2017 4K iMac 3.0GHz, 8gb for video editing?

[Mac133]

I was totally hyped for new miniLED apple products, but I guess nothing of that is coming before 2021 and I need new computer asap. The iMac from title just came up for sale in my city and I'm thinking of getting it until miniLED products see the light then I will sell it and switch to new displays. I will lose less money that way instead of buying new mbp or imac now and then selling them in less then a year.

I need it mainly for photo and some basic video editing. This spec is definitely enough for my photo editing needs at the moment, and the video files I would edit are in FullHD res, so is this enough for basic color grade, twixtor plugin and some croping/resize 1080p editing? Clips are short, most of them less than minute long?

Also about brightness, youtubers say that 500nits is only achievable via ambient light sensor in very bright conditions, is that true or they changed it via firmware? I guess 350 is enough for indoor work, but I would like to be able to manually set my brightness all the way to the maximum.

I'm also considering 2017 13 macbook pro with iris plus 640/650 because ssd, is that base cpu/gpu much inferior than the one in above mentioned iMac?

Portability is obvious and great advantage but I do not need it desperataly at this moment.

Thanks in advance, sorry for not perfect English
Cheers

 

[profcutter]

Does the model you’re looking at have a traditional hard drive, a fusion drive or an ssd? The ram could slow you down a bit, but if this is a 21 inch, it would be difficult to upgrade.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'd want a 27" iMac with an SSD inside.
The SSD doesn't have to be large (512gb will do, you could even manage with 256gb).
8gb of RAM, which you can upgrade easily.

As prof wrote above, you generally CANNOT upgrade RAM on a 21" iMac (unless you completely disassemble it).
And if it has only a platter-based hard drive inside, it's going to be VERY slow.

My recommendation:
Buy an Apple-refurbished 2017 iMac spec'd as above.
That should handle 1080p with no problems.

4k? That's another story.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Only if it is a 27"model with memory upgrade option.

 

[Mac133]

It is base config 2017 21.5'' 4K 3.0GHz, 8GB ram, radeon 555 2gb, 1TB (terrible) 5400rpm HDD. I've found some youtube videos with imacs using external SSD for OS and programs, it is much faster like that (boot times especially) and I will use HDD just for storage. I already have transcend SATA SSD, just need enclosure for it.

I've been watching yt reviews intesively these days and if people can edit 4k vlogs on macbook 12 and old Air I guess '17 imac would be more than sufficient for 1080p short 20second videos. Render times are not important for me at all, I just need smooth process while color grading/slowing down clips with twixtor/optical flow.

Thanks for advices

 

[profcutter]

If it’s a 2017, it should have thunderbolt 3 ports. You can pick up a NVME drive and enclosure, and that should speed up most everything, I would just tape the enclosure to the back of the machine. Be sure to install your OS on it, and make it your boot drive.

Plugable USB-C M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure; Tool-Free & Driverless. USB 3 Type-C, including Thunderbolt and USB4, at 10Gbps. For M.2 NVMe SSDs 2230 to 2280 PCIe Gen 3 and 4. USB C and USB A cables included

Plugable USB-C M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure; Tool-Free & Driverless. USB 3 Type-C, including Thunderbolt and USB4, at 10Gbps. For M.2 NVMe SSDs 2230 to 2280 PCIe Gen 3 and 4. USB C and USB A cables included

smile.amazon.com

Something like that will make your iMac fly.

 

[Mac133]

Yeah, that is great, really fast!

 

[Mac133]

Ahhh I was late, guy sold it today😩 Now I have no idea what I'm going to get. This was great value for 800$, next one used is 1200$, and the cheapest used base 5k 2017 is 1500$. I guess I'll wait now for couple of weeks to see if new mbp 14 comes out.🤦‍♂️

Is base mbp13 2019 even worse than 2017 base imac for video edit?