Questions about switching from PC to Mac
 

I'm seriously considering switching from a PC to a Mac, hopefully the 27" iMac. I currently use LR5 and PS CS6. From what I've read LR is multi platform and I can apply to Adobe to switch PS to the Mac platform. I know my newer USB powered EHD's are compatible though some of my older EHD's may not be and I'll need to juggle data to be able to reformat them.

So my question is, is there anything else I should be aware of before I make the switch? ie commonly used hardware or software that may no longer be useable, is virus protection necessary etc? Just want to educate myself on what to expect cost wise other then the actual iMac.
Also for those who are on Mac, what would be the minimum processor, RAM, graphics card etc that you would recommend to comfortably run both LR & PS at the same time? I'm happy to upgrade specs but I don't want to be over the top about it. Thanks in advance for any help.

Any Mac users out there?? Any advice on ideal specs needed to run LR5 & PS CS6 together?

Hi Bernadette. I don't use LR or have a Mac, so can't answer your question, but I know there are several girls at SSD who will be able to help. I'm sure they'll pop in here just as soon as America is awake again. :)

I use iMac, but I use PS CS4. I don't use LR nor PS CS6.
As far as the general things, I don't use any anti-virus any more. I didn't upgrade my iMac at all, it's the normal spec that they give in the shop and I'd say that it's much faster than a PC in general. Opening PS CS4 only take a blink of an eye really…

Sorry I can't help you further, but I hope it helps.

I always say get the fastest processor you can afford and as much RAM as you can afford, though RAM isn't that expensive. I would recommend at least 8 GB RAM, but if I was getting something for myself, I'd go for 16. :)

I have antivirus on my Mac. I've never ever had an issue with a virus, malware, or adware. But, it's really just a matter of time before people start writing viruses for the Mac OS, so I have Norton installed. I don't think it's really essential though.

I just made the switch to all Mac products in June! I have a 27 inch iMac and hubby just bought me an MacBook air a few weeks ago too for when I travel! I am SO happy I made the switch!

Hubby did go all out for our iMacs....it has all the bells and whistles. He upgraded to the max he could upgrade so I don't have to worry about space issues. I couldn't tell you what I have though! He does a lot of gaming and I do a lot of photo editing and scrapping so he wanted the best (at the time at least).

I run LR and PS CC on my computer daily and never have an issue.

I did run into some problems with my EHDs. I had to copy the stuff over to my Mac and reformat before I could add anything else to it. That was a pain but it all worked out. It just took a bit longer to be able to scrap when I got my macbook.

I made the switch a few years back. It was a very painful transition for me because it was also when I switched from Creative Memories Storybook Creator to CS5. Between the new operating system and new software I was a mess. I was fairly certain I would never be able to scrap again. After a few weeks I was thrilled and I've never looked back. I have the 27 inch iMac and then got the Macbook afterwards. The 27 inch is so stinkin nice that it's hard for me to scrap on the Macbook. I have no idea what my specs are but I would get as much as you can afford!

Lucky you!!! Ideally I'd love to upgrade everything that is upgradable to the highest specs to try and future proof it as much as I can but it adds over another $1000 to an already expensive machine (I'm jealous of the prices in the US!). I also wonder whether some upgrades will make a noticeable difference to speed when being used for scrapbooking as opposed to working with video.

Kym, do you have a flash drive or fusion drive, if yes, what size did you get? I keep all photos and digi products on EHD's but am wondering if a 256gb flash drive is adequate or if I'd need bigger.

Thanks for the feedback Amy. I considered a Mac when I upgraded my last computer but didn't visit the Apple Store in person, so went by specs and price and decided to stay with PC's. I've been extremely disappointed with it even though it has very high specs and when I recently saw the 27" iMac in the Apple Store I fell in love! To have that much screen real estate would be heaven!

Thanks Lydia, I'll definitely be getting 16gb RAM. So would you choose processor speed over flash drive or graphics card size? I've been to some Mac forums but they are so geeky and all have different opinions on what has the most effect on the speed of the machine, which probably comes down to what they are doing with it. Some say graphics card only comes into play if you're rendering large video files, which makes me think I should put my money into a flash drive or i7 processor instead of the i5.

I would double check with Adobe that they will so the cross platform switch with CS6, since I'm not sure it's considered "current" anymore, which is their requirement.


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We just have a standard 3TB hard drive on our iMac

I thought that might have been an issue but from what I can tell on the Adobe site they consider CS 6 & CC as current and I'll be able to switch.

Just wanted to say that I have a 128 flash drive on my MacBook Air.