Apple Mac requirements for Q2 (M)

[David_miller70]

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Hi, I‘m contemplating adding a Q2M to my armoury, or maybe swapping my Fuji x100v for a colour Q2, struggling to decide.

One concern i have is how I’d process the files in LR and store them. I currently use a Mac Mini from about four years ago. I believe it has 8 GB RAM and a 1 TB hard drive but it takes ages to start up and chugs away slowly when using Lightroom. Whilst I accept I need to “clean it up” and check for virus I’m really not sure it will up to the massive files of the Q2.

So what do you peeps use from Apple and how does it cope?

Many thanks,

David

[SAronian]

I consider my MacBook Pro from 2019 to be old in computer years but it works well for all kinds of graphic and video applications. RAM is most important, followed by storage speed. This computer is provided by my work, but if I were purchasing something new for home, waiting for updated Mac mini or iMac would be my choice. Both currently max out at 16GB RAM and I consider current graphic apps to work best with a minimum of 32GB.

GPU, while also very important seems to be covered well enough in Apple's "M" series CPU's.

If you're using a non-Apple monitor note that working at certain resolutions (4K) vs (5K) can suffer slowdowns at non-optimal resolution settings. (https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays/)

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[David_miller70]

Thanks for the helpful response. Just fired up my Mac Mini, that’s why I’ve been away so long 😉

Apparently, it’s a 2014! Processor = 3Gz dual core Intel i7. Memory = 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3. I think I see the issue.

I also have a 2016 MacBook Pro, 3.1 GHz dual-core intel core i5, memory 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 WITH INTEL IRIS PLUS GRAPHICS 650 1536 MB. Would that be any better?

Edited August 24, 2022 by David_miller70
Added more info

[Guest]

Currently have a mid-2014 MacBook Pro, it works, but is slow.

 Any of the current Apple products should serve well, either MacBook or Mac. They currently have the new Apple M1 chips and starting to get the newer M2s. 

Personally if It was my choice it’d be a maxed out Mac Studio and a couple of decent screens, along side some external SSDs. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by OThomas

[Anakronox]

I have a new MacBook Pro M1 with the Max chip and 16 GB of RAM.  Unfortunately, it tends to lag when I’m really working in Lr or C1 with Photoshop running.   This is a RAM limitation and if I could have ordered 32 or 64 GB I would have.  But I tend to push the limits of most hardware I run.  If you don’t have 15 Safari tabs, terminal processes, raw editor, Photoshop, and a bunch of other utilities going, you probably won’t run into any problems.  However, if you buy to keep for long terms, order as much RAM as you can afford - bare minimum 16 GB, preferably 32.  You’ll hit a RAM ceiling before you push a higher end M1 CPU to its breaking point. 

[jaapv]

For photo editing the RAM is important. 8GB is too little for modern postprocessing apps and when you get to the bits that use AI you will come to a virtual standstill. Memory is less important, there are affordable fast 6 TB external SSDs nowadays.  The modern Silicon chips handle RAM differently, you don't need huge amounts.  Any Apple Silicon with 16 GB RAM or more will be fine. Your best bet would be a Mac Mini M1, with at least 16 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, optionally a Pro or Max with 32 GB RAM, depending on how future proof you would like to be. Note that if you run a dual screen setup,  one of the screens must be natively USB-C.

[jaapv]

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5 hours ago, SAronian said:

 

If you're using a non-Apple monitor note that working at certain resolutions (4K) vs (5K) can suffer slowdowns at non-optimal resolution settings. (https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays/)

 

This article is fairly obsolete, dating back to 2016, and certainly not valid for OS Monterey and Silicon Macs.

[Ba Erv]

I've been using a M1 MacBook Air with 8G RAM and it hasn't even blinked a single time running LR Classic, C1, or GigaPixel AI.  If I'm in one spot long enough I'll add a USB-C 4K external monitor to ease the strain on my eyes.  Personally, I don't find anything more as necessary.

[Simone_DF]

In the newer Apple Silicon chips (M1 and above), the RAM is used far more efficiently than in the x86 (Intel chips) platform.

Unless you're doing heavy video editing, 16GB is more than enough to handle Q2 or even bigger files.

A good guide with some background on the new architecture:

https://macresearch.org/macbook-pro-16-gb-vs-32-gb/

https://history-computer.com/macbook-pro-16gb-vs-32gb/

Personally I went for the 14" with 16GB of RAM but bumped the processor from 8 to 10 cores and it works very well for me.

[Chris W]

I have 16gb memory on an M1 MacBook Air. It works with bigger raw files just fine. Of course 32gb might be even better.

I don't store any files on my MacBook. Everything gets loaded from SD card onto an SSD drive (Sandisc or Lacie) and processed from there.

[viramati]

Basically the more the merrier. I updated my laptop last year to the new M1 processor model with 32gb of RAM and it makes my previous 2019 MacBook pro with the older processor and 16gb RAM seem like something out of the steam age. 

[jip]

Any current gen Apple laptop or desktop device with a M1/M2 processor will be able to run Lightroom faster than any Intel machine before it.

A M1 Mac Mini would be a great choice! I'd recomend getting it wtih 16GB RAM however. 8GB means lots of SWAP usage which reduced the SSD lifespan. 

 

Current recomendation as a laptop:
MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro 13" with M2 processor, with 512GB SSD (minimum since it'll have double the speed from the 256GB models due to two chips vs one.) and 16GB or 24GB RAM if you can spare the extra money. 

For a desktop Mac, the Mac Mini is great and very affordable. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by jip

[Le Chef]

My wife has a 2020 27” iMac (pre M) with 16mb of ram and it feels slow. I could replace my 2013 MacBook Air but want to know if I can use the iMac as my screen if I update my Air to the new M2 Air to use for LightRoom work?

[Ba Erv]

30 minutes ago, Le Chef said:

My wife has a 2020 27” iMac (pre M) with 16mb of ram and it feels slow. I could replace my 2013 MacBook Air but want to know if I can use the iMac as my screen if I update my Air to the new M2 Air to use for LightRoom work?

I tried running my 27” iMac as an external screen with my MacBook Air M1 but it wouldn’t work.  Apparently, some older 27 iMacs were compatible but newer ones aren’t (not sure of the year). Of course, I spent $80 on a cable before I found out.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Ba Erv

[Marc B-C]

I use a 2022 14” MacBook Max M1 with 32gb Ram, 10 core CPU, 24 core GPU and 16 core neural engine. 1tb SSD internal drive and 1tb external SSD. At home, with a 27” Eizo CS2740 monitor. This is perfect for my Q2. Using DxO Deeprime is not instant but otherwise I have no need for anything more from a computer right now. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Marc B-C

[charlesphoto99]

Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM ran out of steam for me, using LR and PS together, so now with a 16" M1 with 64GB RAM and it barely breaks a sweat. I wouldn't go with less than 32GB RAM in order to future proof whatever you choose. 

[SAronian]

21 hours ago, David_miller70 said:

Thanks for the helpful response. Just fired up my Mac Mini, that’s why I’ve been away so long 😉

Apparently, it’s a 2014! Processor = 3Gz dual core Intel i7. Memory = 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3. I think I see the issue.

I also have a 2016 MacBook Pro, 3.1 GHz dual-core intel core i5, memory 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 WITH INTEL IRIS PLUS GRAPHICS 650 1536 MB. Would that be any better?

Your 2016 MacBook Pro i5 - 16GB won't be an improvement. f Lightroom Classic is part of your routine then 32GB of RAM is really best when using a large or Retina display.

Getting the most appropriate macOS hardware for photo/video on a tight budget is a challenge. My current pick would be:

24‑inch iMac
Apple M1 chip
8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory
256GB SSD storage

For $1,700 you get a 4480-by-2520 P3 display and can add external Thunderbolt or USB-C SSD storage to meet your needs. Although the 16GB max memory is a limitation, Lightroom is well suited to using the GPU to keep up with the screen resolution. 

[Guest]

Removed by author

Edited August 25, 2022 by OThomas
Thought removal, probably load of codswallop.

[jip]

21 hours ago, Le Chef said:

My wife has a 2020 27” iMac (pre M) with 16mb of ram and it feels slow. I could replace my 2013 MacBook Air but want to know if I can use the iMac as my screen if I update my Air to the new M2 Air to use for LightRoom work?

No you can not use any 5K iMacs as imput monitor anymore, this was only possible before the iMacs went Retina.

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22 hours ago, Le Chef said:

My wife has a 2020 27” iMac (pre M) with 16mb of ram and it feels slow. I could replace my 2013 MacBook Air but want to know if I can use the iMac as my screen if I update my Air to the new M2 Air to use for LightRoom work?

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