I'm purchasing a new 27" iMac and am putting a tb ssd and i7 processor in it. I will also be maxing out the RAM. My questions is do I need to upgrade the video card too? I will never game on this machine, but will use it to edit pictures in Photos and edit some 4k video in iMovie that I take with my 6s+. I would rather put the $250 towards Apple Care and Ram, but want to make sure that I'm not missing out on something. Please Help!
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Which graphics card?
- Thread starter dvdlovr24
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I'm on the same boat! I use Lightroom instead, and will be using iMovie for the 4K videos coming out from the 6S Plus... will never do gaming though!
I think I could save by going with the i5 with less heat and noise (and maybe update CPU down the road?), but the GPU is soldered and we need to make a choice
I think I could save by going with the i5 with less heat and noise (and maybe update CPU down the road?), but the GPU is soldered and we need to make a choice
If Apple is using standard PC GPU names and if TechPowerUp database doesn't lie, the iMac has these chipsets:
Well, except the M380, this will be even slower
No real surprise though, AMD doesn't have anything else to offer. The iMac would catch fire with a Hawaii card installed.
- M380 = re-rebadged Cape Verde (aka HD 7770). LMAO, this is 2011 era stuff. Costs around $50-$60 as PCI card.
- M390/395: Unknown, I guess 390 is Pitcairn (HD 7870) and 395 is smaller Tonga (R9 285)
- M395X = Rebadged Tonga, same as M295X in last iMac
Well, except the M380, this will be even slower
No real surprise though, AMD doesn't have anything else to offer. The iMac would catch fire with a Hawaii card installed.
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Do not cheap out after you're almost all in. Get the 395x (according to apple 3.7 Teraflops versus 3.5 for the previous 295x, whatever that means). Upgrade the RAM yourself later! You can get two 8GB sticks (16GB) for less than a hundred bucks, install in two minutes, and have 24GB RAM.
If Apple is using standard PC GPU names and TechPowerUp database doesn't lie, the iMac has these chipsets:
So, having a look at last years benchmarks should reveal what those 'new' GPUs can do
- M380 = re-rebadged Cape Verde (aka HD 7770). LMAO, this is 2011 era stuff. Costs around $50-$60 as PCI card.
- M390/395: Unknown, I guess 390 is Pitcairn (HD 7870) and 395 is smaller Tonga (R9 285)
- M395X = Rebadged Tonga, same as M295X in last iMac
Well, except the M380, this will be even slower
No real surprise though, AMD doesn't have anything else to offer. The iMac would catch fire with a Hawaii card installed.
Same boat. With my config (i7+512ssd) I could save $350 USD by going to the middle M390 model instead of upgrading the top M395 model to a M395X.
Am I right to assume the following correlations?:
M390 = same tier as M290
M395 = new tier/choice
M395X = same tier as M295x
Which begs the question: how much of an improvement is M390 over the old M290?
Although, going from M390 to M395 is only a $70 USD upgrade for Aussies. Much more reasonable, but is there a point?
Am I right to assume the following correlations?:
M390 = same tier as M290
M395 = new tier/choice
M395X = same tier as M295x
Which begs the question: how much of an improvement is M390 over the old M290?
Although, going from M390 to M395 is only a $70 USD upgrade for Aussies. Much more reasonable, but is there a point?