Advice needed for Creative Agency: iMac Pro or iMac 5K?

[writevli]

At the moment I have an iMac 27” Late 2013 - it’s pretty dead. We handle a lot of video data and post-production.

I’m (re-)launching my agency and am investing in new gear (urgently needed). The minimal requirement is at least 1 iMac. It’s even better with 2 iMacs and several MacBooks...

However, the iMac Pro (being neutral) is at 5500 Euros and the best 5K iMac (outdated) is 3500. If they were freshly new, I would get both without hesitation; but they’re not.
Someone proposed another alternative for the same price would be a MacBook Pro with eGPU, but even that I feel that the Radeon is outdated.

My question and advice needed would be the following: Would a brand new iMac Pro suffice enough, or would a reconditioned iMac Pro do the job for the next years, until selling and buying a new one? Or if the iMac update might still be in a year, would the “gamble” be worth it in buying a 5K iMac instead (perhaps 2).

 

[Juicy Box]

Do you have an online Apple Refurbished store there?

You can fine some pretty good deals there.

Here is the link for the US one. They have a significant discount on the iMac Pro.

 

[maflynn]

However, the iMac Pro (being neutral) is at 5500 Euros and the best 5K iMac (outdated) is 3500. If they were freshly new, I would get both without hesitation; but they’re not.

I would think multiple machines is better then a single machine. Wait a few weeks, people are hoping to see an update to the iMac in the coming weeks.

 

[theluggage]

If they were freshly new, I would get both without hesitation; but they’re not.

The regular iMac might get an update Real Soon Now since they've normally seen annual updates - but nobody really knows if/what/when. With the iMac Pro, who knows? Intel Xeons don't have quite the rapid upgrade cycle of the regular consumer chips, and Apples track record of keeping its workstation-class machines at the cutting edge is pretty dismal.

However, one thing can be nearly guaranteed: If you buy an iMac Pro today, it will not crumble to dust because a new model with an extra core and a 10% faster GPU comes out in a month. The new iMacs or iMac Pros are highly unlikely to be radical new computing paradigms that open up hitherto unimagined vistas of computing.

If you urgently need new computers to get on with paid work, stop worrying and get them. If not, then maybe wait a few weeks and see (but then you'll be a few weeks closer to February, March or whenever the next Apple event is rumoured to be...)

 

[kohlson]

Buying new systems are all about improving your productivity. If you are fully engaged, and your systems are holding you back, then it would seem that now is the right time. After all, any new machine will be only incrementally better. If you can make do while something better comes along, then that could work, too.

Certainly a refurb machine would be fine.

Finally, you mentioned your 2013 iMac is pretty dead. Is it up to "modern standards?' Maxed out Ram and an SSD? Fast USB3.1 or TB drives for cache (most video NLEs respond well to a separate cache drive)?

 

[writevli]

I would think multiple machines is better then a single machine. Wait a few weeks, people are hoping to see an update to the iMac in the coming weeks.

That's what I'm expecting from the October update… but it's a real gamble.
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Certainly a refurb machine would be fine.

Finally, you mentioned your 2013 iMac is pretty dead. Is it up to "modern standards?' Maxed out Ram and an SSD? Fast USB3.1 or TB drives for cache (most video NLEs respond well to a separate cache drive)?

The Belgian Apple Store has only one iMac Pro refurbished. It's the basis model, for a 1000€ cheaper. I'm not sure if I can trust fully a refurbished model.

The 2013 iMac model is dead due to the power chip (it'll restart randomly) and I'm too lazy to change, someone already bought it. It's a 3.5 Ghz I7 / 32Gb RAM / Nvidea GeForce GTX 780M 4GB / 3Tb Fusion Drive

 

[Juicy Box]

I'm not sure if I can trust fully a refurbished model.

Unless they are different over there, I would trust an Apple Refurbished product over a new Apple Product. Apple's refurbished process is very different than other "refurbished" consumer electronics. These products are tested more thoroughly than Apple's new products.

Other than the box the device comes in, you would never know it was a refurbished device.
[doublepost=1538681556][/doublepost]Here is a Mac Rumors guide to buying Apple Refurbished stuff.

If it was me and I was about to buy a Mac from Apple, and I had the choice between a new one, and an Apple Refurbished one that was exactly what I wanted, I would always go for Apple's Refurbished.

 

[Silencio]

Yes, the refurbished products from the Apple Store are first rate. The savings on a refurbed iMac Pro over a new one are significant; I would buy one without hesitation.

Like others here, I also expect new 5K iMacs to launch pretty soon. I expect you'll see similar additions to what we got in the latest MacBook Pros, such as the 6-core Core i9 processors and better GPUs.

"Video data and post-production" is still a fairly vague description of the expected processing and storage loads. We talking Final Cut X, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects? 4K+ native resolutions?

 

[Juicy Box]

Like others here, I also expect new 5K iMacs to launch pretty soon.

I think we may still have some time before we see the next iMac update. I wouldn't be surprised if a new iMac is announced this month, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen until next year.

I remember there was a lot of threads on here 6 months ago with many posts convinced that there was going to be new iMacs announced at WWDC, and some even saying at the beginning of spring, and it didn't happen. Now people are saying soon, but I have a feeling that it won't be until next year, and maybe with a redesign.

 

[writevli]

"Video data and post-production" is still a fairly vague description of the expected processing and storage loads. We talking Final Cut X, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects? 4K+ native resolutions?

Final Cut X, ProRes (or Raw) footage by BlackMagic 4K. DaVinci is in the works. Adobe AE, PS, AI as well
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Unless they are different over there, I would trust an Apple Refurbished product over a new Apple Product. Apple's refurbished process is very different than other "refurbished" consumer electronics. These products are tested more thoroughly than Apple's new products.

Thank you all for your advice. I've never seen refurbished products in that way. In that case, I'll take the 4 669,00 € iMac Pro immediately and freeze the savings until hopefully an October update for a 5K normal iMac, worse case it'll be next trimester hopefully.