Need to buy new computer - 4 year old MacMini not cutting it! In dire need of advice . . .

While I'm not computer illiterate by a long shot, I'm nowhere NEAR where many of you are re: computer hardware/software knowledge. So please bear with . . .

In the winter of 2007, about a year after getting my MacMini (version 10.4.11), I purchased Lightroom 1.4, which I'm still using. However, my computer has slowed down tremendously over the last year or so, and Lightroom 1.4 currently does not support the RAW format used by my new Nikon D300s . When I was using my Pentax K10D, RAW was supported (an older version, I believe), but now with the new Nikon, no cigar. While I could certainly upgrade Lightroom, I really think it's time to bite the proverbial bullet and just get a new system. My MacMini has been the best $500 investement in a computer I've ever made, but it's time to move on up.

But to what? My budget is around $2,000 tops. Some of the posts in this "Workflow" forum praise the '27 inch iMAC with the "Quad Core" i5 and 4GB of memory. But are there better, more cost effective options? My needs are really very very simple - this will be my dedicated photo computer. I want to buy Photoshop CS5, and maybe the latest Lightroom - dont' know if I need both, but I do know that I'd like more editing power than Lightroom gives me (although I DO like Lightroom's workflow capabilities, I think many many folks do just fine with using Photoshop).

That's really it. BTW, I have a 500 gig back-up drive (made by Iomega), and I do have a pretty decent HP w2207 monitor. And i have ZERO need for portability - I plan on doing all of my PPing sitting at my desk at home.

I'm partial to Mac, so along those lines what system do you think I should get? Would a simple MacBook do me just fine? I could hook it up to my monitor for larger screen editing, right? Or, for a bit more money, the MacBook Pro? I'm really at a loss here and just need some good, sound advice. Like - get THIS (type in model), and you will have more than enough computing power for your needs.
Thanks as always - you folks rock!
Brian

The i5 iMac would be sufficient and you could add memory later, personally I would get 8GB RAM since CS5 can take advantage of all the memory you have. Make sure that you like the relatively high screen resolution of the 27'' version before you buy it.

A MacBook would be a bit underpowered, particularly if you import large amounts of data into Bridge or LR. Since you already have an external monitor, a newer MacMini might work, too but I would not go that route, I don't find them powerful enough for photo editing.

If you like your external monitor, you could also look into used MacPros.

Hi Brian, I recently bought a 27 inch Quad Core I5 iMac with 4 Gigs of ram which I upgraded to 8 and find that CS5 is significantly faster then CS3 was on the same machine. Over all I could not be happier with my iMac and while I had planned on upgrading to a Mac Pro I changed my mind after playing around with the new iMac. A couple of things I would recommend would be to buy from an Apple store if you can and check the screen before going home for both a yellow tinge documented here http://imac.squeaked.com/test.php which Apple seems to have corrected ( my machine had no issues with this) and cracks in the screen from shipping( I did have to return my first machine for this). I would use http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/DDR3_21.5_27 to add 4 more gigs of rams and for calibration you can't go wrong with Xrite http://www.xritephoto.com/ph_product...ction=overview. Hope this helps if you have any other question feel free to ask.

I just ordered a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with an i5-750 processor and 8 GB of RAM for $1400 and change. That doesn't include a monitor because I already have a Dell 2209wa, excellent for photo editing. You can get that for $300 (or less if you ask for a discount).

Going for the 27 inch Quad Core I5 iMac with 4 Gigs of ram. For a little more than $100 bucks (per the Macsales site that Don referred me to) I'll boost my RAM to 8 gigs and I should be all set.

Seeing there are some refurbished iMacs - I've got a store nearby that sells macs, but I assume the refurbished ones I will have to buy sight unseen. I'm a bit worried about the "yellow tinge" issue, but I'll confirm that if I have an issue I can return with no problemo.

Thanks folks!
Brian

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Originally Posted by Brian Kent

Going for the 27 inch Quad Core I5 iMac with 4 Gigs of ram. For a little more than $100 bucks (per the Macsales site that Don referred me to) I'll boost my RAM to 8 gigs and I should be all set.

Seeing there are some refurbished iMacs - I've got a store nearby that sells macs, but I assume the refurbished ones I will have to buy sight unseen. I'm a bit worried about the "yellow tinge" issue, but I'll confirm that if I have an issue I can return with no problemo.

Thanks folks!
Brian

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Hi Brian, I believe the yellow tinge issue has been fixed in the manafacturing process since it does not seem to pop up on the web any more. Apple will either replace a computer or give a full refund if you are not happy with it, I had a small 1 millimeter scratch on my LCD and they replaced my iMac with an apology and sent me on my way:)

Thanks for the heads up on that Don - nice to know they stand behind their product!
Brian