shibby
New Member
Hey guys, I'm new here and was doing some searches through the forums looking for a thread relating to everyone's production machines. Didn't come across a main one so I figured I'd make one. (if this is against the rules, or this is the wrong place for this thread...OR if there is an existing thread I wasn't able to find, please let me know!) I'd like this to be a thread where you can post your setup, give us some specs on your machine(s) and any other information (workflow, software, etc) as to how you go about making your signage on a day to day basis. Share any information you feel is pertinent to your computer setup (company position, daily tasks, etc).
I'll start! I do all the graphic design and social media for our company. I setup all the digital prints in Adobe Illustrator CC 2014, do any raster edits in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014, and setup all router or vinyl plot files in FlexiSIGN-Pro 10.0.1. Here are the specs of my current setup:
Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/OGt6W (also attached at bottom of this post)
(Left) 21.5 inch Late 2013 iMac
(Right) Mid-2011 21.5 iMac in Target Display Mode.
I really enjoy the virtual partition for my Windows environment when I need it, since I can use Coherence mode to have both Mac applications and Windows applications open at the same time across multiple screens. We used to have the 2011 iMac as our main Apple machine, and a Dell PC setup to the right of it to use for our Windows environment to run Flexi on, check emails, etc. But our 2011 iMac started having some logic board issues. When our boss decided to get a new iMac I convinced him to let me salvage the old iMac to run in Target Display Mode (basically as a monitor, since the video card runs independent of the logic board we can use it as a second display until it finally bites the dust completely). I was able to save desk space, and free up an entire machine by porting the Dell PC onto a virtual partition on the new Mac, giving me the same workflow as before, but now condensed onto the same machine. 16GB RAM was the max I could put into this machine, and our boss didn't want to opt for the 27 inch (I didn't really want it either considering it's just too large for the desk I currently have), but I'm definitely glad I went for the internal SSD and maxed out the CPU on this machine. It really flies. Absolutely zero lag when working both in OS X and Windows at the same time. Should be a very smooth experience for the next several years (barring any unexpected failures *Knocks on wood*)
What do you guys think? What's your workstation like?
I'll start! I do all the graphic design and social media for our company. I setup all the digital prints in Adobe Illustrator CC 2014, do any raster edits in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014, and setup all router or vinyl plot files in FlexiSIGN-Pro 10.0.1. Here are the specs of my current setup:
Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/OGt6W (also attached at bottom of this post)
(Left) 21.5 inch Late 2013 iMac
- 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7
- 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
- 250GB Apple SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 1024 MB
(Right) Mid-2011 21.5 iMac in Target Display Mode.
- Apple Magic Mouse
- USB Superdrive
- Magic Trackpad
- Wireless Keyboard
- Runs Yosemite 10.10.2
- Also have a separate partition with a Parallels Desktop 10 Virtual Machine running Windows 7 Professional 64Bit (I use this to run Flexi).
I really enjoy the virtual partition for my Windows environment when I need it, since I can use Coherence mode to have both Mac applications and Windows applications open at the same time across multiple screens. We used to have the 2011 iMac as our main Apple machine, and a Dell PC setup to the right of it to use for our Windows environment to run Flexi on, check emails, etc. But our 2011 iMac started having some logic board issues. When our boss decided to get a new iMac I convinced him to let me salvage the old iMac to run in Target Display Mode (basically as a monitor, since the video card runs independent of the logic board we can use it as a second display until it finally bites the dust completely). I was able to save desk space, and free up an entire machine by porting the Dell PC onto a virtual partition on the new Mac, giving me the same workflow as before, but now condensed onto the same machine. 16GB RAM was the max I could put into this machine, and our boss didn't want to opt for the 27 inch (I didn't really want it either considering it's just too large for the desk I currently have), but I'm definitely glad I went for the internal SSD and maxed out the CPU on this machine. It really flies. Absolutely zero lag when working both in OS X and Windows at the same time. Should be a very smooth experience for the next several years (barring any unexpected failures *Knocks on wood*)
What do you guys think? What's your workstation like?
Attachments
Last edited: