Just curious to see if anyone here is getting an iMac Pro from Apple's remaining supply. If so, your use case would be interesting to know as well. Since you can't config anymore you're missing out on a lot.
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Anyone actually buying the last of the iMac Pro stock?
- Thread starter retta283
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I just bought a secondhand one about two weeks ago. Its got 8 cores which is enough for what I'm doing, but I am keeping an eye on secondhand 18 core CPU prices.
I'm running VMs which can only run on Intel chips for the time being, the purpose of which is to simulate network devices, so I need cores and memory. I tried lots of different Macs before settling on the iMac Pro - its multicore performance in utter silence was the primary reason for buying it. It can be run very hard without the fans kicking-in - I don't mind fan noise here and there, but it gets grating after a while! Other than the Mac Pro, there's no other Intel Mac which is this quiet.
I know others have already commented on the various threads, but its still a very capable machine, so while I know I'm going to lose money on it, I'm sure there will be a buyer for it whenever I decide to switch. Presumably Apple will continue to support it for a while yet and whilst I love my M1 MBA, it just can't run what I need it to at the moment.
I'm running VMs which can only run on Intel chips for the time being, the purpose of which is to simulate network devices, so I need cores and memory. I tried lots of different Macs before settling on the iMac Pro - its multicore performance in utter silence was the primary reason for buying it. It can be run very hard without the fans kicking-in - I don't mind fan noise here and there, but it gets grating after a while! Other than the Mac Pro, there's no other Intel Mac which is this quiet.
I know others have already commented on the various threads, but its still a very capable machine, so while I know I'm going to lose money on it, I'm sure there will be a buyer for it whenever I decide to switch. Presumably Apple will continue to support it for a while yet and whilst I love my M1 MBA, it just can't run what I need it to at the moment.
A few former client offices picked up a couple, more as a backup to some of their current iMacPro's and expanding/improving work from home situations. Apparently Apple Business via phone was making some of them an enticing savings offer. Most of those offices also previously determined iMac with Core i9 was not the right fit for their workflows. I'd imagine they're years away from migrating to M1/Mx based machines based on the applications they use.
I am in the process to get an used iMac Pro that is from April 2019. The config of this puppy is standard with the exception of an updated gpu. It has the facelift 2019 gpu Vega64X. And it comes with AppleCarePlus till April 2022. I will get it for about half the original sales BTO Price in Germany for 3600 Euros. Beeing fully aware of the upcoming Apple Silicon, I want to get it because of the reasons below:
1. I have two Apple Cinema Displays 27 (Non–Thunderbolt) that will run on this iMac Pro but will Not run on the new stuff.
2. I am used to the MP5.1 in my signature, most PCIe cards can run in an external TB3 sonnet echo case but may not work on Apple silicone.
3. I always use Windows 10 via bootcamp which makes the new Apale Silicone very unatractive.
4. I will get more cash selling my MP 5.1 during Happy Easter compared to the fall when the new iMac Pro comes out.
5. I love the old design, it fits perfectly to the existing screens, design wise.
6. I want a silent machine that needs to be very reliable. I trust that Pro label.
7. Use case is Apple Photos, Photoshops, iMovie, Clips, MS Office, Steam and video footage from my DJI Mavic Air.
That’s about it. This, and the occasional game.
My only concern is the dwindling OSX support for intel machines. However, I hope that brand new machines in the Pro World (MP7.1) will have to have further support, especially for customers that spent up to 50k on it.
I can’t see a better and cheaper way to have a nice all Apple three Monitor setup for that budget. And I have not the Budget as a non pro to buy everything new In Apple Silicone.
Would that be a foolish decision To go with the old one?
1. I have two Apple Cinema Displays 27 (Non–Thunderbolt) that will run on this iMac Pro but will Not run on the new stuff.
2. I am used to the MP5.1 in my signature, most PCIe cards can run in an external TB3 sonnet echo case but may not work on Apple silicone.
3. I always use Windows 10 via bootcamp which makes the new Apale Silicone very unatractive.
4. I will get more cash selling my MP 5.1 during Happy Easter compared to the fall when the new iMac Pro comes out.
5. I love the old design, it fits perfectly to the existing screens, design wise.
6. I want a silent machine that needs to be very reliable. I trust that Pro label.
7. Use case is Apple Photos, Photoshops, iMovie, Clips, MS Office, Steam and video footage from my DJI Mavic Air.
That’s about it. This, and the occasional game.
My only concern is the dwindling OSX support for intel machines. However, I hope that brand new machines in the Pro World (MP7.1) will have to have further support, especially for customers that spent up to 50k on it.
I can’t see a better and cheaper way to have a nice all Apple three Monitor setup for that budget. And I have not the Budget as a non pro to buy everything new In Apple Silicone.
Would that be a foolish decision To go with the old one?
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I've got to say, I wonder if it will stay that silent for you after you've owned it for a while?
I started noticing mine has been ramping up the fans more often than I ever remember it doing when it was newer. I assumed it must have been due to some dust clogging up the vent openings, so I sprayed some compressed air in the vents along the bottom edge of it, as well as in the rear vent openings and on what looks like a CPU heat-sink in the middle rear of the unit. It looked pretty clean and I didn't really see any dust blowing out of it when I did it.... Still fairly quick to ramp up the fans after the initial silence I get during the startup process.
I even installed that CPU Fan Control app, in an attempt to tweak the fan speeds. But it seems like if anything, it just tends to run them a bit faster/louder than they were without it doing any of the adjustments on its own?
Are you using the CPU sensors as the controller for your CPU fan? Often times with programs like those, even switching from Apple's auto settings to the hardware sensors causes the fan to rev up sooner.
yes replaceing faulty iMac 2020 hoping for more RAM can't be helped still better than current iMac 2020 gladly pay the difference for something that stable with out problems
At least you know most of the teething problems ironed out by now
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I had originally set it to use the CPU sensors to control the fan speed. (They're registering values of an average temperature of around 190 degrees F over the 8 cores.)
The only way I got it to really quiet down much was to tell it to base the fan speed on Ambient temperature, which it shows as 88 degrees F at the moment.
I have wondered about this based on feedback from others over the years. I'm planning on upgrading it to an 18 core CPU, so I'll have a look at the state of the inside when I open it and clean up what I find I guess.
I've got a funny feeling though that when someone was upgrading theirs they said that blowing compressed air in wouldn't achieve much due to the layout of the internal components. I could be wrong though, but that sticks in my mind for some reason.
MacOS support for Intel Macs is not dwindling at present and I don't expect it to for at least another 7 years. The installed base of Intel Macs is huge and most Mac models still have an Intel CPU.
However the base iMac Pro is now the only one on sale and it is out performed by a well configured 2020 27" iMac in many areas. The 10 Core i9 in the 2020 is faster in single core benchmarks than the 10 core Xenon and almost as fast in multicore. The cooling system is better on the Pro but the RAM is not user upgradable and the iMac Pro is no longer available in BTO configurations so larger RAM and SSD configurations are not available. The 2020 iMac can be also be configured with 16GB of video RAM.
Aside from cooling, the other advantage of the iMac Pro is the extra TB controller and ports.
I agree, there's no danger of Intel support being dropped for a long time yet.
The 2020 iMac is obviously still the best buy for most people wanting an all-in-one machine. Its got great performance and I guess with the M-based iMacs coming Apple couldn't justify changing the internals to match the Pro which would have given it those better thermals.
I've taken the plunge and ordered an 18 core Xeon for it as I'll have this machine for a while yet and its genuinely become one of my favourite Macs I've owned. Once I open it up I can also have a look at the inside and see if there's much dust been collected or not!
CPU upgrade went ok so far as I can tell!
As expected, there was a reasonable amount of dust inside the iMac, so I took the opportunity to clean that while in there too. As expected, just blowing air in through the vents isn't going to do much, so its maybe a worthwhile thing to do once every few years.
iFixit screen kit worked a treat and there's lots of videos about opening up these machines now, so if you're thinking about doing it, I wouldn't be put off by the process. It took me about 90 minutes while also doing a bit of multi-tasking on a. conference call.
As expected, there was a reasonable amount of dust inside the iMac, so I took the opportunity to clean that while in there too. As expected, just blowing air in through the vents isn't going to do much, so its maybe a worthwhile thing to do once every few years.
iFixit screen kit worked a treat and there's lots of videos about opening up these machines now, so if you're thinking about doing it, I wouldn't be put off by the process. It took me about 90 minutes while also doing a bit of multi-tasking on a. conference call.
Very good to know that it worked out. I wasn't sure whether you could do this easily on your own, mostly due to the early complaints that it was difficult to open. So now you can start off with a lower-end iMac Pro and build it up with time to get some upgrades going. Cleaning is a must. Fan life will be greatly increased and the noise level is much better. I can tell mine is clogged quite bad, it's ran a lot hotter and the fans spun up much more since the summer started than it ever did before that. Enjoy your iMac Pro.