Installed Windows on Imac Pro. Don't want to go back.

[Pangalactic]

This is just my honest impression

So, I've been using Parallels for a while to run various VM stuff, kind of got tired of it and decided to install bootcamp Windows on my Imac Pro (base config).

And oh boy was I impressed with how it runs!

Let's start with games. One of my favorites- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. It's made in Unity and is available for both MacOS and Windows. Pretty good looking and not that demanding.

MacOS:
5k - couldn't even load, crashed all the time
2K - loaded up the intro and crashed right afterwards
1600x900 - kind of worked with some lag

Windows:
5k - fully functional with just a little bit of lag
2k - wonderful performance with over 60FPS

What a difference! And I know people will say that "game is not optimized for Mac" or "Macs are not designed for games" - that's absolutely true, but the same iMac Pro that can hardly play stuff in MacOS does wonders with Windows. And it's a wonderful gaming machine - sure it's not a GTX 1080ti, but in 2K it runs most games extremely well on the gorgeous screen.

Speaking of GTX 1080ti - why the hell Apple doesn't promote Macs for gaming with TB3 and eGPUs is beyond me (well we know Timmy only cares about iPhones at this stage, but anyway) - that could easily push them into the gaming market. Doesn't work with MacOS...but works in Windows with no problems. I've tried my 1080ti eGPU and everything on Ultra in 2K is just wonderful.

Now let's get into the more serious stuff, Premiere Pro - that was another shocker. Checked the rendering times, they are down like by a quarter! Wow! Again I don't know what Adobe thinks about Mac and Windows, just my observation.

Boot and restart times - actually faster in windows.

Overall I'm just very impressed with Windows on the iMac Pro - didn't have any scaling issues, works blazing fast, the majority of the apps that I use are also available, and gaming is an absolute joy on this (as opposed to MacOS)

By the way this is all just my opinion, if you love MacOS I have absolutely no objections to this - but at this stage I noticed that just don't want to boot back into MacOS the only two things I miss are Final Cut (yup, it's still the best One-Man-Army video editor in my opinion to this date) and a proper notification system (windows as far as I understand doesn't force all apps to use the same notification rules, so there are quite a few times when I get messages on slack/whatsapp with a number pop-up but no proper notification), everything else is very impressive.

 

[762999]

there are plenty of finalcut alternatives:
- adobe premiere
- davinci resolve
- Hitfilm
- Magix Movie Edit pro
- Magix VideoProX
- Magix Vegas
- Shotcut
- Kdenlive
- Cinelerra
- Pitivi

Windows does have a proper notification system but nothing will force an app to report a notification, which is the same as the Mac. The developer has to implement it on both platforms. The api is very flexible when you use it correctly.

Next time, buy an HP z8 workstation they look like the old mac pro but better than current mac!

 

[Hater]

Who the hell plays games on a workstation? It'd like trying to take an 18 wheeler to a racing circuit just because it has more power than most cars

Anyway, the money in the Pro makes it dumb to run Windows on it. A proper workstation (like the Z8 above) could be specced way higher for iMac Pro money

 

[Pangalactic]

Who the hell plays games on a workstation?

Well I do, just because it's a workstation doesn't mean it cannot do other things

Next time, buy an HP z8 workstation

If I fully move to PP then I probably will. I'm still doing most of my stuff in FCP X. Wouldn't be cheaper though, considering that the iMac Pro is not just the system but also a 5k screen (which is around $1200) and that I got this iMac with a one grand discount for $4000.

 

[762999]

Wouldn't be cheaper though, considering that the iMac Pro is not just the system but also a 5k screen (which is around $1200) and that I got this iMac with a one grand discount for $4000.

It depends on the use case. But the iMac is difficult to repair and almost impossible to upgrade (beside the RAM). I loved my iMac 2008 at the time but when it slowed down to a crawl over the years, my beautiful yellow tinted screen, was useless. I was able to sell the machine but it died on the new owner 4 months later. I gave the Z8 as an example, there are plenty of options and you can still pick the videocard of your choice.

Cheers

 

[_Refurbished_]

This is just my honest impression

So, I've been using Parallels for a while to run various VM stuff, kind of got tired of it and decided to install bootcamp Windows on my Imac Pro (base config).

And oh boy was I impressed with how it runs!

Let's start with games. One of my favorites- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. It's made in Unity and is available for both MacOS and Windows. Pretty good looking and not that demanding.

MacOS:
5k - couldn't even load, crashed all the time
2K - loaded up the intro and crashed right afterwards
1600x900 - kind of worked with some lag

Windows:
5k - fully functional with just a little bit of lag
2k - wonderful performance with over 60FPS

What a difference! And I know people will say that "game is not optimized for Mac" or "Macs are not designed for games" - that's absolutely true, but the same iMac Pro that can hardly play stuff in MacOS does wonders with Windows. And it's a wonderful gaming machine - sure it's not a GTX 1080ti, but in 2K it runs most games extremely well on the gorgeous screen.

Speaking of GTX 1080ti - why the hell Apple doesn't promote Macs for gaming with TB3 and eGPUs is beyond me (well we know Timmy only cares about iPhones at this stage, but anyway) - that could easily push them into the gaming market. Doesn't work with MacOS...but works in Windows with no problems. I've tried my 1080ti eGPU and everything on Ultra in 2K is just wonderful.

Now let's get into the more serious stuff, Premiere Pro - that was another shocker. Checked the rendering times, they are down like by a quarter! Wow! Again I don't know what Adobe thinks about Mac and Windows, just my observation.

Boot and restart times - actually faster in windows.

Overall I'm just very impressed with Windows on the iMac Pro - didn't have any scaling issues, works blazing fast, the majority of the apps that I use are also available, and gaming is an absolute joy on this (as opposed to MacOS)

By the way this is all just my opinion, if you love MacOS I have absolutely no objections to this - but at this stage I noticed that just don't want to boot back into MacOS the only two things I miss are Final Cut (yup, it's still the best One-Man-Army video editor in my opinion to this date) and a proper notification system (windows as far as I understand doesn't force all apps to use the same notification rules, so there are quite a few times when I get messages on slack/whatsapp with a number pop-up but no proper notification), everything else is very impressive.

Fit and finish is Window’s problem, not speed. The OS can be a mess at times. It’s not nearly as bad as people make it out to be on these forums, but I’d prefer macOS over Windows as my daily driver. When I game (I game a lot) I switch over to Windows if a game doesn’t work well under macOS.

 

[flimpy]

How about bootcamp drivers? I remember at the beginning they were a complete garbage.
Has Apple fixed them?

 

[kohlson]

Glad you found a new ecosystem that works for you. Give Resolve a try - free to download/use the 1080 version, and once you get the hang of it, you'll be that much better at video editing.

I'm not a fan of subscription pricing, which is why I'm not a fan of Windows (Antivirus, and they are trying to get to subscription pricing for the OS) and Adobe CC. I'm not saying these things are terrible for everyone - they just don't work for me.

 

[Peter_M]

How about bootcamp drivers? I remember at the beginning they were a complete garbage.
Has Apple fixed them?

Yes, Apple released a graphics driver update about 1.5 month ago or so (Adrenalin 17.12). Now, Bootcamp works fine, except the internal speakers still sounds a bit muffled, but I use an external sound card anyway. The bluetooth driver can be a bit finicky, but it's fixable.

I really like what Microsoft has done to Windows 10, it's come a long way. And yeah, gaming on the side works great too. I've been playing Witcher 3 with various mods (including ones that has impact on performance, like Increased view distance, Better FX etc.), and the performance great - 60fps solid nearly all the time with settings maxed out in 1440p. Gaming performance is pretty impressive, I consider it a nice bonus...

 

[droog]

Who the hell plays games on a workstation? It'd like trying to take an 18 wheeler to a racing circuit just because it has more power than most cars

Anyway, the money in the Pro makes it dumb to run Windows on it. A proper workstation (like the Z8 above) could be specced way higher for iMac Pro money

People who can look past the naming conventions used for the differentiation of products?

 

[Pangalactic]

except the internal speakers still sounds a bit muffled

Yeah, that has also been an issue for me, there is a crackling sound appearing every 30 minutes or so in the background, have to disable/enable the speakers for that. But apart from that works absolutely wonderfully, and gaming is a blast with max settings at 1440p.

 

[alien3dx]

Well I do, just because it's a workstation doesn't mean it cannot do other things

the last windows server can put graphics card , win server 2008 r2 . Old times dota hehe

 

[theluggage]

Wouldn't be cheaper though, considering that the iMac Pro is not just the system but also a 5k screen (which is around $1200)

That's assuming you want a 5k display. 4k displays are pretty darned good, far cheaper, and come in a far wider choice of sizes and styles that might suit your needs better and include features like FastSync - and as you point out, 5k is still a bit of a stretch for most games.

A 5k display is only a $1200 value to you if it is exactly what you want.

and that I got this iMac with a one grand discount for $4000.

Yes, I think that is a more realistic price for the iMac Pro entry level machine. Not everybody has had access to those prices when & where they wanted to buy a Mac, though.

People who can look past the naming conventions used for the differentiation of products?

...but, realistically, if you want decent gaming and are happy with Windows, you don't need to spend $4000 for Xeon, ECC RAM, workstation-optimised (allegedly) GPUs and more than 512GB of super-fast SSD to get better gaming performance than an iMac.

 

[flimpy]

...but, realistically, if you want decent gaming and are happy with Windows, you don't need to spend $4000 for Xeon, ECC RAM, workstation-optimised (allegedly) GPUs and more than 512GB of super-fast SSD to get better gaming performance than an iMac.

The chances for that kind of person to be reading this thread are probably non-existing.

 

[redsnapper]

there are plenty of finalcut alternatives:
- adobe premiere
- davinci resolve
- Hitfilm
- Magix Movie Edit pro
- Magix VideoProX
- Magix Vegas
- Shotcut
- Kdenlive
- Cinelerra
- Pitivi

Windows does have a proper notification system but nothing will force an app to report a notification, which is the same as the Mac. The developer has to implement it on both platforms. The api is very flexible when you use it correctly.

Next time, buy an HP z8 workstation they look like the old mac pro but better than current mac!

Wow, no mention of by far of the best video editor out there - Avid Media Composer. Runs Mac and Windows.

 

[splifingate]

Next time, buy an HP z8 workstation they look like the old mac pro but better than current mac!

ROLF!!1!

http://www.misternicehands.com/

 

[maflynn]

Boot and restart times - actually faster in windows.

I noticed that while testing out a Razer 15.6" laptop I bought. The difference is incredibly telling

Overall I'm just very impressed with Windows on the iMac Pro

I don't have an iMac Pro but I'm using a Razer laptop and I'm within the 14 day return period to determine if I want it or not. There's a lot I like about windows, but there's a lot I'm missing that's not there but in macOS. The intangibles and tangibles. For my usage, I prefer macOS and while windows itself is a good platform, I'm leaning towards returning the laptop because I'm giving up too much with windows.

 

[Peter_M]

Windows 10 has really come a long way, but still lacks proper 5K support. 5K at 200% doesn't work well, so you're either stuck with 4K or using 1440p. macOS does resolution scaling better.

I can see myself eventually going over to Windows. Apple seems to be loosing interest in keeping their Mac products up to date. The only updated machine is the iMac Pro, but it's unnecessary expensive with only EEC ram and Xeon CPU options - considering its a closed system with limited resale value. There are cheaper alternatives available for an AIO system, like Coffee Lake and Threadripper.

 

[baypharm]

View attachment 768355

ROLF!!1!

http://www.misternicehands.com/

That 28 core machine is a real screamer

 

[Guy Clark]

So exactly what is the point in spending out on an iMac Pro to run Windows on it when you could have paid significantly less for non Apple Hardware.

Running Windows on an iMac Pro is like owning a top end Ferrari and putting diesel in it.

 

[fathergll]

Using the iMac for Windows has two main pros;

• Windows All-in-Ones are mostly terrible
• Resale value on the iMac is very good and easy to move on the used market

Using the iMac for Windows has some cons;

• Windows not fully optimized in Bootcamp
• Bit pricey for what you are getting since you don't need xeons and ecc memory

If you are not going to boot into MacOS then the only reason I could see using the iMac is if you have to have an All-in-One. If not getting something like a Corsair One and an external display should be easily better(assuming you want a small desktop setup...other options if you want to build yourself a desktop but they can get much bigger in size).

 

[maflynn]

So exactly what is the point in spending out on an iMac Pro to run Windows on it when you could have paid significantly less for non Apple Hardware.

The point is he's running hardware that he wants to run on, using an operating system of his choice.

 

[TechZeke]

Multiple reviews have stated that the iMac Pro is competitively priced for the hardware you get. Even Linus Sebastian admitted it.

If you want a powerful all-in-one, I think the iMac line in-general is the best out there. Apple needs to work on its pro support though.

Macs run windows just as good as PC, and it runs it natively. I don’t see any issue if you like the Apple hardware still, but want to run windows.

 

[dspdoc]

Personally I’ve found Win10 to be awful. Random blinking icons on the desktop and taskbar. Refreshing explorer that briefly locks things up. Windows that freeze and disappear. The OS as a whole is a complete eyesore. Things on Mac are just fluid and seamless. The Apple hardware is quite long in the tooth is my main issue.

 

[Icy1007]

iMac Pro isn't a gaming machine... You could get an equally performing desktop gaming PC for less.