Buying decision... Fan noise between iMac v iMac Pro? Anything else to consider?

[ascender]

I remember when the iMac Pro first came out, one of its big selling points was the revised cooling solution which apparently lead to a near-silent machine, even under load. I'm wondering how it compares to the recent 2020 iMacs in terms of noise under load as fan-noise is really grating if you're pushing the machine all day.

I need an Intel-based Mac with 8 cores+ for the VMs I run, so I'm resigned to not being able to go M1 yet. I don't need something to play games and this will be my main desktop machine which will get used to do a bit of everything.

Looking at the two options, there's the entry-level iMac Pro, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 10 cores for £4,999. (Used 8 core ones seem to be about £3100 now and you can get 10 core CPUs for £200 or so).

The 2020 iMac upgraded with 8GB RAM (I'd upgrade that later) 1TB SSD and 10 core CPU is £2,899.

Future value isn't a big factor, but presumably the Pro will hold its value a bit better in a couple of years.

Has anybody got experience of both machines who would be able to comment on the cooling and anything else to consider?

 

[wilberforce]

Here is a video worth watching:

Regarding fan noise, you are going to get opinions all over the map, ranging from perfect to terrible, as so much depends on personal sensitivity, ambient conditions and usage.
Opinions from those who own both are not going to be entirely objective and unbiased, as there is a tendency for people to justify their own (expensive) buying choices, resulting in some pretty heated discussions in this forum.

I'm not sure about the more expensive machine holding its value better. IMO, most people buying used do so because they are very price sensitive, and are looking for the lowest cost option. Trade-in values of top-spec models are only slightly more than base models.

I suggest just buy the 2020 iMac and try it out. This is exactly the purpose of the Apple 14-day return period. No risk and no guilt.