First Mac Purchase

[deliawl]

I am a web and graphic designer. I started out on a MAC and have used them in graphic design positions. I have always bought PCs- due to price. Now I need to buy another computer and think I will go the MAC route this time.

So I know I need a decent graphics card and plenty of RAM/whatever! I don't need much video capability though. I don't need a touchscreen.

I used to buy something that's okay for gaming as that seemed to be the best option in PCS years ago (we will not discuss how old my PC is except to say photoshop will no longer run on it due to the graphics card.) Storage capacity is no issue for me as I used cloud apps for most files.

But I do want this computer (it could be my last due to my age!!) to be as prepped for the future as possible.

So what say you? Will I be okay on a 13 inch MacBook or should I go bigger? I use an external monitor so screen size is not crucial.

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you want a desktop or a laptop?

For a laptop, I'd suggest the base model (16/512) 2021 MacBook Pro 14". Nice display with sufficient power "inside".

For a desktop (assuming you have a display, keyboard and mouse already):
I'd take a good look at the just-introduced "Mac Studio" (looks like a taller Mac Mini). Again, the base configuration (32/512) would be fine. If you need more storage, just add an external SSD. Your display and peripherals should plug right in.

 

[deliawl]

I was leaning to the 14 inch by my research. I like the portability of a laptop though I don't need it as much as I used when my business was larger. Thanks for the response!

 

[Technerd108]

You have a couple options. Get a new Mac Studio Desktop or MBP 14" or 16". Considering you don't need the portability then the Mac Studio would be way more powerful at the same cost as the base model MBP 14"! You could get the new Mac Studio base model with M1 Max and 32gb ram for the same cost as the base model 14" but the Studio is way more powerful and has more RAM. It would last you as long as possible considering the cost and you could use the monitor and other items in your setup you already have. You would lose portability but considering you don't use the Laptop screen on the 14" which is really nice it seems a bit of a waste. You could always get a MB air later down the road on sale if you need a portable machine??

 

[fishingfromakay]

Hello, I have a M1 13" MBP it replaced my 2012 MBP. Power is great, battery life is great, what I miss with the old one is that I had more room for my hands in front of the keyboard. Wish I had gotten the larger new MBP only for this reason. If you are near an Apple store go take a look at them. Best of luck. P.S. maybe the 14" is larger than what I have for the hands.

 

[calliex]

Hello, I have a M1 13" MBP it replaced my 2012 MBP. Power is great, battery life is great, what I miss with the old one is that I had more room for my hands in front of the keyboard. Wish I had gotten the larger new MBP only for this reason. If you are near an Apple store go take a look at them. Best of luck. P.S. maybe the 14" is larger than what I have for the hands.

I ageee. I replaced my 2012 MBP 15 retina with 16 M1 and am very satisfied.

 

[deliawl]

You have a couple options. Get a new Mac Studio Desktop or MBP 14" or 16". Considering you don't need the portability then the Mac Studio would be way more powerful at the same cost as the base model MBP 14"! You could get the new Mac Studio base model with M1 Max and 32gb ram for the same cost as the base model 14" but the Studio is way more powerful and has more RAM. It would last you as long as possible considering the cost and you could use the monitor and other items in your setup you already have. You would lose portability but considering you don't use the Laptop screen on the 14" which is really nice it seems a bit of a waste. You could always get a MB air later down the road on sale if you need a portable machine??

I'm 70 and in general quite poor. I've gotten a big job that will pay for this and vocational rehab may also help finance it. Trying to decide what's best with limited funds has always been an issue for me. I would prefer a desktop for the increased abilities but lugging around my 17" laptop is not what I want to be doing anymore (neuromuscular problems). I haven't had a desktop in years and that makes me feel chained (stupidly because of my physical issues, I'm essentially chained - for real!) I use my ipad most of the time when not in the office and may upgrade that now as well. I actually think this could be my last big computer purchase. It's hard to predict the future at my age!

 

[deliawl]

By the way I hate typing on my toshiba 17" laptop. I hate the touch pad. I hate working on the apple products just as much if not more (I do have a older apple laptop). I use an ergonomic keyboard and have a 22 inch monitor. But if I have to go portable, I have to have just as much power to attend to my customer's needs on the go. Since my present laptop's graphic card is now forbidden by Photoshop, it's no longer appropriate to use on the go. Hmm, just described the whole thought process. Still think a laptop is best right now. I wish I could get both!

 

[pmiles]

By the way I hate typing on my toshiba 17" laptop. I hate the touch pad. I hate working on the apple products just as much if not more (I do have a older apple laptop). I use an ergonomic keyboard and have a 22 inch monitor. But if I have to go portable, I have to have just as much power to attend to my customer's needs on the go. Since my present laptop's graphic card is now forbidden by Photoshop, it's no longer appropriate to use on the go. Hmm, just described the whole thought process. Still think a laptop is best right now. I wish I could get both!

Any laptop can be connected to a dock and essential turn it into a desktop (i.e. external keyboard, mouse, monitor, et al). So in essence, a laptop can be both, but a desktop cannot.

Your dislike of the touchpad does not go away with a Mac that has a touchpad. Just saying.

Have you been using the Adobe cloud subscription service or running an older version of their products that you purchased prior to the advent of the cloud? Your comments suggest the possibility that you are using the older standalone CS suite of products. I mention this as the switch from standalone to subscription comes with a hefty price tag... both in software and hardware. The subscription service forces you to keep your machine up to date hardware wise... in other words, an older computer would have probably not have been able to keep pace for very long at all. You also have to consider the cost of switching to Mac based software. There may not be a Mac version of your PC software, in which case you'd have to get an equivalent substitute. Some files may not translate 1:1 (i.e. graphics files made in a non-adobe product may load in adobe, but lose are formatting et al and vice-versa).

To be quite honest, since you have been using a PC for quite some time, you'd probably be better off getting another PC. Price wise, you will spend far more for a Mac than you will for a decently spec'd out PC. Given your age, I would suspect that your vision is another factor to take into consideration. I for one can't work on a small display screen anymore. The eyes aren't what they used to be. Mac displays are typically all retina displays. Gorgeous yes, but harder on the eyes because everything is so small (text specifically). I mention this specifically for laptops since they are small form factor by design. I'm used to 27" or larger displays. Screen real estate is essential to graphics work, so the larger the display the better... especially if one's eyesight isn't peachy.

Another thing to consider is second-hand or refurbished. Apple is still pretty expensive in that regard, but on the PC side it can make your purchase even less expensive. If your intention is to use some of your existing hardware with the new Mac, consider the very real possibility that it will not be 100% compatible (connectors/adapters). A lot of folks literally had to upgrade their peripherals when switching to the new ARM Macs from the old INTEL Macs.

Lots to consider when switching platforms. I know when I switched years ago, it was a major financial investment in that all my software and hardware had to be replaced at the time. Then I had to learn the Mac way of things on top of that. At work I was still 100% PC based, so the INTEL Macs made it possible for me to do both at home. The new Macs don't have that sort of flexibility anymore, so if you have any PC software that you must use, you will likely not be able to run it on the ARM Macs. I wouldn't have switched to the Mac if it didn't have PC compatibility back then. So I'd be less inclined to switch today.

Lots to consider.

 

[Alameda]

By the way I hate typing on my toshiba 17" laptop. I hate the touch pad. I hate working on the apple products just as much if not more (I do have a older apple laptop). I use an ergonomic keyboard and have a 22 inch monitor. But if I have to go portable, I have to have just as much power to attend to my customer's needs on the go. Since my present laptop's graphic card is now forbidden by Photoshop, it's no longer appropriate to use on the go. Hmm, just described the whole thought process. Still think a laptop is best right now. I wish I could get both!

You have to get what’s right for you, not what we think.

I have the 14” MacBook Pro and I love it. I think the trackpad is incredible; far better than on any Windows machine I’ve used.

But, here’s the thing with the 14”: The screen is gorgeous, gorgeous beautiful, but the machine is somewhat heavy. You might want to sacrifice the screen quality and a little performance for the far lighter weight of the much less expensive MacBook Air.

I think Costco often has very good deals, and check your credit cards for extended warranty features. One of my Chase cards gives one added year to the manufacturer’s warranty, so I used that card to purchase.

 

[deliawl]

Any laptop can be connected to a dock and essential turn it into a desktop (i.e. external keyboard, mouse, monitor, et al). So in essence, a laptop can be both, but a desktop cannot.

Your dislike of the touchpad does not go away with a Mac that has a touchpad. Just saying.

Have you been using the Adobe cloud subscription service or running an older version of their products that you purchased prior to the advent of the cloud? Your comments suggest the possibility that you are using the older standalone CS suite of products. I mention this as the switch from standalone to subscription comes with a hefty price tag... both in software and hardware. The subscription service forces you to keep your machine up to date hardware wise... in other words, an older computer would have probably not have been able to keep pace for very long at all. You also have to consider the cost of switching to Mac based software. There may not be a Mac version of your PC software, in which case you'd have to get an equivalent substitute. Some files may not translate 1:1 (i.e. graphics files made in a non-adobe product may load in adobe, but lose are formatting et al and vice-versa).

To be quite honest, since you have been using a PC for quite some time, you'd probably be better off getting another PC. Price wise, you will spend far more for a Mac than you will for a decently spec'd out PC. Given your age, I would suspect that your vision is another factor to take into consideration. I for one can't work on a small display screen anymore. The eyes aren't what they used to be. Mac displays are typically all retina displays. Gorgeous yes, but harder on the eyes because everything is so small (text specifically). I mention this specifically for laptops since they are small form factor by design. I'm used to 27" or larger displays. Screen real estate is essential to graphics work, so the larger the display the better... especially if one's eyesight isn't peachy.

Another thing to consider is second-hand or refurbished. Apple is still pretty expensive in that regard, but on the PC side it can make your purchase even less expensive. If your intention is to use some of your existing hardware with the new Mac, consider the very real possibility that it will not be 100% compatible (connectors/adapters). A lot of folks literally had to upgrade their peripherals when switching to the new ARM Macs from the old INTEL Macs.

Lots to consider when switching platforms. I know when I switched years ago, it was a major financial investment in that all my software and hardware had to be replaced at the time. Then I had to learn the Mac way of things on top of that. At work I was still 100% PC based, so the INTEL Macs made it possible for me to do both at home. The new Macs don't have that sort of flexibility anymore, so if you have any PC software that you must use, you will likely not be able to run it on the ARM Macs. I wouldn't have switched to the Mac if it didn't have PC compatibility back then. So I'd be less inclined to switch today.

Lots to consider.

yeah cloud subscription.Which will be easy to switch to mac but auto updates created this problem with the present laptop. Though I have hinkiness on the PC now and have had for a while even with a new hard drive. It's just time to switch. I usually replace pcs every 3 years and I don't think I want to figure out how old this one is - over 6 for sure.

 

[Fravin]

Hello @deliawl it's nice to know you are coming back home!

Macs are the sweet spot for graphic designers. Or should I say the sweet home? ???

I'm a Graphic Designer too. And I can share some of the knowledge that I got during all those years using Windows and Mac computers.

Firstly, you must understand that what works on Windows machines does not apply on Macs. RAM memory, for instance. We all know that Windows will work better with the maximum amount of ram you be able to trow on it. But it's not true in Macs. Specially with the new M1 Macs. It's another thing, a different technology. M1 Macs runs great with 8Gb. I can open 3 or 4 intricate work-arts in illustrator, while Photoshop is handling a big PSD file in the background, Music is playing some songs and Indesign is resting there waiting for. That's with "only" 8Gb of RAM.

I usually work with huge pictures in Capture One and jump to Photoshop in background to check how's the output. So, don't waste your money in too much RAM. Probably you won't need it.

I'm running a MacMini with Apple's M1 with 8Gb. It's plenty snappy and handles all my workload with no issues.

Another thing to consider is CPU power. As you said, we was thought to buy gaming PCs to work with Graphic Design, due the power built into it. BUT, you will run MacOS, not Windows. So, forget all that. You just need a Mac with M1. If you can afford for a powerful M1 Max, ok go for it. But if your budget is limited to M1 machines, I can guarantee you won't be fooled.

A great laptop to buy nowadays is MacBook Air. M1 equipped, beautiful screen and enough power to handle your work. You can hook it to an external display if you want to. It's a terrific piece of hardware. Just get the 8 CPU/8GPU option.

Or go with a M1 Mac Mini and use a good display, as I do.

In booth cases I would suggest the small SSD capacity. 256 or 512. And get yourself an external SSD from Samsung. It's cheap and can handle a lot of files for less money. Check the Samsung T5 one.

And, of course, trackpad. I don't know why windows PCs are stuck with poor trackpads. The fact is Apple's ones are far away in construction, functionality and reliability. Desktop or laptop, no matter, just trust on Apple hardware.

Welcome back!

 

[kcat74]

Hi @deliawl !

Im a Textile designer mainly using the Adobe suite probably with similar needs to you. I currently have a 2019 MBP that only has 16GB ram and 256 SSD and while its mostly ok, Ive had major regret about not getting more RAM and more HD capacity as Im constantly running out of space and filling up scratch disks.

For me, the laptop purchase was meant to only be an extra portable option as I've been using an imac 27" which now needs replacing, so once I have my new desktop it wont be an issue.
But its a good learning as Im going into my new mac purchase!

I'm going for a Mac studio,

• Apple M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine
• 64GB unified memory
• 1TB of SSD storage

Although still tossing up whether I need the 32-core. You could probably go for 32GB ram and it would be fine also if you wanted to save money.

I found this article which has helped me on the specs..
https://petapixel.com/2022/03/09/why-the-base-model-mac-studio-is-a-great-option-for-photographers/

 

[MacCheetah3]

I am a web and graphic designer.

Considering the Web as a target, one of the following should suffice:

MacBook Air

• Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
• 16GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• Retina display with True Tone
• Backlit Magic Keyboard
• Touch ID
• Force Touch trackpad

$1,449

A customized to order (CTO) config of the upper tier model:

Buy MacBook Air

Trade in your eligible Mac for credit toward a new 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Air laptop. Select a model or customize your own. Buy now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

or

Mac mini

• Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
• 16GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage

$1,099

CTO of the higher end M1 model:

Buy Mac mini

Get a new Mac mini with M2 chip from only $49.91 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

Memory/RAM

How much RAM does Photoshop need?​

The exact amount you need will depend on exactly what you are doing, but based on your document size we recommend a minimum of 16GB of RAM for 500MB documents or smaller, 32GB for 500MB-1GB, and 64GB+ for even larger documents.

Note that this is for the document size once opened (as found in the "Document Sizes" section of the Info Panel or status bar), not the file size of the file itself. Photoshop will often list two sizes such as 20.3M/60.2M. The left number is the flat file size (if you were to export without compression), while the right number is the actual size of the Photoshop document with all the layers. The right number which includes all the layers is typically the most relevant when deciding how much RAM your system needs.

Hardware Recommendations

Our workstations for Adobe Photoshop are tested and optimized to give you the best performance and reliability. View our hardware recommendations.

www.pugetsystems.com

The following are benchmarks using PugetBench, which keeps the testing criteria (fairly) equal across systems. I filtered the results to include only the most recent OS and PS versions.

PugetBench List

Build your own computer, workstation, mini pc, or server at Puget Custom Computers.

www.pugetsystems.com

In this list, 8-core CPU M1 Pro paired with 32 GB of RAM outscore 10-core CPU M1 Pro with 16 GB of RAM (i.e., CPU/GPU are left underutilized without enough working memory — somewhat of an obvious point, but verification is helpful).

PugetBench Results

Build your own computer, workstation, mini pc, or server at Puget Custom Computers.

www.pugetsystems.com

This is an M1 Max with 64GB of RAM.

Beyond RAM limitations, the following demonstrates the overall advantages of the higher tier Macs using a high-demand, large scale workload:

Photoshop Performance tested on Apple 16" MacBook Pro M1 MAX vs 16" Intel vs 13" macbookPro M1

Photoshop, Lightroom Performance tested on Apple 16" MacBook Pro M1 MAX vs 16" Intel vs 13" macbookPro M1

photoshopcafe.com

Even without the comparison (i.e., this Mac will be better than this other), the above demonstrates how well the M1 handles extreme loads, including the ‘standard’/consumer model. For example, if you’re satisfied with the 13-inch MacBook speed demoed in the video, then it’s fair to conclude either of the two systems I mentioned at the beginning should indeed appease your needs. Of course, vice versa.

If 16GB doesn’t seem like it could be enough or you want to over spec a little, I do recommend considering the base model Mac Studio:

Mac Studio

• Apple M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 32GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• Front: Two USB-C ports, one SDXC card slot
• Back: Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one 10Gb Ethernet port, one 3.5 mm headphone jack

$1,999

Buy Mac Studio

Get a new Mac Studio with M2 Max or M2 Ultra from only $166.58 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

or

14‑inch MacBook Pro

• Apple M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 32GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port
• Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

$2,699

CTO of the base model:

Buy MacBook Pro

Get a new MacBook Pro from only $133.25 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

Storage

Recommendations on storage needs are quite difficult.

I do agree with the option:

And get yourself an external SSD from Samsung. It's cheap and can handle a lot of files for less money. Check the Samsung T5 one.

Although, only for work files, media library.

For your personal photos, music, documents, etc I recommend storing them in the default folders for your user on the Mac itself. Redirecting default folders/libraries to external/other drives/partitions is not worth the hassles (initial and potential). So, keep that in mind when selecting an internal SSD capacity.


One more tip (assuming your current keyboard is Windows-centric):

How to Use a Windows PC Keyboard on Mac by Remapping Command & Option Keys

Macs can use nearly all keyboards built for Windows PC, whether they are USB or Bluetooth, but you may notice that the layout of some of the modifier keys are different on a Mac keyboard from the l…

osxdaily.com

 

[Technerd108]

Considering everything that you have said it seems a laptop is certainly something that you need. I think the base model 14” would be enough considering what you do and the cost would be reasonable considering the other options. Maybe get a 1 TB drive? I would highly advise against an MB Air. It might work fine now but in a year or two it is going to have some limitations. The 14" will have enough ram and processing power for several years and when you use it on the go the screen and speakers will be much better on your eyes than the Air. You can easily without a dongle plug any HDMI cord for your external monitor. I don't think you will need the 32gb ram option and would recommend a larger SSD instead as it is cheaper.

Another idea is get the base model studio and a cheap windows laptop like a Surface Laptop 4 base model with AMD processor. I got one for just over $600 new on Ebay. You could upgrade the SSD yourself to a larger size later if need be. It is very lightweight and has enough processing power and ram for most tasks. Then your total cost would be around $2600 or so plus tax and you would have the fastest setup for work and a very nice and very portable 13.5" laptop.

 

[Fravin]

Although, only for work files, media library.

Sure!

Do people still try to move out their user folder?

I thought it wouldn’t be possible since Catalina.

Very nice post. ?