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Evening all,
I am wondering if I can get some help with this. I wasn't sure if its best posted here or in one of the hardware threads, but here goes.
I am looking for something to replace an ageing 2011 Macbook pro which is really starting to chug, I popped an SSD and maxed the ram to 16gb some time ago now. I run this with a CalDigit TB2 doc to power my external Benq SW2700 photography monitor.
Looking forwards, I am looking for a machine that can as said above be primarily for photo editing, but also I would quite like to have a go at shooting video and learning to edit that.
I have been looking at the following machines, and I am totally open to suggestions, most of what I am about to list are prebuilt machines, but I am not averse to building my own if I need to. I am not fixed to Apple and I have no issue in going to a Windows 10 machine, so totally open. Only other thing to mention is I haven't built a computer since before I got my macbook, and before that I had an iMac, so almost 10 years since my last self build, not an issue as such, just I am way out of the loop on whats the latest things etc etc.
1. Dell XPS 7590 i7 (6 core)/512gb/16gb - I quite like the look of these, know you can upgrade the NVME SSD and the ram down the line and it will go unto 32gb ram. Unsure on which screen would be best to get with it, FHD will get most out of the battery on the go, but there is also a 4k IPS touch and a 4k OLED, the latter two options as I understand it are somewhat battery killers and I am not sure if touch is really required for my use or if it would just be a gimmick.
2. Mac Mini 2018 (think its 2018, the latest model) with an I7 6 core/least ram as would look to upgrade it myself/maybe an EGPU (not sure if I would need it for my use) / 512ssd - Keeps me in the Mac ecosystem, small form factor, even more so if egpu is not needed. Seems pretty powerful, presume just as much as the XPS laptop above as its all laptop style hardware I believe. Any downsides to this one? Is an egpu required for my use?
3. Custom build desktop - Not sure on specs as such but presuming at least a 6 core cpu, 32gb ram, 512/1tb ssd / GFX card of some form - This I will presume has to be the most bespoke option, as I can spec it to however I like it etc. Could be the largest form factor and potentially noisiest option of them all? Can a powerful machine be build into a smaller case allowing for great cooling? Also, without starting an argument, I have always been an Intel guy, but there seems to be a lot of good things I have read about Ryzen but I know nothing about them.
4. An outsider, but the new Macbook pro 16inch had caught my eye, but at an eye watering £2400 for the base model, I would need to justify this as being better than all of the other options in order to go down that route and also perhaps sell an arm, leg or a kidney to help fund it. Apple prices, Mac Mini aside, seem to have gone a little bit crazy in recent years. My current MBP cost me about £1600 all that time ago and I thought that was pretty expensive.
They are the options I have been thinking about currently, what do you guys have, what would you recommend to me, what would fit my requirements the best?
Thanks in advance!
I am wondering if I can get some help with this. I wasn't sure if its best posted here or in one of the hardware threads, but here goes.
I am looking for something to replace an ageing 2011 Macbook pro which is really starting to chug, I popped an SSD and maxed the ram to 16gb some time ago now. I run this with a CalDigit TB2 doc to power my external Benq SW2700 photography monitor.
Looking forwards, I am looking for a machine that can as said above be primarily for photo editing, but also I would quite like to have a go at shooting video and learning to edit that.
I have been looking at the following machines, and I am totally open to suggestions, most of what I am about to list are prebuilt machines, but I am not averse to building my own if I need to. I am not fixed to Apple and I have no issue in going to a Windows 10 machine, so totally open. Only other thing to mention is I haven't built a computer since before I got my macbook, and before that I had an iMac, so almost 10 years since my last self build, not an issue as such, just I am way out of the loop on whats the latest things etc etc.
1. Dell XPS 7590 i7 (6 core)/512gb/16gb - I quite like the look of these, know you can upgrade the NVME SSD and the ram down the line and it will go unto 32gb ram. Unsure on which screen would be best to get with it, FHD will get most out of the battery on the go, but there is also a 4k IPS touch and a 4k OLED, the latter two options as I understand it are somewhat battery killers and I am not sure if touch is really required for my use or if it would just be a gimmick.
2. Mac Mini 2018 (think its 2018, the latest model) with an I7 6 core/least ram as would look to upgrade it myself/maybe an EGPU (not sure if I would need it for my use) / 512ssd - Keeps me in the Mac ecosystem, small form factor, even more so if egpu is not needed. Seems pretty powerful, presume just as much as the XPS laptop above as its all laptop style hardware I believe. Any downsides to this one? Is an egpu required for my use?
3. Custom build desktop - Not sure on specs as such but presuming at least a 6 core cpu, 32gb ram, 512/1tb ssd / GFX card of some form - This I will presume has to be the most bespoke option, as I can spec it to however I like it etc. Could be the largest form factor and potentially noisiest option of them all? Can a powerful machine be build into a smaller case allowing for great cooling? Also, without starting an argument, I have always been an Intel guy, but there seems to be a lot of good things I have read about Ryzen but I know nothing about them.
4. An outsider, but the new Macbook pro 16inch had caught my eye, but at an eye watering £2400 for the base model, I would need to justify this as being better than all of the other options in order to go down that route and also perhaps sell an arm, leg or a kidney to help fund it. Apple prices, Mac Mini aside, seem to have gone a little bit crazy in recent years. My current MBP cost me about £1600 all that time ago and I thought that was pretty expensive.
They are the options I have been thinking about currently, what do you guys have, what would you recommend to me, what would fit my requirements the best?
Thanks in advance!
