Pretty freaking powerful?
Yes, I agree.
Hey guys its Max from Max Tech, Its been almost two years since Apple refreshed the iMac lineup.
We love our 2017 5K, but as the time went on and Intel released new processor after
processor we started feeling like this was the next trashcan Mac pro.
Thankfully, Apple didn’t disappoint and we now have a 9th gen 8 core i9 available
that is rated up to 5Ghz.
Yes, this thing should beat he $5000 iMac Pro is basically every task.
And Yes, we do have one ordered.
We’ll be doing direct comparisons and other tests like benchmarks and gaming with the
new Vega 48 graphics so make sure to subscribe and enable those notifications.
Now I do have a few serious concerns, but before I talk about them and dig deeper on
the i9 model, I want to touch on the 21.
It used to be a good device for normal use but with the addition of 6 core CPU’s and
new graphics, this will be the first time I’ll be recommending the smaller iMac for
video editing.
For $1499 you get a sharp, bright, and color accurate 4K display with the same graphics
that's in the $2800 Macbook Pro and a CPU that’s practically as fast.
This does, of course, come with a Fusion drive and 8GB of RAM, so I would suggest upgrading
to the base SSD for $100 more and if you can 16GB of RAM.
Have a bit more cash then spring for Vega 20 graphics and you’ll have a powerful iMac
rivaling my high-end MacBook that costs $1000 more.
Photo editing instead of video?
Skip the graphics upgrade go for 32GB of RAM instead for a photoshop and lightroom powerhouse.
As always we’ll leave links in the description for the models we recommend along with ram
which I’ll mention in just a bit.
Now onto the 5K.
Unfortunately, we didn't get a redesign with slimmer bezels like we wanted but a benefit
of that is still having access to the RAM slots which will save you some serious cash.
The base graphics have an X attached to them meaning they are slightly faster than the
previous versions.
We have 6 cores across the board but the best bang for the buck is the top $2299 tier since
its the only one getting a 9th gen CPU and comes standard with 580X graphics.
Like always I’d spend the $100 to jump to the SSD.
Apple charges a whopping $600 for an additional 24GB of RAM but we’re going to save some
cash and buy our own 32GB kit for only $180.
It easy only takes a few mins to install and doesn’t void your warranty, In fact, Apple
even has a how-to guide on their website.
We end up saving $420 and as a bonus, we have 40GB of RAM instead of 32, which is enough
for most high-end users.
I’ll leave a link to the RAM I bought down below.
So is this impressive?
I’d say definitely!
For $300 less than yesterday, we have an iMac with faster RAM, Graphics, and Processor.
Apple has been charging more where they can, so it's nice to see a cheaper Mac fast enough
for most 4K video editors.
So what about that iMac Pro Killer?
Like I mentioned Apple has been raising the average sales price on its products and if
you opt for the newly offered i9 and Vega graphics you’ll spend $550 more than the
previous top-spec 5K iMac.
But do I care, no not really!
Most people who buy this configuration can afford it, and the price increase isn't for
an average performance bump but one that should perform better than an iMac Pro.
[Show: professionals, business owners, People who have a lot of money]
How?
Well, our 2017 iMac already performed better in some tasks, but where it really struggled
is heavy tasks like RAW video editing because it was limited to 4 cores.
We now have an 8 core option but with faster clock speeds meaning that not only will it
have extra grunt when you're maxing out your CPU but also for most tasks where you typically
don’t pin your processor to 100%.
The 9th gen architecture is also more efficient so it also faster per clock than the Xeon.
Onto the graphics, we have a Vega 48 option but honestly, I’m not sure how much faster
it is compared to the 580X or Vega 56 in the iMac pro, but we will find out soon in our
full performance comparison videos.
I am fairly optimistic though since its a much newer chip than the Vega 56 and because
the Vega 20 in my MacBook made a big difference in performance and also improved temps.
This brings me to my first serious concern, overheating.
Previous 4 core iMacs already throttled so hopefully, we don’t have the same issue
as with the i9 MacBooks.
This alone may be a good reason to go for the cooler running vega graphics.
Next is no 10GBe.
This isn’t a dealbreaker but since they offer it in the iMac Pro and the new Mac Mini
I was hoping it would be available for fast access to servers without adapters.
Finally, Apple didn’t include the t2 chip.
This is odd since it has a lot of benefits and is included in all of their new devices.
I can only guess that they wanted to keep this refresh as simple as possible since we
have the same exact IO.
Overall we’re happy with the updates as we really weren’t expecting an 8 core in
the regular iMac or Vega graphics.
If you don’t need the very best you can now get great performance for less money than
before, and even good 4K editing with the 21” iMac.
As a reminder, we do have links to everything in the description, and go ahead and click
here if you want to see how this thing performs compared to the 2017 iMac and the iMac Pro.
This has been Max with Mac tech and I’ll see you in the next video.