advertisement


New Macs 2023

Thanks Craig, yes that not really going to work. Will go with a monitor. Suspect I will cover a fair percentage of the cost of the monitor selling the older iMac.

They're always sought after...

I had no issues selling my 21.5" and my Mum's 21.5" iMacs and my 27" iMac...

They all sold within a few days on eBay!

Worth waiting for their £1 or 80% off listing offers

Gumtree works too!
 
Thanks Craig, yes that not really going to work. Will go with a monitor. Suspect I will cover a fair percentage of the cost of the monitor selling the older iMac.
If you want to access a Mac Mini from a remote iMac so that you can use its screen and keyboard you can use the macOS built in VNC server and viewer. I have never used an iMac but its operation shouldn't be any different. For example I can access any Mac I have from another computer a Mac or what have you and use its screen.

On the mini select screen sharing under sharing and note its IP address then on the iMac right click Finder and select connect to server and in the address bar key in vnc://ip address of mini. You'll be prompted for the User Name and password for the Mini and then you are in!

This works on any OS X or macOS computer.

DV
 
If you want to access a Mac Mini from a remote iMac so that you can use its screen and keyboard you can use the macOS built in VNC server and viewer. I have never used an iMac but its operation shouldn't be any different. For example I can access any Mac I have from another computer a Mac or what have you and use its screen.

On the mini select screen sharing under sharing and note its IP address then on the iMac right click Finder and select connect to server and in the address bar key in vnc://ip address of mini. You'll be prompted for the User Name and password for the Mini and then you are in!

This works on any OS X or macOS computer.

DV
That is sort of the opposite of what @flapland was referring to doing. He was considering using this iMac screen as display for the mini via 'target display mode' rather than purchasing a dedicated monitor. Basically one connects two compatible Macs together via Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt/Thunderbolt 2 cable and uses COMMAND + F2 to switch in or out of target display mode. Responsiveness is indistinguishable from having a dedicated monitor connected to the mini (or whichever Mac one is using).

An interesting side to target display mode is that the iMac can still be running apps and/or operating as a music server. One can switch in or out of target display mode at either end (or alternate between target display mode and screen sharing). One let down is that the iMac camera and mic are unusable from a connected Mac, although one could simply connect via team conferencing software or FaceTime from the iMac if necessary.

The current equivalent of target display mode for 2019 or later Macs running Monterey or later is to enable AirPlay Receiver mode via Sharing. One advance here, relative to target display mode, is that there is no need for direct cable connection, plus one can mirror or extend one's desktop. I had a play with this at a local Apple resellers when Monterey came out and it seemed to work well.

P.S. Best of luck with your surgery.
 
Last edited:
Does an external display place more stress on a MacBook than using its own display, whether in mirroring or clamshell mode? After several years of light, trouble-free use, my 2010 MBP died a few months after it was repurposed to show BBC iPlayer programmes on an external 21.5" 1080P display for just a couple of hours per day. I have no evidence of what component failed or what caused the failure, all I know is the temps and fan speeds were higher when the external display was connected. I've therefore been reluctant to connect another external display to a MacBook as I've got it into my head that the desktop Macs (Pros, Minis, Studios) are better equipped to drive external displays. Am I being paranoid?
 
Does an external display place more stress on a MacBook than using its own display, whether in mirroring or clamshell mode? After several years of light, trouble-free use, my 2010 MBP died a few months after it was repurposed to show BBC iPlayer programmes on an external 21.5" 1080P display for just a couple of hours per day. I have no evidence of what component failed or what caused the failure, all I know is the temps and fan speeds were higher when the external display was connected. I've therefore been reluctant to connect another external display to a MacBook as I've got in into my head that the desktop Macs (Pros, Minis, Studios) are better equipped to drive external displays. Am I being paranoid?

The M1s handle it much better; but the Intel Macs could get hot running an external monitor...

If you don't need the portability of the MacBook; then the Mini is perfect

I've got both mine connected to my BenQ monitor constantly and never have any issues at all; with either and my MBA is running lots of apps as well as numerous Chrome tabs all at the same time
 
I am very happy with my M1 base mini connected to a Dell 27” monitor. If you just need something for general home computing it might be a good time to pick one up if they are discounting them.
 
I configured a few Mini and Studio options last night to see what it would cost were I to go with a high-ish end M-based Mac. It's not so much the computing power that's an issue for me as the amount of RAM and HD space I'd like. Even the lower-end M-based Macs have lots of power.

If you can get away with, say, 16 GB RAM and 500 GB storage, an M-based Mac is good value for the computer you get, but as soon as you increase RAM to 64 GB or more and HD space to 2 TB or above ... yikes! Apple unfortunately limits the big memory upgrades to their higher-end models.

At least with the Intel-based Macs you could add RAM after you bought the computer and at considerably less than what Apple charges.

Joe
 
The M1s handle it much better; but the Intel Macs could get hot running an external monitor...

If you don't need the portability of the MacBook; then the Mini is perfect

I've got both mine connected to my BenQ monitor constantly and never have any issues at all; with either and my MBA is running lots of apps as well as numerous Chrome tabs all at the same time

My 16" Intel MBP runs with two 27" screens and a load of other gumpf (hard drives, soundcards, midi controllers, cameras, headsets etc) without any issues. That there's only three useable ports (when one is used for power) is the only drawback, which means I have to use a couple of USB C hubs aswell.
 
If you can get away with, say, 16 GB RAM and 500 GB storage, an M-based Mac is good value for the computer you get, but as soon as you increase RAM to 64 GB or more and HD space to 2 TB or above ... yikes! Apple unfortunately limits the big memory upgrades to their higher-end models.
I'll hold for some real-world reviews to see if there's any truth to Apple's claims that you don't need as much memory with the new M2 architecture. Memory is the only real concern for me, because the computing power is (probably) way more than I need and the internal HD is way less than I want so I'll go with external HDs (and my NAS) anyway.

I'm still on an older 27" i7-based iMac and it's fine but it will need replacing at some point. I'm not frightened by the MacMini prices and cost of a decent monitor as such, but it would of course be nice to be able to reduce the investment a bit.
 
CarrotMan,

I'll hold for some real-world reviews to see if there's any truth to Apple's claims that you don't need as much memory with the new M2 architecture

That's a good idea. That said, while I can see the new architecture using memory more efficiently, I can't understand why a user wouldn't need lots of RAM for certain applications. Several high-res images with multiple levels of undo in Photoshop gobbles up a lot of memory no matter what chip it's running on.

Joe
 
Does an external display place more stress on a MacBook than using its own display, whether in mirroring or clamshell mode? After several years of light, trouble-free use, my 2010 MBP died a few months after it was repurposed to show BBC iPlayer programmes on an external 21.5" 1080P display for just a couple of hours per day. I have no evidence of what component failed or what caused the failure, all I know is the temps and fan speeds were higher when the external display was connected. I've therefore been reluctant to connect another external display to a MacBook as I've got it into my head that the desktop Macs (Pros, Minis, Studios) are better equipped to drive external displays. Am I being paranoid?
Mate it’s 13 years old that’s not bad going for a lappy, lay it to rest and have a whisky in its honour.
 
Mate it’s 13 years old that’s not bad going for a lappy, lay it to rest and have a whisky in its honour.
It died a few years ago actually but I'm still getting over it! :D

On the plus side my 2011 MBA is still going strong despite seeing daily use/abuse for the last 12 years so I shouldn't complain too much! ;)
 
CarrotMan,



That's a good idea. That said, while I can see the new architecture using memory more efficiently, I can't understand why a user wouldn't need lots of RAM for certain applications. Several high-res images with multiple levels of undo in Photoshop gobbles up a lot of memory no matter what chip it's running on.

Joe
Joe, Have you played with the new silicon yet? Unless you’re doing 5K video editing or have a gigapixel camera I can’t image even the lowliest m1 mini not being up to the task. Slap a big SSD usb-c external drive on it and I bet you are good to go. Worth taking a stick of images into the Apple Store to run one through its paces.
 
Dan,

No, I’m still running an Intel-based iMac. It’s giving me no issues at all and it’s still supported by Apple so upgrading is not a priority right now. Besides, I’m feeling the pinch of inflation — prices up about 10 percent on average with wages not nearly as much — so I’ve gone into miser mode.

I’m more M curious than M acquiring.

Joe
 
I kept my PowerPC desktop for as long as I could and the same will happen with my Intel Macs, a 2012 MBP and a 2013 iMac which I bought used for £360 and £320 respectively when they were around 3 years old.
Unlike others I find the iMac's large high quality screen with a small footprint ideal for architecture, also for photography. For those using rendering/visualisation software there's the Pro version.

I am also using a 2018 Mac mini as a streamer, and that might be upgraded to M1 if I get a DAC which does DSD512. HQPlayer is a very power-hungry upscaler.
 

The new Mac Mini looks seriously good value. As with all Apple kit I have real concerns with regards to long-term serviceability, though I do fully grasp much of the incredible performance of the M series is down to RAM and SSD integration. It is basically a single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi with bespoke busses and integration. Anyway, looks like the Mini is a bit of a bargain. A seriously powerful computer.

PS This may be the year I eventually retire my trusty 2012 MBP for the new 14” M2 MBP. That looks like a superb computer, though the screen camera notch thing is absurd. Definitely bug not feature!

I have the M1 14" and hardly ever notice it. I actually quite like it now.
 
Dan,

Joe, Have you played with the new silicon yet? Unless you’re doing 5K video editing or have a gigapixel camera I can’t image even the lowliest m1 mini not being up to the task.

Out of curiosity, I just specced out the lowest-end Mac M2 Mini with 24 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD, a 27-inch 5k display, keyboard and mouse. Getting 24 GB RAM is as low as I'd want to go given that I'm often using >60 GB on my current iMac. Screen grab from mere moments ago...

arXb6lV.png


Even with the education discount, the middling M-based Mini with nice screen, keyboard and mouse is almost five thousand Canuck clams once tax is added.

lWleenQ.png


All hypothetical, but that's nuts. It's safe to conclude that I shall continue to play with Intel silicon until its bits and bytes fall off.

Joe
 
I’m guessing $2K of that is the monitor. Apple monitors are always pricey. Good, but pricey.

I’d not focus on the specs but try to do a dem. (Sounds like hifi advice) You may be pleasantly surprised. Of course you are going to need to use software built for the new silicon and have it installed, so that’s a problem if the Apple Store can’t set you up with photoshop. But why spec a monster pricey internal drive? An external crucial x8 2TB costs $130 with a usb-c bus speed of 10GB/s and sequential read of 1000MB/s. Your Df doesn’t create Uber massive files AFAIK.
 
Dan,

Yes, $2k is for the 5k monitor, essentially the same panel that's in my 2020 27-inch iMac. If I were to go with a Mac Mini I'd want a monitor at least as good as what I'm using now. (I am using other cameras, too, and my film scanner outputs files that are ~9000 x 9000 pixels. Scrimping on RAM is really not an option.)

It's just an academic exercise, wondering what it would cost were I to try an M-based Mac as you suggested the other day. I'm not looking to spend thousands right now, and the last 27-inch iMac Apple made is still a capable machine that didn't cost an arm to upgrade to 80 GB of RAM.

Joe
 
A 2020 iMac should still be a very capable machine, especially if you’ve maxed it out. I certainly am not pushing for anyone to buy new if what they have is working. I would, however, question the assumption that M based systems need to have as much on chip ram as intel systems have off chip ram, ie 16GB of on chip is scrimping in any way. Would be interesting to see some PS benchmarks on that.

A quick google found a review of an m2 pro with 16GB:
“But what does that translate to in use? To be honest, in the short time I've been using this machine, I've yet to find anything that slows it down. At one point I was running Premier Pro (with 8K video) alongside After Effects, Freeform and an anxiety-inducing number of browser tabs, many playing YouTube tutorials, and the mini did it all not only with ease, but silently.


After that, I knew it would have no problem dealing with high res, multi-layer PSD files in Adobe Photoshop CChttps://www.digitalcameraworld.com/...ection-apple-mac-mini-m2-pro-2023-performance
 


advertisement


Back
Top