
I would describe this as a poor user experience for your described needs of using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
FWIW, my experience with Lightroom and Photoshop says by as much
RAM as you can afford. These two apps will quickly gobble up any RAM
they can. 16GB is the bear minimum I would recommend and it would be
preferred to have 32GB. In a basic download of RAW images, process
the images in Lightroom, do final touch up of images in Photoshop
without any plugins, for 2-3 dozen photos I have seen these apps gobble
up 12-16GB of RAM (24 megapixel RAWs).
Second, get the best graphics card you can afford. Many Lightroom and Photoshop
operations leverage the GPU for processing.
Third, and this has always been my rule of thumb for the purchase of a computer,
get the highest performance processor you can afford.
As far as drives, the just announced 27" iMacs come with SSDs (no more Fusion).
When it comes to size, a lot is personal preference. For me, I prefer to keep the
system drive small and only have apps and some essential personal stuff on it
and keep all else on external (and backed up) drives. Part of the reason is for
recovery of some bad update or some reason the boot drive gets corrupted.
Restoring a minimal install is a whole lot faster than for Time Machine to
wind back through terabytes of files from day one.
I currently own an old Acer laptop that can no longer edit. That's why I use my girlfriend's laptop, it's Lenovo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Intel Core i7 8550, 4x core, 1.8 Ghz (4 Ghz boost). This 800$ laptop can use Photoshop and Lightroom at the same time. It's true that exporting edited photos takes a while, but I don't mind. That's why I was thinking about the iMac I sent, with those parameters. I just need to edit and modify the photos. These are not 3D graphics, animations, etc.
But thank you so much for the reaction, you're probably used to better quality than me.
Thank you very much, the information is very helpful. :)
Your welcome. I’d be happy to review your options if you post a link to what you’re considering purchasing.
Thank you so much, I get it now. :)
which cheapest Mac is effectively powerful for photoshop and lightroom?
