2019 iMac - No upcharge for Radeon Pro 580X

[Jamers99]

I noticed that that if you start with the mid-level optioned 2019 iMac 27" and add the 8-core i9 cpu and 2 TB Fusion Drive you end up at $2,537. If you also start with the high-end model and add the same 8-core i9 cpu effectively making the two configurations identical, aside from the graphics cards, you end up at the same $2,537 price.

So Apple is effectively charging you the same price for the Radeon Pro 575x and the 580x. You would think the prices should be a little different, maybe by like $75.

Keep this mind if you think selecting the mid-level model and upgrading a couple things will save money over the high-end optioned model. You might be paying the same price, in which case you'd probably be better off with the 580x.

 

[jerwin]

if you'r going to go through the trouble of BTO options, you might as well get an SSD.

Standard builds are nice because retailers sometimes discount them.

 

[HappyIntro]

I noticed that that if you start with the mid-level optioned 2019 iMac 27" and add the 8-core i9 cpu and 2 TB Fusion Drive you end up at $2,537. If you also start with the high-end model and add the same 8-core i9 cpu effectively making the two configurations identical, aside from the graphics cards, you end up at the same $2,537 price.

So Apple is effectively charging you the same price for the Radeon Pro 575x and the 580x. You would think the prices should be a little different, maybe by like $75.

Keep this mind if you think selecting the mid-level model and upgrading a couple things will save money over the high-end optioned model. You might be paying the same price, in which case you'd probably be better off with the 580x.

Interesting...thanks for pointing that out.

 

[BuCkDoG]

I called Apple Sales on this to have some fun with their reps and no one can explain to me why this is the case. Great find!

 

[Brookzy]

A similar thing happened with the previous generation, I remember it being discussed on the Accidental Tech Podcast at some point. I suppose it's going to happen with so many different combinations and price points.

Really the website should be updated with a pop-up telling you that you can get a better config for the same price if you want.

 

[Bohemien]

So Apple is effectively charging you the same price for the Radeon Pro 575x and the 580x. You would think the prices should be a little different, maybe by like $75.

Keep this mind if you think selecting the mid-level model and upgrading a couple things will save money over the high-end optioned model. You might be paying the same price, in which case you'd probably be better off with the 580x.

The mid-tier model doesn't really make sense, neither performance-wise not from a price standpoint. The only reason for getting the mid-tier model (with the i5-8600 CPU) would've been that this CPU has a TDP of 65W and the 575X GPU 120W, making this system potentially run cooler than the higher-spec ones.

However, once you add a SSD, you get slightly (I guess approx. 5-10%) higher CPU (i5-9600K, TDP 95W) and GPU (580X, TDP 150W) performance for just a little more money. My (and others', apparently) initial fear was that these systems would be noisier than the lower-spec'd ones, which doesn't seem the case, so there's really no good reason to go with the mid-tier model anymore.

Story would've been different had Apple decided to put the i5-9600K in the mid-tier model and the i7-8700 (as in the top-tier 21.5" iMac) in the top-tier one, which is faster than the i5-9600K while having a TDP of 65W. I can't understand at all why they did it the way they did. Must be some crazy Apple marketing mojo.

 

[BuCkDoG]

Clearly their marketing team has no clue what they are doing.