Getting a new iMac

[Tahnee Anne]

Hi Brian, 

I'm finally in a position to upgrade my iMac and purchase a new one.

I have gone through your post about purchasing a new iMac and will go with the mac studio instead of mini. Question about the ram. You mentioned you would go 96GB ram for yourself, would 64gb be ok? Or do you suspect the additional ram will be needed down the track?

In Australia, it's also only offering a 7 day trial of apple care, once finished, you then purchase the full apple care. 

With the m3 chip possibly coming out later in the year, will it make much of a difference to how many years I get out of the mac compared to the m2 chip? Ideally I want to purchase this mac within the next month.

Thanks

 

Tahnee

[Brian]

23 hours ago, Tahnee Anne said:

You mentioned you would go 96GB ram for yourself, would 64gb be ok?

I do large Panorama Photos with my Nikon D850 at full resolution. I have gone over 4GB for a .psd file on a semi-normal basis. So for me, 96GB is more practical. For normal folks, 64GB is FINE. I have a habit of taking things to "Eleven" with my configurations.   The thing with the M-Line of Apple's products, there is no upgrading after the fact. That's why I'm going for 96GB, but I have my reasons. I also sometimes run Virtual Machines (Other Operating Systems in Containers) so having extra RAM works better for me. You? "Meh." I'd take the money you will blow on 96GB of RAM and put it towards AppleCare. Speaking of which...

AppleCare is one of those things...you are better off buying it. Why? Because Apple is the only ones that services them. They do not sell parts to 3rd party repair shops. I realize you are in OZ, and your prices are insanely high as compared to the States, you have my sympathy. If you see any 3rd Party repair shops that do component level work, they are using parts from Donor-Boards / Cadaver Units. It's really a shame that Apple does things this way, but there are profits to be made, and fixing old computers hurts their bottom line. (According to them.)

There isn't THAT much of a difference between a M2 and M3 chip. There are differences, don't get me wrong, but they aren't earth-shattering as Apple makes it to be. That's why they are comparing a M3 to a M1 chip with their advertisements...THAT'S where the difference is. M2 to M3? I'm thinking about a 20% - 25% difference? Maybe slightly higher? If you really want a M3, you are waiting to at least the end of this year. (Sept-October Time-frame.) Even then I don't expect much.

 

[Tahnee Anne]

Thanks Brian. I have just got a d850 and realising how big the files are. I was rocking my d750 before. I’m a newborn and family photographer so no panoramas here. 
 

I guess with how fast adobe are advancing, I’m wondering if 96 ram would be better, knowing that it can’t be upgraded later. In saying that, it’s an extra $600AU compared to the 64. The apple care for 3 yrs for the screen and the Mac Studio is about $400AU. Unfortunately we don’t get a yearly payment option. None that I have seen anyway. 
 

I think I’ll be fine with the m2. I just want to be able to download the latest photoshop and speed up my workflow 😄

[Brian]

16 hours ago, Tahnee Anne said:

I guess with how fast adobe are advancing, I’m wondering if 96 ram would be better, knowing that it can’t be upgraded later.

The nice part about upgrading to a Mac Studio is that you can keep the same Mac Studio Screen and just replace the computer  in the future. It's not like a iMac where you are replacing the whole blasted thing at once. I agree, with all of this AI crap that Adobe is adding, you need to buy a machine that's complete overkill just to have some future-proofing. Unfortunately, that comes at a higher price-point.

As for the 96GB of RAM, 64GB should be fine. 32GB is the minimum that I recommend these days, for either a Mac or Windows Box, and with 64GB being the current "Sweet Spot." If you really need 96GB of RAM, chances are you are buying a more powerful computer anyways.

[Tahnee Anne]

64gb it is 😆

I’m sure it’s going to be better than my 2019 i5 24gb 😁