On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 04:14:55PM -0500, Stan Halpin wrote:
> My 7-year old iMac just keeps on working, but it really struggles with large
> image files, etc. My dilemma is not whether to buy a new computer - that is a
> given. My dilemma is about what to buy.
I had exactly the same dilemma a few months ago.
>
> Note: I am well aware that I can certainly find cheaper alternatives than
> those discussed below. However, I have had enough experience with MS-DOS and
> Windows systems over the last few decades to be 100% certain that I have zero
> interest in going that route. And within the Apple lineup, the Mac Mini,
> tricked out and paired with the 27" Thunderbolt Display, is about what I
> would get in an iMac all-in-one for about the same price. With some sacrifice
> in expansion ports with the Mini. So the Mini is not off the table, but
> pushed well to the side while I look at other options.
I went with a mini and a 27" thunderbolt display. I have a second, non-tbolt
display set
up in vertical orientation. I'd eventually like to upgrade it from 22" to 27".
I recently posted this to facebook, but these are the results of a quick and
dirty
benchmark I did last week:
Due to a bit of recent good fortune, I effectively found myself with a $500
credit at the apple store. I ended up with a new MBP that I'll use for
processing photos when on road trips.
Replacing the internal hard drive on my MacBook 3.1 with a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo
and 6GB of memory with the crucial SSD made a huge difference in lightroom
performance.
Since this is as easy of a place to write down notes as any, while I'm running
the test:
13inch mid 2012 Macbook pro, 2.5 GHz I5 processor 16GB memory
Benchmarking Lightroom on the new MBP,
Both catalog and files copied to internal 5400RPM drive, no backup copies of
raw files:
Copying 150 files off card 3:10
Rendering 1:1 previews 13:03 (~10minutes)
Same setup to 480GB crucial SSD in a Sabrent external USB3 drive case
Copying same 150 files 2:08
rendering 1:1 previews 11:39 (~9:30)
Same setup using a $70 buffulo 1TB external drive:
copying 2:35
rendering 1:1 12:07 (~9:30)
Note that this laptop has been maxed out on memory (apple says 8G is max, but
other sites have done research and found that It'll take 16G), and that the
files are all freshly copied, so there is no file fragmentation, so the zero
latency of the SSD makes less of an impact.
I suspect that the reason that the internal drive was the slowest is because it
is only 5400 RPM. USB 3 makes a huge difference over my old systems with USB 2
and firewire external drives.
>
> Specifically, short version:
> a. all-in-one (iMac) vs. desktop Mac Pro + display.
> b. If desktop+monitor, then Apple Thunderbolt display vs. other good
> display vs. display with wide (Adobe RGB) color gamut.
-- snippo --
>
>
> I welcome any comments or opinions, informed or otherwise.
>
> stan
My core system is a mac mini, with a 1TB hybrid drive. Maxed out with
16GB of crucial memory from B&H (it's cheaper to throw away 4GB of memory
from apple and upgrade yourself, than to buy more memory from Apple).
I have an external USB3 case with two 3TB drives in it.
I suspect that when my applecare runs out, I will replace the hybrid drive
with a 1TB SSD and a 2TB spinny disk.
If I was making my living with the system, I might be able to justify the
added performance from going to a desktop system, but I think that what I
have hits the price performance sweet spot.
As an aside, if you know someone enrolled in school and can use their
educational discount you can pick up the penultimate 13" Macbook Pro
without retina display for $1,000. I was told at the Apple store
that the latest MBPs are not nearly as easy to upgrade the drive.
Unfortunately, my 53 year old eyes weren't easily able to see the difference
on the 13" screen between the non-retina and the retina displays.
--
Larry Colen l...@red4est.com http://red4est.com/lrc
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
PDML@pdml.net
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
