Switching from Windows to Mac

[Big Fish]

Many thanks again. If I could take the library of moving this a bit further avoiding the Mac vs. PC challenge.

Again I am a single user with a primary interest of moving large files 800MB+++ quickly mostly in BW large format prints on an Epson 9880. Additionally, I have multiple thousands of photos to organize into 8-10 project folders that I would like retrieve and store quickly. Will be using LR4. I am anticipating that I will be incorporating video/doc films/editing capabilities. For PC advocates could you please suggest a PC computer that's fast and reliable and a monitor in the 25-30 inch range. I have two back up external drives. My work area is dark so glare is not a problem.

If Mac users would like to suggest a system I would also appreciate a suggested design. Budget $3000.

All comments very appreciated.

[photobymike]

jeeez you dont need that kind of money for a Apple Mac .... look at a topend MAC MINI with 8 gigs ram... and a monitor ...the cost not more than 2thousand ...ok so add some solid state hd drives .... for 2.5 thousand.... i run photoshop 5 on my wife's Mac Mini...its older one with 4 gig ram..... photoshop runs almost instantaneously when i make changes... and thats while i am scanning a 1 gig file in the background with v750 epson

[Preston]

Big Fish,

I sent you a private message with some suggestions.

--P

[Mike Anderson]

One option is to get a used Mac Pro, forgoing the latest greatest CPU, and loading it up with RAM and a solid state drive or 2.

Apple RAM and components are overpriced so there's much savings in getting that stuff from 3rd parties.

[Andreas]

Linux.
Couldn't resist.
Would be perfect if Roy Harrington compiled QTR for it.

[r.e.]

Many thanks again. If I could take the library of moving this a bit further avoiding the Mac vs. PC challenge.

Again I am a single user with a primary interest of moving large files 800MB+++ quickly mostly in BW large format prints on an Epson 9880. Additionally, I have multiple thousands of photos to organize into 8-10 project folders that I would like retrieve and store quickly. Will be using LR4. I am anticipating that I will be incorporating video/doc films/editing capabilities. For PC advocates could you please suggest a PC computer that's fast and reliable and a monitor in the 25-30 inch range. I have two back up external drives. My work area is dark so glare is not a problem.

If Mac users would like to suggest a system I would also appreciate a suggested design. Budget $3000.

All comments very appreciated.

With the disclosure that I hold shares in Apple...

You are an obvious candidate for 16GB of RAM, a solid state internal drive, a Thunderbolt connection and a Thunderbolt-compatible external drive.

Because they are so new, Thunderbolt external drives are extremely expensive and I would hold off on the purchase of this component until prices come down over the next few months. But I would definitely buy a computer with a Thunderbolt connection, which at the moment effectively means a Mac.

I might also mention that it is now possible to rent the use of Adobe software by the month and that there are certain advantages to doing so. I am paying $30/month for Creative Suite, I can keep on my computer only those parts that I currently need (saving space), and I can keep the software on two machines regardless of operating system (for example, one computer can be Apple and one Windows). The price that I'm paying was offered in September, and I did not own the current version of CS - perhaps there are, or will be, similar promotions.

[ericpmoss]

I'd go over to macperformanceguide.com and read up on how he chooses his Macs and how he sets them up. For a fee, he will do a complete configuration and burn-in. I'm not doing my photos on a large scale, so his help is overkill, but if I were going "pro", I'd pay him the $ and get something layed out by a photographer for a photographer.

[Jim Andrada]

@photobymike

Here is a link to the NEC monitor page - the last two displays are the ones I'm talking about. The folks at NEC Display Solutions told me that you can use other profiling gadgets in place of the Spectraview which is only a rebadged unit from I forget who.

http://www.necdisplay.com/category/desktop-monitors

These are seriously good monitors - lots of features way ahead of the Cinema displays. They usually have a couple of refurb units available for about $500 less. I seem to recall that the NEC Spectra-view software stores profiles in the display itself rather than on the PC.

Re my setup - I have two dual link DVI outputs on the nVidia Quattro card on the PC, and profiling usually does a reasonably good job of getting one of the monitors fairly close to the printer. I find though that just due to the differences in backlit vs reflective prints or just the way things look with white borders versus the monitor's frame I always wind up making a couple of small adjustments - I proof on 8 1/2 x 11 and then print on larger ($$$) paper.

Don't get me wrong - I really like the Mac Cinema displays, I was just PO'd about the high handed way that Apple just drops stuff on a moment's notice or the way they suddenly announced the new Final Cut Pro X which won't open existing projects done with the previous version. (Premier Pro, Avid etc will open the older projects just fine so it is technically feasible)

So I guess I'd have to say that I think the Apple products themselves are quite good and the Unix based OS is fine (but not in any way magical or exciting or more productive) but I dislike the arrogance of the company itself and think they're more of an entertainment company and don't trust their commitment to any particular product or, for that matter, to content creators - they're all focused on content consumption.

[r.e.]

Jim,

The reality about Apple is that in straight hardware terms it has led the way on the transition to significantly faster solid state drives and is now leading the way on the transition to the significantly faster Thunderbolt connection.

Having used flash drives for the last two years, I will never use an internal mechanical drive again, and Thunderbolt is a massive improvement over USB 3, let alone USB 2.

As for photo/video processing software and monitors, buy whatever works for you, but neither delivers speed. Although, that said, it seems pretty clear at this point that the so-called Retina Display, and the inevitable imitators, are going to have an impact on image processing and consumption.

It's a little odd, given Apple's lead in these areas, and its record of innovation in the smartphone and tablet markets as well as increasing share of the personal computer market, that you would call it a content consumption company. The so-called ecosystem supports the hardware sales, not the other way around. Apple's cut on the sale of e-songs, e-movies, e-TV, e-books and apps is insignificant compared to its profits from the sale of hardware.

[Preston]

The folks at NEC Display Solutions told me that you can use other profiling gadgets in place of the Spectraview which is only a rebadged unit from I forget who.

Jim, the sensor you are speaking of is a custom calibrated iOne by X-rite for use on wide-gamut displays with SpectraView II. It is called the MDSVSensor. Calibration of a compatible NEC monitor with SpectraView is basically a hands-off operation. It even installs the resulting profile and sets it as the default in both Windows and Mac. I use SpectraView and the NEC sensor and my calibrations are right on the money, every time. It was worth the added expense, in my opinion.

The NEC P and NEC PA series multisync monitors use hardware calibration: the LUT's are stored in the monitor itself, so they are not dependent on the video card. The profile is stored on your computer in the default location for color profiles.

--P