Photo editing computer/monitor suggestions

[sortajan]

So my mother's computer is really showing its age. She's fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem and spends most of her time in Lightroom. I'm eyeing an M1 Mac Mini 8GB. All I know is Windows and gaming, but if the 16GB bump is really worth it for photo editing I'd like to know.

Now the big question: the monitor. Her desk has a bunch of mini-shelves bolted onto it so she only has room for a <=23" monitor at most. She also wants it to have that Apple "space grey" style. This is what I arrived at.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07489Q7TY

 

Would these be good choices? Thanks.

[shoutingsteve]

Lightroom isn't that resource heavy, but you should make "future-proof" decisions ( especially as the current rig lasted her as long as it has).  An extra 8 gigs of RAM should only cost, like $100 more bucks.  If it were my mom, get the 16.

what are the actual dimensions of the opening for the monitor?

[sortajan]

13 minutes ago, shoutingsteve said:

Lightroom isn't that resource heavy, but you should make "future-proof" decisions ( especially as the current rig lasted her as long as it has).  An extra 8 gigs of RAM should only cost, like $100 more bucks.  If it were my mom, get the 16.

what are the actual dimensions of the opening for the monitor?

Exactly 23.5".

[GDRRiley]

8 hours ago, sortajan said:

Exactly 23.5".

wide tall?

8 hours ago, sortajan said:

So my mother's computer is really showing its age. She's fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem and spends most of her time in Lightroom. I'm eyeing an M1 Mac Mini 8GB. All I know is Windows and gaming, but if the 16GB bump is really worth it for photo editing I'd like to know.

go for 16gb so you don't hit the swap so much but do not pay money for that internal storage upgrade, if you need more go external options

 

that monitor is meh for color work

[sortajan]

8 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

wide tall?

Oh, it's way taller than it is wide. Probably ~40" at least. Running a monitor in portrait would drive her insane though.

[GDRRiley]

23 minutes ago, sortajan said:

Oh, it's way taller than it is wide. Probably ~40" at least. Running a monitor in portrait would drive her insane though.

can you give us the actual size?
you could always go 1 utrawide mounted portrait for a stacked monitor effect without bezels

[shoutingsteve]

Sow, if the opening is 23.5 wide and >40" tall, then you could get her a much larger monitor.  Displays are measured diagonally.

 

 

The monitor you posted is actually 20.9 x 8.3 x 15.2 inches

[OrdinaryPhil]

Hmm.... For photography work, I hate to say it, but Apple's iMac display are really as good as it gets. You can get the 21.5" iMac still, or upgrade to he 27"...

If she's already invested in the Apple ecosystem as you suggested, than it will quite jarring to move to Windows, and while the hardware in that DIY space is generally a better value - finding a good display is a PITA.

Nearly every display these days is a gross mess of glossly plastic and 'matte' film coated displays. Apple remains the only company I am aware of that makes displays with a glass screen, and glass allows VASTLY more light to pass through from the panel. It's a hugely better experience for video/photo work.

At one point Dell made a 32" 4k display with a glass panel... if I recall it was something like $2,499 USD and is no longer available anyway. You may be able to get on used though.

Good displays are extinct - all people care about now is resolution and refresh rate - they're perfectly happy to squint and look through some nasty 'anti-glare' film.

Sorry for the rant, lol.

I suppose the point I'm making is that you can easilly upgrade and keep her in the Apple ecosystem; the mid 2011 iMac can accept 32GB of RAM, is easy to upgrade with SSDs, and has a killer 1440p display with a glass panel. You can get the 27" model second hand for around $400 these days, but you'll probably want to spend a bit more and upgrade the RAM and SSD.