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Question

New iMac spec recommendations for running Adobe apps?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
October 26, 2023
3 replies
2652 views

I’ve been having insane trouble with my iMac the past year or so, it grinds to an absolute halt when running any Adobe creative cloud programs. I’m using the oldest version of the Adobe apps that i can but its still lagging the whole machine to a halt. I looked into it previously and as far as i know what I was told at the time; the iMac is reaching the end of its lifespan / I cannot update the OS any more past the current one which is OS Catalina Version 10.15.7 so issues will be continuing & accumulating / the graphics card/driver can no longer cope with how the new adobe apps works as it is only 1GB - Is all of this correct?

The spec of my current iMac is:

mac OS Catalina

Version 10.15.7

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

Processor: 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M 1 GB

If there is no other way to fix this, I am happy to buy a new machine at this point it is completely unusable.

If so, can someone please recommend to me what I need to buy to easily run Adobe?I am not super well informed when it comes to this stuff like the hardware, memory etc. I am a professional self employed graphic designer and I want it to be a 27 inch iMac like I have but any other additions in terms of graphics card, memory or RAM recommended? I’ll buy straight from the Apple website here in Ireland.

Appreciate any advice.

How to

This topic has been closed for replies.

Warren Heaton

Community Expert

Your 27-inch iMac should handle 1080p ProRes well, assuming storage media is fast enough. 2160p edits are going to require the Proxy Workflow to be smooth (for example, 2160p ProRes 422 HQ Full Resolution source with "ProRes Low Resolution Proxies") and patience when it comes to rendering Previews and exporting.

As you've noticed, it's a tough time to upgrade from a 27-inch Retina Display iMac. The modern equivalent of your Intel i5 27-inch iMac is a higher-end Mac mini or lower-end Mac Studio with a 27-inch Apple Studio Display, but even a base M1 will offer an excellent performance increase compared to what you are using now - the main difference would be that a base model Mac mini has fewer ports. You'd want to be very mindful about what you need to connect.

Or course, Apple will be announcing new hardware this Monday, October 30th.

E

EveCaroAuthor

Known Participant

Thank you, from research so far I am thinking a high end mac-mini would suffice and get a basic screen somewhere. I don't think my existing iMac can be used as a screen with the new mac mini or mac studio and it has no trade in value either so will just become a spare! So you think the base M1 would be fine in the mac mini? I don't need ports I don't do video editing or anything like that just InDesign, AI & PS.

kglad

Community Expert

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from using the community to photoshop to hardware">

jane-e

Community Expert

@EveCaro

Look at the Recommended (not minimum) system requirements for Premiere Pro and Photoshop. If you meet or exceed those, you'll be good.

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html#macos

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

Jane

E

EveCaroAuthor

Known Participant

Thank you thats helpful.

I'm just super confused as looking at Apples current products there is no 27 ins iMac, has it moved to a box and a seperate screen? and if so could i keep my current 27 inch screen and just buy a little box thing or a laptop?

Conrad_C

Community Expert

Thanks I've checked that out and the big announcement was a Mac book pro is that right? I have very little use for a laptop but frankly will go with whatever gets me a good system at a reasonable price! Is the M3 chip overkill for me though? Is the mac book pro perhaps unnecessary I could just get the mac mini? I will have to get a large screen regardless. Many thanks it is just overload with all the different grades of chips!

Yes, most of the announcement was about upgrading the MacBook Pro line to new M3 processors.

They also, finally, announced an upgrade to the iMac, taking it all the way from M1 to M3. However, it’s still a 24" iMac, so anyone who’s been hoping for a current 27" iMac is still waiting.

An M1 or M2 Mac mini with 16–32GB memory should serve you well for several years. Apple doesn’t sell new M1 Mac minis anymore, so if you’re buying a new Mac mini from Apple it will be an M2, and there is nothing wrong with that. The Mac mini has not yet been upgraded to M3.

Although the M3 is a little faster, the M2 is quite good already and if a Mac you want is available as an M2 within budget, there’s no reason to hold out for an M3.

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