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Cheapest Macintosh for ARkit dev?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by rkino, Nov 9, 2017.

  1. rkino

    rkino

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2017
    Posts:
    2
    Looking for a (relatively) cheap machine for ARkit development for iOS. Was initially thinking of going with a cheap Mac Mini (500 GBP refurb?) then I heard that build times can get a bit insane as the box overheats then throttles performance. Anyone here has experience with this ?

    So my idea now is aiming for a 16GB i7 2014/5 Macbook Pro with a dedicated graphics card. that's looking like around 1000-1500gbp, which is my limit atm. Any foreseeable issues with that machine?

    Based in the UK, if that matters.
     
  2. Ryiah

    Ryiah

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2012
    Posts:
    20,943
    If you don't mind used hardware you can find a lot of Mac Pro 2012s on eBay that support the latest OS. Processors for the time period can be found all over the Internet for a fraction of their original price, the memory is often upgradeable to a high amount, and they have PCIe slots so the GPUs can be upgraded too.

    This one here is just under 400 GBP.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-...D-2009-Model-updated-to-2012-5-1/253002261501
     
  3. rkino

    rkino

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    Nov 9, 2017
    Posts:
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    You think that will do well with anything I throw at it (as far as mobile graphics go?). With an Nvidia GT120 ?

    Good suggestion though.
     
  4. nathanielp

    nathanielp

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2016
    Posts:
    6
    The 2012 Mac Pros are upgradable like a normal desktop. You can buy a more suitable graphics card and slot it in yourself, it should be pretty straight forward even if you haven't dealt with the inside of a computer before. Here's a video tutorial I found, looks like a very similar 2012 mac pro and he is replacing a GT120 as well.


    If you are unfamiliar with graphics cards then I'm sure someone can give input on what would be a good upgrade for a mac, that is outside of my experience so hopefully someone who knows what video cards work best for macs can chime in :)
     
    Ryiah likes this.