Lightroom on a Mac Mini 2018

[DSWfoto]

I'm considering moving from PC to a Mac Mini 2018 w/ i7, 16GB Ram.  Has anyone else tried this setup and how well does Lightroom and Photoshop run on it?

[Akash Sharma]

Hi DSWfoto,

Please take a look at this article https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/ to know more about how to move Lightroom to a new computer.

Let us know if that helps.

Thanks,

Akash

[DSWfoto]

Thanks.  I'm looking more from a performance standpoint (How well Lightroom performs on the Mac Minis).  They have an iGPU (Intel HD 630) which could hinder performance.

[Just Shoot Me]

The only time a dedicated GPU helps LR is "IF" you are using a 4K+ monitor.

[dj_paige]

DSWfoto  wrote

Thanks.  I'm looking more from a performance standpoint (How well Lightroom performs on the Mac Minis).  They have an iGPU (Intel HD 630) which could hinder performance.

SInce you haven't given us the specs of this Mac Mini, we can't answer any questions. We also don't know your workflow.

Furthermore, it seems as if the Mac Mini comes in different varieties, I would definitely get the i7 and not the i5 and definitely not the i3 if you care concerned about performance. If you are getting a 4K or 5K monitor with this, then that is a potential cause of slowness, and I wouldn't recommend that myself, I would use the standard HD 1920x1080 monitor.

Nevertheless, there are reports in this forum which you should search for regarding the performance on Mac Mini. These reports are somewhat biased in that they appear in this forum only when someone has problems, nevertheless it is common to hear people complain about the fans running loudly.

[Just Shoot Me]

He gave the basic specs in his first post. i7 w/16GBs RAM. And then the Intel built in graphics HD 630.

All the other stuff is the same for those mini's, SSD of one size or another.

What troubles me about most all Mac computers is that now they have everything Soldered to the motherboard (Apple Speak Logic board) which doesn't allow upgrading it in any way once you buy it. And if any one of those soldered on parts fail you have to pay for a complete replacement motherboard along with all the soldered on components that haven't failed.

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a Mac computer let alone switch from a PC to a Mac.

[DSWfoto]

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a Mac computer let alone switch from a PC to a Mac.

Because I've been using PCs since 1985 and want a change.

[Lumigraphics]

Attacking Apple isn't helpful. I personally use Windows at my day job and Mac for my freelance business and can't see why anyone prefers Windows, its a gawdawful mess.

However, I'm here to provide answers, not judge someone's choice of computer platform.

The 2018 Mac mini is no different than small form factor computers that run Windows, or laptops, with components being soldered to the logic board. They are designed for people who don't care much about expansion or are fine doing so with external devices. The 2018 mini has Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3 which are plenty fast for external storage and an eGPU if needed. It can be upgraded to 64GB of RAM which should be plenty for the lifespan of that model.

I'm personally using a 2011 21.5" iMac as my production machine, with five external hard drives and 20GB of RAM, and it works just fine. My LR catalog has about 350,000 images. A new mini should be just fine.

[JBKLUX]

Hi, DSWfoto,

I ended in this thread because I am considering the exactly same purchase. Not to replace my Windows PC but as a supplement and it will include running Lightroom and Photoshop. So, not all reply to your thread because they have an answer, but i agree that you have received some useless comments and understand your frustrations. That is unfortunately general for Internet forums.

I fully understand your disappointment of the Adobe forums based on this thread. I think the answer was Johan stating that it is probably too early to get qualified responses is the  relevant one together with sciully999's answer, actually one with hands on experience, I would have expected less noise and better performance than a laptop.

The worst response was from Adobe staff referring to a non Adobe site on how to migrate your Lightroom catalog to a new computer, LOL!. Conclusion: "Adobe are not capable of understanding a quite simple question and Adobe doesn't know how to move a catalog" 😉

Interested to hear more experiences about this new Mac Mini and Lightroom.

cheers!

[JBKLUX]

Re-stating the stereotype about Apple being best since sliced bread isn't helpful either. There are 'one or two' not yet in the sect. Windows can be messy due to its open nature and thereby extreme support of hardware and the enormous amount of software available. But I have not seen the famous 'Blue Screen of Death' for many many years. On the contrary, my wife (and others with her) lost her photos on her iPhone due to an bad iOS upgrade (got it recovered without meta data thanks to a backup on a Windows computer and changing the file type to jpeg. something that Apple had hidden). So there are pros and cons.

That said, I am here as a Windows user that think this new Mac Mini looks very attractive and in contrast to the general opinion among reviewers (and most Windows users going in position), I do not think it is overpriced. Not cheap either. But quite a power house in a small box! That's not for free.

[JohanElzenga]

dj_paige  wrote

DSWfoto   wrote

Thanks.  I'm looking more from a performance standpoint (How well Lightroom performs on the Mac Minis).  They have an iGPU (Intel HD 630) which could hinder performance.

SInce you haven't given us the specs of this Mac Mini, we can't answer any questions. We also don't know your workflow.

Furthermore, it seems as if the Mac Mini comes in different varieties, I would definitely get the i7 and not the i5 and definitely not the i3 if you care concerned about performance. If you are getting a 4K or 5K monitor with this, then that is a potential cause of slowness, and I wouldn't recommend that myself, I would use the standard HD 1920x1080 monitor.

Nevertheless, there are reports in this forum which you should search for regarding the performance on Mac Mini. These reports are somewhat biased in that they appear in this forum only when someone has problems, nevertheless it is common to hear people complain about the fans running loudly.

Reports about the Mac Mini will (mainly) be about the old one. The new Mac Mini was just launched, so I don't think you'll find any reports yet about Lightroom on that (much more powerful) version in this forum.

[Reinhard76]

Also interested in this. Am interested to hear from someone using the new Mac mini 2018 with i7 CPU how well (fast) it performs in LR.

[GoldingD]

What version of LR? Stand alone or Creative Cloud?

Stand Alone, nope, OS Mojave will not support it

Creative Cloud, issue especially pre CC 2018, its the OS Mojave that is fouling things up. Read all the issues forum mebers are having with Mojave.

[JohanElzenga]

davidg36166309  wrote

What version of LR? Stand alone or Creative Cloud?

Stand Alone, nope, OS Mojave will not support it

Creative Cloud, issue especially pre CC 2018, its the OS Mojave that is fouling things up. Read all the issues forum mebers are having with Mojave.

I don’t understand these reactions. Somebody asks about how well Lightroom runs on a new computer that Apple just introduced, not if certain versions of Lightroom have a problem with MacOS X Mojave. I’m interested in this question too, because I‘m also considering buying a new Mac Mini. And I would obviously run Lightroom Classic CC (v8] on it.

[GoldingD]

Known issues - Running Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC on macOS 10.14 Mojave

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

davidg36166309  wrote

Known issues - Running Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC on macOS 10.14 Mojave

Sigh... Did you understand a word of what I said? This thread is not about Lightroom and Mojave. This thread is about how fast Lightroom will run on the new Mac Mini.

[DSWfoto]

JohanEl54  wrote

Sigh... Did you understand a word of what I said? This thread is not about Lightroom and Mojave. This thread is about how fast Lightroom will run on the new Mac Mini.

Thank you.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Adobe Forums are useless.. 

I've marked your response as the correct answer because everything else was people saying stuff that had NOTHING to do with my question --  "Does Lightroom run well on the new Mac Minis".. 
I've been told:

• I wasn't descriptive in my specs (I was).
• Mac Mini was too new(It had been out for a week when I asked the question).
• Why would I upgrade to a Mac(Why would you reply or even read a Mac question if you are biased against Macs?).
• And Mojave isn't a good OS(good to know but still not answering my question).

[Just Shoot Me]

DSWfoto  wrote

• Why would I upgrade to a Mac(Why would you reply or even read a Mac question if you are biased against Macs?).

I am not bias against Mac computers. I am bias about Apple in general.

I have a Mac, mid 2011 27" iMac, to fool around with and I have LR installed on it. But I use my Win 7 desktop PC for all my heavy lifting.

And I would never switch over for my primary system. But that is just me.

As with any computer some work flawlessly other not so much. If you read these forums you will find many post about how SSSLOW LR runs with both OS X and Windows. LR runs fine on both my Win systems and my OS X system. Although slower on the Mac as it is just an i5 CPU and the Windows systems are both i7 CPUs. All have SSD's.

[DSWfoto]

I am not bias against Mac computers. I am bias about Apple in general.

Please refer to my original post.

"I'm considering moving from PC to a Mac Mini 2018 w/ i7, 16GB Ram.  Has anyone else tried this setup and how well does Lightroom and Photoshop run on it?"

So, have you tried this setup? No? Then don't reply!

[Lumigraphics]

You do realize that the new mini's will be running Mojave? So yes it is helpful to know about limitations because you could encounter them.

As for "the stereotype", I was responding to another poster. Since I use Adobe software on both Windows and Mac every day, I thought that perspective might be helpful.

From a higher level standpoint, a question like this doesn't really have an answer. There is no standard benchmark or criteria for how Lightroom runs. What I call great, you might think is dog-slow. And when the sample size is bound to be tiny (the new mini was just announced) its going to be hard to get anything concrete.

Lightroom runs well on current hardware. The CPU/GPU, memory, and storage in the new mini is enough that there are no obvious configuration issues. Macs are generally well-built with better fit and finish than cheap PC hardware and hold their value better, so that is part of what you are paying for. Some of us strongly prefer MacOS (and I personally have been in IT for years, along with being a working pro photographer and designer) so we see value there.

[JohanElzenga]

Lumigraphics  wrote

You do realize that the new mini's will be running Mojave? So yes it is helpful to know about limitations because you could encounter them.

As for "the stereotype", I was responding to another poster. Since I use Adobe software on both Windows and Mac every day, I thought that perspective might be helpful.

From a higher level standpoint, a question like this doesn't really have an answer. There is no standard benchmark or criteria for how Lightroom runs. What I call great, you might think is dog-slow. And when the sample size is bound to be tiny (the new mini was just announced) its going to be hard to get anything concrete.

Lightroom runs well on current hardware. The CPU/GPU, memory, and storage in the new mini is enough that there are no obvious configuration issues. Macs are generally well-built with better fit and finish than cheap PC hardware and hold their value better, so that is part of what you are paying for. Some of us strongly prefer MacOS (and I personally have been in IT for years, along with being a working pro photographer and designer) so we see value there.

Yes, we do realize that the Mac Mini runs on Mojave, but that is not relevant for this question. My MacBook Pro also runs on Mojave already, so I know what to expect and how to fix it. If I would buy another new Mac, it would run on Mojave too. And current issues with Mojave may be fixed with the next update of Lightroom anyway.

It's clear that you have no personal experience with Lightroom on the new Mac Mini.

[Lumigraphics]

Nobody has experience with the new Mac mini, because its brand new. Plus, performance is going to be right in line with other current Macs.

The hardware is much less important than the software issues.

These questions really don't help anyone, TBH. Asking about a specific computer is pointless unless its an older or baseline model that won't run a program well. Anything current will do ok, in line with similar models.

[JohanElzenga]

Because of the integrated GPU, performance of Lightroom and Photoshop will be interesting, especially in combination with a 4K or 5K screen. It won't be simply like 'other current Macs'. That is why it's a very valid question if somebody already has personal experience. If you can't answer that or aren't interested in it, that's fine. But then don't answer it. And don't tell the OP or me that we can't ask this.

[Lumigraphics]

Until recently, my production machine was an early-2011 13" MacBook Pro with Intel Graphics 3000 and a 2.3GHz i5 CPU. Much slower than the new Mac mini. I have over 350,000 images in my Lightroom catalog and didn't have problems with performance.

You can't just ignore other people's experience on similar or older computers. And I did say that there is no real universal metric for application performance.

Let's just agree to disagree and let's also NOT try to censor who posts what in response to a question.

[JohanElzenga]

I think you totally misunderstand the question. I have a MacBook Pro 13" from 2016 running Mojave, so I know how Lightroom runs on that. I have no 'problems with performance' and I certainly do not expect the new Mac Mini to have 'problems', but that doesn't mean I would not like to know if somebody already has some personal experience with it. The OP asked for that too. What's wrong with that? And what part of 'personal' don't you understand?

I don't want to censor anyone, but if people ask for personal experience and you don't have that, why respond? You even said "These questions really don't help anyone, TBH". In other words, it seems that you are the one who wants to censor us, not vice versa.