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Chalk it up as a loss?

R

rpbrownphoto

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2019
24
1
Hi,

So, I have a late 2013 rMBP paired with a Thunderbolt display I bought brand new early 2014.
The specs are:

2.8 GHz i7
16GB 1600 MHz DDR3
500GB drive with 200GB available.

For simple editing in Lightroom for my 35mm images, it works just fine, unless I have a particularly dusty negative I've scanned, then my machine LAGS so bad when using the clone stamp tool to remove said dust spots. And for Photoshop, it's really slow. Seems like my laptop should be able to handle this but...

I'm getting back into retouching (assuming that's still a thing after this pandemic) and to brush up on my skills, I've been practicing. My laptop simply cannot handle most of what I need to do in PS. There is a two second lag using the brush tool, for instance. Any ideas or should I just bite the bullet and get a new iMac with 64GB of RAM (added myself, of course.) I can get the education discount, so the 3.7GHz 5k iMac with 2TB of storage would be $2,099. Still a lot of money but is it worth it or can I somehow make my setup work? Maybe if I stop using smart objects?
 
I also have a late 2013 15" MBP, and I just listed it on CL yesterday for similar reasons as frustrate you. I feel like it should be faster, but it's...not. I get hiccups, beachballs, and strange hangs where nothing happens for 10 seconds. I don't know if the problem is Mac OS with poor drivers for older hardware or something failing. The machine has lasted me a good long time though! So, I recommend getting the iMac.
 
When was the last time you did a full system restore?
just for peace of mind, before you commit to an upgrade, it might be worth backing everything up, doing a fresh install and seeing what happens.


that said, I upgrade every three years at least, so if it were me I’d be looking for a new machine.
 
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Do you have an Nvidia card? I have a rMBP 15" late 2013 with an GT 750M and it really hasn't worked very well in any version of MacOS later than Sierra (lag, stuttering etc). I have to run Mojave because I use software that depend on it, but ever since I installed WhateverGreen it seems to work a lot better.
 
Okay, I ordered the iMac now since it takes 2-3 weeks just to leave their warehouse. I figure if I can make my MacBook work, great, I'll return the iMac. If not, at least the iMac will be getting here sooner than later. Anyway, so the full system restore.. I've never done that before. I'll give that a shot. Other than that, there's nothing else I can really do to speed this up? Just seems odd that a 2.8ghz with 16GB of ram is lagging so hard with photoshop. If I was doing video editing or something I'd understand..
 
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I have an Intel Iris 1536MB card. Am using Mojave 10.14.6.. Have never tried WhateverGreen. It helps significantly?
 
rpbrownphoto said:
I have an Intel Iris 1536MB card. Am using Mojave 10.14.6.. Have never tried WhateverGreen. It helps significantly?
Click to expand...

Unless you have an Nvidia card in the machine as well, I don't think so. My problem was that when automatic graphics switching kicked in, the Nvidia card would perform very badly.
 
marmiteturkey said:
When was the last time you did a full system restore?
just for peace of mind, before you commit to an upgrade, it might be worth backing everything up, doing a fresh install and seeing what happens.

I did a fresh install last year and it didn't make much difference. However I think some of the problem might be Google Drive File Stream - what a piece of junk software.

that said, I upgrade every three years at least, so if it were me I’d be looking for a new machine.
Click to expand...
sebpettersson said:
Do you have an Nvidia card? I have a rMBP 15" late 2013 with an GT 750M and it really hasn't worked very well in any version of MacOS later than Sierra (lag, stuttering etc). I have to run Mojave because I use software that depend on it, but ever since I installed WhateverGreen it seems to work a lot better.
Click to expand...

Mine has the 750m card, and I agree that the machine hasn't run especially well since Sierra or High Sierra. In the past couple months Zoom calls make the machine go haywire and I get colored artifacts appearing on the screen after ~5 minutes of video chat.
 
Screw it, just gonna get the iMac!

It comes with 8GB of ram and I'm adding more myself.. Should I get 32 which would have the total being 40GB or should I drop the extra $140 and have it maxed out at 64GB? Just gonna be retouching and maybe possible video editing down the road.
 
Also, will this work?

www.amazon.com

Crucial 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) DR x8 SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - CT2K16G4SFD8266

CT16G4SFD824A is a 16GB DDR4 Notebook module that operates at speeds up to 2400 MT/s and has a CL17 latency. It is an buffered SODIMM. It conforms to the industry standard DDR4 SODIMM layout of 260 pins and is compatible with systems that take DDR4 2400MT/s SODIMM memory.
www.amazon.com

It seems slightly different than what the Crucial site recommends which would be:

www.bhphotovideo.com

Crucial 32GB DDR4 2666 MHz SO-DIMM Memory Kit for Mac (2 x 16GB)

Buy Crucial 32GB DDR4 2666 MHz SO-DIMM Memory Kit for Mac (2 x 16GB) featuring 32GB Capacity (2 x 16GB), 2666 MHz Clock Speed, PC4-21300, SO-DIMM, 1.2V, CL19 Latency, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, Dual-Ranked, Compatible with Mac Systems, Lead & Halogen Free. Review Crucial null
www.bhphotovideo.com www.bhphotovideo.com

I have Amazon credit which is why I ask..

A lot of Amazon reviewers are saying the Crucial RAM I linked here works perfectly, while Micron CPG says it doesn't.
And PC4-21300 is the same thing as PC4-21333 right?
 
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rpbrownphoto said:
Screw it, just gonna get the iMac!

It comes with 8GB of ram and I'm adding more myself.. Should I get 32 which would have the total being 40GB or should I drop the extra $140 and have it maxed out at 64GB? Just gonna be retouching and maybe possible video editing down the road.
Click to expand...

Just in case you don't know, there's a possibility that a (new) 23-inch iMac might arrive later this year so there could be a refresh (last year's refresh was on March 2019). So, if you're not in a hurry, you might want to wait until Q3.

www.macrumors.com

Lower-Priced 23-Inch iMac and 11-Inch iPad Models Rumored to Launch in Second Half of 2020

Apple plans to introduce a 23-inch iMac in the second half of 2020, with mass production set to begin in the third or fourth quarter, according to a...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
 
23 Inch is too small for me, when I was a full time retoucher I needed two 27" displays. That article says the new iMacs won't come out until the end of 2021, so it wan't dumb to buy this iMac now, right? My laptop is fried and I needed something asap.
 
rpbrownphoto said:
23 Inch is too small for me, when I was a full time retoucher I needed two 27" displays. That article says the new iMacs won't come out until the end of 2021, so it wan't dumb to buy this iMac now, right? My laptop is fried and I needed something asap.
Click to expand...
The iMac should be a nice upgrade. That said, there is no particular reason your MacBook Pro should have gotten suddenly slower. If you have access to a backup drive, I’d try backing up, then doing a clean erase and reinstallation of your existing Mac. You also have a MacBook Pro that can be upgraded. Consider looking into replacement SSDs, since for $200 you might be able to replace the SSD with a faster version at the same or higher capacity.
 
Even if you get a new iMac make sure you're using a scratch drive whether it be USB or TB it give Ps a place to write
 
rpbrownphoto said:
23 Inch is too small for me, when I was a full time retoucher I needed two 27" displays. That article says the new iMacs won't come out until the end of 2021, so it wan't dumb to buy this iMac now, right? My laptop is fried and I needed something asap.
Click to expand...
Other than mini led vapor ware, I don’t think there’s going to be a big iMac upgrade this year. In fact intel desktop CPUs are in complete stagnation and 10nm on the desktop is at least another year away. The only possible major update would be a Navi GPU instead of the Polaris/Vega.
 
I don't use PS but I have the same machine, except it's the 2.3 ghz i7. For me Catalina runs smoother than Sierra. There are a lot of reports for both situations, I think there are some differences in batches or firmwares. Seems you are on the unlucky side :-(
 
If you can be tied to a desktop, it always makes more sense than a laptop. A 27 inch iMac will blow anything portable out of the water, properly configured. The major gotcha with iMacs is the fusion drive. Try to configure it with an SSD instead. If you don’t, you’ll need to get an external NVME drive for it. RAM will be helpful if you’re doing massive numbers of layers or enormous image sizes. 32 gigs is probably just fine, you’ll notice if it’s not enough, and it’s simple to upgrade on a 27. There was recently a sale on refurb iMac Pro’s, that would do everything you could need, the RAM upgrade being the only limitation.
 
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