Advise for M4 iMac

[xzebra]

Hi - Was wondering if some of you might be able to assist me.

Was originally looking to replacement my old (now legacy) 2019 27" with a Mac mini, but cannot afford it with a new Mac monitor.
Reason I want the Mac monitor is it is a display that I have always trusted when doing photo edits on my current 2019 and my edits come out spot on when sending for prints.

With that said, been looking at the new iMac with the M4 chip and was wondering those that do specifically photo editing (LRC with Topaz Photo AI) which do you recommend without over kill on budget? Was thinking the 10 core with 24 GB RAM should suffice. What like feedback from others that run this or others how well this would perform.

Thank you very much for your assistance!

 

[FreakinEurekan]

If you’re comparing to a 2019 Intel, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

 

[Fishrrman]

Think long and hard before "downsizing" to a smaller display.
You may regret that move soon afterwards.

There are plenty of good 3rd party 27"/32" 4k and [a few] 5k displays to choose from.
Many other Mac users have them with no problems at all...

 

[IJustWannaTalk]

May I recommend a Mac Mini and an LG display? That's what my photography and graphic design friend uses, as he doesn't want to spring for Apple monitors.

 

[kagharaht]

I think you'll be fine with M4. I use iMac M3 full spec for those tools. Having said that, my next one will be a Mac Mini that I will Max out. Not because the M3/M4 iMac can't handle it, it can, but the processing time is super long with the iMac.

 

[ladolcina]

While I don’t use that exact program you mentioned, I have an M4 MacBook Pro with 24GB ram and 10-core, and I haven’t had any issues with running programs like CSP, Blender, or iMovie while having browsers, videos, or streaming something to friends going on simultaneously in the background.

So I would personally say that 24GB with the M4 is more than enough for heavy art/editing. 32GB and above is overkill to me unless you are dealing with multiple high intensity programs open at once.

 

[xzebra]

Think long and hard before "downsizing" to a smaller display.
You may regret that move soon afterwards.

There are plenty of good 3rd party 27"/32" 4k and [a few] 5k displays to choose from.
Many other Mac users have them with no problems at all...

Great thought ...but I like the consistency of the monitor on Mac when sending to labs and don't want to calibrate!

 

[xzebra]

May I recommend a Mac Mini and an LG display? That's what my photography and graphic design friend uses, as he doesn't want to spring for Apple monitors.

I like the consistency of the monitor on Mac when sending to labs and don't want to calibrate!

 

[xzebra]

While I don’t use that exact program you mentioned, I have an M4 MacBook Pro with 24GB ram and 10-core, and I haven’t had any issues with running programs like CSP, Blender, or iMovie while having browsers, videos, or streaming something to friends going on simultaneously in the background.

So I would personally say that 24GB with the M4 is more than enough for heavy art/editing. 32GB and above is overkill to me unless you are dealing with multiple high intensity programs open at once.

Thank you!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi - Was wondering if some of you might be able to assist me.

Was originally looking to replacement my old (now legacy) 2019 27" with a Mac mini, but cannot afford it with a new Mac monitor.
Reason I want the Mac monitor is it is a display that I have always trusted when doing photo edits on my current 2019 and my edits come out spot on when sending for prints.

With that said, been looking at the new iMac with the M4 chip and was wondering those that do specifically photo editing (LRC with Topaz Photo AI) which do you recommend without over kill on budget? Was thinking the 10 core with 24 GB RAM should suffice. What like feedback from others that run this or others how well this would perform.

Thank you very much for your assistance!

Try remote control your Mac mini M4 from your iMac 2019...

 

[wilberforce]

Great thought ...but I like the consistency of the monitor on Mac when sending to labs and don't want to calibrate!

I went from a 27” 5k 2020 iMac to an M4 24” iMac, and use it for photo editing (LRC and PS). I was very concerned that I would find the smaller screen frustrating and a downgrade, but in reality I find the slightly smaller size is no big deal and the quality, color and crispness is as least as good. I also use it as calibrated out of the box from the factory.
The M4 processor is OK. I would have preferred an M4 Pro processor if it were available. I got 32GB.

 

[Terraaustralis]

Think long and hard before "downsizing" to a smaller display.
You may regret that move soon afterwards.

There are plenty of good 3rd party 27"/32" 4k and [a few] 5k displays to choose from.
Many other Mac users have them with no problems at all...

I absolutely agree with Fishrrman.

As a DTP man I far prefer to work on a 27" screen at true A4 with double page spreads at true A3 (1: 1).

You simply cannot get A4 1:1 on a 24" screen as menu bars and tool docks take up space at top. Depending upon the application you use, and whether you switch off all menu bars, A4 can be just managed by displaying tool docks down the side if customisation permits.

Give me a 27" screen minimum any day.

As for quality of monitor resolution and colour, you cannot beat the Apple 5K display for value. There are Monitor kits available from iFixit and elsewhere to convert iMacs into Monitors just so you can use the monitor with upgraded M series Mini/Studio.

Like you, I am careful how I spend my money and recognise what I have; an entry level 3.7 GHZ 6 core i5, iMac 19.1 which serves me very well indeed. The original Fusion speed is improved 200% by replacing the slow Apple NVME with a fast WD Black SN770 NVME and replacing the SATA HDD drive with a Samsung 970Evo SSD.

With 32 GB RAM my Photoshop and Illustrator work does not hold me up at all regarding rendering speed. If it does so in future, I can buy more RAM. Recording music, layering instrument and vocals, recording regular video and making consumer level movie recordings can all be done quickly. No sitting and waiting for processing.

An M series with TB4 is capable of speeds more than double my modest 19.1, but why pay $ thousands for power I do not use? I am not going to get blown away by super power creating publications and 2D corporate identity imagery.

I simply will not experience very much benefit from M series other than a boot time shorter than my current 17 seconds and a sense of overall improved ‘snappiness’ to which I shall quickly become accustomed.

 

[killhippie]

If you have a Mac mini M4 and are going to fully spec it out you are better off with a Studio I tend to think, better IO and the M4 Max chip with 48GB ram minimum (not the binned chip) mine has helped my work flow so much and the fan’s still stay silent. 1TB SSD and it flies. I picked up a Studio monitor and it reminds me so much of my old 27" iMacs also it links in with Apple better than many 3rd party monitors, I get the feeling Tahoe may test that connection on non Apple monitors sadly. A design smorgasbord alas.

 

[Terraaustralis]

If you have a Mac mini M4 and are going to fully spec it out you are better off with a Studio I tend to think, better IO and the M4 Max chip with 48GB ram minimum (not the binned chip) mine has helped my work flow so much and the fan’s still stay silent. 1TB SSD and it flies. I picked up a Studio monitor and it reminds me so much of my old 27" iMacs also it links in with Apple better than many 3rd party monitors, I get the feeling Tahoe may test that connection on non Apple monitors sadly. A design smorgasbord alas.

Good idea.

That is the formulae which I shall move to at a much later date. Keep the large screen and get the computing power in a mini or a studio. The smaller screen makes the iMac 24" very much an all purpose consumer machine from my perspective. A 27" display is a perfect size for my professional work, 30" being a bit too big ergonomically.
When the time comes, choosing the right screen will be bit of a challenge with all that is on the market.