<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
Hi Helena/List,<br>
For all the good intentions everyone who has responded to you, have
had - they are truly "not that useful"<br>
<br>
So, before I get shot:<br>
Yes, more memory, HD->SSD->NVMe does help a lot - but did
Mac's have M.2 slots 7 years back? If yes, were they configured as
NVMe or SATA?<br>
Is "new" Mac memory different from 7-year-old Mac memory? (yes, of
course it is)<br>
<br>
So let's get pragmatic:<br>
Buying any of the suggested HW to upgrade might be throwing good
money after bad - because if they do not help you sufficiently, you
will still have to buy a newer PC, and you may end up being stuck
with components you cannot use in your newer PC.<br>
<br>
So, judging by your original post below - you have not even tried
QGIS yet.<br>
<br>
It is free!<br>
Download it.<br>
Try it.<br>
<br>
If your electricity bill goes up because you are boiling your kettle
more often than normal (while waiting for QGIS to respond), then buy
a new PC - that is, if you are unable to<u> borrow </u>extra memory
to see if that helps sufficiently.<br>
<br>
If you buy a new PC, then yes, look at all the responses you have
received.<br>
Buy at least 16GB memory - preferably 32GB<br>
Do not buy any 'old' HDs (those with moving parts) unless you need
>4TB of disk space. (very easy with GIS data) - but keep system
& swap on the fastes SSDs you can afford.<br>
If you buy SSDs, make sure they are NVMe and not SATA-SSDs.<br>
<br>
No matter what GIS SW you choose, it will need a 'decent' PC if you
are asking it to do stuff more than just play around with simple
maps.<br>
<br>
Hope this helps you with your way forward.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
Zoltan<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2022-04-20 14:00, Patrick Dunford
via Qgis-user wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:55daaa78-fd94-7021-6184-dadb83769a6f@gmail.com">As
others have written it will depend on the tasks you are doing.
<br>
<br>
The performance of any computer can be significantly improved by
replacing HDDs with SSDs. Modern computers using the NVMe
standards for SSD (M.2 interface etc) can offer a great deal of
speed improvement for SSD storage over SATA which is very
significant when working on intensive projects that use a lot of
resources.
<br>
<br>
The PC platform is significantly easier to expand if resource
needs change. My seven year old system started out with 8 GB of
RAM and currently has 32 GB, whilst the swap file performance
(virtual memory) has been significantly improved with SATA and M.2
SSD storage (now at 200 GB). The latter provides almost limitless
performance capability enhancements to the system at modest cost
without having to upgrade the entire system. I use Ubuntu as the
operating system for this computer.
<br>
<br>
On 20/04/22 06:46, Helena Farrell via Qgis-user wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">Hello, I am seeking input on whether my 7
year old Mac with 8GB RAM and a 2.7gigahertz processor is likely
to perform poorly at running QGIS. Since these are like the bare
minimum in terms of power, and I assume QGIS is a data-heavy
program, I may need to invest in a new computer. Anyone have
advice on RAM and processing speed specifications that I should
look for and whether a PC be better than a Mac for running this
program?
<br>
<br>
Thank you!
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________
<br>
Qgis-user mailing list
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Qgis-user@lists.osgeo.org">Qgis-user@lists.osgeo.org</a>
<br>
List info: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user</a>
<br>
Unsubscribe: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user</a>
<br>
</blockquote>
_______________________________________________
<br>
Qgis-user mailing list
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Qgis-user@lists.osgeo.org">Qgis-user@lists.osgeo.org</a>
<br>
List info: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user</a>
<br>
Unsubscribe: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user</a>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
=============================================
Zoltan Szecsei GPrGISc 0031
Director, Geograph (Pty) Ltd.
GIS and Photogrammetric Services
Cape Town, South Africa.
Mobile: +27-83-6004028 (Signal, not WhatsApp)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.geograph.co.za">www.geograph.co.za</a>
=============================================</pre>
</body>
</html>