Going Mac Help!!!!!

So im finally looking to make the switch to mac for the "user friendliness" as well as the high res screen (thunderbolt monitor). However, I am not sure about what system I can use to for LR, PS Bridge etc. My current PC is a custom i7 8GB ram sytem but im not looking to spend that kind of money. I was considering a used MacBook but they all kind of seem similar but I know you mac folks out there know the difference. Is a 2010 4gb sytem feasible if its going to be exclusively used for video/photo editing? Or do I need to get one of the newer systems. I read a lot of threads about OS issues and software glitches but I don't currently own a mac so I don't understand most of the jargon.

4gb is NOT enough for decent video production.

Memory is cheap. Get a new 27" iMac and max it out to 32gb.

Do you really want a laptop? Screen res is great on them but they are only 15". Editing on a laptop sucks IMHO.

Do you have Best Buy down there? 18-24 months same as cash. Its a great deal.

It might seem expensive but get the best you can afford. 4gb would not be enough IMO. 8gb would be the absolute minimum I would be consider but even then, I'd rather save my pennies and go for 16 or better yet, 32gb of RAM.

If you're in the market for a mac and a thunderbolt monitor you should just get the best iMac you can afford. If you need to be portable get a recent or new/refurbed MacBook Pro with the retina screen. The resolution of that 15 inch retina is more than enough.

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro with 4gb of ram. It runs photoshop fine, but I would not want to do all of my editing on it, when I use filters it slows down a bit. I have the retina iMac with 24gb of ram and it is perfect for editing.

If you have a monitor, Mac Mini no question and put in 16gb of ram. If your adventurous then add a SSD and make it a fusion drive for under a $1000

flowrider wrote in post #17280469
If you have a monitor, Mac Mini no question and put in 16gb of ram. If your adventurous then add a SSD and make it a fusion drive for under a $1000

I looked at that prior to purchasing an iMac but there is no dedicated graphics card. For video and photo editing, having a dedicated card speeds some things up. Lightroom not so much but if you are using Photoshop CS 5 or 6 then you would notice the added speed of a GPU and CPU.

Used would definitely be a good option. Just buy locally and look it over before money exchanges hands. I have a 2010 15 inch MacBook Pro with a 500GB drive and 8GB RAM. I'm planning on upgrading the internal HD to a 1TB SSD for a further speed boost, but the 8GB of ram is a lot different in my use from the 4GB I had before. All I have experience with is photo editing, but movie editing may require far more RAM than is available in any MBP.

I bought mine through a relative working at a university. The university's student laptop program gives the students and faculty the option to buy it from the university at the end of the rotation period (2-3 years). Macs are made to last, especially the unibody ones. I'm pretty sure they also sell iMacs like this, too. If you have any relatives either going to a university or have relatives who are faculty I'd look into that. There could be a middle man involved and at least how it worked for me, I had to trust my relative to pick out the computer for me. That was fine, considering he's something of a Mac expert so it all worked out.

Macs are expensive brand new so I only ever buy used but there are plenty of options available. Craigslist, a university's laptop program, and the market place section here are all good places to start. Good luck!

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #17280155
4gb is NOT enough for decent video production.

Memory is cheap. Get a new 27" iMac and max it out to 32gb.

Do you really want a laptop? Screen res is great on them but they are only 15". Editing on a laptop sucks IMHO.

I just wish the Macs were cheap as an HP. OMG!!!

"Once you go Mac you never go back"

I migrated everything from my PC to a MacBook Pro several months back. What a huge improvement. Right now I only have Lightroom 5 on the Mac but I will be adding software as soon as I decide what I really need. I keep the catalog on the Mac but my images are on an external and my backups are on a second external drive. Moving to the Mac and Lightroom 5 was a great decision....and yes, once you go Mac you never go back.

Expect to pay more for a Mac vs a comparable PC. It's going to cost you if you want to do the Mac dance.

Thanks for the many responses. My big issues is that i lost my office when i had my son a few months back. So ive been forced to edit on a TV screen in my kitchen and the color just got drastically different when i swapped out my HDMI cable due to a power surge. I need the convenience of a laptop but i can replace the kitchen screen with a thunderbolt with some creative mounting to keep the wife happy. Id also rather learn mac OS than windows 8. Are all the 2010s fully upgradeable to 8GB or ram? I keep seeing something about "Last year with optical drive", thats the kind of stuff i dont understand its super frustrating.

The more RAM -the better. Go for 8gb at least. Also for video you need the fast CPU. Core i7 4790 should do the trick.