Buying M1 Mac for next 2-3 year

[Jaspersy]

Hi everyone!

So, I am planning to buy M1 iMac 24 with 1 TB SSD and 16 GB RAM for 2-3 years. My usage -
To learn graphic design, UX-UI design, web development, an some video editing.

So, do you think it will be able to handle these for the next 2-3 years? Please guide.

Thanks in advance

 

[fuchsdh]

Absolutely. It should have a useful life longer than that, certainly, but you'll definitely be fine with that timeframe.

 

[Gudi]

So, I am planning to buy M1 iMac 24 with 1 TB SSD and 16 GB RAM for 2-3 years. My usage -
To learn graphic design, UX-UI design, web development, an some video editing.

Waste of money. Cut it to down to 8GB/512GB. You don't need that much and you won't get your money for upgrades back on resale. If you're brave enough, try yourself to buy a used iMac with the specs you want.

 

[Allyance]

Got my iMac little of a year ago. 16GB/512GB. Figured I could always use a little extra RAM. If I need extra storage I can alway use an outboard SSD. For graphic design and video editing the extra RAM is not a waste of money. I was in the computer business and CAD design for 25 years. I always went for as much RAM as I could afford. I worked on military hospital floor plans on AutoCAD which was very demanding. On PC's RAM was easy to upgrade because it was always in slots on the motherboard. With the iMac it is very difficult to get at the mother board and RAM is soldered on, so opt on the side of getting more than what you think you need, you will be glad.

 

[Gudi]

...so opt on the side of getting more than what you think you need, you will be glad.

No you won't. Do the opposite! Buy as little upgrades as possible, you won't regret it. The M1 is way too fast to be concerned about anything.

 

[GumaRodak]

i bought m1 max 16" few days ago..was discounted 400EUR...i hope it will last 5years or so..

 

[doscore]

my 2009 27' lasted me ten+ years with a Nvidia k3100 and ive just got a new m1 iMac with the same plan so I think you will be fine. although I like big sure more than Mac OS 12

 

[tmoerel]

Waste of money. Cut it to down to 8GB/512GB. You don't need that much and you won't get your money for upgrades back on resale. If you're brave enough, try yourself to buy a used iMac with the specs you want.

Bad advice if you want to do video editing! With 8Gb of RAM you will hit the swap files too often as video editing thrives on RAM. Also 512Gb is very very little if you are storing video files!

 

[Gudi]

Bad advice if you want to do video editing! With 8Gb of RAM you will hit the swap files too often as video editing thrives on RAM. Also 512Gb is very very little if you are storing video files!

256GB is very little, which is why I recommended 512GB. More than enough for "... and some video editing."

 

[tmoerel]

256GB is very little, which is why I recommended 512GB. More than enough for "... and some video editing."

All depends on the codec and resolution you are using. My camera does some 40mb/s in 4k ProRes 422.

 

[Gudi]

All depends on the codec and resolution you are using. My camera does some 40mb/s in 4k ProRes 422.

And if you would edit multiple streams of 8K HDR, you'd need a Mac Studio. But here the primary use case is graphic design, UX-UI design and web development for less than the next three years. Yes, every M1 Mac is capable of doing that blazingly fast and the occasional 4K video editing reasonable quickly as well.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It is likely the M1 iMac will get an upgrade early in the next year, so you may want to wait it you are planning on keeping the machine long term and can wait a few months.

 

[wonderings]

computers do not go obsolete in a couple of years. I work in print and design and my main workhorse is still a 2014 5K iMac that was maxed out on purchase. My other computer is an MacBook Pro M1 Max. Faster for sure, but only noticeable in some places where processing is key. I would also stick with at least 16 gigs of RAM, 8 should not even be an option anymore. You can only configure your computer once thanks to Apple's anti consumer attitude so get something that will let you really get your money out of it over the years.

 

[Jaspersy]

Thanks everyone for responding to my query. Thanks for your time.