Photolab 8 - help with new MacBook spec - any pitfalls?

DxO PhotoLab macOS topics
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I have been using Photolab (and Filmpack and Vewpoint) for some years, but didn’t upgrade last year as my old MacBook Pro will only run up to OS 11 and it was already struggling with PL6.

I am about to bite the bullet and get a new MacBook and wondered if there were any pitfalls I need to avoid. I’m not up to date, but I was thinking of going for the M4 Pro chip and undecided on ‘unified memory’.

Any insights welcomed, thank you.

I will take advantage of the Black Friday pricing although I may not have the new laptop for a few weeks yet. I’m not sure whether I’ll need to upgrade Filmpack too to work with PL8. I note I don’t get a preferential price for Viewpoint and I use that less in any case.

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Well if it’s any help I’m running PL, FP , VP, Photoshop and Lightroom all at the same time on a 2020 M1 16GB memory Mac mini. It works well. I was thinking about the new M4 mini but decided not to upgrade, because I don’t really need to.

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Thank you. That is useful to know that 16GB RAM works well. Hopefully PL8 will run okay with these latest processors.

I have been holding off waiting for my laptop to break, but it is still holding on! I currently have 16GB RAM and an i7 processor, so it is disappointing that they won’t upgrade the OS. It amazes me how it has lasted, but I am just having too many incompatibility problems now, although it will mean that if I wish to continue using Photolab Plus, then I need to become a subscriber - a downside!!

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Take a look, maybe this will be helpful for you:
https://www.youtube.com/@ArtIsRight/videos

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Brilliant, thank you! I will have a look.

I know some software seems to struggle with the new processors, so at least it seems that isn’t a problem with Photolab.

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You can download the trial version and use it for 30 days. This should show whether PL gets on well with the new chips. But I am confident, because I imagine that some colleagues here are already working with the new Apple devices.

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No problems so far on a 2020 M1 MacBook Air 8/8/16

MacBooks are fairly tied down in their configuration. I’d therefore get as much memory and storage as possible. It might hurt today, but it can make service life last longer and with better performance.

My M1 is currently hosting volumes for macOS 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 as well as a volume for common applications (e.g. PhotoLab and image files) on a 1TB drive. I’d get more than that if I’d buy new today, but that will have to wait a few years.

Except for one app, I could run the MBA without Rosetta 2. When that app will run natively, I’ll have to delete the one volume concerned and build it up again. No real worry, but still annoying that Rosetta can’t be removed (as far as I know)

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I have yet to buy my new laptop, so I just wanted to check that Photolab will run okay and whether there are any specific needs. I’m not sure I will get the laptop in time before the Black Friday deal runs out, so I was going to go ahead and buy Photolab anyway - I have faith that it will be an improvement on Photolab 6! What I hadn’t thought through, is that probably not many people have the new chips yet!

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PL8 does a few things more fluidly than PL6 and don’t count on you being the only Apple Silicon user out there.

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I understand what you mean. I use an M1 MacBookPro Max and have had no problems with DxO software. Since the M4 is even more powerful, you’ll be working with a lot more performance.
The linked video can help you decide exactly which device to buy. The Youtuber is also a photographer himself.

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Oh that is interesting!! So you have split your hard drive and are running different OS systems on them? Wow!

I’ve had my current MacBook since 2015, so I really feel I have had my money’s worth, and that makes me feel better about spending a lot of money (she says, quietly weeping! :rofl: ) I will pay heed to as much memory as possible, thanks.

I have a 1TB SSD at the moment, so I wouldn’t contemplate less than that as there is not a lot of space left considering I don’t keep my photos on it. There probably are things I should get rid of.

I had heard of people using Rosetta for running Photo Mechanic (and confess this is partly what prompted me to ask the question). I haven’t worked out this part of my workflow and may keep my old laptop purely to manage the database as such. I don’t take enough photos now to warrant a subscription for that.

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I’ve subscribed and will spend some time tomorrow digesting the info on his videos. Thanks for the link :+1:

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I hope the information can help you! :+1:

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Like @jeffholdgate I ran PL7 (and, ssh, betas of PL8) on an M1 with 16GB RAM. No problems whatsoever.

I now have an M3 Pro-based computer and of course it’s significantly faster, but the only place that really shows is export times with the later noise reduction algorithms.

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I‘m also a few weeks ahead of my first upgrade with most current specs & PL8 - can tell you any potential issue then.

Here the envisaged M4 spec:

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Any M1+ Mac will work great, as long as it has enough memory and supports the number of monitors you have. How much enough memory is depends on how many major programs you like to have open at one time. As well as the resolution of your RAW files. For instance, I usually have FastRawViewer and Affinity Pro running at the same time as PhotoLab (along with browsers, email, etc). I also shoot 45MB sensors most of the time and make panoramas . 64GB is enough memory for me, 32GB will do in a pinch but can get tight. Many people are fine with 24GB+.

The reason the processor doesn’t matter much is that PhotoLab defaults to processing DeepPrime on the neural engine chip which varies a great deal less than the GPU in terms of cores/power. 12/16 was standard across the M1 line except for the Ultra which was double.

GPU does matter for the number and size of monitors you want to run. The initial M1 (not Pro, not Max) and some of the later bottom end M2 chips could only handle two screens (mostly a built-in one + one external one). Even now the M1 Ultra can’t handle a 6K display via HDMI, or any other 6K resolution than the Apple Studio XDR.

The sweet spot for PhotoLab if you don’t need a laptop is the M4 Mini (basic model) upgraded to 32GB memory, with default 256GB internal drive for €1059 (VAT included). Then add a Thunderbolt 3/4 case for €80 and a 4TB NVME drive for about €200 and you have a capable Mx Mac with a 4TB boot drive for about €1400.

Mac Mini Pro with 48GB memory and 4TB internal drive would run €3489 and wouldn’t run PhotoLab noticeably better.

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Thanks for the info.

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Another advantage of a Mac Mini over the laptops (whether Pro or basic) is that Apple Care is just €35/year.

With how expensive/difficult it is to repair recent Apple hardware I keep Apple Care on all new Apple devices until they are sold/retired.

The MB are about €100/year, the MBP about €150/year. It adds up over several computers. For reference, the Mac Studios are €70/year which is also fine. But there’s a substantial extra cost to going mobile. Plus when the computer is mobile, the strategy of an external NVME boot drive is not very appealing, hence one must face either much less internal storage or much higher storage costs.

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Thanks so much for all the info and apologies for the delayed reply, I have been away.

Having had issues in the past, I do intend to get Apple Care - my current laptop was given to me by Apple after several mother board replacements, thanks to Apple Care. I hadn’t realised it was so much cheaper for a Mini. Thanks for adding all the costs in.

I won’t use more than one monitor as I do less photography these days, so that’s not a consideration.

I had toyed with getting a Mini, but a laptop means I can be a bit more sociable sat in the same room with my husband whilst he’s watching football or whatever :laughing: However with the Apple Care costs, I might have a rethink. I would need a monitor too. Apart from holidays, it wouldn’t leave the house. Food for thought.

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Thank you and apologies for the delayed reply. I may revisit the idea of a Mini following on from the post by @uncoy

Your spec is useful for me as a starting point though I don’t think I would need 64GB RAM. I am also going to look at the spec given by @uncoy. I do want 1TB SSD and I had been thinking of going with the M4Pro having watched the videos that were linked earlier in this thread.

I know nothing about monitors… a lot more to research!

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