Resolved Baseline 27" 5K?

[klatox]

I am considering getting the 27" 5K iMac but not sure which GPU to get. I've been looking at the baseline model with the R9 M380 but not sure if this GPU is good enough for my uses.

My primary uses are Photos, very light iMovie video editing, iTunes, Safari with about 12 or so tabs, and (rarely) occasional gaming. (Nothing hardcore like Witcher 3 or FPS games, just random stuff like The Long Dark or Ark. I have no illusions about playing smoothly at native resolution and wouldn't mind dialing down the resolution if the frame rate is decent.)

Actually, since I rarely game, if we take that gaming piece out of the equation, is the R9 M380 sufficient for my uses? I don't want any stuttering in the UI or anything like that.

Also, how much RAM is recommended for light video editing in iMovie?

 

[Nismo73]

I am considering getting the 27" 5K iMac but not sure which GPU to get. I've been looking at the baseline model with the R9 M380 but not sure if this GPU is good enough for my uses.

My primary uses are Photos, very light iMovie video editing, iTunes, Safari with about 12 or so tabs, and (rarely) occasional gaming. (Nothing hardcore like Witcher 3 or FPS games, just random stuff like The Long Dark or Ark. I have no illusions about playing smoothly at native resolution and wouldn't mind dialing down the resolution if the frame rate is decent.)

Actually, since I rarely game, if we take that gaming piece out of the equation, is the R9 M380 sufficient for my uses? I don't want any stuttering in the UI or anything like that.

Also, how much RAM is recommended for light video editing in iMovie?

As of today, BB is selling the m390 fusion model on sale for $1799 which is the apple price for the m380 non fusion base model. I would say go for that and add your own 2 x 8gb ram modules.

 

[MadDane]

What Nismo73 said sounds like the best alternative. Furthermore, for how long are you planning on keeping the iMac? And do you qualify for any student/work discount?

 

[Fishrrman]

I'd like to offer a suggestion.

With ANY iMac, I believe the hard drive configuration you get will make more of an impact on performance and usability than will the video card.

You DO NOT WANT an iMac with only a platter-based internal drive.
It's going to "feel slow".

You DO WANT an iMac with at least a fusion drive.
1tb is acceptable, but I believe the 1tb iMacs have only a 24gb PCIe SSD installed.
If you get the 2tb fusion, you get a 120gb PCIe SSD and a 2tb HDD.

 

[zacster]

Spend the extra now, you'll regret it later if you don't. And my advice is to go for the M395/3.3ghz model with the 2tb fusion drive. You'll get 128gb flash, an even faster processor and GPU, and knowledge that it costs a LOT more to get anything else.

I don't understand why Apple is underpowering the base model storage. It is such a hot machine otherwise.

 

[klatox]

What Nismo73 said sounds like the best alternative. Furthermore, for how long are you planning on keeping the iMac? And do you qualify for any student/work discount?

Nope, I do not qualify for any discounts

 

[klatox]

Spend the extra now, you'll regret it later if you don't. And my advice is to go for the M395/3.3ghz model with the 2tb fusion drive. You'll get 128gb flash, an even faster processor and GPU, and knowledge that it costs a LOT more to get anything else.

I don't understand why Apple is underpowering the base model storage. It is such a hot machine otherwise.

I forgot to mention in my original post that yes, I am planning on getting the 512GB SSD. My storage needs are only about 256GB for my photos and music. Took me years to get there.

 

[santaliqueur]

I got the 512GB SSD, and it's SO FAST. I'm sure the Fusion Drive would be pretty fast in most cases as well, but I love having no moving parts in the machine, other than the fan. I have a NAS with several TB of storage, so the Fusion Drive wasn't attractive to me.

I also had a 960GB SSD I took out of my old iMac and put it in a USB3 external enclosure, and it's also very fast. I also bought a 256GB SDXC memory card and I leave it connected to the back of the iMac as additional storage. It's pretty slow, but I use it as another "internal" drive, since it's never removed.

 

[jerwin]

I forgot to mention in my original post that yes, I am planning on getting the 512GB SSD. My storage needs are only about 256GB for my photos and music. Took me years to get there.

base model imac with 512 GB flash is $2300
mid model imac with 512 GB flash is $2400
top level imac with 512 GB flash is $2500

OK. Not as insane as the education prices, where ordering 512 GB flash on the base model ends up costing money. But the m380 is really underpowered compared to the m390. A number of photo and video editing programs use the video card for processing.

 

[klatox]

I am considering getting the 27" 5K iMac but not sure which GPU to get. I've been looking at the baseline model with the R9 M380 but not sure if this GPU is good enough for my uses.

My primary uses are Photos, very light iMovie video editing, iTunes, Safari with about 12 or so tabs, and (rarely) occasional gaming. (Nothing hardcore like Witcher 3 or FPS games, just random stuff like The Long Dark or Ark. I have no illusions about playing smoothly at native resolution and wouldn't mind dialing down the resolution if the frame rate is decent.)

Actually, since I rarely game, if we take that gaming piece out of the equation, is the R9 M380 sufficient for my uses? I don't want any stuttering in the UI or anything like that.

Also, how much RAM is recommended for light video editing in iMovie?

I ended up just going with the i5, M395X, and 512GB SSD. Thanks for the replies!

 

[maflynn]

Congrats, and enjoy your new baby That's one mighty fine computer.