[carolkane]

I don’t know what combo is best for me- I’m a graphic designer. Using mostly photoshop, illustrator and InDesign. I typically have a ton of apps open and fonts open. I’m flipping back and forth a lot and handling large photoshop files in the background sometimes. I’m a newbie in video. I won’t do a ton but will dabble. No 3D gaming. Want to keep for 5-7 years if possible. Any suggestions? Is it worth it to get the 8 core over the 6 core? Do I need to upgrade the graphics card? Was thinking of maxing the RAM.

[Just_Me_D]

The more RAM the better, but either core should suffice, in my opinion.

[carolkane]

Thank you! What do you think about the graphics card? Necessary to upgrade?

[Lee_Bo]

I don’t know what combo is best for me- I’m a graphic designer. Using mostly photoshop, illustrator and InDesign. I typically have a ton of apps open and fonts open. I’m flipping back and forth a lot and handling large photoshop files in the background sometimes. I’m a newbie in video. I won’t do a ton but will dabble. No 3D gaming. Want to keep for 5-7 years if possible. Any suggestions? Is it worth it to get the 8 core over the 6 core? Do I need to upgrade the graphics card? Was thinking of maxing the RAM.

Start with the mack-daddy model with all the best options. Is that in your budget? If not, then look into scaling back by dropping down to the 6 core instead of the 8, maybe one step down from video card, etc. If you're going to use external hard drive space then don't worry about a large internal hard drive. Max out RAM if possible.

[carolkane]

Thank you! Yeah the best of the best is not really in my budget and because I don’t use it all day. I have a work computer and this is for my personal side gigs. But I’ve made the mistake years ago of buying the base model of a Mac mini and it was horrible. So trying to learn some lessons and do the necessary upgrades without going overboard. A tough balance!

[Lee_Bo]

Well here is what I'm currently using:



I got it in 2016 and I want to say it was around $2500. I'm using Lightroom and a few other apps (as a photographer) and really haven't had any performance issues. However, hindsight being 20/20 and all, I probably would have upgraded to 32 gigs ram. Today, with the current pandemic, I've turned it into a mobile streaming rig as I've been hosting several Zoom meetings per day.

[carolkane]

That’s good to know! How much longer do you expect it to last you?