Photoshop machine for working with large files

[chacabuco74]

After years of trying to make a mac mini handle large photoshop files, I've decided to make the switch to an iMac. Im working with raw 1GB scans as my starting point and I need something that can handle them easily. The mini has been upgraded with a SSD and 16 GB ram, but it is still bogging down (2011
2.3 GHz Intel Core i5)

If I had a good monitor I would consider a Mac Pro, but as I need a new monitor I thought the imac would be the most cost efficient way to go and it sounds like for photoshop, the imac may be faster. Im mostly interested in hearing what would be an ideal setup for the main purpose of working with really large files.

Thanks

 

[rkaufmann87]

The is a very frequently asked question, you may want to look as some similar threads before starting a new one.

 

[campyguy]

Agreed, lots of threads about this very issue, but IMHO this forum isn't as informative as dpforums or Adobe's own forums. We have 3 2012 Minis in my company - two i7s and one i5, all with 16GB of RAM and HD drives, no SSDs. We have no problem with PS files, AutoCAD files, or huge aerial photos. We use TB/USB-attached SSDs as scratch disks - pull out the scratch disk, the work bogs. If you're not using a separate scratch disk - NOT a separate partition on your hard drive, get off this forum and go buy one then set up PS appropriately. If don't have one and you're not willing to try an SSD scratch disk, well, we're both wasting our time here.

One of my bookmarks: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1152036?start=0&tstart=0

 

[chacabuco74]

Ok, sorry for not researching more. I did look for "which Mac for photoshop" queries but probably not diligently enough. It didn't seem that most users were asking about working with 2-3GB files so I thought I would ask about that specifically.

Thanks for the adobe link. I thought that you could use the boot drive as a scratch disk providing there is enough space and it is a SSD but it looks like an external SSD scratch disk is the way to go. From the sounds of it, my mini should be up to the task so I think Ill do a clean install of Yosemite to see if that helps with some of my issues than put my money towards a new monitor.

Thanks

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Ok, sorry for not researching more. I did look for "which Mac for photoshop" queries but probably not diligently enough. It didn't seem that most users were asking about working with 2-3GB files so I thought I would ask about that specifically.

Thanks for the adobe link. I thought that you could use the boot drive as a scratch disk providing there is enough space and it is a SSD but it looks like an external SSD scratch disk is the way to go. From the sounds of it, my mini should be up to the task so I think Ill do a clean install of Yosemite to see if that helps with some of my issues than put my money towards a new monitor.

Thanks

Remember that the 2011 mini won't run a 4K screen if you are considering high definition screens in the future you may well be best just going for the 5K imac now...

 

[yjchua95]

Ok, sorry for not researching more. I did look for "which Mac for photoshop" queries but probably not diligently enough. It didn't seem that most users were asking about working with 2-3GB files so I thought I would ask about that specifically.

Thanks for the adobe link. I thought that you could use the boot drive as a scratch disk providing there is enough space and it is a SSD but it looks like an external SSD scratch disk is the way to go. From the sounds of it, my mini should be up to the task so I think Ill do a clean install of Yosemite to see if that helps with some of my issues than put my money towards a new monitor.

Thanks

An external SSD scratch disk won't work on your Mini if it's over USB, since your Mini doesn't support USB 3.0.

 

[driftless]

For Photoshop I would go with go with a 5K iMac with an SSD.