Slow operation while performing basic edits

Thank you. If I do buy a new one with an M3 Pro chip, do I then need less memory? My current computer has 32gb but is still struggling.

By @bellaf95161709

The answers change depending on which applications you use the most, so the answers below are specific to Lightroom Classic.

Memory:

18GB should work, but the upgrade to 36GB will be worth it for a camera with more megapixels (such as the R5), or if you edit files with large pixel dimensions (e.g., panoramas), do a lot of merges (multi-frame merges to HDR or panoramas), or add many layers in Photoshop. My M1 Pro has 32GB, and based on what I see from watching memory usage and where software is going, I think 32GB is my minimum in the future.

For Mac photo editing, one big reason to avoid the minimum amount is that the memory is shared with the graphics hardware (GPU). So when using an application such as Lightroom Classic that can use the GPU to enhance performance, it’s good to have more than the minimum so that the OS, applications, and GPU all have the memory they need for full potential performance.

Again, having owned a similar Intel Core i5 13" MacBook Pro, I continue to believe the problems your current Mac has are not related to the memory amount, but due to the older, less powerful CPU and the very limited graphics hardware it comes with. An M1/M2/M3 will address those problems.

Upgrading to 36gb costs £360 extra but I don't know if it's needed if i have a better chip? Also what is the difference between 11-core CPU / 14-core GPU and 12-core CPU / 18-core GPU and which one do I need?

By @bellaf95161709

Upgrading the chip and the memory are sort of different subjects, but again it depends on the application. In general, though, if you have demands that need a more powerful chip, that usually means you shouldn’t bottleneck it with too little memory. In other words, having a balanced system is important because everything works together.

Regarding the cores and Lightroom Classic:

If you get more CPU cores, some activities that involve processing many images at once should be faster, like building/updating previews in parallel and maybe pasting edit settings on many images at once. But the 11-core base model should be quite good as it is, so I don’t think this is the highest priority. (Mine has 8 CPU cores.)

If you get more GPU cores, activities that use GPU acceleration should be faster. Those can include the Develop module on high megapixel images, AI masking, and bulk export of hundreds of images at the same time. Right now the biggest beneficiary of GPU cores is AI Denoise; if you use that feature often or plan to, the number of GPU cores is directly related to how fast AI Denoise goes. Generally, twice the GPU cores will run AI Denoise twice as fast, which for some people is the difference between needing an hour vs a half hour to batch AI Denoise 60 high-megapixel images.

If you’re looking only at the M3 Pro, the performance difference between 11/14 and 12/18 CPU/GPU cores might not be enough to notice, especially if you tend to edit only one or two images at a time. That is part of the reason I went with the base Pro to save some money. (Doubling of cores comes with the expensive M3 Max, and the M3 Ultra which is not out yet. The people who should get the M3 Max do high volume shoots at least a few times a month.)