Buying advice...

[camner]

I have a 2020 27" 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i7 iMac with 64GB/1TB. It's been a nice machine for four years. I do mostly photo editing in Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI and some video editing in Topaz Video AI. In the last year I have found that with more AI features coming to all these apps, editing speed has slow down and I think it's time to move on, particularly since I am working on a large project (personal) that has me spending more time than usual on photo editing.

My first was thinking of waiting until the M4 studio came out, looking at a M4 Max version, but since I've heard that the studio may not come out until mid 2025 or later, I'm thinking I might want to do some thing earlier.

I have the opportunity to purchase a used M1 Ultra (20CPU/48GPU) with 128GB RAM/2TB SSD for $2500. Or, I could purchase a M4 Pro Mini, but by the time I get more RAM (48GB) and at least a 1TB SSD, I'm pushing $2200, which isn't that far from the M1 Ultra. I do have an M3 Macbook Air (16GB/512GB), but the GPU in the iMac isn't that much slower than that, so that really isn't a good interim machine.

Thoughts about how to proceed?

 

[Chuckeee]

Wait for the M4 Studio and get the most basic simplest M4max Studio with no Apple add ons

 

[Andrey84]

I have a 2020 27" 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i7 iMac with 64GB/1TB. It's been a nice machine for four years. I do mostly photo editing in Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI and some video editing in Topaz Video AI. In the last year I have found that with more AI features coming to all these apps, editing speed has slow down and I think it's time to move on, particularly since I am working on a large project (personal) that has me spending more time than usual on photo editing.

My first was thinking of waiting until the M4 studio came out, looking at a M4 Max version, but since I've heard that the studio may not come out until mid 2025 or later, I'm thinking I might want to do some thing earlier.

I have the opportunity to purchase a used M1 Ultra (20CPU/48GPU) with 128GB RAM/2TB SSD for $2500. Or, I could purchase a M4 Pro Mini, but by the time I get more RAM (48GB) and at least a 1TB SSD, I'm pushing $2200, which isn't that far from the M1 Ultra. I do have an M3 Macbook Air (16GB/512GB), but the GPU in the iMac isn't that much slower than that, so that really isn't a good interim machine.

Thoughts about how to proceed?

Can you get over the discomfort of photo editing being a little slower, or do you feel that it's really irritating and it significantly slows down your work?

As you have a high spec spec 2020 iMac, spending $2,500 on an M1 Mac Studio doesn't seem like a good economic decision to me.

In my experience, the real-life CPU performance difference calculated in seconds saved is around 1/3 of the what benchmarks are showing. There is a minimal single-core difference between your CPU and the M1 Ultra. I also don't think Adobe optimises for multi-core as well as synthetic tests do.

This difference is not worth $2,500 in my opinion. I'd wait and get the M4 Max Mac Studio or M1 Ultra for $1,800 or less.

Do you also have to buy a high-quality 5K monitor to replace the iMac's display?

 

[camner]

Can you get over the discomfort of photo editing being a little slower, or do you feel that it's really irritating and it significantly slows down your work?

It’s the use of generative remove and other AI stuff that I find irritatingly slow and that feels as if it is slowing down my work. The non AI stuff is fine, even if no longer as upper end as the 27” iMac was when new.

As you have a high spec 2020 iMac, spending $2,500 on an M1 Mac Studio doesn't seem like a good economic decision to me.

In my experience, the real-life CPU performance difference calculated in seconds saved is around 1/3 of the what benchmarks are showing. There is a minimal single-core difference between your CPU and the M1 Ultra. I also don't think Adobe optimises for multi-core as well as synthetic tests do.

This difference is not worth $2,500 in my opinion. I'd wait and get the M4 Max Mac Studio or M1 Ultra for $1,800 or less.

At $1,800 or less would you consider it worth while to go with the M1 rather than waiting for M4 Max Mac Studio whenever it comes out in 2025?

Do you also have to buy a high-quality 5K monitor to replace the iMac's display?

Yes, but I figure that this is in my future no matter what. My next machine, whenever purchased, isn’t likely to be an all-in-one like the iMac.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[camner]

Wait for the M4 Studio and get the most basic simplest M4max Studio with no Apple add ons

Why the most basic simplest? Isn’t more RAM going to be helpful?

 

[Andrey84]

At $1,800 or less would you consider it worth while to go with the M1 rather than waiting for M4 Max Mac Studio whenever it comes out in 2025?

Yes.
Can you to test if these AI features actually run faster on an M machine?
Are they faster on your M3 MBA? If yes, by how much?

 

[camner]

Can you to test if these AI features actually run faster on an M machine?
Are they faster on your M3 MBA? If yes, by how much?

I haven’t tried to test yet, but it’s a good idea to try. I just have to set up the M3 MBA with the software I use on the 27” iMac.