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

iMac Pro - OWC priced $3,500

B

bbbowers

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2020
28
16
Alright, I know the many have advised to wait for the renditions (if/when they exist). I understand not paying a premium for old tech but with refurbs it is different. At $3,500 USD do you think it's worth going that route, even with the possibility of something new? After all, it is a stable, fast computer that will likely be fine for years to come (for my use). I also know that even if it is announced in the next 6 weeks, we may not see it for sale for a while longer right? I am currently unable to edit videos (not a professional, so not like I am losing income) due to my main Mac dying so waiting 6+ months for them to be in stock is not good.

I should add: $3,500 is pretty much my peak budget... So even if there is a refresh a new iMac Pro will be out of reach.

$3,479.00 iMac Pro
  • 3.2GHz 8-Core Xeon W processor
  • 32GB memory
  • 1.0TB Solid-State Drive
  • AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8GB
  • Space Gray Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Space Gray Magic Mouse 2
  • macOS 10.13.2 or later pre-installed
  • 1 Year Limited Warranty
 
Last edited:
You could also get a regular iMac with i9, Vega 48 and 1TB SSD. Upgrade the RAM yourself to 40GB. For about the same price.

With that in mind. The iMac Pro has better GPU. Hypothetically it is more upgradeable. As you can add more RAM and replace the CPU with a faster CPU several years from now. When the used parts are cheaper. You also get more Thunderbolt 3 ports and 10GbE.

The iMac will have the better CPU. Plus the RAM is easy to upgrade.

All in all. Besides a small CPU downgrade over an upgraded iMac. I'd say that iMac Pro is a better deal. If you need a computer now. Get it now.

Anything that comes out will probably just be a minor CPU and GPU bump. There's nothing earth shattering on the Intel Roadmap for 2020 while AMD has better GPU now. It would probably just be something like a base Rx 5600XT in the base iMac Pro. I can't imagine Apple would come out of left field with a massive Threadripper, PCIe 4.0, USB 4 upgrade. Hurting the Mac Pro when it just got started. Although the iMac Pro should have Threadripper and the Mac Pro should have Epyc. But that's another topic entirely.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
The rumor mill for the 2020 iMac Pro has been pretty sparse - the 27" 5K display is said to get a miniLED backlight which will allow for HDR and higher peak brightness.

Reasonable speculation is that it will also get the new W-2200 series Xeon CPU (which are a mild upgrade on the existing W-2100 series), the Titan Ridge TB3 controller (which will allow the XDR display to be driven at 6K instead of 5K) and a new AMD Navi or RDNA 2 GPU since the Vega 56 is now going out of general production.

So frankly, if you cannot afford the $4999 new model (assuming it remains at $4999), then the current model at $3500 strikes me as a heck of a deal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 0279317, OddyOh and bbbowers
I would compare the Pro to the current iMac with your current workload. Is the thermal throttling of the iMac an issue? Do you benefit from the extra cores on the Pro? While the iMac comes with a new warranty and possibility of Applecare, OWC is very good on warranty issues so I would consider that a wash.
 
Do I need to factor in the fact that the pro has the t2 chip while the 2019 iMac i9 does not? Main program for video will be final cut pro x and video format will be 4k h.265.
 
That is exactly what I am thinking. I will need to stick with the 32gb ram as well. Hopefully this will keep me going for a long time? 32 should be enough where I can render and still complete other tasks without it locking up. That is the advantage the iMac i9 would have is it is easily upgradable.
 
Last edited:
nws0291 said:
Go iMac pro. I just bought one too but factory refurbished for the same $3,500. It will be the better option for your needs. https://ipowerresale.com/product/27-imac-pro-8-core-3-2-5k-late-2017-space-gray-2/?

The added benefit is the iMac pro can use the stand and a vesa mount adapter. The adapter is $79 but gives a ton of flexibility long term.
Click to expand...

That one looks to be apple certified which may be nicer than the OWC? Any thoughts? I trust OWC, not familiar with ipowerresale...

The only thing that was holding me back was the ram. It would be a huge pain to upgrade down the road if needed to 64. Not sure I would need it though.
 
Last edited:
I'd be really struggling to pay 70% MSRP for a 3 year old computer, even if there's no new model available yet. Another option might be to buy one from the used marketplace, been very satisfied w my 2017 iMac that I bought for 1/3 of original price last summer. Spending ~ 20 mins running proper tests gives a high degree of certainty you're not buying a lemon. Crucially now when the iMac refresh finally comes out I can go and buy it, without losing any sleep over wasted money
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
Right, however that three year old Mac outperforms the 2019 iMac. Specwise I would be spending the same on the 2019 which led me to the pro.

That is a good point though. Marketplace is not an option as it requires 6 months member and 250 posts (completely understandable).
 
You could buy whichever iMac you like, all of them being much cheaper used from a private seller was my point

bbbowers said:
That is a good point though. Marketplace is not an option as it requires 6 months member and 250 posts (completely understandable).
Click to expand...
What do you mean? At least in my country there's a bunch of 2nd hand forums, even one dedicated to Apple products. Peeps who have used goods to sell can make posts w their contact info, even with a completely new acc
 
I see what you are saying, gotcha. I thought you were talking about this forums marketplace.

I have tried searching locally. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere and doesn't seem to be to much available. So, my options are probably more limited than yours I am guessing.
 
bbbowers said:
I see what you are saying, gotcha. I thought you were talking about this forums marketplace.

I have tried searching locally. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere and doesn't seem to be to much available. So, my options are probably more limited than yours I am guessing.
Click to expand...
Aight well that's a shame. The forums I talked about are nationwide, so you can see the whole catalog of 2nd hand goods, even if they are not right next door. Perhaps you can find something similar? Considering the significant cost savings, I'd be willing to drive farther away if there's a promising listing available. Besides through communicating w the seller, asking for more pics etc, you can already get a pretty good feel beforehand
 
Maybe I will try and find something like that then. Around here Craigslist is popular but haven't really found anything on there. Maybe it will be worth tracking down some of the other things like you mentioned. Iowa is not exactly a computer hub for Macs :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: _Skyfire_
Take a look for used iMac Pro’s. They’re not common. iMac Pro’s aren’t mass market machines, they were supposed to be a way to hold the Mac Pro market until the new one came out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real discount in a used one. On a standard iMac, sure, but finding a high end one gets you back in niche territory.
 
I thought about that. My thinking is the pro will also last a bit longer with the better fans etc, correct?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 0279317
Yeah, I wouldn’t go down that road. You’ll be limited by thunderbolt speeds for the GPU. The external ones are often somewhat buggy, and quite expensive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
profcutter said:
Yeah, I wouldn’t go down that road. You’ll be limited by thunderbolt speeds for the GPU. The external ones are often somewhat buggy, and quite expensive.
Click to expand...

Right, I saw that in a couple threads here. So would you agree the iMac Pro is going to age better/last longer than getting a current 2019 i9?
 
I would think so. A great deal depends on intel, and apple’s plans for future processors. Intel seems to have lost its way a bit, they’re having a very hard time moving to new manufacturing processes, while other companies seem to be catching up and leaving them behind. That’s in part why a 5 year old MacBook Pro can still keep up, also partially apples design failures. So the future is impossible to predict, but even if Apple went whole hog with ARM processors tomorrow it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, the current iMac Pro is still for sale and Apple tends to support them for 6-8 years after sales stop. Will Apple come up with a much faster iMac or iMac Pro this year? It’s possible, but with COVID19, I think most deadlines are delayed, and again you’d be talking about spending at least 5k for an entry model, unless they surprise us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbbowers
Very good points, thank you for your help! Definitely helped clear up some things for me.
 
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