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Tests run:

iMac Core i7 4.2 GHz KabyLake, 16GB VRAM, Radeon Pro 580 8GB

Idle (about 7 minutes)
CPU: 44-48ºC
GPU: 33-37ºC

Youtube (about 6 minutes)
CPU: 48-55ºC
GPU 44ºC

EDIT - Pictures aren't happy with me so:
Idle: https://flic.kr/p/VxVvnd
Youtube: https://flic.kr/p/VxVv8L
Seems like the temperatures and performance with video is much better than previous 5K iMacs, certainly stutters and overheating is not as much of a concern now
 
Hey everyone,

I'm very new to Apple and Macrumors.

Quick question: I will mainly be using the iMac for 4K video editing and publishing as well as coding.

How do I test an iMac to see if it's going to satisfy my needs? What software? What to look for?

All comments appreciated!
 
So I just received my 5K 2017 iMac

Quickly ran Unigine Valley
Ultra 2560x1440 w/ AA-Off

iMac 5K 2017
4.2 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
Radeon Pro 580

Default Fan
GPU 80ºC
Score 1696 - AVG FPS 40.5

Max Fan
GPU 72ºC
Score 1705 - AVG FPS 40.8

Compared to my old iMac:

iMac 2013
3.5 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
GeForce GTX 775M 2GB

Default Fan
GPU 95ºC
Score 1229 - AVG FPS 29.4

Max Fan
GPU 92ºC
Score 1229 - AVG FPS 29.4

Performance is quite a bit better and temperatures are much better, I'm not sure I'll do more benchmarking than this but I am quite pleased to see the GPU stay cooler during operation than the previous iMac (with its supposedly much vaunted GeForce Graphics).
So the Radeon Pro 580 is only 1/3 faster than the 775M on this test. Disappointing. I hope it performs better on other tests.
[doublepost=1497507253][/doublepost]
You can see here something reporting itself as a Radeon Pro 580:

https://gfxbench.com/compare.jsp?benchmark=gfx40&did1=46620965&os1=OS X&api1=metal&hwtype1=dGPU&hwname1=AMD+Radeon+Pro+580&did2=27669994&os2=OS X&api2=metal&hwtype2=dGPU&hwname2=AMD+Radeon+R9+M395X

N
otice in offscreen performance that apparently it is quite a bit faster than the m395x
That's more in line with what I except from the 580 (many onscreen tests cannot be used since Metal is limited to 120 fps by design). The 775M should be far behind both cards, so the Valley results don't make much sense to me.
EDIT: I suspect VSync is enabled on the Valley test. The 29.4 fps figures are suspiciously close to 30 fps. This should penalise both cards.
 
Last edited:
So the Radeon Pro 580 is only 1/3 faster than the 775M on this test. Disappointing. I hope it performs better on other tests.
[doublepost=1497507253][/doublepost]
That's more in line with what I except from the 580 (many onscreen tests cannot be used since Metal is limited to 120 fps by design). The 775M should be far behind both cards, so the Valley results don't make much sense to me.
EDIT: I suspect VSync is enabled on the Valley test. The 29.4 fps figures are suspiciously close to 30 fps. This should penalise both cards.
Unigine is Not very modern Benchmark, but its the only GPU benchmark that is available on Mac.

Perhaps it is because it still uses OpenGL? ;).
 
As it turns out, Ars Technica just posted an article detailing iMac comparisons across refreshes dating back to the 2011-2012 hardware: https://arstechnica.com/apple/2017/...f-high-end-imac-performance-from-2012-to-now/

Interesting reading.

Considering that AMD claims a 2.5x performance-per-watt gain for Polaris, I think it's pretty clear why the Radeon Pro 580 seems to run so much cooler than the last generation.

The new Polaris GPUs are only 50% faster, but also (at a wild guess) might use only 80% of the power. That works out to 1.875x the perf-per-watt of the previous 28nm chips (to account for marketing BS). And cooler and quieter iMacs!
 
If anyone asks about difference in gaming performance between Radeon Pro 580 and for example R9 M395(non X):
xyJeg582M6xEgUnc7iUTeh-650-80.png

29080731926l.jpg

RX 480 - Radeon Pro 580.
R9 380 - M395

Its one of the examples.
 
So the Radeon Pro 580 is only 1/3 faster than the 775M on this test. Disappointing. I hope it performs better on other tests.
[doublepost=1497507253][/doublepost]
That's more in line with what I except from the 580 (many onscreen tests cannot be used since Metal is limited to 120 fps by design). The 775M should be far behind both cards, so the Valley results don't make much sense to me.
EDIT: I suspect VSync is enabled on the Valley test. The 29.4 fps figures are suspiciously close to 30 fps. This should penalise both cards.
The Valley results don't make sense to me either as I get 40.1fps and score of 1679 on my late 2015 iMac with 395X. No different to yours.
 
The Valley results don't make sense to me either as I get 40.1fps and score of 1679 on my late 2015 iMac with 395X. No different to yours.

I'll run them again today and see if I get different results. I'll run tomb raider and diablo 3 as well to see what numbers that shows up with.
 
The casual game market is 100 times bigger than the hardcore one. Those people could care less about the graphic settings - they just want to play. And the iMac is fine for that - good even.

As for the hardcore crowd, they've always had to go Windows. No one ever suggested they shouldn't. But they still buy more than a graphics card every 3 years. Being a hardcore gamer is expensive - much moreso than buying an iMac and wearing it into the ground...

Best response yet. :apple:
 
The Valley results don't make sense to me either as I get 40.1fps and score of 1679 on my late 2015 iMac with 395X. No different to yours.

What settings were you using?
I was running at 2560x1440, I ran again this morning and the results were similar, 39.3 fps.
At 1920x1080 the results were 64 fps.

2560x1440
Settings

https://flic.kr/p/VPjDUF
Results
https://flic.kr/p/UzJfyK

1920x1080
Settings

https://flic.kr/p/UwMsRd
Results
https://flic.kr/p/UzJfBF

[EDIT]
Tomb Raider
2560x1440 - High Preset

Avg FPS 73.7
https://flic.kr/p/UwPctf
A
ccording to this:
http://barefeats.com/imac5k20.html
The m395x hits 55fps
 
Last edited:
Tests run:

iMac Core i7 4.2 GHz KabyLake, 16GB VRAM, Radeon Pro 580 8GB

Idle (about 7 minutes)
CPU: 44-48ºC
GPU: 33-37ºC

Youtube (about 6 minutes)
CPU: 48-55ºC
GPU 44ºC

EDIT - Pictures aren't happy with me so:
Idle: https://flic.kr/p/VxVvnd
Youtube: https://flic.kr/p/VxVv8L


Thats impressive. These are the temps the high end iMacs should of had all along. The 580 seems like an excellent upgrade.


It's more tempting for me to upgrade now *must fight the urge* :oops:
 
I suggest trying Heroes of the Storm in 5K.

When in game, press Control + Alt(Option) + F on keyboard to display in-game framecounter.

I think most people will be impressed with numbers ;).

Try for example high settings, and Metal API. Should do better job on AMD GPU than it is doing on Nvidia.
 
I think one thing that needs to be said regarding AMD is this - drivers with macOS are better and more importantly AMD are willing to give Apple the hardware specifications, source code and engineering assistance that nVidia flat out refuses to provide Apple which why for almost two decades that ATI/AMD performance has always been better than nVidia on macOS. I think the most noticeable strength of AMD will come as Metal matures that the full potential of AMD GPU's will be put on display because Apple will have insight into the whole stack - from operating system to framework then to driver and hardware specifications itself.

FWIW, regardless of feeling about them giving Apple information they never needed too. I have a 780m which I keep up to date with NVIDIA's own tools for both OS X and Windows. its been seamless and I have seen games improve with updates
[doublepost=1497535874][/doublepost]
So I just received my 5K 2017 iMac

Quickly ran Unigine Valley
Ultra 2560x1440 w/ AA-Off

iMac 5K 2017
4.2 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
Radeon Pro 580

Default Fan
GPU 80ºC
Score 1696 - AVG FPS 40.5


Compared to my old iMac:

iMac 2013
3.5 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
GeForce GTX 775M 2GB

Default Fan
GPU 95ºC
Score 1229 - AVG FPS 29.4

Performance is quite a bit better and temperatures are much better, I'm not sure I'll do more benchmarking than this but I am quite pleased to see the GPU stay cooler during operation than the previous iMac (with its supposedly much vaunted GeForce Graphics).

seeing as I have a 780m this is not making me want to upgrade.
 
FWIW, regardless of feeling about them giving Apple information they never needed too. I have a 780m which I keep up to date with NVIDIA's own tools for both OS X and Windows. its been seamless and I have seen games improve with updates
[doublepost=1497535874][/doublepost]

seeing as I have a 780m this is not making me want to upgrade.
Unigine Valley has always preformed better on nVidia than AMD. Sometimes benchmarks have a bias and this is one good example. It is good for comparing nVidia to nVidia or AMD to AMD but it loses much comparing one to the other.

I would love to see an iMac with a GTX 1080 but, by all accounts, the 580 is somewhere between the GTX 1070 and 1060 which is much faster than the 780M I am currently rocking in my 2013 iMac until my new 5k with 580 arrives.
 
FWIW, regardless of feeling about them giving Apple information they never needed too. I have a 780m which I keep up to date with NVIDIA's own tools for both OS X and Windows. its been seamless and I have seen games improve with updates
[doublepost=1497535874][/doublepost]

seeing as I have a 780m this is not making me want to upgrade.

Seeing I have a 780m I have no clue what you are talking about.

What games launched in 2016 that actually require high gpu usage have you seen improvements? And what resolution do you play at? And what god you get?
 
Here is how desktop GTX 780 performs in modern games:
http://www.techspot.com/review/1418-geforce-gtx-780-four-years-later/page3.html
It is also compared to many other GPUs.

The thing is: GTX 780M is not based on desktop GTX 780. It is based on GTX 770. And it is around the same performance as current GTX 1050 Ti.

Radeon Pro 575 from iMac is actually going to perform in modern games on the same level, as desktop GTX 780. RP 575 which uses the same chip as RX 470, is going to be much faster than GTX 780M from iMac.

I have said previously: Nvidia GPUs are getting old much quicker than AMD hardware :(.
 
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So I just received my 5K 2017 iMac

Quickly ran Unigine Valley
Ultra 2560x1440 w/ AA-Off

iMac 5K 2017
4.2 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
Radeon Pro 580

Max Fan
GPU 72ºC
Score 1705 - AVG FPS 40.8

Compared to my old iMac:

iMac 2013
3.5 GHz Core i7
16 GB RAM
GeForce GTX 775M 2GB

Max Fan
GPU 92ºC
Score 1229 - AVG FPS 29.4

As an owner of this iMac 2013 i'm suprised that Apple was able to push the max. temp down so far. With the TDP of the 580 GPU i feared the new iMac would be even more on the sound level.

Can you make a compare from the noise level, or better - how is the rpm when the GPU is under load?

Playing WoT or WoWs on the iMac 2013 needs a headset with the fan reaching 3000rpm when both games are in the startmenue :(
 
Sorry, but that is simply nonsense!

No, it's actually very true. A game running at 1440p on a monitor native to that resolution, will look sharper than on a UHD monitor scaled down to 1440p, with all things being equal.

Some applications and games handle this better than others, and some people will not see a difference, but it is there.
 
I picked up the base 580 model today from the Apple Store. Installed a couple of games and my impressions are.... wow!! Very impressed. This is coming from someone with a 15R3 w/ a GTX 1070. I was able to play WoW (OSX) at 5k, with just about everything on High minus Shadows, SSAO and Sunshafts and maintain 60fps in various legion zones.

I also installed bootcamp and loaded up Overwatch. Was able to maintain 60fps @1440p with just about everything at High/Ultra (Shadows at Medium).

By the way has anyone else seen an issue with brightness in bootcamp? Whenever I try to adjust, I can never max out brightness unless I enable/disable Virtual Super Resolution in the AMD control panel. Even after about 10 mins it will default to about 75% brightness. Checked the energy settings and everything looks good.
 
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