iMac Pro iMac Pro $4300 or max iMac $3500

[ysuee]

So the age old question of "Which one?"

I'm replacing a 2014 iMac 27" that was fully spec'd at the time with the exception of the HD, which is a 3T Fusion.

I live close to our Cleveland Microcenter which had offered the base iMac Pro for $3999 but has since increased the price to $4299 (I'm secretly guessing Apple is using them to test elasticity of demand jking). Who knows - they may drop them back to $3999 - I check their inventory quantity each day and it's actually gone up since the price increase to $4299.

I've been reading and have seen MANY MANY arguments for and against the iMac Pro BUT most of the debate assumed retail pricing of $5K. Do the arguments still hold true when the price differential isn't $1300? The high end iMac goes for $3699 (4.2GHz quad i7|32G RAM|8G Video|1TB SSD)

My usage is moderate at best. I'm not a professional photographer or videographer but as a hobbyist I do edit 4K drone video and also handbrake/wondershare videos when converting formats to MP4. I also use Safari with multiple tabs at a time (6-12) and use Keynote with a great deal of video embedded.

To add fuel to the fire, I also receive an 6% discount at Apple through my employer dropping the price of the aforementioned iMac to $3477.

I thought of including this question in the High End iMac vs Low End Imac Pro thread, but opted for a new one since pricing is different.

What are the internal/external differences worth?

I'm staring at a ~$800 price differential but not sure it's worth it in my case. Would your answer change if the price differential was only $500?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[AppliedVisual]

Of the things you mention using the computer for, editing 4K video is really the only task that will benefit from the Pro. That said, if I were in your position, I would go with the base model iMac Pro. Yes it’s $800 more, but you get a superior CPU with 8 cores instead of 4. You get a superior GPU. While you probably don’t need it, I’m sure you can find a way to see a benefit from the extra hardware performance while editing, or perhaps you’ll find other ways to utilize it. I’m also betting you’ll be able to recover that $800 on the flip side in a few years when you move to upgrade again. Also a good chance you’ll get another year or so of usage out of the Pro than the standard iMac.

 

[Juicy Box]

Given the two choices, I would go for the iMac Pro.

But, I would probably drop the BTO options of the iMac to 8GB RAM, then upgrade myself for much cheaper, and drop the SSD down to 512GB, as I can use external SSDs, or upgrade the internal ones later. I think the regular iMac would be a much better deal that way.

A few years down the road, maybe I will sell it on Ebay and then get a new iMac.

 

[jerwin]

When you edit 4k drone video, does it take a lot of time to process? If so, does the downtime limit your creativity?

the imac pro is meant for people who believe that the price premium is a necessary cost of doing business. You'll probably see six cores and Vega graphics in the regualr iMac in a few months time-- at a substantially lower cost.

 

[haruhiko]

Given the two choices, I would go for the iMac Pro.

But, I would probably drop the BTO options of the iMac to 8GB RAM, then upgrade myself for much cheaper, and drop the SSD down to 512GB, as I can use external SSDs, or upgrade the internal ones later. I think the regular iMac would be a much better deal that way.

A few years down the road, maybe I will sell it on Ebay and then get a new iMac.

Exactly, getting the base 8GB RAM and an 512GB SSD will dramatically lower the price and make the iMac a good deal.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I'm biased, as I just picked up the iMac Pro via Microcenter @ $3999. So I say go for the Pro, even at the current price.

What's the first thing that always seems to date my computers? The graphics capabilities. And the the iMac Pro should outlast the standard iMac by a few years. Plus, I trust the server-grade internal components more than I do the consumer stuff.

 

[Juicy Box]

What's the first thing that always seems to date my computers? The graphics capabilities

I agree to this, as I always recommend getting the best video card available for Macs, or at least one you can afford. But....

And the the iMac Pro should outlast the standard iMac by a few years.

while this is true, for the price of the iMac Pro, you could get a decent iMac with a good video card, use it for a few years, sell it, and buy another iMac with equal or better graphic capabilities and other stuff that will most likely outlast the base model iMac Pro, all while spending about the same amount.

 

[physics dude]

Tomorrow is the last day I would be able to return my iMac Pro 64GB RAM, updated graphics card. I seriously thought about a return and then getting an upgraded iMac like you are considering. But... Looks like I'll stick with this, especially since I have zero interest for 2 years. Some of the 3D graphics I am able to do using Element 3D in After Effects have been mind-blowing. I'm excited to build a new demo reel and with new motion graphics business, pay for this beast. Also looking forward to more exploring on Blender, which seems to handle whatever I throw at it.

 

[pier]

The iMac Pro is overkill for your use, even the base 27 5k iMac with SSD should be more than enough.

 

[Luis Ortega]

I'm staring at a ~$800 price differential but not sure it's worth it in my case. Would your answer change if the price differential was only $500?

Thanks for the feedback!

Your price differential is much greater than that if you buy the ram yourself and not from apple.

 

[AppliedVisual]

Upgrading the RAM on your own for the standard 27” iMac makes a lot of sense. But if you can get a business discount on the Mac, that difference in RAM price may not amount to much. Over the years with when pricing out our upgrades, the cost of memory upgrades after a 10~15% discount through business sales often means we’re only saving $25 or so to do it ourselves and at that point it often makes more sense to just order all the RAM with the system and then it’s covered as part of the system under AppleCare. Just some things to think about...

On the iMac Pro, base model already has 32GB... Upgrading the RAM there requires a more involved disassembly of the unit and voids the warranty if not done by an Apple authorized service center. What a pain. Not only that, but if it’s like the 2013 Mac Pro, the first round of “upgrades” to hit the market from unauthorized dealers will probably not fully meet Apple specs and have thermal issues.

 

[AlexMaximus]

So the age old question of "Which one?"

I'm replacing a 2014 iMac 27" that was fully spec'd at the time with the exception of the HD, which is a 3T Fusion.

I live close to our Cleveland Microcenter which had offered the base iMac Pro for $3999 but has since increased the price to $4299 (I'm secretly guessing Apple is using them to test elasticity of demand jking). Who knows - they may drop them back to $3999 - I check their inventory quantity each day and it's actually gone up since the price increase to $4299.

I've been reading and have seen MANY MANY arguments for and against the iMac Pro BUT most of the debate assumed retail pricing of $5K. Do the arguments still hold true when the price differential isn't $1300? The high end iMac goes for $3699 (4.2GHz quad i7|32G RAM|8G Video|1TB SSD)

My usage is moderate at best. I'm not a professional photographer or videographer but as a hobbyist I do edit 4K drone video and also handbrake/wondershare videos when converting formats to MP4. I also use Safari with multiple tabs at a time (6-12) and use Keynote with a great deal of video embedded.

To add fuel to the fire, I also receive an 6% discount at Apple through my employer dropping the price of the aforementioned iMac to $3477.

I thought of including this question in the High End iMac vs Low End Imac Pro thread, but opted for a new one since pricing is different.

What are the internal/external differences worth?

I'm staring at a ~$800 price differential but not sure it's worth it in my case. Would your answer change if the price differential was only $500?

Thanks for the feedback!

My opinion is actually a pure economic consideration. The way you can gauge this might be rather simple. Take your existing iMac from 2014 as a baseline. You have used it, you know how it performs. Your usage is about three years now, so you divide your original price tag into three slices. Now ask yourself this:

How much would it hurt your day to day computer usage in one more year (Year 4) if you absolutely could not go for a new computer today and you would be forced to use your existing machine for a fourth or even fifth year.
Compare that scenario to a situation where you could have bought a 20% faster Mac in 2014 compared what you actually bought. How would this slightly faster Mac in 2014 that you did not buy, influence your purchasing decision today, if you would have bought it instead?
If that performance difference would keep your machine one or two more years in operation, - then, only then I would consider it to buy an iMac Pro today.
Since you mentioned the difference between 500 & 800 bucks, - compare that to that price slices you would need to amortise in year 4 and year 5 of usage. Its math but its still a feeling thing.

Regardless what price you will hit per year, since your usage is indeed professional as you mentioned, I would tend to go for the most secure solution. With most secure I also mean a machine that is less likely to go damaged in the time period you use it. Since you can not have Apple care for a five year period, you theoretically have a higher risk of machine failure in year four and five, assuming Apple is a bit more sloppy on the product live cycle on consumer machines compared to a pro machine.
Long answer short: If you can live with a four or five year usage, absolutely go for the iMac Pro. If your performance demand is always top notch and on the cutting edge, go for the consumer iMac and swap the machine every three years.

eBay pricing for used computers and your individual tax situation may influence that baseline as well.

 

[ysuee]

All great thoughts/comments. Much to consider. Will I need to worry about degradation of speed for single core apps if I go base model Pro vs today? - My current 2014 iMac has a 4.2GHz quad core While I do edit 4K (hobby) and Handbrake/Wondershare movies to MP4 - what should I expect with the more basic apps? Apple - Keynote/Pages, Microsoft - Outlook/Excel/Word/PPT.

I'm ok with keeping the iMac around 4-5 years, so I'm fine with having a Pro that long (sound argument AlexMaximus). But there's a few of you have posed a strong argument here for either going with a standard iMac (and upgrading RAM myself, etc) and maybe even waiting for a standard iMac with a 6 core...

Do many of you believe a 6 core may come to the market within the next 6 months? Or would Apple elect to defer that until a later date so that they mitigate any iMac Pro cannibalization?
[doublepost=1516929068][/doublepost]

When you edit 4k drone video, does it take a lot of time to process? If so, does the downtime limit your creativity?

the imac pro is meant for people who believe that the price premium is a necessary cost of doing business. You'll probably see six cores and Vega graphics in the regualr iMac in a few months time-- at a substantially lower cost.

How likely is it that Apple will have a 6 core standard iMac this summer? This would definitely impact my decision...

 

[pier]

How likely is it that Apple will have a 6 core standard iMac this summer? This would definitely impact my decision...

Nobody knows but I doubt we’ll see an iMac refresh until late 2018. The 2017 models were a signifcant bump.

 

[ThatSandWyrm]

Exactly, getting the base 8GB RAM and an 512GB SSD will dramatically lower the price and make the iMac a good deal.

I'd get at least 16GB of RAM for what he's doing. But you're right in that he probably doesn't need 32GB or a large SSD.

 

[joshwithachance]

At the $3999 price MicroCenter had the Pro is a no brainer compared to the maxed out $3699 5K. Even at $4299 I think it's still the better buy. You get an 8-core Xeon processor, Vega GPU, better cooling system, louder/fuller speakers, better ECC RAM, 4 thunderbolt ports, 1080p FaceTime camera, upgraded UHS II SDXC card slot, 10GB ethernet port, as well as the space gray design and accessories. It's a stacked machine when you really think about it.

 

[ThatSandWyrm]

My opinion is actually a pure economic consideration. The way you can gauge this might be rather simple. Take your existing iMac from 2014 as a baseline. You have used it, you know how it performs. Your usage is about three years now, so you divide your original price tag into three slices. Now ask yourself this:

How much would it hurt your day to day computer usage in one more year (Year 4) if you absolutely could not go for a new computer today and you would be forced to use your existing machine for a fourth or even fifth year.
Compare that scenario to a situation where you could have bought a 20% faster Mac in 2014 compared what you actually bought. How would this slightly faster Mac in 2014 that you did not buy, influence your purchasing decision today, if you would have bought it instead?
If that performance difference would keep your machine one or two more years in operation, - then, only then I would consider it to buy an iMac Pro today.
Since you mentioned the difference between 500 & 800 bucks, - compare that to that price slices you would need to amortise in year 4 and year 5 of usage. Its math but its still a feeling thing.

Regardless what price you will hit per year, since your usage is indeed professional as you mentioned, I would tend to go for the most secure solution. With most secure I also mean a machine that is less likely to go damaged in the time period you use it. Since you can not have Apple care for a five year period, you theoretically have a higher risk of machine failure in year four and five, assuming Apple is a bit more sloppy on the product live cycle on consumer machines compared to a pro machine.
Long answer short: If you can live with a four or five year usage, absolutely go for the iMac Pro. If your performance demand is always top notch and on the cutting edge, go for the consumer iMac and swap the machine every three years.

eBay pricing for used computers and your individual tax situation may influence that baseline as well.

Good post.

But he should also consider the opportunities that a faster (or more flexible) machine may create for him. He does drone video now. Could that evolve into a paying business? What about professional drone services like aerial site-mapping for construction?

Having a system that could handle professional-level production needs (8k drone video) could bring in far more than the difference in cost over the lifetime of the unit if he starts using it for real work.

 

[haruhiko]

I'd get at least 16GB of RAM for what he's doing. But you're right in that he probably doesn't need 32GB or a large SSD.

I mean since the RAM is user-upgradeable on the 5K iMac so the OP is free to upgrade to whatever RAM amount he wants subsequently at a lower price so I'd suggest to get the base RAM amount and add later

 

[OBirder]

All great thoughts/comments. Much to consider. Will I need to worry about degradation of speed for single core apps if I go base model Pro vs today? - My current 2014 iMac has a 4.2GHz quad core While I do edit 4K (hobby) and Handbrake/Wondershare movies to MP4 - what should I expect with the more basic apps? Apple - Keynote/Pages, Microsoft - Outlook/Excel/Word/PPT.

I doubt very much that you will experience any degradation of speed for single core apps. For the basic Apps you mentioned they will not challenge the CPU of any of the iMac's in discussions. Additional RAM over the 8 GB and SSD will impact the experience of these Apps especially if you have them all open at the same time.

How likely is it that Apple will have a 6 core standard iMac this summer? This would definitely impact my decision...

I was wondering the same. In my book the likelihood is not high. At the end we don't know. So I went from my 6 core i7 Windows machine to the iMP. Between order and delivery my old computer failed completely and so at end it was perfect timing.
As mentioned by others I couldn't be happier. Faster in all areas, super quiet and sleek looking.

Aesthetics in hour home counts for something too. I had a perfectly fine Magic Trackpad 2 in white. So there was no financial justification of needing another one. I still got the space gray as replacement part for $170 (with tax) just for the looks.

At the end only you can make a decision. In my opinion you should narrow it down.
- Waiting for a maybe 6 core: out
- Maxed out i7: for the price difference and benefits you get with Pro -> out

So either save money and go i5, 512 SSD and upgrade RAM by yourself or iMP. Now you need your head, heart, wallet or combination of those make a decision.

 

[norbinhouston]

FYI its back down to $3999 at microcenter!

 

[ysuee]

I just saw that! I'm going today to pick one up. Price differential has been mitigated even more. I'm ebaying my current rig today.

Worst case I have 2 weeks to return the iMP, but I doubt that will occur after I've worked with it for a week.

ALL - thank you for the INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL feedback and discussion. I love the members of this site.


**Any suggestions for an external SSD? I'm going from a 3T Fusion and I'm currently using 1T of it, but I have older non-SSD external drives as backup (they are painfully slow in large file transfers). Actually - don't answer. I don't want to muddy the waters of the intent of this thread.

 

[AppliedVisual]

This MicroCenter price is a steal! Wish the base model worked for me, but I need the better GPU and some of my data sets and projects actually do demand more than 64GB RAM at times and 8 cores is not quite doing it — 10+ is going to be a lot better.

...I’ve ordered a 14 core with 128GB RAM and 2TB SSD and probably still have at least a week until it ships. This is killing me. Haha. I’ve almost picked up the phone a handful of times to call Apple and switch the order to 10-core so I could have it already. So tempting as 10 cores would be just fine most of the time for this system. I ordered 14 because it still fit within the budget I set aside for it.

 

[ThatSandWyrm]

FYI its back down to $3999 at microcenter!

It'll be interesting to see if the theory about Microcenter testing the iMP's price elasticity for Apple turns out to be true.

 

[ysuee]

It'll be interesting to see if the theory about Microcenter testing the iMP's price elasticity for Apple turns out to be true.

Funny story - I talked to the store manager at Microcenter today regarding the price deltas we've all been seeing at their stores. I started talking to him about MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing) and asked him if Apple was helping to 'direct' theirs based on POS data (point of sale). "Well, we, and many other stores send direct feeds of our POS info to Apple and they in fact DO help 'direct' us on pricing." We talked a bit more and he finally told me that Apple will fluctuate trade dollars (think of it as a rebate check to the store) and review POS data across the country. "So they just increased trade $s and you're expected to allow it pass through?" I asked. "Yep", he said. "That's why the price just dropped back down to $3999."

So Apple is indeed 'testing' price using their base model iMac Pro - undoubtedly to see how many folks they can 'pull up' into a more premium price target for enhanced margins.

http://www.cpgdatainsights.com/get-started-with-nielsen-iri/trade-merchandising-measurement/

The good part...
I did indeed purchase an iMac Pro, set it up and watched it torch everything around it. I now sit in a pile of ashes as I type this. Ok - horrible joke. Granted, my last 'Pro' computer was from 2008 but the iMP is really incredible when it comes to performance - and it's QUIET. Initially I thought I heard some 'whirring' only to find that it was one of my external drives.

This has honestly been one of the most delightful Apple purchases since purchasing my first iPhone.

I'm an engineer by discipline - so I don't normally use words like 'delightful' - but this is really QUALITY grade for the price. The performance goes without saying - but the little things are also done really well. Four microphones vs 1 in an iMac. A nice 1080p front camera (vs 720p on standard iMacs) makes for a very crisp image with solid image quality and color matching. Family has already noticed the difference via a FaceTime calls. These speakers also sound better than an iMac. It comes with a full wireless keyboard with number pad (vs non-numeric keyboard on standard iMacs). Ports galore with 10G ethernet....and the aesthetics of black on black on black just look really cool.

Sure...I wanted to like this even before I unboxed it...but it has been very easy to do.

 

[ThatSandWyrm]

So Apple is indeed 'testing' price using their base model iMac Pro - undoubtedly to see how many folks they can 'pull up' into a more premium price target for enhanced margins.

I wonder... This is a premium-spec machine, with a kind of narrow use case. Apple fast-tracked it for customer relations reasons as much as anything else. I personally think that they aimed a bit too high in terms what "pro" has come to mean in their larger product lines such as MacBooks (this is more of a super-pro computer). Could be that sales are not meeting projections, and that they'd rather take a smaller (or zero/negative) margin on the iMac Pro than be perceived as not delivering a winning product for their content creators that have been either jumping ship, or building Hackintoshes in frustration.

Congrats on your purchase. Wish I could have saved a grand. Like you, I also appreciate the small engineering details on the iMP. They did a very nice job on the hardware considering how quickly it was punched out. Now hopefully they'll improve some of the drivers a bit.