In 2023, the best Macs for creative and design work are undoubtedly the new generation of Apple Silicon M1 and M2 chip Macs which offer much faster graphics and processing power than the older Intel chip.
It used to be the case that if you work in graphic design you would benefit from a discrete graphics card with its own memory, as opposed to a integrated graphics that were embedded on the chip and shared memory with the processor.
Mac For Graphics
This was why many designers were drawn to the iMac or the pre-2021 16in MacBook Pro: these Mac options offered discrete graphics options that were superior to the integrated Intel graphics that were used in the pre-M1 Macs.
To see if an app is using the higher-performance discrete GPU, open Activity Monitor and click the Energy tab. If you don't see the Requires High Perf GPU column, your computer only has one graphics processor.
You won't see this option if an eGPU isn't connected, if your Mac isn't running macOS Mojave or later, or if the app self-manages its GPU selection. Some apps, such as Final Cut Pro, directly choose which graphics processors are used and will ignore the Prefer External GPU checkbox.
If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac defaults back to the internal graphics processors that drives the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it automatically sets the external display as the primary display.
Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing for greater system performance and stability.
The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high-quality and high-performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.
It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you use an eGPU to also charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.
If you've installed macOS Big Sur 11.4 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA2 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 6800, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT7.
If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.
The System Information window will show you an overview of your system, including what version of OS X you're running, your model, your processor, your installed memory (RAM), your graphics card and your serial number.
To find your graphics card, just look at the System Information Overview -- it will list the type of graphics card you have under Graphics. If you want to find out more about your graphics card, click System Report... in the lower left corner of the System Information Overview screen. A new window will pop up with an overview of your Mac's installed hardware.
In the new window, under Hardware, click Graphics/Displays. Here, you'll be able to see more information about your graphics card, including how much dedicated memory (VRAM) it has. You'll also be able to see information about your display, such as the type, resolution and pixel depth.
A recurring problem in Mac computers are graphics card failures. Although it is true that other brands such as HP, Acer and Asus also fail. It is a recurrent problem due to certain features of the computers, such as their little physical space inside, or the high performance that we require from them, and also due to the manufacturing defects of some models.
This failure is usually caused by provoking a stress in the graphics chip, also known as graphics adapter, video card or graphics accelerator card. This card is responsible for the processing of images of the device. If we play any HD videos or high quality games, we will be putting an additional extra work on the card.
Apple has also made many errors in different computer models, such as the MacBook models A1226 and A1260 (2007 and 2008). They had a failure related to the graphics card that those models were using at that time, NVIDIA 8600M GT, which contained defective chips.
Once your device is out warranty (by accident or by expiration) both the Apple service and the official technical services will solve this problem by changing the entire motherboard. That will raise the budget to almost the price of a new computer. That is when you can rely on highly qualified services like ours. We will repair your device by replacing the graphics chip or by only repairing the part affected by the failure; and we will give you full warranty for a much more reasonable price. If your graphics card is damaged, contact us to help you fix it:
Desktop PCs don't have to worry about that, and you can usually configure them more easily to accommodate your needs. They can also be more affordable than a laptop with comparable specifications, but because the best computers for graphic design need powerful components like cutting-edge processors graphics cards, don't expect any of these PCs to be particularly cheap.
A dedicated graphics card is also advantageous, but most graphic design applications won't be as demanding on your system as tasks like 3D rendering. Opting for a gaming PC that's packing a beefy Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU will certainly help (and enable you to use ray tracing-boosted features), but integrated graphics will do at a push.
Microsoft PCs are typically much cheaper than Apple alternatives, and desktop towers are usually easy to upgrade which can greatly prolong the lifespan of your machine. For an especially beefy build, you can even opt for a gaming PC as they usually pack a powerful graphics card, more memory (RAM) and a capable processor from either Intel or AMD.
Finding the best computer for graphic design can be difficult, as the choice has perhaps never been greater, and sifting through which ones are worth the money has never been more complex. Here, we've picked out all the desktop computers that will give graphic designers the greatest bang for their buck right now. Of course, your demands will vary greatly on whether you're a high-level 3D motion-graphics designer, a student learning the ropes or a hobbyist who likes to dabble in graphic design without having to spend too much on your hardware.
Jess is TechRadar's computing writer, covering hardware, PC gaming and peripherals, though she can be found freelancing for creative tech like 3D printers and graphics drawing tablets. She also likes to dabble in digital art and can often be found playing games of both the PC and Tabletop variety, occasionally streaming on Twitch to the disappointment of everyone.","contributorText":"With contributions from","contributors":["name":"Erlingur Einarsson","role":"Tech Reviews Editor","link":"href":"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/author\/erlingur-einarsson"]}; var triggerHydrate = function() window.sliceComponents.authorBio.hydrate(data, componentContainer); var triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate = function() var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = ' -8-2/authorBio.js'; script.async = true; script.id = 'vanilla-slice-authorBio-component-script'; script.onload = () => window.sliceComponents.authorBio = authorBio; triggerHydrate(); ; document.head.append(script); if (window.lazyObserveElement) window.lazyObserveElement(componentContainer, triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate); else triggerHydrate(); } }).catch(err => console.log('Hydration Script has failed for authorBio Slice', err)); }).catch(err => console.log('Externals script failed to load', err));Jess WeatherbedSocial Links NavigationFreelancerJess is TechRadar's computing writer, covering hardware, PC gaming and peripherals, though she can be found freelancing for creative tech like 3D printers and graphics drawing tablets. She also likes to dabble in digital art and can often be found playing games of both the PC and Tabletop variety, occasionally streaming on Twitch to the disappointment of everyone. 2ff7e9595c
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