2017 27"iMac vs M1 for PS+LR editing

[DWPhoto]

Time to upgrade the 2011 iMac and would love some feedback from current M1 users. Initially was thinking of picking up a 2017 27" with 1TB SSD and maxing out the memory for PS&LR work. I know the memory works differently on the M1 but is it enough? And yes I realize the pro model is around the corner but the expected price is out of budget for now.

 

[wilberforce]

My experience with using LR+PS on my 16GB 14" Macbook M1 Pro is that 32GB would be better.

I also have a 32GB 2020 iMac, and have discovered that LR+PS use about twice as much RAM on Apple Silicon as on Intel, for the same tasks. Reason is that LR and PS use a lot of RAM for GPU acceleration, but on an Intel machine with a separate video card and VRAM, this is is stored in VRAM not in RAM.

If you are a light to medium user of LR+PS, 16GB RAM on M1 is fine. If you are a heavy user of LR+PS I would wait for an M1 model with 32GB RAM (or maybe more). Or get an Intel machine with 32GB (or more) RAM.

 

[Cloud9]

I went from an i7 6700 hackintosh to a m1 mac mini. Its a great machine honestly. I am absolutely comfortable doing my wedding work with a maxed out m1 mini and I am also driving an pro display xdr with a led cinema display with adapter.

Doing image to image editing really no issues to speak of.

I do occasionally encounter beach balls with lots of stuff open and doing intensive tasks. But if an m1 max mini or 12 core m1 imac come along at too high a price point I would be fine waiting a generation to upgrade if needed.

My i7 hack probably does raw export faster, but the m1 does image to image editing more smoothly I feel. I switched because of hackintosh reliability.

Switching from a 2011 imac would feel like you are buying a Ferrari with a warp drive attached.

Edit: I believe I timed it once and the mac mini was xx% faster then the hack at raw export and import. But nothing life changing. My 2011 imac will be relegated to windows gaming from now on with the help of another thread on this site...

Edit 2: Silent editing is a creature comfort you don't realize is incredible until you experience it.