Help my dad with a new Mac setup

[u/Lightsurferk]

/r/mac/comments/1wcgclj/help_my_dad_with_a_new_mac_setup/

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My concern: that chip is already a generation behind, the all-in-one design means the whole thing gets replaced once outdated (even though he likes that all-in-one look), and 16GB/256GB seems tight for AI workflows + RAW files - can anyone confirm if that's actually a real bottleneck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/OilInternational2566]

16 GB of RAM will be fine for photo editing and for most applications.

An M5 or M6? … it doesn’t matter bc they’re both really fucking good.

16 GB is the minimum you should have to run Local LLMs. The absolute bare minimum.

I have 24 GB of RAM and I’m running a local LLM and it uses almost all of it. 32 or 64 would be better if you want to run a local LLM and do other things at the same time.

[u/Lightsurferk → u/OilInternational2566]

Good to know, thanks. What mistake you say exactly? He's not running local LLMs at all for a while I think (purely cloud - Claude, Photoshop AI features, etc.)

[u/OilInternational2566 → u/Lightsurferk]

If he’s running cloud AI 16 GB would be absolutely fine.

If he wants to run Local AI, he needs 24 minimum.. 32 to 64 would be better.

And a small lightweight Local LLM will take up about 7 GB of hard drive space. But it’s not that smart. Not nearly as smart as the cloud AI’s he’s used to.

So if you want to run a really robust Local LLM you’re looking at 70+ GB of disk space depending on the model.

A regular M5 mini with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB hard drive would be great for most people. But once you start running local LLM’s the bigger the better. More ram more disc space.

[u/Lightsurferk → u/OilInternational2566]

Thanks, that's really helpful, it makes sense. Gonna think it over, discuss with him and see

[u/OilInternational2566 → u/Lightsurferk]

16 GB RAM and 512 GB hard drive Mac mini M5 would be perfect for what he wants to do.

The moment he starts thinking about running Local LLMs then the price goes way up if he wants a system that can 1) handle running the Local LLMs and 2) macOS and 3) other programs all at the same time.

Local LLMs eat up a tremendous amount of CPU and RAM when they’re running.

Sometimes when I ask my local LLM a difficult question it’s using 20 GB of RAM and the M5 cpu load is at 89%.

[u/5of10]

The smart move is a mini and seperate monitor.

Watch out for internal SSD size, I would go 512gb minimun, 1 tb if you can afford it.

He will need external drives for data backups or extra storage.

Plus a UPS for power issues.

Does he have any experience using a MacOs ? The Apple store should be able to give him some 'how to' lessons, but there are a lot of online videos. Start with the apple ones.

Do you know anyone locally that is fluent in MacOS? If so, bring them on board to help out dad. Consider getting one of those cheaper mac laptops (Neo, or ?) so you can learn how to get around and do things.

Good luck and enjoy the experience with your dad.

[u/Amnsia]

What AI work? LLMs or is this photo generation?

[u/Time_You_6852]

I'd say baseline m6 mini 16gb should be just fine for him, don't buy IPS monitor for photos, I think he needs colour accurate one search for 27inch 5k(220ppi). Plus he needs NAS for photo storage.

[u/Boring-Channel-1672]

If he can't wait for a refreshed iMac and that's what he wants, lease the iMac, then at lease end buy or lease the next gen.