What Mac to go to next? - DPChallenge Forums

11/16/2015 06:13:44 PM · #1

Hey all

OK I think I'm pretty much maxing out the Macmini that I have (running Maverick), which is only 500G. But the next step up, unless it's been replaced since, is the iMac, and I really don't know if I want to go that route. Any suggestions that are a little cheaper than $2k for an iMac? Is there nothing with more space and perhaps even comparatively lower in price?

MichaelC

DJI Mini 3 Pro

11/16/2015 06:51:46 PM · #2

2 cycles ago in order to be more portable I sold my Imac & went to a Mac Air 11". I still had a 21" monitor for when I wanted to be in 'desktop mode' and it was the best setup I've ever had. Since then I went to the big MBP and I regret it in terms of weight & portability. My wife went to the Mac Air 13" and that is what I'll do next, best of both worlds.

BTW: All models mentioned above ran PS & LR flawlessly with a min 4GB ram.

11/16/2015 07:11:16 PM · #3

Well, the first question has to be whether the machine you have otherwise meets your needs (with respect to processing power and memory). If it does, then why not consider upgrading the storage in the current machine?

11/16/2015 09:37:59 PM · #4

Originally posted by kirbic:

Simply put, I can't upgrade the storage. It's maxed out as it is. I think it came with 250G originally and I got a second card. Otherwise it works fine, but a little slow once it gets full...and seeing that just asking PS CS5 to do some panos just munched up the hd got me thinking about upgrading.

Or maybe I should just get another LaCie 2TB ext drive and continue to save stuff to that once my current LaCie is full. Might be cheaper in the long run!

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/16/2015 09:54:25 PM · #5

Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by kirbic:
Well, the first question has to be whether the machine you have otherwise meets your needs (with respect to processing power and memory). If it does, then why not consider upgrading the storage in the current machine?

Simply put, I can't upgrade the storage. It's maxed out as it is. I think it came with 250G originally and I got a second card. Otherwise it works fine, but a little slow once it gets full...and seeing that just asking PS CS5 to do some panos just munched up the hd got me thinking about upgrading.

Or maybe I should just get another LaCie 2TB ext drive and continue to save stuff to that once my current LaCie is full. Might be cheaper in the long run!

You should have nothing on the internal drive except the OS and your applications. Put all your data on the external drive(s), and then back that up, either to a second drive or to CD/DVD media. If your OS is still working for you then there's no need to "upgrade" just to have a bigger internal hard drive. Storage is cheap -- processors and software are expensive ...

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/16/2015 10:14:59 PM · #6

Just add more storage to match your Mini and you're good to go. They also have models that include optical drives and card readers.

11/16/2015 10:20:07 PM · #7

Originally posted by GeneralE:

^^That.
There also should be absolutely no reason why the internal drive can't be swapped out for a larger one. It might even be possible to install a second drive, leaving the first in place.
One major way to increase performance of any system is to move to an SSD. This SSD is what I'm using as a data drive. The price may seem steep compared to a rotating drive of that capacity, but given that the read and write throughput is approximately 4x greater, latency is lower and IO per second is much higher, and you have the prescription for seriously increased performance. I just upgraded my wife's laptop from a rotating drive to an SSD, and the difference is night and day.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/16/2015 10:49:39 PM · #8

Originally posted by kirbic:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
You should have nothing on the internal drive except the OS and your applications. Put all your data on the external drive(s), and then back that up, either to a second drive or to CD/DVD media. If your OS is still working for you then there's no need to "upgrade" just to have a bigger internal hard drive. Storage is cheap -- processors and software are expensive ...

^^That.
There also should be absolutely no reason why the internal drive can't be swapped out for a larger one. It might even be possible to install a second drive, leaving the first in place.

The Mac Mini isn't like a real desktop when it comes to messing with the internal components. I'd just get more external drives and move all data files there and leave the basic unit alone -- I'm a fan of the "if it works don't "fix" it" school of hardware management.

11/16/2015 10:57:36 PM · #9

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Seems like it depends on what generation Susan has... if she has the 2011 version, then she can probably add a second hard drive with little problem, and perhaps upgrade the RAM as well if she feels it is economical to do so. On the other hand if she has the 2014 model, then RAM upgrades are outright impossible (RAM is soldered to the motherboard). A hard drive upgrade *may* be possible, but I'd want to do my research before embarking on the project.

ETA:
External storage is *definitely* the simpler route here, and there is the advantage of portability; when she upgrades the 'pooter, just unplug, plug it in the new one, and away she goes. Downside is, as with all rotating storage, it will be slow as molasses in January compared to solid state.

Message edited by author 2015-11-16 23:00:10.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/16/2015 11:04:00 PM · #10

Originally posted by kirbic:

External storage is *definitely* the simpler route here, and there is the advantage of portability; when she upgrades the 'pooter, just unplug, plug it in the new one, and away she goes. Downside is, as with all rotating storage, it will be slow as molasses in January compared to solid state.

If data storage speed is really an issue (probably only relevant with editing video) then why not just get an external SSD?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/17/2015 01:19:29 PM · #11

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by kirbic:
External storage is *definitely* the simpler route here, and there is the advantage of portability; when she upgrades the 'pooter, just unplug, plug it in the new one, and away she goes. Downside is, as with all rotating storage, it will be slow as molasses in January compared to solid state.

If data storage speed is really an issue (probably only relevant with editing video) then why not just get an external SSD?

An external SSD running on the USB 3.0 interface would only have transfer rates of about 60 megabytes per second, however she may have an alternative. With the Mac it's possible to use the Thunderbolt port; external SSDs with Thunderbolt interconnections are available. For reference, most SSDs will transfer data at around 500 megabytes/s, as compared to about 125MB/s for a rotating drive. A fast interface is an absolute requirement to get the most from SSDs. As an aside, on really fast desktop systems, even the SATA 3 interface is not fast enough, and high-performance SSDs use NVMe or M.2 which both use the PCI Express bus, and can reach speeds of 1.5 to 2 GB/s

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

11/17/2015 01:21:22 PM · #12

Pretty sure Susan has an older Mini without Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, so an external SSD would be pointless.

11/17/2015 01:27:46 PM · #13

Originally posted by scalvert:

Pretty sure Susan has an older Mini without Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, so an external SSD would be pointless.

Ah.
But that does raise the possibility of an internal upgrade, which if I understand correctly is *much* easier on the earlier Mac Minis. Shannon, what is your view of the economics of doing that kind of upgrade vs. replacement?

11/17/2015 07:33:22 PM · #14

Originally posted by kirbic:

Originally posted by scalvert:
Pretty sure Susan has an older Mini without Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, so an external SSD would be pointless.

Ah.
But that does raise the possibility of an internal upgrade, which if I understand correctly is *much* easier on the earlier Mac Minis. Shannon, what is your view of the economics of doing that kind of upgrade vs. replacement?

It is an older macMini, I am pretty sure I consulted with Shannon on upgrading it yonks ago (at least 3 yrs now). I bought it about 2009/2010 and was thrilled to get it for $500, guy was selling it cause he got an iMac :-)

Think it's best if I just stick with buying and maxing out 2TB external hds for now, surely there's a 5TB by now?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/17/2015 08:07:58 PM · #15

I think 3TB is the largest "consumer-grade" drive in common circulation, but remember that the bigger the drive the more there is to back up, or the more you lose all at once with a drive failure. Once a drive gets huge it's also harder to find stuff.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/17/2015 10:21:33 PM · #16

Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by kirbic:

Originally posted by scalvert:
Pretty sure Susan has an older Mini without Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, so an external SSD would be pointless.

Ah.
But that does raise the possibility of an internal upgrade, which if I understand correctly is *much* easier on the earlier Mac Minis. Shannon, what is your view of the economics of doing that kind of upgrade vs. replacement?

It is an older macMini, I am pretty sure I consulted with Shannon on upgrading it yonks ago (at least 3 yrs now). I bought it about 2009/2010 and was thrilled to get it for $500, guy was selling it cause he got an iMac :-)

Think it's best if I just stick with buying and maxing out 2TB external hds for now, surely there's a 5TB by now?

At least for bare drives, you can get 6TB drives for around $200. I've bought a few.

4 TB drives are perhaps the most common still and have come down in price.

Backblaze, a backup company with lots of drives, did failure rate analysis for the drives they have and came up with the most reliable being the Hitachi's.

BTW if you don't have fast USB 3.0, or firewire port, perhaps a network drive might give you storage and the best speeds. Of course, it depends on the external drive/NAS setup.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/18/2015 08:38:02 AM · #17

I don't know if this will help, but Tanga's Mac "blowout" sale is at this link

Tiny

Apple iPad mini 4

11/18/2015 12:22:37 PM · #18

From Above "You should have nothing on the internal drive except the OS and your applications."

Is this a fact for all folks, as I just have everything all on the hard drive on a iMac ?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/18/2015 12:43:04 PM · #19

Originally posted by Tiny:

From Above "You should have nothing on the internal drive except the OS and your applications."

Is this a fact for all folks, as I just have everything all on the hard drive on a iMac ?

You will get better performance if your data and applications are on separate drives, as the drive doesn't have to go seeking data in different places.

Drives will also work faster if "defragmented" so that there is more contiguous open space, but the defragmenting process has some risks, and so should only be done on a disk which has been completely backed-up. It also usually requires about 20% free space on the disk, so don't try it on one which is nearly full.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/18/2015 01:18:13 PM · #20

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by Tiny:
From Above "You should have nothing on the internal drive except the OS and your applications."

Is this a fact for all folks, as I just have everything all on the hard drive on a iMac ?

You will get better performance if your data and applications are on separate drives, as the drive doesn't have to go seeking data in different places.

Drives will also work faster if "defragmented" so that there is more contiguous open space, but the defragmenting process has some risks, and so should only be done on a disk which has been completely backed-up. It also usually requires about 20% free space on the disk, so don't try it on one which is nearly full.

Note that this doesn't apply to SSDs.

Though there's another reason not to keep data and OS together. If your OS drive gets hosed, or needs to be reformatted and rewritten, then your data is still safe.

Tiny

Apple iPad mini 4

11/18/2015 05:33:13 PM · #21

OK thanks.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

11/18/2015 06:39:39 PM · #22

I'm running a late 2012 Mac Mini, and so far haven't had any problems. I keep photos and videos on an external HD.
There are big differences in how fast different ext hard drives read & write, so be aware of that when you are shopping.
I'm using a WD Elements 4tb now, and it's working great so far.

It may help a lot to upgrade to one of the newer OS's. Mine is running Yosemite, downloaded free from Apple, and works great with no problems so far. There is a newer "El Capitan" OS X, but I haven't moved to that yet because I'm very happy with the current OS in my mini.

Just before you make any changes to your Mac, you should find "Disc Utility" in Apps/ Utilities, and select your Mac HD, then select "Repair Disc Permissions". It will do something similar to the "defragment" that the others are talking about, with no risk to any files or programs. Just the permissions repair may help.

There is one other thing to try, and that is to do a full shutdown once in a while instead of just putting the machine to sleep. That will help clear things that may be slowing the computer down.

If you open Apps, Utilities, / Activity Monitor, you can see in real time what's going on with the system and what's using RAM and other resources of the system.

Wishing you ta happy ending with any changes you make.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/18/2015 09:09:04 PM · #23

Originally posted by kirbic:

I've done internal upgrades on about six Mac Minis, so it's doable, but certainly not fun. The simplest solution would be the NewerTech MiniStack I noted earlier (just make sure it matches the Mini model).