31-12-2023, 06:34 PM
(31-12-2023, 04:02 PM)Beemer Wrote: I need to replace either my Mac desktop or laptop in 2024 and would welcome advice and opinions on the best options for me. Please note, I am a confirmed Mac user so I am not looking to change systems!
I currently have a 2011 27" iMac and a circa 2015 13" MacBook Air. Both are unable to be updated to the latest operating systems (the past few to be honest!) and as I'll be using Adobe Creative Cloud (InCopy, Acrobat, etc) and Word, I need something a bit more up to date.
I mostly use the desktop unless travelling, and I am likely to be doing a little travelling for work so I am thinking a laptop may be the better option. I use an ergonomic keyboard with my desktop and would most likely buy a larger external monitor to use the laptop on a desk when working at home. I'd love a MacBook Pro but am not sure I can afford or justify the extra expense, so I will probably be looking at another MacBook Air.
I asked on an editing site I belong to and got some good advice - the usual go for the most memory you can, etc. Some also recommended taking my iMac in and having the drive replaced with a solid state drive. I am not even sure if this is an option with my 2011 model, and I wouldn't know who does it. I am in Manawatu if that helps.
Having the drive replaced is one option, but as I have some old software loaded on the iMac (Photoshop, iTunes, iPhoto, etc) that can't be transferred to a new machine, I am worried I'd lose all that by having the drive replaced. I know once I replace my iPhone X (yes, I keep my things for a while, lol!) I won't be using these things, but I'd like to keep them if possible.
I don't do gaming or edit videos, etc, so the laptop won't need massive capacity. I'd also like advice on what type of monitor to go for and what size (I love my 27" screen now), and how this all gets set up.
I'm not an expert, but a long time Mac user. About a year ago I replaced my very slow 6 year old 21" iMac with a 24" M3 8 CPU/8GPU and ditched my old iPad and bought a MacBook Air 13" with M2 chip. All of my software, including an intricate musical notation program, transferred perfectly from the old iMac. It took a long time but I wasn't confident to try any shortcuts and after about 8 hours everything was there on both new machines and working.
I don't think iMacs come in 27" screens any more, and you will probably find that the resolution and sharpness of a new iMac will be such an improvement that you won't miss the extra screen area.
8-Core GPU