Advice for getting started as a solo designer on a budget

Associate
Joined
27 Nov 2003
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2,459
Location
Loughborough
Hi all,

Long story short, a member of the family has been on/off furlough for the past year and really messed around by his current employer. I know design hours are tricky topic as many people assume it's easy!

As a result he is thinking about breaking away from the company and needs something to replace the work Mac that he is used to using. What's the most cost effective solution for running the Adobe suite these days? I don't think a £2k+ system is really on the cards and I said a macbook will be more effective so he can visit clients and so on rather than being chained to his house.

Is it a refurb/secondhand or are the new budget ones decent enough.

Thanks for any advice. :)
 

LiE

LiE

Caporegime
Joined
2 Aug 2005
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25,601
Location
Milton Keynes
What does he currently use at work? That may give a clue as to the level of performance that's needed.

Could probably grab a 2019 27" iMac for a reasonable price. Easy enough to add some additional memory so just buy one with 8GB.

E.g. https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ref...in-one-pc-with-retina-a2-mrqy2b-a/version.asp

Another option is the new M1 Mac mini, but then you'd have to get a decent external display.
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
27 Nov 2003
Posts
2,459
Location
Loughborough
What does he currently use at work? That may give a clue as to the level of performance that's needed.

Could probably grab a 2019 27" iMac for a reasonable price. Easy enough to add some additional memory so just buy one with 8GB.

E.g. https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ref...in-one-pc-with-retina-a2-mrqy2b-a/version.asp

Another option is the new M1 Mac mini, but then you'd have to get a decent external display.

Thanks for that, it looks good value actually. The one he has now is 2014 as a mac does hold up well but the software is long out of date and won't be updated.

This isn't a bad step though. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
14,662
If he does go down the laptop route, he's definitely going to want an external display as well as the laptop. I couldn't work day-in-day-out on my 15" MBP.
 

Dup

Dup

Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2006
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11,225
Location
East Lancs
Thanks for that, it looks good value actually. The one he has now is 2014 as a mac does hold up well but the software is long out of date and won't be updated.

This isn't a bad step though. :)

I have a 2019 MacBook Pro through work and a personal late 2013 MacBook pro. They both perform identically for me although I'm fairly light on Creative Suite these days and more code & Sketch. My MacBook also has Big Sur installed no problem so software is relevant for at least until the next OS iteration which is enough to get him going in my opinion. I'd get a cheaper older MacBook Pro and budget for a decent 27" IPS 1440p external display, keyboard and mouse.
 
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