Mac Pro or another computer for graphic design?

MaddieYJ wrote:

I’m going to be starting graphic design at Winthrop in January for the spring for the next 4 years, so I was wondering should I get a Mac Pro, or something else that is touchscreen?

No Mac has a touchscreen. Why do you need one?

An employee at Best Buy was shocked that I needed a Mac; he told us it might be “too much” computer for the major. Also need to know the best operating system, and processing speed, GRAFIX card and touchscreen

Most of these are only relevant if you choose a Windows PC.

If you choose a current Mac, the operating system will be the most current available, and you cannot install anything earlier.

CPU speed is not a disclosed value with current Apple silicon Macs. You just choose the number of cores.

Same for the graphics card. Its just the embedded Apple GPU cores with the specific Apple CPU you choose.

I’d say a Mac Pro is a huge overkill for what you are doing.

I’d suggest looking over the Mac Minis and then finding a good quality screen to go with it.

Click here ➡️ Mac mini - Apple

MaddieYJ wrote:

I’m going to be starting graphic design at Winthrop in January for the spring for the next 4 years, so I was wondering should I get a Mac Pro, or something else that is touchscreen? An employee at Best Buy was shocked that I needed a Mac; he told us it might be “too much” computer for the major. Also need to know the best operating system, and processing speed, GRAFIX card and touchscreen

First, you might want to check with the university as to what applications they want you to run, and what systems they support. Sometimes a school will want you to run applications that run only on Windows, or only on Macs … other times, either may work well, and you can choose according to your preferences.

You probably don't need a Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is a very expensive ($6999+, before monitor/keyboard/mouse) desktop. If you were in the market for a Mac desktop, you would probably be in the market for a 24" iMac (all-in-one), a Mac mini, or a Mac Studio. Among these, I would recommend the M2 Pro Mac mini, and the M2 Max Mac Studio. These are MUCH cheaper than a Mac Pro, but should have plenty of power if you order one of them with enough RAM and storage space for your needs.

You might be thinking of MacBook Pro notebook computers.

Apple's marketing is a little bit confusing, but basically,

• 14" and 16" MacBook Pros that have Pro and Max chips are the high-end models. They have three USB-C / TB expansion ports, a HDMI port, a SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3, and the ability to drive (at least) two displays. The current models use M3 Pro and M3 Max chips (replacing M1/M2 Pro and Max predecessors).

• 13" MacBook Pros that use the M1 and M2 chips are more like MacBook Airs than like high-end MacBook Pros. These 13" MacBook Pros are now discontinued.

• 14" MacBook Pros that use the 'base' M3 chip have some of the nice features of the high-end models (mini-LED backlit screen, HDMI port, SDXC card slot). But they only have two USB-C / TB ports and can drive only a single external display.

There are also 13" and 15" M2 MacBook Airs. They don't have the mini-LED backlit screens, HDMI port, or SDXC card slot, and they can only drive a single monitor. But there are a lot of people who like them, too.

Apple has come out with three "ines of Apple Silicon processors so far: M1, M2, M3.

Within a line, as you go from the 'base' chip, to the Pro chip, to the Max chip, to the Ultra chip, you tend to get more of everything:

• More CPU cores – or a higher ratio of "performance" CPU cores to power-saving "efficiency" CPU cores
• More GPU cores
• More hardware video encoding and decoding engines
• Support for more ports and more displays
• The ability to take larger amounts of RAM. (Note that RAM is soldered in on all Apple Silicon Macs. Make sure to order what you need, as you won't be able to add more later.)

WIth the Apple Silicon Macs, the GPU is part of the main processor. There is no separate graphics card, and no way to add one. (Even on the Mac Pro – those PCIe slots are strictly for other things.)

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