Need a new iMac

[M.Chapman]

9 hours ago, MDM said:

Something to be aware of (and this is new to anyone who has never had Thunderbolt on a Mac, particularly Thunderbolt 3) is that there are external solid state drives that run just as fast as internal SSD drives. They are even incredibly fast on older USB3 but they fly on Thunderbolt. These are the same price or cheaper than buying extra internal storage at the time of purchase. So the key point you don't have to load up with internal storage at the time of purchase.

Or for a cheaper option (~50% of G-Drive SSD prices in UK), I went with this combination.

 

UGreen Caddy £25
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y825V4N

Crucial MX500 1TB SSD £90
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078211KBB

 

I get sustained write speeds of 400MBps and read speeds of 500MBps. Not as rugged as the G-Technology G-Drive (I didn't need "rugged" as the drive is permanently strapped to the back of my 2017 iMac stand - which also acts as a heatsink).

 

NVMe drives on Thunderbolt can go twice as fast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHgs3XRPJiM but there maybe reliability and heat dissipation issues, and they cost more.

 

Mark

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by M.Chapman

[MDM]

29 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

Or for a cheaper option (~50% of G-Drive SSD prices in UK), I went with this combination.

 

UGreen Caddy £25
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y825V4N

Crucial MX500 1TB SSD £90
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078211KBB

 

I get sustained write speeds of 400MBps and read speeds of 500MBps. Not as rugged as the G-Technology G-Drive (I didn't need "rugged" as the drive is permanently strapped to the back of my 2017 iMac stand - which also acts as a heatsink).

 

NVMe drives on Thunderbolt can go twice as fast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHgs3XRPJiM but there maybe reliability and heat dissipation issues, and they cost more.

 

Mark

 

 

Good to know Mark.I will keep that in mind for the future.

 

I have been using G-Technology desktop Thunderbolt 2 and 3 drives as my main working drives as well as backup (USB3 as they are a lot cheaper) since 2014 and have not had a failure or hint of a failure on any so it is a brand I really trust. I got one of the SSDs (500 GB) a few years ago to check it out and was very happy. They are tiny but rugged indeed so great for bringing around when travelling for rapid and secure backup

[Betty LaRue]

It must be nice to know what you’re doing. I’m sure I’m missing out on a lot, because I wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to use any of the things you’re discussing, unless frying eggs on it would work. 😟

Maybe it’s hooked up through a port? Then maybe when you turn your computer on, it pops up somewhere so you can see the drive? Do you make folders for your images directly on it, then somehow save your finished work back to it? How about mirroring, or do you do that with external HDs like I’m doing?

[MDM]

4 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

It must be nice to know what you’re doing. I’m sure I’m missing out on a lot, because I wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to use any of the things you’re discussing, unless frying eggs on it would work. 😟

Maybe it’s hooked up through a port? Then maybe when you turn your computer on, it pops up somewhere so you can see the drive? Do you make folders for your images directly on it, then somehow save your finished work back to it? How about mirroring, or do you do that with external HDs like I’m doing?

 

These are just external solid state drives (SSDs), which are connected through a port on your computer. The ports very depending on the computer but are of two basic types - USB and Thunderbolt of which there are several varieties. Without going into the details, these little SSDs are much faster in general than older external hard drives or traditional  internal drives for that matter. They have no moving parts so are very quiet. They stay very cool so are not very good for frying eggs or even keeping your coffee warm.

 

The real downside is they are a lot more expensive per GB which means they are best used as working drives to augment the internal drive and not for long term back up. That is why I said if you could only afford one, get a better graphics card rather than a larger internal drive. Certainly the price in going from 1TB to 2TB on any of the Macs is huge and it is far more economical to buy external SSDs.

 

Also because they are so fast, they can easily be used to actually run the operating system if the internal drive was to fail. 

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

I'm just thankful for all the knowledge on here😄  The external hard drives I've been using the last few years are Western Digital My Passport for Mac. They are small and fast.   Are these SSD's, I don't know but having learned about RAM always willing to learn😉

 

Carol

[MDM]

57 minutes ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

I'm just thankful for all the knowledge on here😄  The external hard drives I've been using the last few years are Western Digital My Passport for Mac. They are small and fast.   Are these SSD's, I don't know but having learned about RAM always willing to learn😉

 

Carol

 

No they are just portable USB3 traditional hard disk drives (HDD with moving disks). I use them for backup as well but have had some of them fail over the last few years so don't entirely trust them any more. They are  cheap and convenient for quick backup. 

 

G-Technology is what I rely on. It is owned by Western Digital as far as I know but the G-Technology drives are much more reliable in my experience. There are three basic types but there have been various generations of the technologies and terminology can get very confusing. The G-Technology USB3 mains powered desktop drives are reasonably priced and fantastic for backup. They have metal casing so are extremely robust in comparison to plastic external drives.

 

The SSD drives are in a class of their own in terms of speed and size (tiny) but are expensive. They are much faster for copying files and fast enough to run the OS from. They are great for travelling. They have no moving parts (like camera cards which are a type of SSD).

 

EDIT - it is important not to mix up the disk technology itself (SSD v HDD) with the file transfer technology (USB, Thunderbolt etc).

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by MDM

[Colin Woods]

1 hour ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

I'm just thankful for all the knowledge on here

me too, these in depth chats are solid gold. I remember a year or so back someone asked a simple question about slide copying and it snowballed into about 15 pages of in depth discussion - it turned into an encyclopedia of slide scanning techniques and ideas. There is so much knowledge here on the forum, its great.

[Betty LaRue]

Colin, Carol, right on about learning here.

Computers are like automobiles to me. I know how to drive them. But no knowledge how to fix them. Yet I have an ability, usually, to notice when something is even slightly wrong or different from normal. If my car battery is only minutely sluggish starting my car, I notice it. Rather than think I can get more use from a 5 year old battery before buying a new one, I buy a new one before I have a failure and get stranded somewhere.

That's why my Mac has made me nervous. I don’t want a catastrophic failure.

[Betty LaRue]

I tried to order my new iMac from B&H today. No ordering due to closing for a religious day. I always forget that. It’s exactly what I can order on the Apple site, same price. But at B&H I can order the extra RAM I want separately, and the Apple Care which I realize I can also get from the Apple Store. I’ll wait until Monday. It sound like I can’t get it for a couple of weeks, anyway.

 

Mick, I took your advice on the upgrade of the GPU. My old iMac is ticking right along, now. I should be able to get something decent out of it when I sell it.

When the time comes, I’ll be asking how to transfer everything from the old to the new. I think I saw something about a migrating program on the Mac, right? It’s been long enough since buying the last that I’ve forgotten how I did it. I might have let the Apple store where I bought it do it. That’s the stuff that turns me gray. I’m so afraid I’ll mess something up.

[Michael Ventura]

44 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I tried to order my new iMac from B&H today. No ordering due to closing for a religious day. I always forget that. It’s exactly what I can order on the Apple site, same price. But at B&H I can order the extra RAM I want separately, and the Apple Care which I realize I can also get from the Apple Store. I’ll wait until Monday. It sound like I can’t get it for a couple of weeks, anyway.

 

Mick, I took your advice on the upgrade of the GPU. My old iMac is ticking right along, now. I should be able to get something decent out of it when I sell it.

When the time comes, I’ll be asking how to transfer everything from the old to the new. I think I saw something about a migrating program on the Mac, right? It’s been long enough since buying the last that I’ve forgotten how I did it. I might have let the Apple store where I bought it do it. That’s the stuff that turns me gray. I’m so afraid I’ll mess something up.

I’m using a non Mac desktop for my photo editing and unfortunately there was no way to migrate the programs when I had the new SSD drive put in.  Maybe it’s different with a Mac.  I could move any data files but not programs.  I hate having to reload them get my settings reconfigured.  Yes, gray hair and less of it....not in a good way!  
 

Yes B&H is always closed for the Sabbath every Friday and Saturday.  A little bit inconvenient but they have great prices and service.  I got their company  credit card called Payboo.  You avoid paying sales tax when you use it....for expensive items, that can be very worthwhile!

[wiskerke]

2 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

I’m using a non Mac desktop for my photo editing and unfortunately there was no way to migrate the programs when I had the new SSD drive put in.  Maybe it’s different with a Mac.  I could move any data files but not programs.  I hate having to reload them get my settings reconfigured.  Yes, gray hair and less of it....not in a good way!  
 

Yes B&H is always closed for the Sabbath every Friday and Saturday.  A little bit inconvenient but they have great prices and service.  I got their company  credit card called Payboo.  You avoid paying sales tax when you use it....for expensive items, that can be very worthwhile!

 

That is weird. Usually SSDs come with a utility to transfer the whole old old drive to the new one. Including all programs and boot info, keeping the entire structure intact.

If yours came as bulk (no box) there should be a download available for it.

Using just Windows for that is possible, but a bit complicated.

Using a partition manager makes it all a breeze too, but can do serious damage. The utilities that come with an SSD are indeed just partition managers, but with a few extra safeguards and sometimes a nicer interface.  (This is the one from Samsung.)

 

wim

 

 

[Michael Ventura]

7 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

That is weird. Usually SSDs come with a utility to transfer the whole old old drive to the new one. Including all programs and boot info, keeping the entire structure intact.

If yours came as bulk (no box) there should be a download available for it.

Using just Windows for that is possible, but a bit complicated.

Using a partition manager makes it all a breeze too, but can do serious damage. The utilities that come with an SSD are indeed just partition managers, but with a few extra safeguards and sometimes a nicer interface.  (This is the one from Samsung.)

 

wim

 

 

Oh, I didn’t know that.  I had my son’s friend install it and he never mentioned if he knew.  Live and learn! 😀

[Betty LaRue]

14 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

I’m using a non Mac desktop for my photo editing and unfortunately there was no way to migrate the programs when I had the new SSD drive put in.  Maybe it’s different with a Mac.  I could move any data files but not programs.  I hate having to reload them get my settings reconfigured.  Yes, gray hair and less of it....not in a good way!  
 

Yes B&H is always closed for the Sabbath every Friday and Saturday.  A little bit inconvenient but they have great prices and service.  I got their company  credit card called Payboo.  You avoid paying sales tax when you use it....for expensive items, that can be very worthwhile!

Good advice! I applied for the Payboo card and it saved me $258.00. Nothing to sneeze at. That right there made it worthwhile ordering the computer from B&H over the Apple store.  I had seen Payboo option while adding things to the cart, but hadn’t vetted it, yet. I always pay things off soon as I get the bill, so I can forget the atrocious charge percents. I’m sure they make up any discounts they give from using the card from the people who make payments, and then some. A lot of “some..sum”.

My order is placed.

I did some reading on the Migration manager and about had a heart attack.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[Michael Ventura]

5 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Good advice! I applied for the Payboo card and it saved me $258.00. Nothing to sneeze at. That right there made it worthwhile ordering the computer from B&H over the Apple store.  I had seen Payboo option while adding things to the cart, but hadn’t vetted it, yet. I always pay things off soon as I get the bill, so I can forget the atrocious charge percents. I’m sure they make up any discounts they give from using the card from the people who make payments, and then some. A lot of “some..sum”.

My order is placed.

I did some reading on the Migration manager and about had a heart attack.

Oh good!! So glad you got it!  I too always pay off all credit charges, never carry a balance.  I learned the hard way in my late 20s I ran up a terrible credit balance.....but I managed to mend my ways.  B&H is a smart business...because of Payboo, I buy all my photo and computer needs from them.  No regrets.  That quite the savings Betty!

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

9 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

Oh good!! So glad you got it!  I too always pay off all credit charges, never carry a balance.  I learned the hard way in my late 20s I ran up a terrible credit balance.....but I managed to mend my ways.  B&H is a smart business...because of Payboo, I buy all my photo and computer needs from them.  No regrets.  That quite the savings Betty!

 

 

Throughout my photography stint, I have ordered most of everything from B&H. Trust in a company is worth something. I did order a lens through Amazon because I could get it right away when B&H didn’t have them in stock.

I have been accused of being short on patience, sometimes.  Not always. It all depends on how long I’ve been anticipating a release! With Fuji, it seems I waited forever for a macro and 100-400, and I needed/wanted them badly. I was used to having those with Nikon, and felt the loss.

[MizBrown]

6 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

Oh, I didn’t know that.  I had my son’s friend install it and he never mentioned if he knew.  Live and learn! 😀

 

I followed a YouTube video on how to install a SSD drive in a Dell laptop, and used Macrium Reflect to do the cloning.  I don't remember having to reinstall programs, but it's been a few years. 

[MizBrown]

56 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I did some reading on the Migration manager and about had a heart attack.

 

Also, remember to deauthorize your Adobe programs (and MS office suite programs if you have those) on your old machine, also any other programs where you have limited installations/usages allowed.

 

If you don't have a Time Machine drive (I have a USB drive for this), you might want to set one up on a USB port on the new machine.  Helpful for getting back anything you mistakenly delete, and for migrating to newer yet machines.   I've used Time Machine to restore files a couple of times, but those couple of times made having it worth it. 

 

One hint -- print out the Apple instructions and proceed step by step, and check off your choices as you work through.  Or make ovals by the choices you'll take and check them off as you do them.

[Betty LaRue]

19 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

Also, remember to deauthorize your Adobe programs (and MS office suite programs if you have those) on your old machine, also any other programs where you have limited installations/usages allowed.

 

If you don't have a Time Machine drive (I have a USB drive for this), you might want to set one up on a USB port on the new machine.  Helpful for getting back anything you mistakenly delete, and for migrating to newer yet machines.   I've used Time Machine to restore files a couple of times, but those couple of times made having it worth it. 

 

One hint -- print out the Apple instructions and proceed step by step, and check off your choices as you work through.  Or make ovals by the choices you'll take and check them off as you do them.

Good idea. I like lists.
Instructions were talking about multiple choices. Side by side hooked up, using WiFi, probably time machine but I don’t remember it. Also maybe iCloud backup.

I don’t know how to hook them together, or really any of it. But I can learn. (Maybe) I guess I could copy to my desktop HD, I have a couple of GB free. But not sure if that would take forever. And I’m not sure whether I copy just all of the files I’ve created or do I copy things like PS, LR, and any other software I have installed? I realize CC is not installed, it’s cloud based I guess. Yet I see connected PS files that looks like it’s installed. See what I mean? It’s all Greek to me.

[MDM]

I strongly advise against migration unless you really don’t know what you are doing. You are much better to do a clean install as migrating apps might cause problems, especially as you had a big mix up with Lightroom a while back. Just download the apps from Adobe directly and make sure you download Lightroom Classic rather than the new Lightroom. You are likely to have far fewer problems clean installing. 
 

You keep most of your image files on an external drive anyway so migrating them is meaningless. You don’t use a permanent catalog so that simplifies things further with Lightroom. 
 

Don’t deauthorise Adobe apps on your old computer. It is completely unnecessary. You are allowed to have it activated on 2 computers. If you have more than 2, you will get a message saying you need to deauthorise on one and it will take you to a list of computers on which it is activated. You then just tick a box to deactivate one. It is not a problem. You might need to check with the older version anyway and if you have any presets or templates then you can locate and copy them manually to the new machine. 
 

Importantly it is not difficult so don’t approach it with fear. 
 

 

 

[MizBrown]

1 minute ago, Betty LaRue said:

Good idea. I like lists.
Instructions were talking about multiple choices. Side by side hooked up, using WiFi, probably time machine but I don’t remember it. Also maybe iCloud backup.

I don’t know how to hook them together, or really any of it. But I can learn. (Maybe) I guess I could copy to my desktop HD, I have a couple of GB free. But not sure if that would take forever. And I’m not sure whether I copy just all of the files I’ve created or do I copy things like PS, LR, and any other software I have installed? I realize CC is not installed, it’s cloud based I guess. Yet I see connected PS files that looks like it’s installed. See what I mean? It’s all Greek to me.

 

CC -- Creative Cloud, should be installed on your old machine.   If you haven't installed the CC programs on a second computer, you can just do that easily enough.  You want Lightroom Classic, and you probably want to keep your photo files on your own machine. 

 

I'd use the Apple Help list for migration, but think about how you want to organize your files.   Be sure also to deauthorize your Apple account on the old machine after moving to the new machine.  

 

One issue is how much junk you have on your old machine.  Sometimes, just going with a fresh new machine and only bringing over your data is a straight forward way to do things.  Make a backup drive with Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner (what I use) to make sure nothing you want to keep goes missing.  I have photos on an external drive, and back that up periodically.   Have all your passwords and serial numbers handy for mail accounts and programs.   Set up the new machine, create your home user account, any guest account you want (if you want), and reinstall the programs you want.  Takes longer, but you'll leave any odd bits from former programs you deleted, old mail you never look at again, behind.  If you use Gmail, that will store your email in the Google cloud. 

 

First back up all of your current drive and back up the photo files.  

[MDM]

1 minute ago, MizBrown said:

 

CC -- Creative Cloud, should be installed on your old machine.   If you haven't installed the CC programs on a second computer, you can just do that easily enough.  You want Lightroom Classic, and you probably want to keep your photo files on your own machine. 

 

I'd use the Apple Help list for migration, but think about how you want to organize your files.   Be sure also to deauthorize your Apple account on the old machine after moving to the new machine.  

 

One issue is how much junk you have on your old machine.  Sometimes, just going with a fresh new machine and only bringing over your data is a straight forward way to do things.  Make a backup drive with Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner (what I use) to make sure nothing you want to keep goes missing.  I have photos on an external drive, and back that up periodically.   Have all your passwords and serial numbers handy for mail accounts and programs.   Set up the new machine, create your home user account, any guest account you want (if you want), and reinstall the programs you want.  Takes longer, but you'll leave any odd bits from former programs you deleted, old mail you never look at again, behind.  If you use Gmail, that will store your email in the Google cloud. 

 

First back up all of your current drive and back up the photo files.  

There is no need to deactivate Apple or Adobe accounts on the old machine. It is a bad idea in fact as she might need to access the versions on the old machine. It is better to keep that fully operational until she has the other one fully set up. 

[MizBrown]

2 minutes ago, MDM said:

Don’t deauthorise Adobe apps on your old computer. It is completely unnecessary.

 

If you're selling the machine, I would deauthorize them.  Or if you already have two machines with them installed (I don't think Betty does, but I do).

 

I think we're in agreement that Betty might find just reinstalling easier especially since she's had the older machine for a number of years.   

[MDM]

Just now, MizBrown said:

 

If you're selling the machine, I would deauthorize them.  Or if you already have two machines with them installed (I don't think Betty does, but I do).

 

I think we're in agreement that Betty might find just reinstalling easier especially since she's had the older machine for a number of years.   

If you are selling the machine then it is best to completely erase the startup disk. 

[MizBrown]

Just now, MDM said:

There is no need to deactivate Apple or Adobe accounts on the old machine. It is a bad idea in fact as she might need to access the versions on the old machine. It is better to keep that fully operational until she has the other one fully set up. 

 

Point taken.

[MDM]

39 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Good idea. I like lists.
Instructions were talking about multiple choices. Side by side hooked up, using WiFi, probably time machine but I don’t remember it. Also maybe iCloud backup.

I don’t know how to hook them together, or really any of it. But I can learn. (Maybe) I guess I could copy to my desktop HD, I have a couple of GB free. But not sure if that would take forever. And I’m not sure whether I copy just all of the files I’ve created or do I copy things like PS, LR, and any other software I have installed? I realize CC is not installed, it’s cloud based I guess. Yet I see connected PS files that looks like it’s installed. See what I mean? It’s all Greek to me.

 

Let’s keep it simple. Fresh install the apps (Adobe apps are installed on the machine - this is a misconception that they are in the cloud). 

 

EDIT Adobe have done a couple of confusing things in relation to terminology. One is the term Creative Cloud which many people still think means the apps are in a cloud and need an internet connection to run. That is not true. The other is changing the name of Lightroom to Lightroom Classic and using Lightroom for the cloud-based app.

Edited April 18, 2021 by MDM