What Are The GPU Performance Differences For 2020 iMac 27 ?

[Artmov]

Getting the new 27” iMac for my daughter who is starting high school. We are new to Apple and it will be our first Mac in the household.

We are in the process of picking the model and are kinda stuck on the GPU options. I can’t find any info on real life performance differences between the 4 available GPU’s.

She’ll be using the machine for basic tasks that I know the 5300 will suffice for. But, she wanted to try out photo and video editing. I don’t want the GPU to cripple her experience with video editing.

Will the 5300 provide a smooth experience in Final Cut or Adobe Premiere? What kind of difference can be expected by upgrading to a 5500XT or 5700XT?

Also, I’m curious, what is the speed boost between the SSD sizes?

 

[satcomer]

Depends what she need this Mac for? It depends if she is Engineer/science nerds? The answer depends splurging on more expense options be! However if you want years of enjoyment just get the second level up and concentrate on memory and SSD size over at least 8g for memory!

 

[Silencio]

In Metal benchmarks, the 5700XT has about a 50% advantage over the 5500XT. The 5300 is not present in these tests, however

2020 iMac 5K 8-core versus 2017 iMac Pro 8-core

real world speed test results for performance minded Macintosh users

barefeats.com

 

[Artmov]

Depends what she need this Mac for? It depends if she is Engineer/science nerds? The answer depends splurging on more expense options be! However if you want years of enjoyment just get the second level up and concentrate on memory and SSD size over at least 8g for memory!

She’s 13 and just starting high school. It’s a Somewhat tech savvy school and the only requirement is an IPad which they use on daily basis.

The iMac is for her own personal use. She wanted to try out and explore different projects like coding, photo & video editing, music creation among other things. There is no specific software that we have in mind except the Pro Apps Bundle for Education that Apple offers.

I’ll be upgrading the RAM myself and will be going with the 500GB or 1TB option for SSD. Can always use an external storage solution if needed.

I’m just trying to figure out if the i5/5300 will provide a good experience for her, at the very least with Final Cut Pro, or I need to get the i7/5500XT Combo or higher GPU....

 

[satcomer]

Yep get the next up if you want her to see 4K video!

 

[Artmov]

In Metal benchmarks, the 5700XT has about a 50% advantage over the 5500XT. The 5300 is not present in these tests, however

2020 iMac 5K 8-core versus 2017 iMac Pro 8-core

real world speed test results for performance minded Macintosh users

barefeats.com

Thanks for the link.
I wonder how those scores translate to real life usage. For example in Final Cut Pro, will both cards provide a smooth experience while editing and just the 5700xt will transcode much faster?

I’ll be okay with the 5300 or the 5500XT as long as there is not lag. I don’t mind if it takes longer to transcode/export the project (I’m not sure if the terminology is correct)