iMac 27" 2019 vs. Mac Pro (Base Model) | For those on the fence...

[ruslan120]

I'm personally on the fence as to whether or not I should upgrade

For those who are considering upgrading from a recent iMac (and passing it on to family, etc), here are the Geekbench scores for a base model Mac Pro:

Single Core	Multi-Core	Compute
Mac Pro 6,1 6 core with D700	809	4,587	29,654
MacBook Pro mid-2015 (i7)	914	3,450	11,204
Mac Pro 7,1 8 core with 580X	1050	8,471	39,062

Source

As compared to an iMac 2019 with a 9900K:

CPU Benchmark Scores

1253 Single-Core Score

8205 Multi-Core Score

Source


Thought it might help those on the fence. Looks like the iMac is around 20% faster when it comes to single core performance and holds its own in the multi-core score as well.

[1] I am aware Geekbench is not the best benchmark for sustained performance. Or the best benchmark for that matter.
[2] I am aware the iMac is non-upgradeable which is a downside. This will put off my upgrade for at least a few years once I run out of TB3 ports to plug GPUs into.
[3] The iMac probably gets destroyed when it comes to any model above 8 cores. This means I will most likely wait & save until I can justify a Mac Pro with a >8 core CPU (a few years).

 

[theluggage]

It is no great surprise that the raw performance on an iMac and a Mac Pro are much the same: they have the same number of cores, similar clock speed and pretty much the same GPU.

With the Mac Pro (or the iMac Pro) you're paying a significant premium for Xeon, ECC RAM etc. which in theory gives you better "stability" that might pay for itself if you're in the habit of running very long, high-CPU-load jobs where a glitch comes with a lot of time-is-money dollar signs. Maybe some high-end pro software is optimised for Xeon (you'd have to research that on a case-by-case basis).

The MP will probably be quieter under heavy load - and if it isn't its headless so you can banish it to an old crate lined with foam and eggboxes - or the $15,000 executive equivalent.

Also - at least in Apple's world - you're also paying for expandability (in the PC world it wound be the ultra-slim iMac construction that carried the premium but, heigh-ho). Of course, with the Mac Pro its not just expandability its Mac Pro expandability with up to 1.5 TB RAM, 8 sumptuously wide PCIe slots and exclusive MPX modules covered with hand-finished Belgian chocolate ( Sorry... UK-specific meme...). Which isn't worth squat if you only need 64GB and a half-decent GPU or two.

...but unless you have bottomless pockets and/or a cast iron business case (if you do, enjoy) it doesn't make any sense as a 'future proof' alternative to the iMac - for undefined future expansion - when you can buy 2-3 high end iMacs for the price of the MP (plus half-decent display).

Realistically, I'd forget about the entry-level MP unless you have some specific need for specialist PCIe hardware - even at $6k its the equivalent of the 'base model' luxury car with the so-so engine and brushed nylon upholstery. You'll need to spend at least the thick end of $10k to get something that does justice to the chassis (and that's without display).