have the chance to get a reasonably well spec'd iMac Pro, 4tb, 128gb RAM. Is it worth investing in intel architecture at this point or should I be going Mac Studio instead?
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Should I buy an iMac Pro 2017 in 2022?
- Thread starter tommyparadise
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iMac Pro is still a beautiful and very capable machine by 2022 standards. That said, if you want a purchase that will last on the long run (5-10 years), I would not buy an Intel machine except if you really need x86 software. Apple will support Intel for at least 7 years from now, but they'll probably keep more and more OS features for their silicon machines.
No.
Better off to get a Mac Studio and the display of your choice (doesn't have to be the Studio display).
Better off to get a Mac Studio and the display of your choice (doesn't have to be the Studio display).
Depends on (a) the asking price and (b) whether you have anything tying you to Intel (software that hasn’t gone native, need to run Windows etc.) really.
Sounds like the Studio Ultra will thrash the iMac Pro at most tasks where the software is optimised for Apple Silicon, and at similar prices to the original iMac Pro, even if you include the studio display. Even a sub-$3000 M1 Max Studio should give the base, 10 core iMac Pro a run for its money and leave you $2000 change to buy a display.
The iMac Pro is still a very capable machine - but it would have to be on offer at a fraction of its original price to make sense now.
Also think whether you actually need 4TB of super-fast SSD - for some uses a 512GB to 1TB system drive for system, apps and work-in-progress + external bulk storage is a sensible configuration, and far cheaper.
iMac Pro is still a very powerful machine. How many cores that model has?
Answer depends anyway on the asking price and your daily tasks. Check your apps compatibility and peripheral third party devices before jump on Silicon.
Check also if that model has a 10-Gigabit Ethernet port available because Gigabit Ethernet standard port can be a strong bottleneck in the next future.
What about the CPU and GPU configuration? What price were you quoted?
A Mac Studio with 128GB and a 4TB SSD will cost $5800 plus the keyboard, trackpad/mouse and display. The only comparable display is the Studio Display which will cost another $1600. Total all in cost is almost $8000.
Of course that Mac Studio has 16 high power CPU cores so it will be faster than an iMac Pro.
I just want a big screen all in one. The 24" isn't big enough. I'm tempted to purchase this refurb iMac but it's Intel. But it has a nice big, beautiful display and gives me that built in iMac. I'm torn and end up doing nothing and there isn't anything new on the horizon either. Dam you Apple!!
I feel your pain. I don't know why Apple couldn't have just updated the 27 inch to have an M1; unless they just wanted to have everyone shell out a ton of dough on the (overpriced) Studio and Display.
My fear is that (someday) they will release the iMac I want that costs over $2500. I can justify under $2k for it....
This is exactly what I did. I was all ready to jump on a 27” (or 30”) iMac with M1. As we all know, no go. Found a 10-core iMac Pro with 8 TB SSD and 32 GB Ram with two and half years of remaining AppleCare Plus. Asking price was $2600. Boom—I’m on it. Not a ten year purchase but certainly long enough to assess whether this size form factor is indeed dead. Using TDM to tie in my old iMac’s display (2010!). Love it!
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So you're going to upgrade that? 8 GB is pretty small for an SSD. I'd want at least 1 TB.
The studio Ultra will probably handily beat the iMac pro even when the Ultra is running rosetta software. I only have a 14 inch M1 Pro Macbook Pro and every rosetta program runs better than on my maxed out 2019 8 core iMac.
You're 100% right. I bet even the M1 Max would give it a run. I'm guessing OP is just like me though. The only reason I want an Intel Mac is for that beautiful 27" display. I can't go back to Intel though
It sounds like top end CPU performance is not the primary concern for the OP. If the machine is well-priced, it's an excellent option.
The iMac Pro wasn't discontinued until March 2021, meaning that it should get full macOS support until fall 2026, and security updates until fall 2028.
Apple usually ends macOS support 5+ years after the machine is discontinued, and security update support 2 years after that.
The iMac Pro wasn't discontinued until March 2021, meaning that it should get full macOS support until fall 2026, and security updates until fall 2028.