iMac Pro vs iMac 2020

[UbiCrea]

Hi all,
I've a very very big dilema:
- I'm looking for a new machine to replace my TrashCan (2013 Pro with D700 64gb 2tb SSD) and i would get rid of my screen at the same time.
I'm super tempted by a 27" 5k iMac as i know these machines and love their 5k screen. I own a 2015 model (quad core i5, 24Gb, 500gb ssd) and it's really a pleasure to work on it. However, the 105 model is a bit weak for my daily tasks... Photoshop, Figma, a little bit of Premiere Pro, and usual Notion, Google thingy, Miro...
I'm doing UX / UI design, no 3d and no video apart small one.

I've today two options that are teasing me...
- An iMac Pro 8 cores, 1tb ssd and 32 GB of ram, Vega 56... for about 1200 $
- An iMac 2020 with an i7 8 cores, 5500 XT, and roughly similar ram and ssd... for about 1000 $

I love the dark design of the iMac pro, but know that upgrading the ram requires to remove the screen (already done on my 2015 model) and i'm not sure about the future proof of it... The 2020 model probably doesnt have more future as well, but upgrading the ram is easier... but the machine is less "exclusive"...

Any thoughts about it ?
Do you see any other options?

Thanks

 

[zarmanto]

My suggestion is to consider expanding your search to include the 2019 model year. A quick check on eBay suggests that you should be able to snag one for $1000 or less, much like the 2020 you've already found, and configured appropriately, the 2019 is extremely comparable to the 2020.

I'm admittedly quite biased, though. My own iMac is the one noted in my sig below; I briefly considered trading it in for a 2020 awhile back, until I discovered (through conversations on this very forum, actually) that there are issues with the 2020 that do not exist in my 2019, such as the RAM needing to be installed as identical DIMMs in all four slots in order to get that memory to run at full speed. In addition, I had upgraded my video card to the 580X for gaming purposes... so anything short of the top-end graphics card in a 2020 would actually have been a downgrade for me. So I kept this 2019 instead, and it continues to serve me well -- though, I don't use it quite as much for gaming, these days. (I finally went ahead and bought a separate gaming PC for that, just last year.)

 

[wilberforce]

I have the iMac 2020 with an i7 8 cores and 5500XT. Benchmarks show it as slightly faster than the 8-core iMac Pro. It is roughly equivalent to an M1 Pro (which I also have). I am pretty pleased with it. The 2020 screen is better than the 2015 screen. I bet your 2015 screen is starting to get pink edges.

The i9 2020 iMac is not much faster than the i7 2020 iMac, and throttles easily, so I think the i7 is a good choice.

RAM for the 2020 iMac is astonishingly cheap right now (IMO). To avoid hassles get all sticks the same.

If you want a good GPU, the 5500XT is OK, but the 5700XT is far better (not the 5700). The 5700XT is one of the best GPUs in an Intel Mac, I think.

 

[UbiCrea]

I have the iMac 2020 with an i7 8 cores and 5500XT. Benchmarks show it as slightly faster than the 8-core iMac Pro. It is roughly equivalent to an M1 Pro (which I also have). I am pretty pleased with it. The 2020 screen is better than the 2015 screen. I bet your 2015 screen is starting to get pink edges.

The i9 2020 iMac is not much faster than the i7 2020 iMac, and throttles easily, so I think the i7 is a good choice.

RAM for the 2020 iMac is astonishingly cheap right now (IMO). To avoid hassles get all sticks the same.

If you want a good GPU, the 5500XT is OK, but the 5700XT is far better (not the 5700). The 5700XT is one of the best GPUs in an Intel Mac, I think.

Hi ans thanks.
Good advise, sI aw as well benchmark between the pro and the 2020.. And the 2020 has an advantage about the ram being upgradable without being obliged to unglue the screen.
Yes my 2015 becomes a bit pinkish, not that bad. It's not the screen in fact, I think it's the graphic card as I cas see some shadows of the icons I've on my desktop. I guess it's memory leakage in the gpu card...
Anyway, I think I'm going to chase a 2020.
Is there a big difference between the 2019 and 2020?
I've read some issues with the 2020?
Thanks
I will just miss the premium exclusive dark grey of the pro...

 

[dudax]

Is there a big difference between the 2019 and 2020?

Both models, the iMac 27" 2020 and the iMac Pro, comes with the T2 Chip.

Mac computers with the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support

Learn which Mac computers have the Apple T2 Security Chip.

support.apple.com

T2 Chip Pros and cons

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/t2-chip-pros-and-cons.2215110/

Maybe a great advantage for the iMac 27" 2019 ;-)

 

[wilberforce]

Hi ans thanks.
Good advise, sI aw as well benchmark between the pro and the 2020.. And the 2020 has an advantage about the ram being upgradable without being obliged to unglue the screen.
Yes my 2015 becomes a bit pinkish, not that bad. It's not the screen in fact, I think it's the graphic card as I cas see some shadows of the icons I've on my desktop. I guess it's memory leakage in the gpu card...
Anyway, I think I'm going to chase a 2020.
Is there a big difference between the 2019 and 2020?
I've read some issues with the 2020?
Thanks
I will just miss the premium exclusive dark grey of the pro...

"shadows of the icons I've on my desktop" - this is not the GPU, but is screen image persistence (aka image retention) and also occurs mainly around the edges, and is notorious on the 2014 and 2015 5K iMac screens, less so on later versions. Not the same as burn-in: image persistence is temporary, burn-in is permanent. Usually very obvious if you run Launchpad.

The 2020 has a number of improvements from 2019: more efficient CPUs and GPUs, better camera and sound, and some others I don't remember. How important these are depends on the user. You can probably find comparisons on YouTube or Google. btw, I believe the iMac Pro still has better sound than the 2020 iMac.

The only repeated "issue" I know with the 2020 it is picky about having matching RAM DIMMs, else memory speed drops from 2667 to 2133 MHz. A non-issue if all DIMMs are identical, or at least all the same size.
There were earlier issues with graphical glitches but these have been resolved with software updates.

 

[VegetarianNachos]

I would stay away from both of those machines now. Another good option would be a 2019 iMac with i9-9900k and Vega48 GPU. About as fast as either option above, but without; T2 chip, non-replaceable SSD, and finicky memory requirements. Can probably get it for similar or lower price.

 

[BadMacRumours]

"shadows of the icons I've on my desktop" - this is not the GPU, but is screen image persistence (aka image retention) and also occurs mainly around the edges, and is notorious on the 2014 and 2015 5K iMac screens, less so on later versions. Not the same as burn-in: image persistence is temporary, burn-in is permanent. Usually very obvious if you run Launchpad.

The 2020 has a number of improvements from 2019: more efficient CPUs and GPUs, better camera and sound, and some others I don't remember. How important these are depends on the user. You can probably find comparisons on YouTube or Google. btw, I believe the iMac Pro still has better sound than the 2020 iMac.

The only repeated "issue" I know with the 2020 it is picky about having matching RAM DIMMs, else memory speed drops from 2667 to 2133 MHz. A non-issue if all DIMMs are identical, or at least all the same size.
There were earlier issues with graphical glitches but these have been resolved with software updates.

I'm not even sure that last issue is an issue, I have the 2020 iMac and use non-identical RAM and get full speed.

I do find it weird however that the dual channel banks on this model aren't how they normally are (ABAB) but instead (AABB) - this threw me off while installing them.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I would suggest the iMac 2020, as it is 200$ cheaper than the iMac Pro.

1. Core i7 10700 is more efficient than the 8 core Xeon inside the iMac Pro. It also has iGPU, which is convenient in several use-cases.

2. 5500XT has similar performance as RX580 in the iMac 2019, at lower TDP => longevity. It will run much cooler than the Vega 48 or 56.

3. SSD: iMac 2020 has non-removable on-board integrated SSD. But your target is a 1TB SSD=> Nothing to worry about. You can add external storage anytime you want. Thunderbolt 3 boxes are plenty and at affordable prices now.

4. RAM: to upgrade ram, you will have to buy 4 sticks of the same brand and replace the existing ones, which is not an issue, as RAM price are now quite cheap.

 

[UbiCrea]

Hi all. Thanks a lot for all your inspirationnal messages.
I finally bought a 2017... That I'll max out for very cheap (350$).
The imac pro and the 2020 are still expensive and I was a bit afraid to spend more than 1000$ for it. (Over my budget also...)
I got today a superb 2017 3.4 and I'll buy tomorrow 64gb for 50$ (2x32) and I've a Samsung evo pro pcie ssd 512 GB that I'll plug using an adapter. So I'll have a quite good imac with a super screen for 400-450$ all included.
I'm so happy tho.
Cheers

 

[UbiCrea]

My daily work is ui ux designer, so I do figma, photoshop and notion. No 3d no video editing or very light...

 

[dudax]

I got today a superb 2017 3.4 and I'll buy tomorrow 64gb for 50$ (2x32) and I've a Samsung evo pro pcie ssd 512 GB that I'll plug using an adapter.

You can dissolve the fusion drive and use the hdd hard disk and the ssd hard disk separately again.

I've dissolved my fusion drive - the blade ssd is the system drive for macOS Mojave and the hdd for data.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi all. Thanks a lot for all your inspirationnal messages.
I finally bought a 2017... That I'll max out for very cheap (350$).
The imac pro and the 2020 are still expensive and I was a bit afraid to spend more than 1000$ for it. (Over my budget also...)
I got today a superb 2017 3.4 and I'll buy tomorrow 64gb for 50$ (2x32) and I've a Samsung evo pro pcie ssd 512 GB that I'll plug using an adapter. So I'll have a quite good imac with a super screen for 400-450$ all included.
I'm so happy tho.
Cheers

Excellent.
You can't go wrong with an iMac 2017 at 400$.

 

[UbiCrea]

Yes, I will receive the SSD adapter in three days, i'll then go full SSD.
By the way, is there any fan issue if i remove completely le HDD ? I've read few time a thing about the thermal sensor...
--
Today, I've bought 2 x 16 GB so i've now 40 GB of memory... I'm so happy. I paid 50$...
So my imac 27 2017 has costes me 400$ until now. + the 15$ for the SSD adapter and the adhesive for the screen... (i already have a spare 512GB Evo 850 Pro)... it will be a super nice imac for 420 bucks

 

[UbiCrea]

I wonder if adding a i7 7700k or a 7700 normal would be really a game changer ? Just for the fun...
The 7700K tends to make the fan turning like an airplane... 90W where as the i5 or the i7 7700 are 65w..

 

[Backslashnl1]

I wonder if adding a i7 7700k or a 7700 normal would be really a game changer ? Just for the fun...
The 7700K tends to make the fan turning like an airplane... 90W where as the i5 or the i7 7700 are 65w..

I upgraded the CPU of my Late 2015, from i5 6500 to i7 6700k. That really was a game changer, more than adding RAM. Performance of the Intel 6th and 7th generation is comparable, I definitely advice you to upgrade to the i7 CPU.

Fun fact. I bought the i7 from a person who had it running on a Hackintosh PC 🙃

 

[pshufd]

I like both of them. The iMac Pro has 4 USB-C + 4 USB-A and will also support 4 external monitors. It might be possible to upgrade the CPU in the future as well. The 2020 was a mass-market computer and there's lots out there for sale so I expect better deals with the 2020. My approach is to just watch the prices and to wait until the right deal comes along. I'm also looking at 2019 models though a lot of 2019 models I'm seeing come with Fusion drives.

There's a 2019 for sale for $700 in my town with i5, 128 GB RAM, 2 TB Fusion, 8 GB GPU. I'd go for it if it had a 1 TB SSD. It would probably cost me $200 to swap in a SATA3 SSD for the Fusion from a local shop. Asking was $900 about a month ago and it's been sitting on the market for 10 days at $700. 2020s are $1,200 to $1,450 with a lot of options in my area. I just keep an eye on them as iMacs have been dropping pretty fast when they stop getting the latest operating systems. There are a ton of 2015s for sale in my area - most asking $400-$500 which they'll never get.

 

[tonywalker23]

Long story, several personal variables… but if the trade in value from Apple for both iMac was basically the same $500 and someone was going to give you which ever one you wanted, would you rather have...

1. 2017 iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 128 GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics, and 2 TB SSD
or
2. 2020 iMac, 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel i7, 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB graphics (I think that is the graphics), and 1 TB SSD

Both are in the box, look pristine, have the apple keyboard and mice and seem to operate fine. It will be used as a living room computer to browse the internet for the most part with wife and children having logins. So, I don't really need something with that much RAM or 2 TB of storage, but on the other hand I think "Man that sounds like a powerful computer"… But with it being a non-power user computer it would probably mean more that it has the longest macOS updates support. I assume a 2017 iMac Pro would be dropped before a 2020 iMac… but I also would assume that both machine wouldnt be valued at trade-in the same $500 (500 iMac and 525 iMac Pro)

Sorry to hijack this thread but searching for iMac 2020 vs iMac Pro this showed up and I would respect y’all’s thoughts on MR more than anywhere else.
Thanks

 

[pshufd]

Long story, several personal variables… but if the trade in value from Apple for both iMac was basically the same $500 and someone was going to give you which ever one you wanted, would you rather have...

1. 2017 iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 128 GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics, and 2 TB SSD
or
2. 2020 iMac, 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel i7, 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB graphics (I think that is the graphics), and 1 TB SSD

Both are in the box, look pristine, have the apple keyboard and mice and seem to operate fine. It will be used as a living room computer to browse the internet for the most part with wife and children having logins. So, I don't really need something with that much RAM or 2 TB of storage, but on the other hand I think "Man that sounds like a powerful computer"… But with it being a non-power user computer it would probably mean more that it has the longest macOS updates support. I assume a 2017 iMac Pro would be dropped before a 2020 iMac… but I also would assume that both machine wouldnt be valued at trade-in the same $500 (500 iMac and 525 iMac Pro)

Sorry to hijack this thread but searching for iMac 2020 vs iMac Pro this showed up and I would respect y’all’s thoughts on MR more than anywhere else.
Thanks

I'd take the iMac Pro for the better microphones, additional ports and additional slower cores which should run multithreaded workloads more efficiently.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Long story, several personal variables… but if the trade in value from Apple for both iMac was basically the same $500 and someone was going to give you which ever one you wanted, would you rather have...

1. 2017 iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 128 GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics, and 2 TB SSD
or
2. 2020 iMac, 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel i7, 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB graphics (I think that is the graphics), and 1 TB SSD

Both are in the box, look pristine, have the apple keyboard and mice and seem to operate fine. It will be used as a living room computer to browse the internet for the most part with wife and children having logins. So, I don't really need something with that much RAM or 2 TB of storage, but on the other hand I think "Man that sounds like a powerful computer"… But with it being a non-power user computer it would probably mean more that it has the longest macOS updates support. I assume a 2017 iMac Pro would be dropped before a 2020 iMac… but I also would assume that both machine wouldnt be valued at trade-in the same $500 (500 iMac and 525 iMac Pro)

Sorry to hijack this thread but searching for iMac 2020 vs iMac Pro this showed up and I would respect y’all’s thoughts on MR more than anywhere else.
Thanks

I'll take the iMac Pro for its market value (2000$ vs 1500$)

 

[AlexisV]

3. SSD: iMac 2020 has non-removable on-board integrated SSD. But your target is a 1TB SSD=> Nothing to worry about. You can add external storage anytime you want. Thunderbolt 3 boxes are plenty and at affordable prices now.

Well, they are removable and not soldered. But you can only replace them with Apple's own SSDs and they need a second Mac running Apple Configurator 2 to activate.

 

[zarmanto]

Long story, several personal variables… but if the trade in value from Apple for both iMac was basically the same $500 and someone was going to give you which ever one you wanted, would you rather have... (a 2017 iMac Pro or a 2020 iMac)

I would usually come out in favor of the newer computer based upon the support lifecycle, just as you alluded -- but what you're describing isn't really a fair comparison, since under most circumstances you can't actually get the Pro for the same price as a 2020 consumer iMac, let alone for a mere $500. Most of the specs come out dramatically in favor of that Pro, including the graphics performance and multiprocessing scores.

So, if someone has made you a real offer for one or the other with those specs for only $500, and that's not just a hypothetical... I'd have to say take the Pro without hesitation and don't look back.

 

[Regulus67]

I have an iMac Pro, and would not consider the newer Intel iMacs. Can they be faster, yes. Depends on the CPU.
But I can run photogrammetry with PhotoCatch and it stays nice and quiet. I haven't done really large objects. But up to just over half an hour render time.
My late 2015 27" 5k could not run it. Even if it was supposed to. With Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory.

tonywalker23 the iMac Pro you are looking at is the updated version (2019) with Radeon Pro Vega 64X. And with higher specs than mine. Sounds like a great machine 👍

 

[Regulus67]

1. 2017 iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 128 GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB graphics, and 2 TB SSD

I have the Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB. Imagine how much faster it would have run with the Vega 64x graphics

 

[UbiCrea]

My daily driver is my 10c 128gb imac pro. And I alway have this pride of using it everyday I'm turning it on.