Too many Macs

As creatives, most of us understand that a PC is not an option to consider when in the market for a new computer. In my experience, I’ve found that Mac is a better option for the creative world, however, that’s simply a strong opinion. Programmers and gamers: I know PC’s are preferable for what you do.

In today’s market, there’s a surfeit of choices when shopping for a new Mac. Here are the questions you need to ask yourselves:

• What is your price range?

• Will you be traveling with your Mac? (iMac / Mac Pro vs. Macbook Pro)

• How much processing power will you need? (Will you be rendering a great amount of video or animations?)

When you determine these answers, you can substantially narrow your options. For example, if you travel and require a laptop, you’ve eliminated the iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro.

So let’s say you’re going to be rendering some complex video projects and you have the budget to purchase a 15” Macbook Pro. Next, you need to choose your hardware.

I always encourage Mac shoppers to stray away from the base Mac. Although a 6-core i7 will do the job, an 8-core i9 will outperform significantly. But here’s what you need to understand: Mac has recently started embedding most of their hardware into the logic board. This includes the RAM, as well as the hard drive.

What does this mean? — You can’t make these upgrades after the fact.

In the past, I’ve always said to choose the top of the line hardware that you couldn’t upgrade later on. Well, on the latest Macbook Pro, you can’t really upgrade anything after the fact.

You may not like this, but if you can’t afford any hardware upgrades, maybe the best option before purchasing is to wait. If you can afford another $1,000 of upgrades by waiting a month or two, it’s well worth it. Your Mac can be significantly faster and will have a longer life.

Happy shopping!

Billy