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Time to buy an M1 Mac mini?

Hi Apple Community, I'm Ivan, IT Techinician.


So: my father has a Mac Pro 1,1...


Dual Dual-Core Xeon, 32GB DDR2 RAM, HD 5770 GPU, patched Mac OS X El Capitan.

He's a graphic designer (2D things, poster, depliant, books, newsletter and so on...)

He use Adobe PS, Id, Illustrator CS4 (Yes my friends, CS4).


His Mac Pro, in my opinion, has reach the end of life.


My question IS: can he replace his Mac Pro with an M1 Mac Mini? (8GB RAM, 512 SSD)

How about Big Sur? How big is the difference compared to El Capitan or High Sierra?


(I can hear y'all laughing so hard, but my dad is afraid of changing... but I'm working on it)


Thanks to everybody that will replace!

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Dec 2, 2020 7:48 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 2, 2020 8:28 AM

If you switch him to the new Mini, he'll also have to switch his Adobe software to the current Creative Cloud versions - and there is big difference between the CS4 versions and the current Adobe versions. CS4 will not run on the mini.


So, he'll be working in a new OS with new software on new hardware . . . you might want to set the mini up next to his current computer and let him work on both until he is comfortable with the new workstation.


MtD

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 2, 2020 8:28 AM in response to evans_dev

If you switch him to the new Mini, he'll also have to switch his Adobe software to the current Creative Cloud versions - and there is big difference between the CS4 versions and the current Adobe versions. CS4 will not run on the mini.


So, he'll be working in a new OS with new software on new hardware . . . you might want to set the mini up next to his current computer and let him work on both until he is comfortable with the new workstation.


MtD

Dec 2, 2020 9:53 AM in response to evans_dev

If you have a machine that supports it, download the Adobe CC free trial:

https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog.html?sdid=KKQXB&mv=search&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI-8qo9O2v7QIVYwp9Ch3rKQFgEAAYASAAEgLVYvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!449365418800!e!!g!!adobe%20creative%20cloud%20free%20trial&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-8qo9O2v7QIVYwp9Ch3rKQFgEAAYASAAEgLVYvD_BwE

and let him test drive the apps. The increase in functionality and features since CS4 substantial, but he may not want or need these new features.

He'll also have to get used to paying a subscription for the Adobe apps as opposed to a one time purchase.


MtD

Time to buy an M1 Mac mini?

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