photoman43

One think I like about wndows desktops--you can have them built to your specs and needs as many of the larger computer stores have a Build Your Own department. I get mine built for me by a MicroCenter store here in Houston where I live. I am not a techy person and I rely on the recommendations of the staff at the store who know a lot more about what I might need.

One On Line resource that is very good is Puget Systems. Check out the info they have about builds for photo processing. It is a great place to go for general info.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

M1 iMac with 16GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD. Add an OWC Thunderbolt 4 hub or dock, and as much external SSD and conventional hard drive space as required.

Alternatively, if you already have a keyboard, mouse, display, speakers, and 1080P webcam, get the Mac Mini with the same 16GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD.

The M1 Macs use memory FAR more efficiently than Intel Macs or PCs. Skeptical about that? Watch some of the last five months’ reviews from these folks:
https://youtu.be/XiOeYF_Rl7Y

…plus those from YouTubers Rene Ritchie, iJustine, Luke Miani, and The Everyday Dad.

The Apple Silicon systems on chip are a game changer! You cannot do better for the price. I was skeptical until I bought one for my kid.

https://youtu.be/XiOeYF_Rl7Y

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Windows or Mac - doesn't matter which - graphics card/video RAM are what makes the difference - that coupled with a good monitor.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Study up on that Apple M1 system on a chip, folks… it’s very different. Intel is going to have to change to keep up.

Old Coot

I stopped upgrading my Mac Book after "Mojave". This was the last version that accepted 32 bit programs. I have too much invested in software that I use to reinvest in 64bit software.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Since the net-net of the OP’s question is that he continuously needs to upgrade at considerable expense (and with all due respect to my friend Bill, who is a Mac maven and lover), that is exactly the weakness of Macs, especially the M1 device with the RAM on the same die as the CPU - it is completely non-upgradable except for storage. And add that to the higher price for Macs for equivalent performance, and there are just better answers to this specific need.

While I think the M1 device is a very useful low power CPU especially applicable to portable computing) there is no magic with DRAM usage just because it’s on the same substrate as the CPU. Yes, access is a bit faster because you don’t have to go to an external memory bus (which is VERY fast) for DRAM, and yes, Apple can write their OS to be very memory efficient, BUT the OS or memory configuration has no effect on how much memory an application uses either for itself or the files it stores while processing unless it is written specifically for tight memory usage, and that isn’t the trend. It also has no effect on how much memory is used if you run Windows (or Linux) on an M1 MAC. The only thing that can use less memory is an OS optimized for small memory. It also is no advantage to share DRAM for processor cores as well as GPU cores. In fact, the opposite is true, because if you’re running applications that use both, you’d prefer not to share, just as you prefer separate VRAM memory on a graphics card so it doesn’t use CPU DRAM cores when rendering. What is actually happening is Apple has made the decision to limit DRAM (for power/heat) and page to SSD when memory is full, assuming that SSD is fast enough (especially on the same die) that the user won’t notice the 1000x difference between access speeds between the two because SSD is fast ENOUGH to be acceptable.

This is a perfectly acceptable design compromise to save power, and will likely be fine for the vast majority of portable computing tasks, but applications and data are getting bigger all the time, so expect Apple to make more DRAM available in the future on the M2 or later generation CPUs to be used in machines like the IMac Pro.

My advice to this OP stands - buy an open platform where EVERYTHING is upgradable, because data and aps are getting bigger by the minute, and you don’t want to need another expensive non upgradable machine in the next 4-5 years.

My Mac friends and I will just agree to disagree. I believe in open systems as a fundamental basic computer concept, both in HW and SW, and so far the world agrees. Open systems killed off all the major UNIX companies - the likes of Sun, Data General, Dec, SGI, Intergraph, and the Unix platforms of heavyweights like IBM and HP - all replaced by an open system OS - Linux. Even Oracle, with its vast resources, can’t keep Solaris alive. And that is the same reason PCs are dominating the client/user space by a ratio of 7 to 1. As soon as the original PC specification was published, thousands of companies jumped on the bandwagon and started releasing HW and SW to that spec, and the rest is history. Apple is the ONLY remaining closed system vendor, charging application companies a 30% “tax” to make their aps available on Mac platforms, and the legality of that is currently being fought out in court between Apple and Epic Games. My personal opinion (and it’s only that) is that it’s going to take more than a new ARM CPU for Apple to wrestle back that client (and server) dominance from Windows, but time will tell.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

In keeping with the Windows is better theme, I've had four home desktops going back to 1997, with the current Dell being the fourth. If you've had more, consider asking yourself why? That's about 6 years per machine, with the current being the shortest, only just reaching 5 years this summer. Barring a failure, I expect this one to last the longest. It runs 24x7x365 year in and year out.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I switched to MAC 6 years ago after several “attacks” on my PC and never looked back. I’ll stay with Apple because I feel they are more secure without having to buy additional security software. Yes, they are more expensive but the security is worth it to me. YMMV

Murray Loc: New Westminster

Ditto

DBQ49er Loc: Dubuque, IA

I am on an HP that can as a WIN7 machine. I started to upgrade the ram to 32GB and then to a 1 TB SSD. All great moves. Then was forced to keep up with an install of WIN10 to keep protected. I started my computing with an Apple IIe, moved to a MAC and then because of software programs to a Gateway PC. As mac is looking at M2 chips and a more closed system. I fear the new PC laptops will be doing the same and will not be able to upgrade but force us to just buy a different laptop because it will NOT be up-gradable. No more DVD/CD drives, C ports vs USB ports, NO cat5 ports. WE will be forced to buy new if we can even get chips into the USA. I am just getting older and farther behind. Yes, I still have a flip phone for talking to people.

GreenReaper

I started with PS 3 on a pc and did that for many years. I made the jump to Mac and don’t retreat it one but. For me it’s not so much the hardware as the OS. I use a three year old 13” MacBook Air with an ssd drive. Works for me. Just my take.

domcomm Loc: Denver, CO

Here's a description of differences between Mac and PC that is quite revealing…

Attached file:
(Download)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes, there are distinct advantages for users when one company designs and creates the whole “stack” — the hardware, the OS, and much of the software — so that the total experience is more consistent.

Apple switching to its own systems on a chip — the same ARM architecture and UNIX-based OS are used in all their devices now — is another way they extend their ecosystem across a broad array of consistent devices.

Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac are tightly integrated with each other through their web services.

What you give up by ditching WinTel is a sea of irritating inconsistencies and incompatibilities and those service/support nightmares where PC hardware vendors blame each other and Microsoft when things don’t work.

Sometimes the expense and limitations of Apple’s “walled garden” are just the comfort you need.

I keep hearing about how “PCs are cheaper.” So what? This short-sightedness ignores the very real costs of support, downtime, and higher potential exposure to viruses and malware. It ignores the reduction in productivity caused by such issues.

At least IBM has figured this out. Their employees can choose whichever platform they wish to use:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.computerworld.com/article/3452847/ibm-mac-users-are-happier-and-more-productive.amp.html

They didn’t expect this!

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Greatly interesting this post is ! Now IMHO yourself Paul, Bill Burke, TriX and many more all great, skilled and knowledgeable photographers maybe are losing track of what most of us are trying to achieve. Be it with Mirrorless, DSLR, bridge camera, compact camera, smart phone or tablet shot in either jpg or RAW (or both) then downloaded to a Mac/Windows/Linux computer for editing or not with software for printing, projecting or posting on a website or a slideshow on a computer its the end result that's the issue. Is your result what you wanted when you took the shot - do you see/feel/imagine what it is you saw/felt/imagined you would? If it is then great it doesn't matter one whit how you got there. If its not what you wanted then a new Mac/Windows/Linux computer with the latest greatest software/hardware and/or a new mirrorless/DSLR etc. with a new prime/zoom lens is not going to make it any better. You (myself included here) simply need to improve your photographic skills and learn to use what you have a bit better - assuming of course your gear is adequate to its intended task. It is not recommended to paint your house with the wifes makeup brush

goldstar46 Loc: Tampa, Fl

===================================================
My Second Post on this thread

JL...

In your O.P., you ended your question with the following ~~~
... "I'd appreciate knowing your approach to the incessant needs and wants when it comes to hardware?.."

The bottom line here is... What is important to you. Is money a factor? Is "NOT Being" locked into a priority system (Mac) a factor? And just how far you wish to go and how much money you wish to spend...

Apparently, you have traveled in "both worlds" (or I should say all three - Film-Chemicals, Mac, and PC... )

It would seem to me, that you must first decide which "World" you wish to continue to travel in - Mac or Win. That is the first big corundum or question which must be "processed" ~~ ha ha ha Then you go from there.

Everyone here is going to have their own personal reasons, needs, and desired outcomes... Only you can decide which model will fit your needs or desires... Some people will never process and photo... and some will spend days and days, doing everything they can, using 2,3, or 8, if not more... (ha ha) different softwares or plugins... to achieve their desired results

The question for you.........is What are your desired results and how much is it going to cost

If you have gobs of money... yes, go with Mac/Apple and be "Locked In" and that is "OK" if it works for you

If you want "flexibility" and wish to be more conservative, and being able to "adjust your hardware" as time goes by... move into the PC world...

As for me, because I am a "Geek," I make the decision to stay in the PC world, and today I run an i7, multi-core processor with 32 Gigs of Ram, 1TB M.2-SSD OS Drive, 1TB SSD Working Data Drive and a 14TB Data (Historical) Storage Drive AND a 28TB IN-House NAS Backup and with all of this backed up to the "cloud" ~~~ Do I think I don't want to ever lose my images... YES, I believe in backing up

In closing, you will get as many different opinions here, as there members in UHH... I personally tend to agree very strongly with CHG_CANON who also mentions the "Flexibility" and "Growth Ability" of the Windows system... BUT, as I always say ~~~ Everyone has an opinion, all should be considered, and if it works for them... That is all that really matters...

As always, I do wish you the best in your quest...

Cheers
George Veazey
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