31 Replies Latest reply: Jun 3, 2010 8:08 PM by mariopocoroba RSS

    Mac Mini and CS5

    hikinedd Community Member

      At this moment I'm running a G5 PPC and CS2. A client offered some work that involves using some of his former ad agency's CS4 InDesign files so, without reading the fine print, I purchased CS5 which, to my chagrin, won't run on a G5. Since I'm already into the software and don't (can't) spend $3K on a Mac Pro, a friend suggested either a MacBook Pro or, for half the price (a pro in itself), a Mac Mini. I've come to this PS forum because I think if PS will perform well on a Mini, the rest of the suite should follow. The last forum post I saw on this was from last Sept. concerning CS4 with a reply that CS5 may run better on a mini than CS4; of course that was well before the release. Btw, I'm also running a 24" Eizo S2410 monitor.

       

      Help and/or advice gratefully accepted.

       

      Edd

        • 1. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
          Community Member

          You could try to return the CS5 software if you purchased it directly from Adobe and are within the return window.

           

          You could locate a CS4 30-day trial to take care of this one job.

           

          For the same (or lower) price of a Mac Mini, you could get a much better powered Windows computer and crossgrade your CS5 license.

           

          You can go with another Mini and it should do okay for CS5 but the Mini, because it is the entry level Mac, has a shorter life before more upgrades are needed to run newer software and OS kitties.

          • 2. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
            [scott] CommunityMVP

            Not sure I agree with all that.

             

            Minis tend to last about the same as any other system.. the OS lifespan isn't any shorter or longer than a MacPro.

            • 3. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
              mariopocoroba Community Member

              True, that lifespan statement is bogus.

              • 4. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                Community Member

                Scott, you would probably want to compare a Mini to a low end iMac or a MacBook. A full Mac Pro can be more easily upgraded with RAM and HD. Minis are limited to 4 GB RAM (for the $800 model - that's no longer a mini price). That is the most limiting thing as we use software and OS kitties that gobble up more and more RAM with each release. If you are uncertain of this, open up Activity Monitor and look at your RAM usage. By the time you add the maximum RAM, an external drive for scratch and back up, you might as well have purchased a better computer than a Mini.

                 

                Minis are fine for CS5 now. They just don't have the legs for long time upgrades.

                 

                EDIT: however, if you are fearful of any further schizophrenic actions from Apple (like moving from PPC->Intel), maybe you don't want to invest in a computer for the long term. A cheap Mini would be ideal.

                • 5. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                  [scott] CommunityMVP

                  Sorry, you're just wrong Marion. Mini are in no way an inferior system. Minis are NOT limited to 4GB of RAM.

                  • 6. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                    Community Member

                    Can you point to where more RAM is possible in a Mini? Apple disagrees with you.

                    • 7. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                      [scott] CommunityMVP

                      Apple does not update specs for systems once they are published, regardless of what is available on the market. According to Apple, my MacBookPro only supports 4GB of RAM in spite of the fact I'm running 6GB of RAM.

                       

                      http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/

                       

                      Even IF it were limited to 4GB of RAM.. 90% of users will be very happy with performance.

                      • 8. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                        Community Member

                        Most Macs can be pushed with RAM but Apple does not sell the mini that way and does not support the mini that way. (I also use more RAM in my Macs than what Apple specified).

                         

                        It just seems highly odd that you are trying to claim that a mini is not inferior to other Macs. It is certainly not equal to a Mac Pro.

                        • 9. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                          [scott] CommunityMVP

                          Minis are not inferior.. and I stated the OS has no different an life span than the MacPro OS does. That was not a comparison of the hardware, but a statement about your false accusation that Mac Minis have a faster OS cycle.

                           

                          And any Mac user worth their weight knows that buying RAM from Apple is fool-hearty at best. Apple practically rapes users if you buy RAM from them.

                           

                          Perhaps you should read a bit more carefully?

                           

                          Sorry you're so taken back by my pointing out your first post was basically total junk... but it was.

                          • 10. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                            Community Member

                            I'm confused why you are uncharacteristically childish in this thread by calling the comments of others 'junk'.

                             

                            Perhaps you need a dictionary to remind yourself what the word 'inferior' means.

                             

                            A computer with less specs than any other desktop model (even the base iMac) is inferior to others. Computers that are inferior to others need to be upgraded more often to stay in parity with other more capable machines.

                            ScottWeichert wrote:

                             

                            ...but a statement about your false accusation that Mac Minis have a faster OS cycle.

                             

                            ...

                             

                            Perhaps you should read a bit more carefully?

                            Perhaps you might read a bit more carefully. I said that computers need headroom for new software and new OS's. Are you seriously claiming that Photoshop CS5 needs the same minimal system requirements of Photoshop 6?

                             

                            Let's grow up and quit looking for arguments.

                            • 11. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                              hikinedd Community Member

                              I feel I should be quoting Rodney King right now

                               

                              I'm grateful for the advice (after all, I asked for it). First, I've always had Macs; the only PCs I've used were owned by friends and family, and I've just never liked them. I've never liked cats, either, but apparently some people do. But I also know the Mac is as much a religion as it is a tool, and this isn't the first Mac-centric, emotionally-charged exchange I've seen. I won't tell anyone to be cordial or civil, but it would be nice.

                               

                              Following an LC and a Quadra 650, my Mac history graduated to big boxes: a 9600 to my current G5. I thought it would be good to get something with expandability, but all I did with those two towers was add a video card (9600), a hard drive (G5) and some RAM (both). My thinking was to replace what I have right now with something at least equal to it that can run CS5. As I'd mentioned, someone in another post suggested CS5 (specifically the 64 bitness) might make better use of memory and increase speed -- personally, I have no idea.

                               

                              So, since I'm currently running 4GB of memory and haven't yet run short, I thought perhaps the mini might serve as a temporary solution for a year or so until I can get a bigger machine (I only do print work now). Another, albeit twice-as-expensive, option is a MacBook Pro, but there'd need to be a real disadvantage -- like running my monitor -- to getting a mini.

                               

                              In spite of the thread's elevated rhetoric, I truly appreciate your advice. Thanks.

                               

                              Edd

                              • 12. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                John Smith for example Community Member

                                Marion, you should really stop talking about Macs, because every time you do so, you're talking BS. Fact is that the Core2Duo Minis support up to 8 GB of RAM. They were limited to 4 GB when he came out, but in the meantime there has been a firmware update which enables them to recognize 8 GB. And yes, this is fully supported by Apple, after all, it's their firmware.

                                 

                                The Mini is a great machine for most photoshoppers. Of course it is limited to 2 monitors and it has only 2 internal SATA connections, but this is plenty good enough for most real world photoshoppers.

                                 

                                And if you really feel the need, you can replace the internal DVD by a second HD and speed things up by either putting the photoshop scratch file on a different drive than the system or by creating a RAID 0 array.

                                 

                                Yes, I know, the Mini has no eSATA. Yadda yadda yadda...

                                • 13. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                  Community Member

                                  You can also replace the 5400rpm drive with 7200rpm drive.

                                   

                                  But with all those changes, is it still a mini and is it still economical?

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                  I just realized why some of you are so defensive and argumentative. I simply mentioned the W word here as one of several options.

                                   

                                  I never said the mini and CS5 would not go well together.  I cannot imagine what your problems are.

                                  • 14. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                    mariopocoroba Community Member

                                    Bi-polar and hypocritical is no way to go through life. You're on here arguing all day like you're in contention for a non-congeniality award. And you won. And guess what? That's called trolling.

                                    • 15. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                      Community Member

                                      Scott had a problem understanding what the word 'inferior' meant and now you seem to be confused about 'trolls'.

                                       

                                      Trolls fail to ever respond to the OP.

                                       

                                      Trolls often have a minimal post and point count and find more use commenting on others than the topic at hand.

                                       

                                      Grow up guys and move on to something more productive if you have no assistance for Edd.

                                      • 16. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                        John Smith for example Community Member

                                        You can also replace the 5400rpm drive with 7200rpm drive.

                                         

                                        But with all those changes, is it still a mini and is it still economical?

                                         

                                        That's what I did. And you will laugh: I did it not for the speed, but for economical reasons: I bought the cheapest Mini and put in a 500GB Seagate drive. This has been an old trick with nearly all Macs: Buy the cheapest version which Apple offers and put in what you want. And yes, it's still a Mini and still economical: It sits there on my desk, takes near to no place at all and it runs quiet!

                                         

                                        Of course it has its limits: Try to encode a DVD movie and you will want a MacPro with 8 cores.

                                        • 17. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                          mariopocoroba Community Member

                                          No confusion here - take a look in the mirror:

                                           

                                          "Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument."

                                           

                                          Apoplexy can't be fun.

                                          • 18. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                            Community Member

                                            Maybe someone needs to tell me what was provocative.

                                             

                                            A private message might be in order because you're not contributing anything to this public discussion.

                                            • 19. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                              [scott] CommunityMVP

                                              Marian, you're the troll.. my record with Adobe speaks for itself. I've been a forum member longer than a year as well... don't think you can say the same. And if you're basing things on post counts, wow.. that's pathetic. I post when I have something to say, not to see my name in type. Perhaps you are motivated by the latter.

                                               

                                              Your initial post was nothing more than something to de-suede hikinedd from the Mini, and Apple products in general. That was not the question.

                                               

                                              A Mac Mini is an absolutely wonderful system suitable for a great deal of Photoshop work. I think everyone here knows it's not a MacPro. A current Mini will support any OS the MacPro will.. and most likely for as long as any current MacPro will.

                                               

                                              As for getting a "comparable" PC for less.. maybe.. but I doubt it. That's the common anti-mac BS that is spouted by Apple haters.

                                               

                                               

                                              hikinedd,

                                               

                                              The only regrets you may find with a MacMini are the limitations of 2 monitors and no additional internal hard drives. However, few users ever need more than 2 monitors and you can use external hard drives as additional space if needed. The Minis are great, solid machines.

                                              • 20. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                mariopocoroba Community Member

                                                You have all the time in the world, so read your own posts.

                                                 

                                                To the OP: At the end of the day, it is your CPU speed that will determine how fast your software will function. You can go get that big 8-core tower running at 2.26 GHz, or go get a quad-core Mac running at 3.33 GHz. Guess which one is faster? The quad-core Mac. Almost 50% faster. That Mac Mini running at 2.53 GHz will most likely smoke the 8-core Mac - because the 8-core machine won't be fully utilized by the software and that is a software issue.

                                                 

                                                If I were you (and wanted to be productive) - Based on your cost concerns, I'd return CS5 for a refund and go buy CS4 (It's available from re-sellers all over AND IT WORKS), along with that Mac Mini running at 2.53 and call it a day.

                                                • 21. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                  mariopocoroba Community Member

                                                  Absolutely, Scott. I've got 2 displays on a MacPro at the studio. One's the Wacom Cintiq21 and the other's an Eizo CG211 for color-critical viewing. About 5K for two displays but the boss doesn't pinch pennies when it comes to the tools of the trade. A while back I had a Mac Mini at home, one of the first ones actually (G5) - and I used CS3 on that Mac with no problems at all. I used to push 1 Gig files around on that one and thought jeez I'm going to crash any minute but it never did.

                                                   

                                                  I don't have many points or posts at all. I think I earned all my points today, actually. Oh woe is me...

                                                  • 22. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                    Community Member

                                                    Sure. I can say the same. I have been on the Adobe forums for much longer than my profile reveals. This is a new profile that started when they switched to Jive and mangled my previous identity.

                                                     

                                                    ScottWeichert wrote:

                                                     

                                                    Your initial post was nothing more than something to de-suede hikinedd from the Mini, and Apple products in general. That was not the question.

                                                    Are you insane? I have not edited my initial post. Go re-read it. I gave 4 distinct options to Edd, some of which encouraged continued use of Apple products.

                                                     

                                                    I am not an Apple hater. But I am not an insane Apple lover too blinded to see reality. I use multiple systems and have the perspective to know what works with Adobe software.

                                                     

                                                    ScottWeichert wrote:

                                                     

                                                    The only regrets you may find with a MacMini are the limitations of...

                                                    So now you are saying that there are limitations to the mini.

                                                     

                                                    Sheesh...

                                                    • 23. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                      [scott] CommunityMVP

                                                      Troll.

                                                      • 24. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                        Community Member

                                                        mariopocoroba wrote:

                                                         

                                                        ...If I were you (and wanted to be productive) - Based on your cost concerns, I'd return CS5 for a refund and go buy CS4 (It's available from re-sellers all over AND IT WORKS), along with that Mac Mini running at 2.53 and call it a day.

                                                        That is pretty darn close to what I suggested regarding returning CS5 and getting a hold of CS4 - - - but you take it a step further into insanity. What is the point of getting a mini if CS4 would work on the current G5? If one purchased a mini, they could run CS5.

                                                        • 25. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                          mariopocoroba Community Member

                                                          Oh EXCUSE ME - I didn't recollect that he had a G5 (as I don't lurk on Adobe forums all day and night remembering every thread and post and reciting statements back to other users) - MY BAD. But regarding CS5, no, he can't "run CS5", because as we all know - CS5 doesn't run or play well at this point, much like you, but you feel the minute-by-minute compulsion to jump right down people's throats, don't you... Troll.

                                                           

                                                          And to the OP, disregard what I said about buying a Mac Mini as there's only a disadvantage to using CS5 at this point. Stick with CS4 on your G5. That's what I run at home and it's all smooth.

                                                          • 26. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                            Community Member

                                                            mariopocoroba wrote:

                                                             

                                                            Oh EXCUSE ME - I didn't recollect that he had a G5 (as I don't lurk on Adobe forums all day and night remembering every thread and post and reciting statements back to other users)

                                                            You don't need to lurk on the forums all day. You just need to read the very first sentence presented by the person you are here to help.

                                                             

                                                            If you are not here to aid the OP, why are you here? Trolling?

                                                             

                                                            HOW IN THE WORLD COULD YOU HAVE MISSED THAT PPC THING? That is why CS5 is an issue for someone without an intel processor.

                                                             

                                                            Sheesh. Again and again.

                                                            • 27. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                              hikinedd Community Member

                                                              If I could return the software I'd do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I'd removed the plastic wrapping and opened the box, even though I've not even removed the disks from their sleeves. I bought the software at an education discount through JourneyEd.com. From their site: "Within 30 days of purchase software may be returned for a refund for any reason provided the sealed software package has not been opened and is in resalable condition." Additionally, I went further and received the additional layer of serial numbers from Adobe (serial numbers on the box are only good for 30 days) which I diddn't know I had to do until I opened the box.

                                                               

                                                              Like I said, had I read the fine print in the first place I could've saved myself the headache of buying a new Mac, plus I probably could've purchased CS4 for less than I paid for CS5. Since no Education discounter is selling CS4 anymore, buying it from another vendor would cost as much as a mini.

                                                               

                                                              This weekend I'll decide between a mini or a macbook pro.

                                                               

                                                              Thanks all.

                                                               

                                                              Edd

                                                              • 28. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                                mariopocoroba Community Member

                                                                First - I've been following the thread as it has progressed - can you comprehend that beyond the end of your nose?

                                                                 

                                                                Second - CS5 is an issue for Intel users as well, two units with CS5 installed here are completely affected.

                                                                 

                                                                Third - I gave the OP the best info yet presented regarding CPU speed vs core count, etc.

                                                                 

                                                                Lastly - Your last post is a definitive troll post, among many.

                                                                • 29. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                                  Community Member

                                                                  hikinedd wrote:

                                                                   

                                                                  This weekend I'll decide between a mini or a macbook pro.

                                                                  You might try downloading the InDesign CS4 trial here and giving yourself a window of 30 days to decide which Intel Mac to buy. InDesign is the only CS app that is really picky about document versions so you may be able to hit the ground running just with IDCS4. The linked image files in the INDD will probably be accessible to your other CS2 apps.

                                                                  • 30. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                                    Jeremy AB Community Member

                                                                    I upgraded from a G5 tower to the high-end Mini. I would have gotten an iMac but I already had an Apple Cinema Display and don't like the new glossy Apple displays. My Mini runs CS5 just fine, no complaints about it.

                                                                    • 31. Re: Mac Mini and CS5
                                                                      mariopocoroba Community Member

                                                                      It looks like there will be an upcoming announcement of a release of a brand new Mac Mini. I wonder what the base RAM limit will be on a stock unit? What I'd like to see would be a modular way of replacing the HD, but...

                                                                       

                                                                      I wouldn't touch an iMac with a 10 foot crossover cable. I've seen too many displays on them fail. The rest of the computer is still good - just can't see a damned thing. All you can do is take it in to an Apple store and get a new display, and then that one will go out as well. It's like the old stereo systems; the best ones were the ones that weren't self-contained.