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Hi all,
I'm a wedding photographer who has been using PCs since I was 5 years old. I know them like the back of my hand, but I've now reached the end of my rope in using them for business and would like to switch to a Mac setup for better performance and stability. And also because they're pretty
At the moment, I run a desktop PC with a 3.4Ghz(? or close to) quad-core i7 processor, 1GB dedicated graphics card, and 10GB RAM. I have a 500GB hard drive for my system files, along with another 5 hard drives (a combination of 2TB and 1TB) to house the different files I run. For example:
1TB - Admin files (documents, marketing, web development, general files)
2TB - Active work (i.e. work not yet provided to client) - RAW files from weddings + final JPEGs produced.
2TB - Archived weddings (2008-2010)
2TB - Archived weddings (2011)
I currently also use 3.5" hard drives slotted into Vantec drive docks (supposed to be connected through USB3.0 but my USB3.0 port is broken, so USB2.0 is what I'm stuck with). This method is a bit unreliable and I don't really like it, but it's been my only option for external and offsite backups, as I had trouble with a RAID setup last year.
For each calendar year of weddings, I need a 2TB hard drive to store the files.
I also have a Toshiba laptop, with a quad-core i7 processor, 1GB graphics card, 4GB RAM and 750GB hard drive. It's a nightmare though - despite being new, it gives me nothing but trouble.
I have an employee who assists me for one day each week. Currently, she uses the laptop (which functions as both my personal laptop and the employee's laptop at work) to cull RAW files in Lightroom from weddings and to do some admin work. I can't get the machines to network properly, so my workaround has been to transfer the relevant wedding's RAW files to an external hard drive through the Vantec dock, plug it into the laptop, have her cull, then plug the drive back into my computer and transfer her changes back. This is a messy setup and I don't like it, but it's a stop gap.
Basically, I need a set-up involving two machines which will harmonise with one another and provide a more efficient means of sharing files, not to mention better general performance.
We sit in the same office but are on opposite ends of a large desk at minimum. I connect to the Internet through a wireless router which is situated permanently in another room.
I have received a quote from my local Mac store and done some research, but I am becoming confused by the different combinations of products and was hopeful that I could get some advice/opinions. Some of the suggested options have been:
I am still stuck as to whether a NAS, a Thunderbolt RAID or a server setup would be best for my situation. If I had a server, I guess it would be better for it to be external to the main computer (so that it doesn't have to be switched on to be accessed by the second computer). A disadvantage of the Thunderbolt appears to be that I can only have one machine plugged into it at a time, which wouldn't be helpful in sharing the files. But the NAS (Gigabit ethernet) would result in a tenth of the transfer speeds of the Thunderbolt.
I was told I could go for an iMac + MacBook Pro so that I don't need to buy two copies of Adobe and Office software, which is obviously an advantage. But I don't know how powerful the MacBook Pro is when it comes to Lightroom and whether I would be better with a second iMac. Or if I'd be better with a Mac Pro/iMac setup.
Then there's the idea of a Mac Mini, though they are only dual-core - would these be functional for any purpose (e.g. server) and if so, how should it be integrated?
I'd like to spend as little as possible (of course) but I'm prepared to take out a loan for this setup and I want to make sure I get it as "right" as possible before I do so. Any advice on the above would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
I'm a wedding photographer who has been using PCs since I was 5 years old. I know them like the back of my hand, but I've now reached the end of my rope in using them for business and would like to switch to a Mac setup for better performance and stability. And also because they're pretty
At the moment, I run a desktop PC with a 3.4Ghz(? or close to) quad-core i7 processor, 1GB dedicated graphics card, and 10GB RAM. I have a 500GB hard drive for my system files, along with another 5 hard drives (a combination of 2TB and 1TB) to house the different files I run. For example:
1TB - Admin files (documents, marketing, web development, general files)
2TB - Active work (i.e. work not yet provided to client) - RAW files from weddings + final JPEGs produced.
2TB - Archived weddings (2008-2010)
2TB - Archived weddings (2011)
I currently also use 3.5" hard drives slotted into Vantec drive docks (supposed to be connected through USB3.0 but my USB3.0 port is broken, so USB2.0 is what I'm stuck with). This method is a bit unreliable and I don't really like it, but it's been my only option for external and offsite backups, as I had trouble with a RAID setup last year.
For each calendar year of weddings, I need a 2TB hard drive to store the files.
I also have a Toshiba laptop, with a quad-core i7 processor, 1GB graphics card, 4GB RAM and 750GB hard drive. It's a nightmare though - despite being new, it gives me nothing but trouble.
I have an employee who assists me for one day each week. Currently, she uses the laptop (which functions as both my personal laptop and the employee's laptop at work) to cull RAW files in Lightroom from weddings and to do some admin work. I can't get the machines to network properly, so my workaround has been to transfer the relevant wedding's RAW files to an external hard drive through the Vantec dock, plug it into the laptop, have her cull, then plug the drive back into my computer and transfer her changes back. This is a messy setup and I don't like it, but it's a stop gap.
Basically, I need a set-up involving two machines which will harmonise with one another and provide a more efficient means of sharing files, not to mention better general performance.
We sit in the same office but are on opposite ends of a large desk at minimum. I connect to the Internet through a wireless router which is situated permanently in another room.
I have received a quote from my local Mac store and done some research, but I am becoming confused by the different combinations of products and was hopeful that I could get some advice/opinions. Some of the suggested options have been:
- iMac 27" / 3.4Ghz i7 / 16GB+ RAM / 256GB SSD + 2TB
MacBook Pro 15" / 2.4Ghz i7 / 8GB RAM / 750GB HDD
Synology NAS (4 x 4GB = 16GB) hard drives
- iMac 27" / 3.4Ghz i7 / 16GB+ RAM / 256GB SSD + 2TB
MacBook Pro 15" / 2.4Ghz i7 / 8GB RAM / 750GB HDD
Pegasus Promise Thunderbolt RAID (6 x 2TB)
I am still stuck as to whether a NAS, a Thunderbolt RAID or a server setup would be best for my situation. If I had a server, I guess it would be better for it to be external to the main computer (so that it doesn't have to be switched on to be accessed by the second computer). A disadvantage of the Thunderbolt appears to be that I can only have one machine plugged into it at a time, which wouldn't be helpful in sharing the files. But the NAS (Gigabit ethernet) would result in a tenth of the transfer speeds of the Thunderbolt.
I was told I could go for an iMac + MacBook Pro so that I don't need to buy two copies of Adobe and Office software, which is obviously an advantage. But I don't know how powerful the MacBook Pro is when it comes to Lightroom and whether I would be better with a second iMac. Or if I'd be better with a Mac Pro/iMac setup.
Then there's the idea of a Mac Mini, though they are only dual-core - would these be functional for any purpose (e.g. server) and if so, how should it be integrated?
I'd like to spend as little as possible (of course) but I'm prepared to take out a loan for this setup and I want to make sure I get it as "right" as possible before I do so. Any advice on the above would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
