iMac 2020 configuration Lightroom and a bit gaming

[Nardak]

Hello everyone,

I am still not sure which configuration would suite most to my needs. Currently I am working with my 13 inch MB Pro from early 2015 and working with Lightroom (importing, exporting fotos) and even switching from one full screen application to another on my external 4K monitor takes time...
So because I don’t need the portability anymore and because of better price/value ratio, I am looking for a new iMac.
I need it for office and photography (Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar) stuff and, if possible, I might enjoy a bit gaming from time to time (especially Anno 1800 or Planet Zoo).
Anno 1800 needs a fast CPU as far as I know, but would the i7 be fast enough or should I go for the i9. The additional 500€ is a lot of money.. Same question regarding the graphics card: 5500XT or 5700XT. Benchmarks of course demonstrating that the more expensive ones reach higher benchmark ratings, but how does it apply to real world scenarios?

How would you configure the iMac if you were me?

Thanks in advance for your ideas!
Best regards
Nardak

 

[ZBoater]

If money is tight, I’d pick the better video card and skip the i9.

 

[mlykke]

The i7 will be plenty fast for your needs. The i7 is fast enough for 99,9% of all stuff you want to do. Unless you do a LOT of 3D rendering and similar tasks which puts a 100% non-stop load on your CPU, then the i9 won't give you any benefit.

I have the budget to buy any Mac computer I want, but I decided on the i7 version because it's an 8 core beast. The i9, at best, will give you a 10% increase. But the i7 has a higher base clock frequency so with the exception of some really specific 100% loads that has optimized support for 8+ cores, then you won't see any difference at all. And for your needs, even the i7 is way beyond what is needed.

 

[Nardak]

So obviously the i9 would not make the big difference but the upgrade to the 5700 XT would do?

 

[ZBoater]

So obviously the i9 would not make the big difference but the upgrade to the 5700 XT would do?

I think so. If you can afford it, it is an excellent upgrade.

 

[wilberforce]

So I use lightroom a lot. Over the last few days I have been using my 2014 iMac side by side with my new 2020 iMac, doing the exact same tasks in Lightroom to see how they actually compare in feel.

2014 iMac:
4 to 4.4 GHz i7 4-core
24 GB 1600 MHz RAM
M290X 2GB GPU
1TB SSD with read/write speed about 700 MB/s
Geekbench CPU score 3800, GPU Metal score about 25000

2020 iMac:
3.8 to 5 GHz i7 8-core
32 GB 2667 MHz RAM
5500XT 8GB GPU
2 TB SSD with read/write speed about 2600 MB/s
Geekbench CPU score 8900, GPU Metal score 41000

So by all measures my 2020 iMac should be 2 to 3 times faster than my 2014 iMac.
Now here’s the interesting thing: although rendering 1:1 previews is about twice as fast, all other common editing activities, such as sliders, scrolling pictures, zooming, sharpening, etc only actually feel slightly faster. And this is sitting in front of both iMacs with a mouse in each hand, working on the same photo and catalog on each Mac.
So I do not believe there with be any appreciable difference in getting the higher end i9 or 5700XT, for Lightroom. In particular, although Lightroom does take advantage of the GPU, only a low end GPU is needed for Lightroom. The 5700XT will make no difference for Lightroom.
The 5700XT will make a big difference for other uses, such as gaming, but not for lightroom.
Another point of reference: both my 2014 and my 2020 iMacs are WAY faster than my 2015 13-inch Macbook Pro, for Lightroom. You will see a huge difference compared to your Macbook. But you don’t need to overspend on the iMac spec.

IMHO. Some people just like having the top model (me included).
Hope this helps

 

[mlykke]

IMHO. Some people just like having the top model (me included).

You hit the nail on the head. 99% of all people on this forum are not even close to using the power of either the i9 or the i7 processor. Both of them are complete beasts.
Reality is that the i7 gives awesome performance in everything, whether you are doing photography, video editing, coding, gaming or anything else. The i9 is only around 10% faster in raw benchmark performance. In real world performance there is almost no difference at all, which has been shown in multiple Youtube reviews.

So if you like the idea of having the highest spec possible and don't mind the $500, by all means, get the i9. But if you want awesome performance that is more or less identical to the i9, then save those $500 and spend them on the 5700 XT (especially if you game).