Imac 27 2002 vs Mac Mini M4

Question

Dear Community,

My wife is a pro photographer. She mainly uses LR Classic, PS, Camera Raw and few other apps from time to time. I'm the "tech guy" handling, updating, buying her Macs. So far she was using her old iMac i5 mid 2017. Not only it is the latest Sequoia software supported anymore, but after recent Adobe updates it started to work really slow, making it really uncomfortable to work with multiple RAWs, applying presets, editing and so on. We want to upgrade. We need to save money this year so there are two options. Buying a good condition imac27 2020, i7 3,8 ghz 10700k, 32gb ram, 1TB ssd for ca 1200 usd (BUDGET FRIENDLY AND PREFERRED) and using it for around 2 years. Buying Mac Mini M4, 32gb ram, 512 ssd + apple display for around 2850 usd (Not preferred, leasing is the only option). We live in Poland. I intentionally use USD prices, as this is an international community 😉 I need an advice: will 2020 Imac handle LR and PS smoothly at least two seasons? Any experiences? Thanks a lot!

ExUSA · Answer

DO NOT buy an old Intel Mac. Compared to current Apple Silicon machines, they are slow and not as well supported with new features. Even an M1 Mac mini will be faster than the 2020 iMac. You can get a new M4 mini starting at US$599 or a refurbished model for less.

https://www.apple.com/pl/shop/refurbished/mac

And there is no need to overpay for an Apple display. Get another brand that is less expensive. I assume that Japanese and Chinese brands have good availability in the EU?

https://petapixel.com/best-monitors-photography-photo-editing/

https://petapixel.com/2025/03/07/the-best-monitors-for-the-apple-mac-mini-and-mac-studio/

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/by-usage/photo-editing

https://www.techradar.com/news/best-monitor-for-photo-editing

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-monitors-for-photo-editing