3 years ago, Apple refreshed the 2017 iMac with some very powerful specs, so Max bought
the top-of-the-line model for $2,700, and ever since then, that iMac has been hard at
work editing our YouTube videos.
We later ordered the top-spec 2019 model with the Vega 48 graphics, but we decided to return
it because the performance gains were a bit underwhelming, and now, in 2020, we have finally
replaced that 2017 model with the brand new 2020 iMac because of how good it is overall.
So in this video, I’m gonna be comparing the performance between the best iMac models
you could get over the past 3 years, the fully-loaded 2017 iMac with the 4-core i7 and the Radeon
Pro 580 graphics for $2700, the top-of-the-line 2019 iMac with the 8-core i9 and the Vega
48 graphics for $3,250, and the new top-spec 2020 iMac with the 10-core i9 and the crazy
5700 XT graphics for $3,200, which is surprisingly cheaper than the previous model.
This video is gonna be extremely helpful for some of you who are still using the 2017 or
2019 iMac and you’re wondering how much your workflow will improve by upgrading.
Because in this video, we’re not only gonna be comparing benchmarks, but we’re gonna
have real-world tests like photo editing in Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, music production
in Logic Pro X, programming in Xcode and video editing in Final Cut Pro X.
But before we get into our testing, I want to mention some of the key differences between
these iMacs.
While the general features are basically identical between the 2017 and 2019 models, the new
2020 iMac gets a few extra goodies, like a 1080P webcam, true-tone technology for the
display, a nano-texture glass option for an extra $500, the ability to hook up not one,
but two 6K displays, improved microphone quality with support for Hey Siri, and updated UHS-II
SD Card Slot with faster transfer speeds, bluetooth 5.0, Apple’s T2 chip which is
great for hardware acceleration, updated Navi graphics accelerators, and the option for
a 10gb ethernet port for an extra $100.
All of those things that I just mentioned are not available on the 2017 and 2019 iMacs,
so keep than in mind, and let’s jump right into the performance testing, but first, be
sure to check out our Apple Product Mask in our merch shelf below if you want to help
support this channel!
Starting with Geekbench 5’s CPU test, the 2017 model is quite a bit behind the rest
in terms of single-core performance, since it’s over 3 years old now.
And for multi-core, there’s an even bigger difference, with the 10-core model now being
over twice as powerful as the 4-core in the 2017 model, which isn’t surprising.
We then tested the Cinebench R20 CPU Stress test, and it was surprising to see that the
2019 model was almost twice as powerful as the 2017 iMac, with the 10-core i9 being about
38% faster than last year’s i9.
Now getting into Geekbench 5’s Metal test, it was surprising to see that the 5700 XT
in the 2020 iMac was only around 34% faster than the graphics in the 2017 model because
of how much graphics has advanced in the past couple of years.
So we ran Unigine Heaven’s gaming benchmark on the extreme preset and now, the 5700 XT
is now over twice as fast as the graphics in the 2017 model, which is more along the
lines of what we were expecting, and it definitely showed in our Gaming review of the 2020 iMac.
Since that was an OpenGL benchmark, we ran GFXBench 5.0 Metal, and in the Aztec Ruins
Test, we’re seeing very similar results, with the 5700 XT being about 33% faster than
the 2019 iMac model.
And in the Manhattan test, that difference goes down a little bit, with the 2020 iMac
being 30% faster than the 2019 model and about 78% more powerful than the 2017 model.
Now before we get into our video editing tests, I want to quickly go through some of the other
tests like photo editing, music production and programming.
We ran PugetBench for Photoshop, and we were surprised to see that the 10-core iMac was
only around 39% faster than the 4-core in the 2017 model, compared to being over twice
as fast in the other CPU benchmarks we ran earlier.
This is probably because Photoshop performance scales with clock speed quite a bit more than
it scales with extra CPU cores, so graphics design still performs well even with that
4-core.
Now moving onto photo editing with Lightroom Classic, we exported 500 RAW 42MP photos,
and it was surprising to see that the 2019 model was almost as fast as the 2020 iMac,
but the new 10-core was still about 30% faster than the 2017 iMac.
We then built 1:1 previews of 50 RAW 42MP photos, and here, the 10-core showed it’s
true colors, being 39% faster than the 2019 model, and 50% faster than the 2017 model,
so that’s pretty impressive!
Now before I move on, I do want to mention that we recently compared the 8-core i7 in
the 2020 model to the 10-core i9, and there was almost no difference in these tests, so
be sure to check out that video after this one is over!
We then tested the New Logic Pro X benchmark 2, which measures how many track the system
can handle before overloading, and it was surprising to see that the 10-core only handled
6 more tracks compared to the 2019 model, but it did handle about 2.3x more tracks than
the 4-core on the 2017 iMac.
So when looking at this test, the 10-core CPU honestly isn’t very worth it, which
we talked about in that i7 vs i9 video.
Now running the Max Tech Xcode benchmark, which you can find a link to down in the description,
the 2020 iMac finished the build almost twice as fast as the 2017 model, and about 21% faster
than the 2019 iMac.
So if you’re an Xcode programmer using the 2017 iMac, this goes to show just how much
time you can save by upgrading to a 2020 model.
Now finally getting into video editing with Final Cut Pro X, the 2020 iMac with the 5700
XT graphics finished in 9 seconds, almost twice as fast as the 2017 model, and about
22% faster than the 2019 iMac.
And now moving onto our 1 minute HEVC stabilization test, there was an even smaller difference,
only 4 seconds between the 2017 and 2020 models, but that 4 seconds could add up over time
if you’re doing a lot of stabilization.
And the reason they’re so close is because this test uses the Quicksync chip in the integrated
graphics of each of these processors, and that chip hasn’t really changed since the
2017 iMac.
Now moving onto our 5 minute 4K h.264 export, which is the most common format that most
youtubers use, there was barely any difference at all. The new 2020 iMac only saves you 8
seconds compared to the 2017 model.
This is once again, because the Quicksync chip takes care of h.264 video encoding, so
the 8 second gain is purely because of the newer graphics rendering the effects just
slightly faster.
Now this next test is what really makes the 2020 iMac shine, and you’re about to be
blown away by this performance improvement.
Exporting a 5 minute HEVC clip, the 2020 iMac was 2.2x faster than the 2017 model, which
was only around 5 seconds slower than the 2019 iMac. So this is a massive difference
for HEVC exporting!
The reason we’re seeing such a good improvement here is because the 2020 iMac is the first
one to come with Apple’s T2 chip, which takes care of HEVC encoding and makes it much
faster than before.
Now moving onto exporting a 5 minute Canon C200 RAW clip, the 2020 iMac was about 24%
faster than the 2017 model, and only around 12% faster than the 2019 iMac.
This test is mostly based on graphics power, since there aren't any type of hardware accelerators
for RAW footage, so that’s why we’re seeing a difference here.
Now what matters more than export time is the frames per second while editing in the
timeline, and the 2020 iMac is the only one that plays it back at a perfect 60 frames
per second, with the 2017 model playing it back at only 30 FPS.
And then for our 8K R3D RAW test, the 2020 iMac played it back at 19 FPS out of 24, compared
to just 13FPS with the 2019 model and a terrible 8FPS with the 2017 model.
So there you guys have it, that was the performance improvements to the iMac over the last 3 years
of top-spec models, and if you’d ask me, some of those results were underwhelming.
For photo editing, the 2020 model performed extremely well, but there wasn’t as big
of a difference as I was expecting coming from the 2019 iMac.
And for music production, the 2020 iMac kills the 2017 model, but it only handled 5 more
tracks than the 2019 iMac.
For programming in Xcode, there was definitely a very big difference coming from the 2017
model, and a decent difference compared to the 2019 iMac.
And especially for gaming, the 5700 XT graphics in the 2020 model is clearly the best choice,
greatly outperforming the others.
But in Final Cut Pro X, anything that relied on hardware accelerators like stabilization
or basic 4K editing with either h.264 or HEVC footage wasn’t really improved much at all.
But the real power is in editing RAW footage, specifically in terms of timeline smoothness,
which is very important if you want a perfect editing experience.
Now I do want to mention that the $2300 model of the 2020 iMac actually performed close
to this top-end model 10-core model in many of these tests, so definitely check out that
video right over there, and if this comparison was helpful, click that circle above to subscribe
and use the links down below to buy RAM for your iMac, and don’t forget to check out
our Apple Product Mask. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!