Advice on iMac 2019

[dcaccount]

Hello,
I would like to purchase a 27” 2019 iMac and I need a suggestion in order to understand if the configuration that I have chosen, is correct.

I do not have to perform special or heavy duty 3D processing. I just use iMovie to assemble family movies and to use photoshop to edit always family photos.

From time to time I need to keep one or two Linux or Windows virtual machines running (with VMWare Fusion) and of course Office applications. In particular I often use Excel to manage 5000 rows data bases of customers with simple macros.

Then of course I often use Apple Photos and standard applications.

Having said that, I would have thought of following configuration.

1) Core i5, 6-cores up to 3.7 GHz
2) 8+16 GB RAM (the seller will add 16GB to the 8GB standard configuration)
3) 512 SSD
4) Radeon pro 580X

Do you think this configuration is outdated and will allow to keep the computer “update” and not limited in performances for a few years or would you advise any change?

I did not say that I am coming from a MacBook Pro 2014 with 16GB ram.

Thanks for helping,
Dan

 

[CheesePuff]

Good choice, will be an improvement over your MBP 2014, and the SSD is the right choice instead of the Fusion Drive.

 

[Ledgem]

Seems like a machine that is more than decent for your uses.

Your system is also nicely expandable. I run my virtual machines off of a USB 3 drive and was pretty impressed; I don't do anything too demanding (mostly office tasks and remoting in with Citrix), but I don't notice any performance difference compared with running the virtual machine off of my internal SSD.

I might consider getting more RAM, but if you've been doing decently with 16 GB of RAM then 24 GB of RAM will feel like a treat. That's also something you can consider upgrading yourself, in the future.

The graphics card will do fine for you. Should your needs ever change, you'll be able to use an external GPU that would be more powerful than what you can currently get internally, as well.

Enjoy the upgrade... and if you're mostly using your MacBook Pro's internal display, the larger screen! Going from a 15" MacBook Pro to a 27" retina iMac was quite an experience for me, and I actually worried that the screen might be too large. I wouldn't have it any other way now, of course.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

I recommend getting the Vega graphics card because it runs cooler. I've had bad luck in the past with iMacs because they run hot and the graphics card would stop working.

 

[dcaccount]

Seems like a machine that is more than decent for your uses.

Your system is also nicely expandable. I run my virtual machines off of a USB 3 drive and was pretty impressed; I don't do anything too demanding (mostly office tasks and remoting in with Citrix), but I don't notice any performance difference compared with running the virtual machine off of my internal SSD.

I might consider getting more RAM, but if you've been doing decently with 16 GB of RAM then 24 GB of RAM will feel like a treat. That's also something you can consider upgrading yourself, in the future.

The graphics card will do fine for you. Should your needs ever change, you'll be able to use an external GPU that would be more powerful than what you can currently get internally, as well.

Enjoy the upgrade... and if you're mostly using your MacBook Pro's internal display, the larger screen! Going from a 15" MacBook Pro to a 27" retina iMac was quite an experience for me, and I actually worried that the screen might be too large. I wouldn't have it any other way now, of course.

Thanks for your comments.

My doubt is quite simple, will i5 remain performant enough in the years (of course for the use that I make of the computer, as said no heavy 3D or similar tasks, just home office, virtual machines and some light video processing) or will it be soon outdated forcing me to change computer?

In other words I do not feel the need for an i9 but I do not want to buy something that will not last 4-6 years.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Ledgem]

My doubt is quite simple, will i5 remain performant enough in the years (of course for the use that I make of the computer, as said no heavy 3D or similar tasks, just home office, virtual machines and some light video processing) or will it be soon outdated forcing me to change computer?

In other words I do not feel the need for an i9 but I do not want to buy something that will not last 4-6 years.

What are your thoughts?

Understandable. Your system won't be outdated in the ways you're probably fearing. Certain aspects will become outdated, though, and upgrading to the i9 won't save you from having that happen.

I generally try to buy the best system that I can, and for a similar mindset: I want the systems to last. I usually end up handing my old computers over to family who have less demanding needs than I do. Some of those systems are coming upon being a decade old, and they're still serving their needs well... including some of the ones that were middle-specifications instead of top specifications. On the other hand, systems I bought four years ago are working fine enough for my purposes, but now they're left behind in other ways. No T2 co-processor to help speed up video encoding; no Thunderbolt 3 to help with expansion... and so on. Buying the best couldn't provide me with those things because they didn't exist at the time. My system is still faster than a lesser-specced machine from its time, but I'm not sure that it's capable of doing anything that those machines can't at present, and I doubt that the performance gap between those systems and mine is any different now than it was previously, either. Meanwhile, my Macbook - which really shouldn't have impressive performance at all - comes within striking distance of my max-specced iMac for the tasks I perform (light to moderate video editing and photo editing), despite being released only about two years later. Technology is funny like that.

For myself, I'll probably continue to buy the best that I can afford. It's a peace of mind thing: if something is slow, I want to feel that it's slow because it's the limits of current technology, and not because I didn't want to pony up a bit more money. But I don't necessarily think that it's a good use of money. Certainly, if someone is really concerned about performance then it would be more efficient to spend less and upgrade more often.

But enough of my rambling. What it comes down to is this: given my personal experiences, observations, and what I know of technology, while removing my personal biases (because this is your computer and your purchase, not mine, which makes it easier for me to provide level-headed advice), that's why I make the recommendation that for your use cases, the i5 will be just fine.