I have about 100,000 images in my LRC catalog. I use Lightroom, Photoshop , Helicon focus and Topaz. My Pc desktop has maxed out, it is old for todays editing. I am leaning toward switching to a mac laptop with 4T of storage. I shoot both the Z9 and Z8, at 20fps the images eat a lot of space. Has anyone moved operating systems like this before? While I can do editing (not complicated), my general computer skills are limited. No such thing as a computer when I grew up. Can anyone give me advise on how difficult this would be, if even possible. What are the items I should consider before switching if possible. I presume I will need to download all of my applications into Mac version for the new computer. Will the old pc version move to the mac? The thought of moving the catalog is terrifying for me. Whew, makes my head hurt. Thanks in advance, I find this forum to be extremely helpful.
Switching from PC to Mac in mid stream, am I crazy?
- Thread starter Terry32
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I have a NAS as do many, because storage is relatively cheap. I have a Synology Disc Station with 14TB hdd.
I'd suggest you consider moving your images off PC. it's got to be easier than replacing your system.
I'd suggest you consider moving your images off PC. it's got to be easier than replacing your system.
Thank you, I forgot to say that my pc is connected to a Synology Nas. The operating system on the computer is at its max.
Yellowboard
Well-known member
This article from Apple Support should help you with your decision...https://support.apple.com/en-us/102565
Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support
Migration Assistant transfers (copies) your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from your Windows PC to the appropriate places on your Mac.
I don’t use Light Room but from what I’ve read on this forum , you will need to be careful when you transfer its catalogue
TurtleCat
Well-known member
I work on both platforms daily and have for over 30 years now. My advice is to look at your support team. If you have questions do you have someone who can answer them? In some ways Mac is easier and more straightforward. In other ways it requires more fiddling because some options are “advanced.”
There isn’t anything magical about either platform. If you’re very comfortable with Windows I would just stick with it. If you’ve looked at Macs and tried them out and it appeals then switch and don’t look back.
How difficult a migration is will depend on what apps you use and expect to use for one. Check and see if there are equivalents or acceptable replacements for all your needed apps first. The more you are already in Apples ecosystem (for example, do you use an iPhone?) the easier and more seamless the experience when you adopt more Apple products.
There isn’t anything magical about either platform. If you’re very comfortable with Windows I would just stick with it. If you’ve looked at Macs and tried them out and it appeals then switch and don’t look back.
How difficult a migration is will depend on what apps you use and expect to use for one. Check and see if there are equivalents or acceptable replacements for all your needed apps first. The more you are already in Apples ecosystem (for example, do you use an iPhone?) the easier and more seamless the experience when you adopt more Apple products.
Rixpx
Well-known member
I switched from PC to Mac almost 10 years ago and have never regretted my decision. People point out that Apple hardware costs more, but you are paying for products that work together with minimal effort. Apple support has proven excellent and call centers are local.
Back then at least, Adobe was cooperative in providing Mac based software for the conversion. I don't know their policy now, as I no longer use Adobe photo software.
Back then at least, Adobe was cooperative in providing Mac based software for the conversion. I don't know their policy now, as I no longer use Adobe photo software.
Calson
Well-known member
I switched back to Windows in 2008 when Apple decided not to provide their new operating system for older workstations. The Mac workstations cost $5,000 more than comparable Windows computers and the situation has gotten worse over the years with a Studio 2 priced at over $4,000 it is not a good value in terms of price and performance.
The best off the shelf computers for video processing are the "gaming" ones like the Lenovo Legion that includes a RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 graphics card with a i7 or i7 CPU. One can save 50% with a Wintel computer.
For laptops the Apple price and perforrmance gap is less in general unless one is getting a Wintel laptop with an internal 4090 GPU. Performance testing results at Puget Systems for these laptops is surprisingly good.
The best off the shelf computers for video processing are the "gaming" ones like the Lenovo Legion that includes a RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 graphics card with a i7 or i7 CPU. One can save 50% with a Wintel computer.
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For laptops the Apple price and perforrmance gap is less in general unless one is getting a Wintel laptop with an internal 4090 GPU. Performance testing results at Puget Systems for these laptops is surprisingly good.
Hooligans Imagery
Michael H
I am all in on Mac due to the ecosystem and communications with family. My PC friends tell me MS has done the same now I would not buy a Mac with 4TB of internal storage. I would use external drives. Apple charges a premium for storage. Go to a store and try a Mac Book Pro and see what you think.
I think the catalog moves over just fine.
I think the catalog moves over just fine.
Moving your files over isn't a big issue. LightRoom, Photo Shop, Helicon, and Topaz are available for Mac. You will have a slight learning curve. Some things on Mac operate differently than on a PC. Example is the "Delete" key. On a Mac, it operates like a backspace key, on PC, you place the cursor to the left, hit delete and it deletes the character to the right, opposite on Mac. The learning curve will; however, be less than going to a new camera.
I use external drives for storage and for backup. I will go to a NAS at some point. More a factor of being lazy than anything else.
Jeff
I use external drives for storage and for backup. I will go to a NAS at some point. More a factor of being lazy than anything else.
Jeff
I use a PC and hubby uses a Mac. Biggest plus for Apple seems to be the inter-operability of multiple devises......watches, phones, head sets, etc. We do very little of that.
I have 6 internal HD bays (user replaceable!)......which is very nice. That allows me lots of internal storage space which backing up to external HDs.
Both of us use high capacity external HDs for storage.
I prefer more "control" of how the OS works......hubby is content to let the OS do a lot of things "behind the scenes"....until he has no idea where something got saved, etc. LOL!
Either system is very good. Pick your poison.....
I have 6 internal HD bays (user replaceable!)......which is very nice. That allows me lots of internal storage space which backing up to external HDs.
Both of us use high capacity external HDs for storage.
I prefer more "control" of how the OS works......hubby is content to let the OS do a lot of things "behind the scenes"....until he has no idea where something got saved, etc. LOL!
Either system is very good. Pick your poison.....
I would be happy to stay with a pc, but figuring out what I need performance wise is overwhelming. I read a couple of the posts on new computers, and it is confusing. I have looked at Pugent Systems site.
Thanks for all the responses.
Thanks for all the responses.
David Berry
🇦🇺 Australia 🦘
- Just do it!
- There is help aplenty available.
- My opinion: definitely inadequate.
- Want buyer's remorse in a few years' time… spend a lot of money now on a MacBook Pro that is not quite good enough. Be brave!
- 3.5 TB used (of 4 TB on MBP) = Tangle of cables to external SSDs.
- 3.5 TB used (of 8 TB on MBP) = What I'm using right now!
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do you have a working budget for a new PC? If you are trying to buy a machine that can work well with LR Classic, then you will want a machine with no less than 32GB of RAM, a modern processor (like a 13th or 14th generation Intel i5, i7 or i9 for example). For a graphics card, this is where you want a card that has 8or more GB of VRAM. NVIDIA has some RTX cards like their 4060 or 4070 series that are not too expensive. Add a fast internal drive (NVMe) and you should be good to go. Puget Systems has very high quality PC's, but their prices are generally more expensive. There are other options if you are on a budget.
Good luck,
--Ken
Great information, thank you
I just recently switched from PC to MAC. I don't have your quantity of images but I was able to move my catalogs and images across. You are well advised to consult with a MAC expert to help with the transition.
The MAC silicone chips work very well with photo editing and you don't need the higher end models. I ended up doing it with a Mac Studio M2. I got the near-base level model with I think 32gb RAM and that was more than adequate.
There were several threads dealing with various aspects of working with MAC I would suggest you look over those threads because a lot was discussed.
The Studio even at base level works well with higher end monitors. I am currently using MAC's Studio 5k monitor along with a Dell 4k monitor. The combination works well for me.
The MAC is very speedy when properly configured. I went from a high end Razer Blade 15 I9 laptop to the Studio and immediately noted huge speed in processing. I had no lag whatsoever and I could have one screen full of thumbnails in Lighroom while editing individual images on the 5k.
The key with the MAC is to sort out hard drive storage. There is a long thread on this site dealing at length with the subject.
Internal hard drives are very fast on the MAC but they are also super expensive. The nice thing about the MACS is their thunderbolt connections are much faster and you can get I believe up to 40 gb per second transfer speed potentially.
You can functionally get close to identical speed with internal drives by using external higher speed SSD drives. You can't however get a single high speed SSD drive bigger than 8 TB.
What you end up doing is having a high speed external SSD drive for current image processing and move your older files to slower storage.
There is also an extensive thread on this site dealing with RAID and DAS and NAS issues.
My personal solution developed based on advice on this site from a number of people. I ended up buying a 7.69 G Drive enterprise class SSD which apparently is no longer available. I use it for all of my active photos and catalogs.
As a lifetime PC user I am managing the changeover. There is a lot that I like about the MAC system and I am getting better at it but every now and then I find myself pulling my hair out because I don't know how to do a simple task.
The MAC silicone chips work very well with photo editing and you don't need the higher end models. I ended up doing it with a Mac Studio M2. I got the near-base level model with I think 32gb RAM and that was more than adequate.
There were several threads dealing with various aspects of working with MAC I would suggest you look over those threads because a lot was discussed.
The Studio even at base level works well with higher end monitors. I am currently using MAC's Studio 5k monitor along with a Dell 4k monitor. The combination works well for me.
The MAC is very speedy when properly configured. I went from a high end Razer Blade 15 I9 laptop to the Studio and immediately noted huge speed in processing. I had no lag whatsoever and I could have one screen full of thumbnails in Lighroom while editing individual images on the 5k.
The key with the MAC is to sort out hard drive storage. There is a long thread on this site dealing at length with the subject.
Internal hard drives are very fast on the MAC but they are also super expensive. The nice thing about the MACS is their thunderbolt connections are much faster and you can get I believe up to 40 gb per second transfer speed potentially.
You can functionally get close to identical speed with internal drives by using external higher speed SSD drives. You can't however get a single high speed SSD drive bigger than 8 TB.
What you end up doing is having a high speed external SSD drive for current image processing and move your older files to slower storage.
There is also an extensive thread on this site dealing with RAID and DAS and NAS issues.
My personal solution developed based on advice on this site from a number of people. I ended up buying a 7.69 G Drive enterprise class SSD which apparently is no longer available. I use it for all of my active photos and catalogs.
As a lifetime PC user I am managing the changeover. There is a lot that I like about the MAC system and I am getting better at it but every now and then I find myself pulling my hair out because I don't know how to do a simple task.
I switched from PCs to Macs in 2009 with the introduction of the 27" iMac and have never regretted it, but I was just starting serious photography so I didn't have many photos and was just starting in Lightroom. There is the period where you will have to become familiar with Macs and OSX.
It may be easier to just get an updated PC that will serve your needs now and for the foreseeable future. A new machine with a SSD and sufficient RAM will speed up your workflow. Get a large enough SSD for the operating system, programs and the Lightroom catalog. Your photos can reside on an external hard drive (spinning or SSD). If the number of photos outgrow the external drive, they can be replaced with a new larger drive.
It may be easier to just get an updated PC that will serve your needs now and for the foreseeable future. A new machine with a SSD and sufficient RAM will speed up your workflow. Get a large enough SSD for the operating system, programs and the Lightroom catalog. Your photos can reside on an external hard drive (spinning or SSD). If the number of photos outgrow the external drive, they can be replaced with a new larger drive.
I turned to the Apple universe in December 2022 after 40+ years with PC and MS I haven't regretted it for a second.
That said, turning this knob wasn't something that went through in one go within days, it was a process.
Just 2 cents from a person using one system for job as well as hobby ...
Changing OS from an end user point of view ist not so difficult. If you get used to different UI's and their inconsistencies in the Windows world you also get used to MacOS quick quickly. You simply have to learn and adapt, just as with other things - like cars.
Something I would recommend is doing a check on the applications you use on the PC in terms of whether there is a Mac version available. If yes, swithing over shouldn't be hard to do.
If you are working with applications that do not exist as a MacOS version, it is probably easier to do a migration from this application to one providing similar functionality, but being available as a multiplatform app. This makes it easier to change platform afterwards. Examples from my migration:
- KeePass Classic (1.xx) is a password manager and safe only available for Windows. Before actually switching to MacOS I migrated to KeePasssXC under WIndows, because KeePassXC is a multi-platform App also available for MacOS. After doing this the switch to MacOS was seemless.
- XnView is a powerful image organizing tool I use extensively, because I don't have just my private images, but I also use it for organizing thousands of graphics in multiple languages for creating technical documentation. There is a version called XnViewMP (MP = Multi Platform). Here I did the same and switching to MacOS not just as easy as with the first example, but still pretty smooth
For me this was a bit of a challenge, because I hve to keep private data and job data including confidential stuff from my clients separated, but still it's not as complicated as it seems.
I have used NAS for a while just to learn about it, but for performance and security reasons I went back to local devices. Many use NAS, because they provide RAID capability to prevent immediate data loss due to single HDD failures. But this doesn't mean you don't need a backup and archiving for these devices as well !!!
There are powerful storage systems with RAID capabilities available that you can connect locally via Thunderbolt or USB. I find them more convenient, because I don't have to juggle with a second system with its own OS, user administration etc., I have full file system integration in the MacOS world including encryption for safety relevant data and the functionality MacOS provides to work with encrypted volumes and reaching the R/W bandwith you can achieve with fast local connections is difficult even with high end network infrastructure.
MacOS has its own file systems and just as Windows it can work with other 3rd party file systems, but every OS has its favourite that it works best with.
When I did the step from Windows to Mac I made sure that I have up to date images of my data on external volumes that used a file system allowing both platforms to read and write. For this reason, after switching to Apple and mainly working with the Mac I kept my Windows system alive and as part of my backup and archiving concept I regularly created images of my user data from the Mac to external volumes formatted in exFAT, because then both OS's have Read and Write access. So, if something goes fundamentally wrong I have always the chance to work with the latest image of my user data on the Windows system temporarily.
I followed this procedure for roundabout 6 months. However, depending on how smooth your migration feels for you and how critical the data is apart from you images, you might want to skip this or run it for a shorter period. But it's like signing an insurance contract. You pay the money hoping that you never need the insurance, but ...
Only some thoughts ... may the force of courage and patience be with you ...
PC apps won’t work…you will need to buy the macOS version unless your license works for both. Adobe apps are subscription so all you need to do is download the macOS versions. You can but MS Office or use the included with the macOS Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps…for most people those are plenty good enough.
You will need to move your LR catalog and original images to the Mac and will likely (unless the images are on the same drive as the catalog) run through the Find my Originals steps to tell I them but that’s not too hard. Basically you move the entire catalog folder including previews to the Mac and it just works…but the catalog is currently looking for the images on some drive letter name and then a folder path. macOS uses volume name instead of letter but normally once you find the first image Lr looks in the same place for the rest.
This isn't a trivial move…but it’s not rocket science either. Of the catalog folder and images folder are on the C drive and you move them to the Mac internal drive with the images at the same path the original relocation isn’t too difficult. The biggest thing for you to get used to, particularly if you’re using a reasonable current Windows version…is the different user interface that macOS uses…it is closer to the interface of XP than whatever the current version is but still not too difficult to sort out. What sort and size of backup drives do you have currently…they are likely to be reused on the Mac but will require reformatting to do so as macOS doesn’t speak NTFS if that’s how they’re formatted.
While I didn’t move platforms (I’ve always been an Apple guy)…I was a Windows sysadmin back when I worked so the transition won’t be too hard for you. Feel free to ask more specific questions if you’ve got them…and check out the Lightroom Queen site or Google for tips on migrating LR to the new platform.
And as suggested…see what apps you have and their license info…do they have a macOS version and is the license good or do you need a new purchase or do you need a new app if the vendor doesn’t have a macOS version…then make sure you figure out the migration path for the data for things like password managers and the like.
OTOH…perhaps just migrating to a more powerful/capable Windows machine is another answer…not one I would choose but 8t 8s an option of the migration process seems too difficult…but as noted research and figure out the whole migration plan before purchasing the Mac hardware and then expect the move to be a process.
An additional idea is perhaps don’t try and move the catalog…if you export the .xmp sidecar files on the PC they’ll sit alongside the original images. Move the entire image folder to the Mac and create a new catalog there…and then import the images specifying add to catalog and not copy or move. lR will see the .xmp files and import them into the new catalog then create whatever previews you like. This might be even easier than the whole find my originals routine.
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After much consideration, I am staying with the pc and have placed an order for a computer from Puget Sound Systems. Thanks for all the great advice, I feel that, after reading the info provided here, that switching platforms would be an additional stress at this point in my life .
thanks again
thanks again
I have worked with Puget Computer Systems TWICE to have them build a custom machine for me. Call them up! Tell them what you have now, what you need/want and especially how you will be using the computer - and ask what they recommend. My experience was that they could "cut through" all the technical stuff (that's their job! LOL!) and recommend something that would work for you.
You pay more than buying the pieces and building it yourself....but hey - I didn't want to take that on! AND - years later I can still call them up and a person in a brick and mortar store in the US answers my call and helps me.....! That in and of itself is priceless.
I specified I wanted not the latest and greatest technology - but I did want the machine to serve me well for 5-10 years. Your needs may be similar - or different.
I looked at updating my system this spring.
I would have had to spend upwards of 3k to get a sufficiently fast system for the PC. If I wanted to be able to handle a 5k screen it would have cost me even more.
However when I went to the MAC I found inexpensive choices.
I found a reconditioned MacBook Pro M1 that I got for about $1400. It ran PS and LR flawlessly using dual monitors one of which was a 5k monitor.
I then tried a base model MAC Studio that I got for around 2k. It also performed flawlessly.
The difference is in the MAC silicone chips, the M1 and higher. Those are much more efficient for handling photo and video processing plus they are already compatible with higher resolution monitors. Those basic level products can even handle an 8k monitor.
I would have had to spend upwards of 3k to get a sufficiently fast system for the PC. If I wanted to be able to handle a 5k screen it would have cost me even more.
However when I went to the MAC I found inexpensive choices.
I found a reconditioned MacBook Pro M1 that I got for about $1400. It ran PS and LR flawlessly using dual monitors one of which was a 5k monitor.
I then tried a base model MAC Studio that I got for around 2k. It also performed flawlessly.
The difference is in the MAC silicone chips, the M1 and higher. Those are much more efficient for handling photo and video processing plus they are already compatible with higher resolution monitors. Those basic level products can even handle an 8k monitor.