iMac buying advice

[VTGuy79]

I currently have:

• M1 Mac Mini with 8GB RAM
• BenQ 2.5k monitor

What I use it for:

• Photo editing (Photoshop, Lightroom, Photomator)
• Video editing (iMovie, Final Cut Pro) - mostly 4k content, nothing high end
• Web design / Surfing

I wrestled with getting a beefy Mac Mini but really want a better quality screen and minimal footprint which is why I'm leaning towards the iMac.

Specs I'm looking at:

• Apple M4 chip with 10‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
• 24GB Ram
• 1TB drive (I also have ext. drives but like a little room on the main)

I could buy the Studio display but it just seems way too much money for a screen and I am on a budget. What are your thoughts on the specs?

 

[ignatius345]

I have an M4 iMac with those exact specs. I've done quite a bit of graphic design (Illustrator, InDesign, some Photoshop) and tons of just general use stuff. It really doesn't slow down much at all no matter what I'm doing on it. I had the M1 iMac before this, and it was also a very capable machine, but the M4 adds a lot of snappiness to everything. Like you, I also appreciate the minimal desk footprint and general lack of cables.

As for the display? It's really nice, very sharp and bright, and a solid step up in resolution from the one you're using now. My opinion is that it's enough space for pro apps with lots of controls -- but only just enough. Not a lot of room to spread out as you could on a 27" 5K display like the Studio Display.

If it was me I'd go to an Apple Store, launch Final Cut or Photoshop on it, and see how it feels with the controls you use.

The one other thing to consider is that when you go to upgrade, you're not gonna be able to reuse that display like you would with the Studio Display. That's sort of the catch with iMacs, but they also hold good resale value.

BTW, the Refurbished section of the Apple Store site generally has a pretty good selection of current iMacs, which could save you a couple hundred bucks.

 

[VTGuy79]

I did go about a week ago when on cation (none near me) and found that the 4.5k display vs my 2.5k was a huge difference. There’s so much more room without making the text tiny which is what really impressed me. There’s Studio Display is excellent but just out of my price range for a monitor at the moment. I thought that going from a 27” that I have now to a 24” would be a downgrade but that increased resolution helps a lot.

Am wondering about the RAM amount though. 8GB surprisingly has worked well but don’t want to stick to 16GB and thought that 24GB gives plenty of room.