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imac vs imac pro

solomanii

solomanii

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 6, 2012
67
1
Hi all,

It's (almost) time for me to upgrade. My 2012 27" iMac is wonderful but its starting to show its age. It was my first Apple desktop and I love it and don't want to go back to PC - this is purely a personal preference.

Apart from using it for work and general purpose, the main reason I use it is for gaming (both on AppleOS and Win10 as needed). So I am looking at the iMac and iMac pro. I did a similar build for both and the cost difference is significant. I am guessing this is mostly (but not all) due to the graphics card. Anyone with some experience with the Pro give feedback if its worth it for gaming or a high end/maxed out 27" iMac is just as good? Will the PRO be more likely to outlast the 27" in the long run in term of gaming capability vs longevity?

doE7HT


https://ibb.co/doE7HT

(I didn't max out the HD or the memory because these are things I can replace easily enough down the track and lets me reduce the upfront cost)
 
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I am considering a new 6 core 2018 Mac Pro laptop. Looks like a real competitor to a Imac and I won’t be chained to a desk.
 
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I lucked out when faced with that choice a few months ago when BB offered the base iMP on Easter at $4k then Apple's Amazon Store matched that price. I was looking at a roughly-$3800 iMac when the sale popped, bought 5 - one for me, four for my offices. So happy, hold out for a sale if you can - the iMP is a beast, even the base models.

I'll admit a twinge of envy when the rMBP revisions were announced, but I don't travel with a laptop much anymore and have a 12.9" IPP that I remote into my office with. That twinge was just that, no remorse - but the i9 should do nicely (I did price one...).
 
Fair enough, mobility is a non-issue for me and an iMac will still outperform a MacBook of any kind in that sphere. Did a bit more research but the standard imac seems to be teh better choice if gaming is a concern. Though I would love to see comparative benchmarks between the two comparing the individual performance/benchmarks seems to indicate the standard imac is better (and better value for money) for gaming.
 
The iMacs are due for refresh so just something to keep in mind.

I have the base iMac Pro and love it. I was in a similar situation and in a nutshell the deciding factor was the price difference after I got the upgrades I would have wanted. Those all came standard in the iMac Pro base. I also was able to pick up an open box for 3600, so that also helped.

Also, keep in mind the egpu option just released. I know little about it but think it’s similar to a Razer core setup.
 
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Does egpu work with the standard iMac as well and can it use the native screen or you need an external monitor? I ask because egpu doesn't work on the internal monitor of my 2012.
 
solomanii said:
Does egpu work with the standard iMac as well and can it use the native screen or you need an external monitor? I ask because egpu doesn't work on the internal monitor of my 2012.
Click to expand...

Yes, eGPU's work with the 2017 standard iMacs, but as of now you need an external display. Supposedly the ability to feed the iMac internal display with the eGPU is coming eventually.
 
But the IMac Pro does not need an external screen?

If so that would actually be a selling point for me as it would add longevity to the machine.
 
Icy1007 said:
I'm pretty sure you can use an eGPU with a 2017 iMac without using an external display.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's not yet true.
[doublepost=1531573743][/doublepost]
solomanii said:
But the IMac Pro does not need an external screen?

If so that would actually be a selling point for me as it would add longevity to the machine.
Click to expand...

I don't think Apple yet supports using an eGPU that drives the internal displays.
 
Maybe the blackmagic eGpu can power the imac display..since by itself (and its the only eGpu) can power a 5k display
 
From what I saw on benchmarks, the iMac Pro isn't that much faster in CPU performance then the regular iMac. I haven't done any real research as I'm not in the market but I stumbled across them a while ago. The iMac Pro gives you a better GPU, and upgradeable components - provided you're willing to open up the iMac.
 
maflynn said:
From what I saw on benchmarks, the iMac Pro isn't that much faster in CPU performance then the regular iMac. I haven't done any real research as I'm not in the market but I stumbled across them a while ago. The iMac Pro gives you a better GPU, and upgradeable components - provided you're willing to open up the iMac.
Click to expand...

From my use of a maxed 2017 iMac to base iMac pro with Vega 64 was huge. Way faster, no fans - love my iMac pro!
 
richinaus said:
From my use of a maxed 2017 iMac to base iMac pro with Vega 64 was huge. Way faster, no fans - love my iMac pro!
Click to expand...
Now that I think about it, I believe there was talk that the hex-core Coffee lake may be nearly the same speed as the current iMac Pro. Like I said, its not something that I was researching, but something I stumbled upon, and so I could be wrong.
 
fokmik said:
Maybe the blackmagic eGpu can power the imac display..since by itself (and its the only eGpu) can power a 5k display
Click to expand...

I don't the think the currently inability of an eGPU to power an iMac's internal display has anything to do with power -- Apple does not yet support the function. Maybe a later update to High Sierra?
 
mreg376 said:
I don't the think the currently inability of an eGPU to power an iMac's internal display has anything to do with power -- Apple does not yet support the function. Maybe a later update to High Sierra?
Click to expand...

Could some people share some benchmarks with me, I am only familiar with 3dmark but that is windows only. So not sure the Applice equivalent. Would like to see the performance of the Pro vs the 2017 27".

Thanks :)
 
maflynn said:
From what I saw on benchmarks, the iMac Pro isn't that much faster in CPU performance then the regular iMac. I haven't done any real research as I'm not in the market but I stumbled across them a while ago. The iMac Pro gives you a better GPU, and upgradeable components - provided you're willing to open up the iMac.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike. Of course, on single-core performance, there is not much difference. But when it comes to multi-core performance (or benchmarks), my iMac Pro is absurdly faster than any regular iMac.
 
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