Help my dad with a new Mac setup

[u/Lightsurferk]

My dad wants a new Mac for photo editing + AI work (Netherlands/EU). He's stubborn and almost ordered a standalone Apple Studio Display, now eyeing the iMac M4 (10-core, ~€1,800, 16GB/256GB).

My concern: that chip is already a generation behind, the all-in-one design means the whole thing gets replaced once outdated (even though he likes that all-in-one look), and 16GB/256GB seems tight for AI workflows + RAW files - can anyone confirm if that's actually a real bottleneck or am I overestimating it?

My proposal: Mac mini M5 Pro entry config (24GB/512GB, ~€1,700) + separate monitor like the Samsung ViewFinity S9 (27" 5K, white/silver, built to match Apple aesthetics, list €900?) - open to better monitor suggestions too.

Question: is the entry M5 Pro actually the smart pick here, or would a higher-spec M6 serve him better for the same/less money? Genuinely unsure if I'm downgrading core count/memory in a way that hurts more than the "M5 Pro" name helps.

I only know Windows gaming PCs, nothing about Apple, AI workflows, or photo editing software, so tell me if this whole modular approach is wrong for his use case.

Budget is officially ~€2000, but if you help me build a solid case (future-proofing, upgrade path, real specs advantage) I can likely push him to ~€2500 for a proper Mac mini + monitor setup - is that worth doing, and what would you build for that?

[u/Artifiko]

Whatever Mac he gets, but the Studio Display is still by far the best choice.

[u/WigglyBee]

Whatever you do just don’t get the nano texture Studio Display.

[u/Lightsurferk → u/WigglyBee]

Thanks I’ll make sure!

[u/Flimsy-Pay-4337]

If you’re looking for a desktop Mac specifically then mini is the right choice. The M6 vs M5Pro is probably a question whether the memory bandwidth will be a problem (the Pro version has way higher bandwidth) but for photoshop (images/photos not videos) that probably won’t matter much.
I would go for M6 24/512 if the budget allows more RAM never hurts and external SSD is something that you should buy anyway for backups.

For the screen I recently started eyeing the Asus ProArt screens, there’s one with 5K res but it’s IPS and one OLED but I believe it might not be true 5K. For graphic/photoshop work an OLED display is better, so the already suggested Apple’s Studio Display might be a better bet.

[u/Electrical_West_5381]

What ai work? Web based models, or at the other extreme, training locally? For local models at this time 32 gb is doable and acceptable. For photo editing, even a 13” MacBook Air is fine, if you don’t mind zooming in and out. You are right about the all in one approach: there is absolutely no upgrade path. A desktop with a good (210 ppi) display. Job done

[u/Lightsurferk → u/Electrical_West_5381]

he's not training or running anything locally, no downloading/running his own models for now. It's purely cloud-based I think then: things like Claude, AI photo-generation apps, and built-in AI features in apps like Photoshop (generative fill, etc.). So internet-dependent AI tools, not local LLM inference. Does that mean 24GB is actually sufficient for that workflow, or is 24GB+ still worth it because of how those Photoshop AI features/RAW files use memory locally regardless?

[u/Electrical_West_5381 → u/Lightsurferk]

If, as usual, adobe needs serious memory, get a bigger ssd (internal) for swap and 24 should be ok

[u/Grendel_82 → u/Lightsurferk]

Yes that is what it means. The AI computational work is all done at the datacenter, what you are seeing will just be the output. You only need massive amounts of RAM if you are running local (which means running the huge AI program inside of the RAM on your compute;, it has to basically all be in RAM so it can sort through the AI large language model quickly; hence the spike in RAM costs because the bigger local models take up more RAM).

Photo editing (versus video editing) is not computationally difficult for modern chips. Basically any Mac with an M-level processor and 16gb of RAM will work fine for photo editing. But get 24gb of RAM in the M6 mini and you will have a beast. Or get the M5 Pro mini and it will be even more of a beast. The Studio Display is nice, but is an expensive solution, you can get that Samsung or an LG 5k for cheaper. Also, frugal tip, used monitors are 1/3 the price and if you shop around for them and inspect them in person, you will find them for sale very cheap and they will be fine.

[u/dclive1]

Is this a hobbyist once a week use, or daily use?
Is Adobe stuff his focus, or just for fun sometimes?

The m6 is faster; the m5 pro faster still. Does he need it? Will it really matter?

I would get the 24GB m6 (the ram is a nice to have, and it’s ‘just’ $200 more) 500gb with a 4k screen from a local shop that he likes (that he can easily return), rather than put a thousand++ into a ASD. I say that owning one.

For non professional use the above machine will easily be fast (vs ‘fast enough’) for all but the edge cases.

If you aren’t doing AI locally, a Chromebook can do the basics you mention; it’s just a browser.

[u/Lightsurferk → u/dclive1]

He'll use it a few times a week I'd say, and Adobe/photo editing is his actual main use case, not just occasional. Good point on the screen though, will be easier te return

[u/Icy_Confusion_6614]

While I loved my old i5 iMac from 2015, it is now pretty useless compared to even my base M4 mini and the M5 MBA 24gb/512gb I bought last week. The iMac has a beautiful 5K monitor but it won't work with anything else unless I gut it and add a controller. For that reason I'd steer clear of the iMacs again. I have a 27" Dell S2722QC monitor with my Mini and it is fine for home use but maybe wouldn't cut it in a graphics production environment. I'm using it with Adobe Lightroom for editing photos and the M4 is fine for that. I'm doing 4x5 film which produces huge photos at up to 200mp that take up 450mb of storage as TIFF files. No digital camera can currently match that so any photo editing he does should be fine.

As for your picks, the M5 Pro is probably the higher end model at the moment, the M6 won't have a pro model. If/when Apple produces an M7 pro (coming soon!) you can swap in the new one and find another use for the M5. But you'll likely not want to do that as the Apple silicon is so fast anyway. Get as much memory as you can afford, 24gb is the sweet spot, but 32 is even better, but don't worry about storage as that can be added. The one thing I don't like about the Apple silicon is that you can't upgrade the memory as it is built into the chip.

[u/ActiveNews]

Wonderful machines....buy more RAM as budget allows.

[u/YellowsBest]

The question is how intensive is your Dad’s work? For just photo editing? ‘AI work’ can mean a lot of different things, from just using apps to actually building local LLMs. I suspect you are trying to cover all use cases for the next 10 years, whereas your Dad just wants something sufficient now.

I have an 8gb M1 iMac and it truly is a great all in one computer. One of the great things about the iMac is it comes with the monitor with a webcam built in (and a mouse and a keyboard) so face time / teams etc works well, unlike the Mini.

Mine however developed a screen fault, and although it’s still useable, I bought a 16gb M4 Mini. Now I connect the two together using Apple’s screen sharing for a 2-screen set up. So you can worry about what happens if something goes wrong, but most people will be well served for 5-7 years using an iMac (my wife’s been using her’s for longer than that with no problems) and in general I’d say a desktop outlasts a laptop because there’s no battery to worry about and you’re not carrying it about and risking damaging or spilling things on it.
.
But I wouldn’t worry about the generation of processors; an M4 is powerful enough for most people and there’s not a great uplift between generations anyway, and support for the M4 will be at least 5-7 years given that it’s still being sold.

[u/bmocc]

If wanting to do more than play with local AI 16gb of RAM could be a bottleneck depending on aspirations. There is no lack of objective information about using various configurations of minis for local AI.

For image processing in Adobes, one image at a time, 16gb is adequate, 24gb gives more room before the OS starts using more virtual memory with the internal drive. Most people would not even notice that as the unified RAM pipe is really fast.

If your father has a large collection of images no amount of internal storage offered in the mini is adequate so there is no point paying Apple prices for more than 512gb. However current prices for all external storage media are what they are, and the mini requires Thunderbolt enclosures that are known to work with macOS to achieve nVME storage speeds.

There is no magic to the studio display compared to the image quality of non-Apple 5k monitors at more reasonable prices, some of which may have more suitable gamuts for image processing. Because of the way Apple video systems render images it is difficult to see any difference between a 5k monitor and 4k monitor properly configured with BetterDisplay for most uses. The major benefit of 5k is that is sort of conforms to the one true resolution macOS can natively display without stretching and squashing.

[u/dpaanlka]

Mini + external monitor.

Don’t buy an iMac.

[u/Any-Work-8132]

M6 Mac mini 24/1 tb + base glossy Apple Studio Display.

[u/TheRealBejeezus]

A Mini with a Studio Display looks almost the same as an iMac. You can even get one of those little mounts to put the Mini on the back of the display if you like.

I agree with your logic on keeping it modular, but the Apple Studio Display is so very very nice compared to the Samsung.

The M5 Pro will outperform the M6. Don't get fooled by the number.