M3 Macs: can I get by with an iMac for Photoshop and InDesign?

[RockyLover24]

Hello I'm a former book cover designer who does some website design and need to pick up some freelance work in InDesign, Photoshop and maybe Illustrator.  My old 2014 27" iMac hard drive just bit the dust. Have very tight budget -- considering M3 iMac 24" so I have a decent display since doubt I can afford both new Mac and decent display same time. Will miss my 27" but liked new iMac screens for their text crispness and image clarity. Under very tight budget -- Apple Studio Display too steep, didn't like harsh black bezel and I didnt like any of the cheaper 24-27" monitors I saw at Best Buy. If I didn't need a high quality display for older eyes I'd get newish Mac Mini or laptop.

If I go for new M3 iMacs can I get away* with 256 GB SSD internal and 16 GB RAM config and good external HD or should I go to 24 GB and 512 GB SSD and 10 core GPU??? 

*Since I'm older not I'm anticipating super heavy production environment although I used to do multi-layered collages in Photoshop and botanical artwork in Illustrator.  And since Creative Suite has iOS apps, I'm hoping to get iPad down the road if I need to make minor edits while traveling or in the field. 

Leaning towards the 512 SSD and 24 GB RAM config since I'll never be able to upgrade after the fact. 

Thanks in advance!

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@RockyLover24 in general I stay away from iMacs. If anything goes wrong - monitor display, etc. you have to send the entire computer into Apple for repair leaving you high and dry.

I would opt for a M3 MacMini or Mac Studio.

Either way - a 256 GB HD is extremely tiny and wont leave you with much room for applications and scratch disks. Go at least 512 GB or better yet 1 TB.

[Conrad_C]

If I go for new M3 iMacs can I get away with 256 GB SSD internal and 16 GB RAM config and good external HD or should I go to 24 GB and 512 GB SSD and 10 core GPU???

…Leaning towards the 512 SSD and 24 GB RAM config since I'll never be able to upgrade after the fact. 

By @RockyLover24

If the budget can handle the 512GB SSD and 24GB Unified Memory, and you have external storage for photos and InDesign layouts, then with that you should be good for several years.

The internal storage capacity you get needs to be enough that you can always maintain around 100–200GB free on the Mac internal SSD for various large temporary files, such as the Photoshop scratch files temporarily created while editing. If the Photoshop files use many layers and/or have large pixel dimensions like more than 24 megapixels, it may be necessary to leave more free space for larger scratch files, or assign Photoshop scratch files to an external SSD with enough free space.

The M3 processor with 24GB of Unified Memory should do the job very well, and it should be noticeably snappier than your old Intel Mac.

Just for context, what would push you to a higher processor, like the Pro or Max level of the M2/M3 in the Mac Mini/Mac Studio, is if you had said you need to do lots of bulk processing like frequently importing/exporting 200 photos from Camera Raw/Lightroom, or editing 4K video with lots of tracks and effects. But InDesign and Photoshop are usually less demanding, so the new M3 iMac should be able to handle them easily and be a nice, fast workstation.

And since Creative Suite has iOS apps, I'm hoping to get iPad down the road if I need to make minor edits while traveling or in the field.

By @RockyLover24

Be careful here…although Photoshop and Illustrator apps are available on iPad, they do not have all of the features of the Mac/Windows desktop apps. The iPad apps are currently much more focused on creative work than serious production, and they lack many of the professional features needed for deadline-driven print projects. And InDesign is not currently available on iPad. In my case, to support full featured mobile edits I continue to use a MacBook Pro, which is connected to two large displays when I’m in the studio.