Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iMac i9 Vega

B

bbbowers

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2020
28
16
I know Apple may be coming out with something new (although who really knows) but my current iMac died. I am using my MacBook Pro 2012 until I get a new desktop. I could wait a month but not wanting to wait until fall or longer. I actually have enjoyed the black boarder on Macs so the "outdated" form doesn't bother me. I have sensitive eyes and having that dark frame makes it nice.

Anyways, my uses are as follows: Final Cut Pro editing video (GoPro 8 4k) and On1 photo editing raw. I am not a pro but I run my Macs until they die, haha. I also have 6 kids so wasting time waiting for files to load is not enjoyable. Currently on our 2012 MacBook this is a headache even trying to catalog photos.

I want to be able to edit and play back 4k smooth. To do that, my understanding is I will need the Vega 48, but have also seen people doing fine with the 580x so it is confusing. I could care less about fan noise as my house is never quiet enough to hear it anyways.

Here are my options (I get an educator discount)
Either options assumes me going with base 8gb ram and adding 32 myself (not in price).

Option A: $2,954.00
27" i9
Vega 48
512 gb ssd (understanding of adding external ssd later)

Option B: $2,729.00
27" i9
580x
1gb ssd

Option C: $2,549.00 (this would save the most and allow me to get a nice external ssd setup right away)
27" i9
580x
512gb ssd
 
Any of the current iMacs can handle 4k Video without difficulty. The faster machines will be able to handle more layers in real time and the compression stages will be faster. I edit 4k on a 2013 Macbook pro retina, it works fine, though not a lot of layers simultaneously. At the end of the day, you can't really go wrong.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
Thank you for the help. My desktop was a 2009 and my matchbook pro is 2012 so this will all be a huge upgrade. I think I will go with the last option. That will save me some money and allow me to get the external ssd.
 
bbbowers said:
I know Apple may be coming out with something new (although who really knows) but my current iMac died. I am using my MacBook Pro 2012 until I get a new desktop. I could wait a month but not wanting to wait until fall or longer. I actually have enjoyed the black boarder on Macs so the "outdated" form doesn't bother me. I have sensitive eyes and having that dark frame makes it nice.

Anyways, my uses are as follows: Final Cut Pro editing video (GoPro 8 4k) and On1 photo editing raw. I am not a pro but I run my Macs until they die, haha. I also have 6 kids so wasting time waiting for files to load is not enjoyable. Currently on our 2012 MacBook this is a headache even trying to catalog photos.

I want to be able to edit and play back 4k smooth. To do that, my understanding is I will need the Vega 48, but have also seen people doing fine with the 580x so it is confusing. I could care less about fan noise as my house is never quiet enough to hear it anyways.

Here are my options (I get an educator discount)
Either options assumes me going with base 8gb ram and adding 32 myself (not in price).

Option A: $2,954.00
27" i9
Vega 48
512 gb ssd (understanding of adding external ssd later)

Option B: $2,729.00
27" i9
580x
1gb ssd

Option C: $2,549.00 (this would save the most and allow me to get a nice external ssd setup right away)
27" i9
580x
512gb ssd
Click to expand...

My machine just failed. And it will be a cold day in hell before I give Apple my money for old rope. Those prices worth scrutiny in terms of what they offer.

Vega 48. You'll get a boost over the 580 (which is a decent low end card...well, it was two years ago...) £450. *coughs. Splutters. Put an extra £200 to get the Razor eGPU chassie and buy the Radeon 5700XT for a 'bit more.' It will also add to the internal gpu of the machine. So you get double power.

DON'T buy the Fusion drive (Another f word comes to mind...) F. Out. of. Date.

Rumours swirl of an imminent design and spec boost for the iMac. And a distant rumour of a eGame iMac machine too.

What this probably adds up to is more bang for your buck. Better cpu, cooling, gpu and more ram standard (...guffaws...) and who knows...maybe a 6k monitor option. And teh sexy design. I'm waiting until WWDC and/or the next iMac release. Then I'll be the judge on the bang for buck Apple are offering.

I wouldn't buy an iMac right now unless you plan to stand on the edge of that bridge of regret.

*currently Mac less.

Azrael.
 
  • Love
Reactions: spidertaker23
I suppose you are right. What about getting a base iMac pro 2017? Those are on sale from owc right now for 3500
 
Seems like a perfectly reasonable approach. The only problem is RAM upgrades require disassembly in the iMac Pro.
 
bbbowers said:
I suppose you are right. What about getting a base iMac pro 2017? Those are on sale from owc right now for 3500
Click to expand...

If you need it now. It's a decent machine for £3500. It's not worth the £5000 Apple says it is. But for 3500£?

That's 'ok' in Apple land. The specs are prob' good for another 3 years.

forums.macrumors.com

Sharing My Experience with eGPU Solution

Hi, I used to read the forum for 2 or 3 years. I never attended to participate in the conversations. However, today I decided to write a post sharing my experience with the eGPU solution. In the past 2 or 3 months, I checked a couple of articles, posts and Youtube videos that promote the eGPU...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

And you can add an eGPU to it when you need to boost the Vega 56. Which is 'ok' but it's old now. But add a 6900XT to it at the back end of this year?

Gives you more benching power. I'm waiting on the new iMacs. As it will affect 2019 iMac prices. And even the iMac Pro. You may get a steeper discount on the iMac Pro if Apple releases new iMacs at WWDC.

Azrael.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
Very true, and that 3500 is USD not Euro, so even a better deal.

My thoughts were 3500 is at the end up of my price range so had thought of going with the i9. I do get the concept of not paying for old stuff, but at $1500 off I was giving it second thoughts. I also thought I may last longer than the i9 with the fan setup and running cooler?
 
The cooling is definitely better. I’m surprised by how much OWC is charging for a RAM upgrade. The used machines on OWC’s page are obviously cheaper than a new one from Apple, but 500 dollars for 64gigs of RAM and Apple charges 400!
 
Yeah, that is weird since they also sell the 64 separate too. Guess it's a difference of built to order and OWC actually going in and having to work on one?
 
bbbowers said:
Yeah, that is weird since they also sell the 64 separate too. Guess it's a difference of built to order and OWC actually going in and having to work on one?
Click to expand...

The stock memory config is 4x8Gb so it is much more profit for Apple to offer the 64Gb option for $400 when the cost of the 32Gb of ram is built in. OWC or end users need to buy 4x16Gb of ECC which alone costs $400-500 retail. https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/27/imac-pro-teardown-owc/
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
Thank you for that explanation. That does make sense. Currently I'm leaning towards ordering the iMac pro from OWC tonight. Looks to be a good deal fo what I am getting and more than enough for years to come (for me).
 
profcutter said:
This is the right RAM, right? Or is the iMac Pro buffered? It is ECC. No where near 500 dollars for 2 of those bad boys.
www.newegg.com

Crucial 32GB DDR4 2666MHz DRAM Notebook Memory - Newegg.com

Buy Crucial 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 2666MHz DRAM (Notebook Memory) CL19 1.2V DR SODIMM (260-pin) CT2K16G4SFD8266 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!
www.newegg.com www.newegg.com
Click to expand...

No that is cheap non ECC memory. The memory for an iMac Pro would be around $100+ per 16Gb stick. You should run it in quad channel for best performance with the Xeon processor.
 
Last edited:
profcutter said:
Ok like this then:
www.newegg.com

Crucial DDR4 64GB (4 x 16GB) 2666 MHz CL19 1.2v VLP RDIMM ECC - Registered Memory (CT4K16G4VFS4266) - Newegg.com

Buy Crucial DDR4 64GB (4 x 16GB) 2666 MHz CL19 1.2v VLP RDIMM ECC - Registered Memory (CT4K16G4VFS4266) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!
www.newegg.com www.newegg.com

Yeah that’s pretty close to 400. That’s more expensive than I was expecting.
Click to expand...

Newegg lists that 64Gb kit for $946 USD. Makes Apple’s price look like a steal! The other sellers with lower prices have horrible reviews.

I would stick to OWC if you go the self install route.
 
profcutter said:
Wow really? The 64 gig kit is 345 for me, registered ECC 2666 ddr4.
Click to expand...
That’s not sold from Newegg. That is from some vendor in China selling on Newegg with bad reviews. I have plenty of bad sticks of memory arrive from reputable sellers. I would not want to deal with sending it back to China in the hopes a good replacement arrives. The price from Newegg .com is $946.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back