iPad Can I use an iPad just for its processor?

[apparatchik]

You can also just look at an M1 Mac Mini, which is cheaper than the iPad Pro.

I second this, if you just want the brains of the iPad Pro and not the tablet experience per se, a Mac Mini can be had on sale for around $600, and it makes for an impressive (for the price) DaVinci Resolve machine:

 

[darngooddesign]

You can probably tell from the subject that I'm not a computer guy, so forgive me if this is a dumb question...

What I am is a photographer and, more recently, a videographer (hobbyist level). I was looking at upgrading my slow pc to better run programs like Davinci Resolve while editing video and Lightroom while editing (45mp RAW) files without bogging down. I came across a video of a Scandinavian YouTuber raving about how insanely fast the iPad pro is at things like Lightroom and for editing video (he was using some app called Luma Fusion). So it got me wondering....

Instead of upgrading my pc (and I'm looking for low-budget options here) could I just buy a used iPad pro and somehow connect my monitor, mouse and keyboard to it? I am not interested in the full tablet or even laptop experience. I'm old school, and I have a little home office with a desk, upon which sits my desktop computer, and I do not want to change that general setup. But I was thinking if there was some way I could utilize the powerful "brains" of an iPad for my photo and video editing then it might be worth trying to cobble together some hybrid system. I'm also well aware most editors prefer Mac.

So is this even doable or am I off track here? Feel free to speak to me as if I were a two-year-old.


Thanks - Rob

Get an M1 Mac Mini. You can get a toggle switch that lets you use your monitor on both PCs.

 

[ignatius345]

You can probably tell from the subject that I'm not a computer guy, so forgive me if this is a dumb question...

What I am is a photographer and, more recently, a videographer (hobbyist level). I was looking at upgrading my slow pc to better run programs like Davinci Resolve while editing video and Lightroom while editing (45mp RAW) files without bogging down. I came across a video of a Scandinavian YouTuber raving about how insanely fast the iPad pro is at things like Lightroom and for editing video (he was using some app called Luma Fusion). So it got me wondering....

Instead of upgrading my pc (and I'm looking for low-budget options here) could I just buy a used iPad pro and somehow connect my monitor, mouse and keyboard to it? I am not interested in the full tablet or even laptop experience. I'm old school, and I have a little home office with a desk, upon which sits my desktop computer, and I do not want to change that general setup. But I was thinking if there was some way I could utilize the powerful "brains" of an iPad for my photo and video editing then it might be worth trying to cobble together some hybrid system. I'm also well aware most editors prefer Mac.

So is this even doable or am I off track here? Feel free to speak to me as if I were a two-year-old.


Thanks - Rob

Just to pile on here: another vote for a Mac Mini.

While iPad Pro has a great processor, iPad OS has primitive multitasking compared to Windows or MacOS, and will be more complicated to connect to displays and peripherals.

A Mac Mini with a decent amount of RAM (16 GB minimum) should be able to fly through video and photo editing whle being a lot easier to deal with than an iPad on several fronts (more ports, for one). You're also not paying for a high-end touch display you won't be using.

 

[Devin Breeding]

If you don’t want the benefits of a tablet I’d echo what others have said and go to a mac mini or even a MacBook air and that will be much more familiar but powerful. That being said even my 2018 pro as a standalone blows my desktop pc out of the water for video and photo editing and LumaFusion is fantastic. It just takes some flexibility with your mindset for what applications to use and how you use them. I might encourage you to consider changing up your whole process and go for the tablet for the versatility.

 

[Atomic1977]

If you want the mobility of a iPad or tablet maybe consider a laptop. Laptops have more options and power.