iMac Pro imac Pro 14-Core Option?

[Stairway]

I've been noticing on various imac Pro threads, that most BTO buyers have been selecting 10 or 18 core models; other threads comparing 10 vs 18 core. However, I don't see anyone discussing the 14 core option.

I know that the core i9 chips are different, but from everything I have seen/read, the 14-core i9 chips seem to be the "sweet spot" of the high core models.

So, I was just wondering what you guys think of the 14 core option?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I think if you need more than 10 cores for your use case, then the minor single thread speed increase for the 14 will be no match for 4 extra cores of the 18 and at these prices a thousand or so dollars makes little difference, I doubt its a very popular choice to be honest.

 

[Trebuin]

I think if you need more than 10 cores for your use case, then the minor single thread speed increase for the 14 will be no match for 4 extra cores of the 18 and at these prices a thousand or so dollars makes little difference, I doubt its a very popular choice to be honest.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I think the single thread ops will actually be even worse than the 10 core is (much like the 10 is worse than the 8 core). Keep in mind that the geekbench do not accurately reflect the single thread performance. A few of us already tested single core on the 8 vs 10 and found that the actual results are opposite of what geekbench says.

The 14 core should use more power to support the 14 cores, but this in turn requires a lower base clock to keep temps within limits. If you want better single thread performance during single thread tests, you'd have to shut off a few other cores. I was playing around with that last night to see the power requirements drop, though I haven't benched it in a single thread test yet to see if that changes at all.

 

[AppliedVisual]

I ordered the 14-core for my home office as it is a bit of a sweet spot for a lot of what I do. But I think most who are willing to go that far will probably go all the way to the 18. Only reason I did not go 18-core is cost. I set myself a $10K budget and stuck to it. After my business discount, AppleCare and tax I was right at $10,200.

Soon, I will be ordering two 10-core iMac Pro systems for employee stations and it will be interesting to compare the 10 vs. 14 in my usage scenarios.