iMac buying advice

[austindiamond]

Hi, I am deciding between a new 2019 iMac 27" with either:

3.7 i5 6-core | 8GB RAM | AMD Radeon Pro 580x 8 GB | 1 TB SSD

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1468645-REG/apple_z0vt_mrr12_03_27_imac_with_retina.html

or

3.6 i9 8-core | 8GB RAM| AMD Radeon Pro 580x 8 GB | 512 TB SSD

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1468664-REG/apple_z0vt_mrr12_22_27_imac_with_retina.html

In other words, the difference between the two is i5 6-core with 1 TB SSD, or i9 8-core with 512 TB SSD. They are the same price.

Additionally, do you think buying from B&H is just as good as buying from Apple? i.e. will I be getting the exact same product? Just worried that somehow buying from B&H means that the computers aren't put together as perfectly as they would be buying from Apple.

Thanks!

 

[monokakata]

Hi, I am deciding between a new 2019 iMac 27" with either:

3.7 i5 6-core | 8GB RAM | AMD Radeon Pro 580x 8 GB | 1 TB SSD

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1468645-REG/apple_z0vt_mrr12_03_27_imac_with_retina.html

or

3.6 i9 8-core | 8GB RAM| AMD Radeon Pro 580x 8 GB | 512 TB SSD

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1468664-REG/apple_z0vt_mrr12_22_27_imac_with_retina.html

In other words, the difference between the two is i5 6-core with 1 TB SSD, or i9 8-core with 512 TB SSD. They are the same price.

Additionally, do you think buying from B&H is just as good as buying from Apple? i.e. will I be getting the exact same product? Just worried that somehow buying from B&H means that the computers aren't put together as perfectly as they would be buying from Apple.

Thanks!

B&H is a retailer, not an assembler. They buy these pre-configured by Apple. So yes, you get the same product.

B&H is completely reputable but take note of their return policy -- that's important. You cannot return an opened computer. Period. This is not the case with Apple.

 

[kohlson]

I agree with @monokakata. All things being equal (and they're not in this case as B&H may be less expensive) buying from Apple has its advantages in that you can return it - 14 days IIRC.

To answer you first question - do you currently find your workflows constrained by cores or storage? 6 cores is a pretty heavy lifter for most things, so if you're working in an area where you're not sure if 6 cores is enough, then it probably isn't.

Something to consider here is that adding cores (as in making your workflow faster if it can use the extra cores) is impossible after the fact. But you can add external storage. Either pricey TB3 storage, or well-priced but slower USB-C.

 

[austindiamond]

Bump.

For more about my uses, I am working on an illustrated/immersive book that I would like to turn into something as beautiful as it can be. Although I am a novice, I would like to do video editing, illustration, 3d modeling, animation, etc.