2018 Mac Mini for Graphic Design

[dimaspivak]

Someone asked if the Mac Mini would be a good machine for a graphic designer and I pointed out a pretty common scenario (multiple external monitors) where it is not. The rest of this commentary is not particularly useful to the original poster.

 

[rumz]

Sure, but at every company I've worked at, graphic designers have always had at least 2 displays. The idea that Photoshop becomes unusable for a $3k computer in such a scenario without external hardware is worth noting for someone who would otherwise assume it to be up for the task.

I have 2 displays on my 2012 rMBP: 27" Thunderbolt & the 15.4" display on the machine itself. I think I had a max of 2 displays when I was on a Mac Pro tower. Would I like 3? Sure. But do I need 3 4k displays? Nah. There are a few dozen graphic designers here and I don't believe anyone is using more than 2 displays.

That said, for myself, I do plan on adding an eGPU to my (yet to be purchased) Mac Mini. I do wish Apple would make a mid-range machine that allowed for an internal desktop-class GPU-- there's really no reason the Mac Mini needs to be so small other than for those server farm guys that have adopted the Mini for their platform. But, this is as close as I'm likely to get, no doubt the Mac Pro starts in the $4k range with how Apple operates these days.

 

[crowe-t]

Will a 2018 i3 Mac mini be OK to run Adobe CS 5.5? I've been using Adobe CS 5.5 on a 2009 Mac Mini.

 

[opeter]

Will a 2018 i3 Mac mini be OK to run Adobe CS 5.5? I've been using Adobe CS 5.5 on a 2009 Mac Mini.

Yes. But don't install anything newer on that machine than macOS Mojave 10.14.x if you want to use CS 5.5 software suite.

Also, you can upgrade the RAM to 16 GB (or more), if you want.

 

[crowe-t]

Yes. But don't install anything newer on that machine than macOS Mojave 10.14.x if you want to use CS 5.5 software suite.

Also, you can upgrade the RAM to 16 GB (or more), if you want.

The i3 processor in the 2018 Mini will be enough for Photoshop and Illustrator?

 

[opeter]

The i3 processor in the 2018 Mini will be enough for Photoshop and Illustrator?

Yes. It is a 4 core CPU, that has an Intel UHD 630 integrated graphic chip. Not a world champion, but for standard* graphic design work it should be sufficient.

* magazine layout, photo editing, vector illustrations and layered graphics editing (it depends, how many elements there are), drawing, 2D animation, etc.

It all depends on what resolution you work and how complicated your stuff is/will be.

 

[The_Interloper]

The i3 processor in the 2018 Mini will be enough for Photoshop and Illustrator?

If you were running CS 5.5 on a 2009 Mini then of course it will. Even the base 2018 i3 will utterly destroy the Core 2 Duo in that machine. It's light years faster.

The base i3 is faster than the quickest quad-core i7 chip in the 2012 Mini, and that was the one to get for many years.

 

[Boyd01]

But don't install anything newer on that machine than macOS Mojave 10.14.x if you want to use CS 5.5 software suite.

Also remember that Mojave no longer gets security updates, which might be a concern if you use this machine for online shopping or banking.

 

[crowe-t]

This 2018 i3 Mac Mini with Mojave will only be used for the Adobe programs.