Another one asking for new MP spec advice

[usernam3]

Its been a lifetime time since I bought a Mac tower... a Quadra 840av set me back £4k on launch. You could buy a flat in London for £50k back in 1993, and I did. A few years later I couldn't wait to heave the ugly beige b-stard into a skip and since '98 high-spec laptops have suited my needs in terms of power and portability.

Until Now! Jeremy Clarkson voice

So I'm here to garner suggestions and redeem my ignorance with regards to a Mac Pro (late 2013) for Photoshop and Illustrator work, leaning heavily on filters plus complex layer and masking arrangements, particular in the A.I. which loves to crash when I push it - and I often do. And thats it; no gaming, no movies, but maybe a bit of 3D one day...

Main Q... What role is the Graphics Card playing, and which is best for me?

I'd love a Sharp 4k, but I don't need it and will stick with my thunderbolt for now and go for a new Mac screen once they get their fingers out of their sorry ass in the display department.

Another Q... Recommendations on Processor? I've read threads advocating speed over number of cores for these Adobe programmes, and my current thoughts are divided between 4 and 6 core (plus max out RAM via 3rd party).

If it does all I want, I'm able to upgrade to a new model in 2-3 years if they provide significant future improvements.

Love ya all,

 

[amack]

I'm in the same boat, with regards to usage. Mostly illustrator but flicking into pshop for additions. It's Ram you need to spend the money on really. Pshop is the only one of those two optimised for 64 bit (as far as I know) from the CC suite. Illustrator might use graphics card power for some filters but I'm not sure on that.

When I can afford it, I'll be getting a 4 core upgraded to the hex core and the buying more ram from crucial.

Annoying thing about the ram is to get beyond the 16gb configuration you have to replace your existing ram with 8gb sticks. No mix and matching ie you can't have 3 sticks of 4gb with an 8gb.

Looking at the very recent geekbench results the imac with the i7 is probably a better option for illustrators at the moment especially if like me you're still using a macpro 1.1 with a 2006 Cinema Display.

 

[wildmac]

Ok, lets look at it this way, depending on your budget. For AI first and PS second, your order of priorities should be:

1) 4-core

2) At least 32GB ram (you may or may not want to do this 3rd party)

3) D500 cards for better graphics

4) 512 SSD

6) 6-core

And that should be it. Buy as much of the above as you can afford, in order.