What 2019 iMac Did You Order?

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

I've had a little bit more time to play around, and compare it what was previously the top end 2017 iMac (4.2 GHz i7).

Geekbench
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We see significant gains on multicore. But not everyone likes benchmarks. What is the real world CPU gain? I encoded a sample video file in Handbrake (something I do often anyway) on both machines, using the Fast 1080p30 preset. The 2017 i7 iMac took 6 minutes and 9 seconds to re-encode about 7 minutes of 1440p60 footage down to 1080p30. Which is a respectable time. The 2019 i9 iMac managed it in 3 minutes and 33 seconds, which is right in line with the benchmarks.

Fan noise
In the above test, the 2019 i9 iMac was actually significantly quieter than the 2017. The fans did not ramp up to maximum on the 2019, whereas they did on the 2017.

But I was curious whether this was just my perception, so I ran it again and recorded the fan speeds and temperatures.

The 2017 iMac shot straight to 100 Celsius CPU temperature, with the fans at the maximum 2700 RPM for most of the encode.

The 2019 iMac had a maximum temperature of 92 Celsius and a maximum fan speed of 1650 RPM.

On an unrelated matter, is anyone else’s About This Mac page not showing the memory tab anymore?

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Those are beastly numbers. Yes, benchmarks should be taken with a grain of salt especially multi core CPU results because in real world use cases apps like 3D and video rendering are being shifted to the GPU. It makes more and more sense to purchase an eGPU chassis and upgrade it whenever needed.

 

[smayer97]

Yeah, I don’t need anything faster than gigabit for the next couple years so hopefully they’ve got some less expensive, more compact usb-c options available by then. I might also add a BT 5.0 dongle if it seems like the range would be better with the new AirPods.

2019 iMac only supports Bluetooth 4.2.

 

[rugby4all]

any reason you went for Ram from OWC instead of Crucial? and can you please provide the exact link to the RAM that you ordered for this new 2019 iMac? Thanks

I did go with OWC because of past experience; you can find them here: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/2666DDR4S32P/, on Amazon, and a few other places...

 

[Bohemien]

What do you guys think about getting an internal 1TB SSD vs 512GB internal plus an external drive (in the top tier 27" iMac)?

My thinking: the 1TB drive will cost me 480€ over the 512GB one. An external Samsung X5 with similar R/W speeds costs 460€ on Amazon (of course this would get me a total 1,5TB of storage), so while 480€ for an additional half TB is way overpriced, I'd spend roughly the same amount of money to have that little more space on the internal drive I might need to run some VM's I need from time to time.

Or should I go with the 512GB+external drive option now and upgrade the internal SSD once the warranty period is over? Thanks for your opinions!

 

[amoergosum]

"iMac 27 2019 i9 Benchmark For Music Production & Logic Pro X" :

 

[macduke]

2019 iMac only supports Bluetooth 4.2.

Yeah, that’s why I said I might add a BT 5.0 dongle if the range would be better for AirPods. Not sure what you’re getting at?

 

[1chrischan]

i9 8-core at 3.6GHz with Vega and 1TB SSD with 8GB ram (will purchase 32GB and upgrade myself). Am saving a few hundred $ with Expercam. Hope they come through for me. I just found out about them and their discount this weekend on this thread.

 

[drewaz]

i9 8-core at 3.6GHz with Vega and 1TB SSD with 8GB ram (will purchase 32GB and upgrade myself). Am saving a few hundred $ with Expercam. Hope they come through for me. I just found out about them and their discount this weekend on this thread.

FWIW, I priced a machine on Expercom and the price was identical to the price at B&H ... low because B&H don't charge sales tax on merchandise shipped to my state. B&H has a stellar reputation and I'd pick them over Expercom unless there was a big difference in price.

 

[1chrischan]

yes, I am saving the tax at Expercom plus their discount and the difference is a couple hundred dollars because of that. It does make me a little nervous. I always have bought straight from Apple previously for peace of mind.

FYI, B&H expected delivery is several weeks off in the future and Expercom is 10-15 days

 

[mrcliffsr]

I just replaced a late 2012 27 inch with this. I am 83 and edit a HD church program with Final Cut and use Photoshop.
This is what came Thursday 27, March.

 

[amoergosum]

"2019 i9 5K iMac Video Editing Performance VS 2017 5K iMac" :

 

[1chrischan]

What do you guys think about getting an internal 1TB SSD vs 512GB internal plus an external drive (in the top tier 27" iMac)?

My thinking: the 1TB drive will cost me 480€ over the 512GB one. An external Samsung X5 with similar R/W speeds costs 460€ on Amazon (of course this would get me a total 1,5TB of storage), so while 480€ for an additional half TB is way overpriced, I'd spend roughly the same amount of money to have that little more space on the internal drive I might need to run some VM's I need from time to time.

Or should I go with the 512GB+external drive option now and upgrade the internal SSD once the warranty period is over? Thanks for your opinions!

I'm going with the 1TB SSD and getting AppleCare. if anything goes wrong, Apple gets to tear the machine apart and I don't pay. And no fooling around with an external. Just MHO.

 

[kaintxu]

Do you guys think is worth paying the apple care for an iMac bought in the UK where you get up to 5 years consumers law guarantee?

https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

 

[1chrischan]

My old imac needed new screen, new logic board and new 512 ssd which were all replaced by apple. My old 2012 MBP needed HD and logic board replaced right near the end. AC has saved me $1000's. Aside from being able to call them whenever I'm stuck. Vehement yes.

 

[iono11200]

yes, I am saving the tax at Expercom plus their discount and the difference is a couple hundred dollars because of that. It does make me a little nervous. I always have bought straight from Apple previously for peace of mind.

FYI, B&H expected delivery is several weeks off in the future and Expercom is 10-15 days

I've been pricing at Expercom this weekend as well. I spoke to them yesterday and was told that they "upgrade" the RAM at Expercom, I'm not sure what else they do. That being said while it may not matter to others, for my money I want my rig shipped and sealed from Apple. I am not sure about B&H as I will be calling them tomorrow.

 

[1chrischan]

I've been pricing at Expercom this weekend as well. I spoke to them yesterday and was told that they "upgrade" the RAM at Expercom, I'm not sure what else they do. That being said while it may not matter to others, for my money I want my rig shipped and sealed from Apple. I am not sure about B&H as I will be calling them tomorrow.

That's why I have been dragging my feet. Not sure if I want to save $400 and take a chance...Apple has always been great. B&H price is better than Apple because of no sales tax, and I have done satisfactory business with them in the past, but they don't have anything to ship. Sooo, I will probably bite the bullet and go with the tried and true Apple experience.

 

[mrcliffsr]

I just replaced a late 2012 27 inch with this. I am 83 and edit a HD church program with Final Cut and use Photoshop.
This is what came Thursday 27, March.

 

[Brookzy]

On an unrelated matter, is anyone else’s About This Mac page not showing the memory tab anymore?

Looks like the memory tab is not displaying for other people too. Weird.

Also I've noticed the colour of the letters on the keyboard seems to be much lighter:



2017 top, 2019 bottom.

 

[iono11200]

That's why I have been dragging my feet. Not sure if I want to save $400 and take a chance...Apple has always been great. B&H price is better than Apple because of no sales tax, and I have done satisfactory business with them in the past, but they don't have anything to ship. Sooo, I will probably bite the bullet and go with the tried and true Apple experience.

I just sold my late 2013 21.5 this weekend for $400. I'm thinking i might as well sell it while I can still get a decent price for it. Fortunately, I can hold out a bit with my old machine until hopefully B&H has exactly what I want or can build/ship it directly from Apple. If that doesn't work out I too will bite the bullet and just order directly from Apple.

 

[Colonel Blimp]

I've been pricing at Expercom this weekend as well. I spoke to them yesterday and was told that they "upgrade" the RAM at Expercom, I'm not sure what else they do. That being said while it may not matter to others, for my money I want my rig shipped and sealed from Apple.

When you configure your iMac order on Expercom’s web site, you can choose whether you want Apple memory or Expercom memory. If you choose Apple memory, then I’m virtually certain that your rig will be shipped and sealed from Apple.

(It will probably get shipped to Utah first, and then to you, but Expercom won’t even open the box. Expercom simply order your configuration from Apple, and Apple configure it and ship it to Expercom, who then send it on to you. At least that’s the way it worked when I configured-to-order my last two iMacs from Small Dog Electronics. I would have ordered from them again, but they couldn’t match Expercom’s discount.)

Of course, Expercom’s RAM is cheaper than Apple’s, but not as cheap as buying and upgrading the RAM yourself (assuming this is a 27"-inch iMac). If you configure it with the base 8 GB of Apple RAM, you should get a pristine iMac untouched by Utah hands, and for the same US $200 it would cost you to upgrade to 16 GB of RAM from Apple, you can upgrade to 40 GB instead.

 

[jdmagoo1]

"2019 i9 5K iMac Video Editing Performance VS 2017 5K iMac" :

Unfortunately I can’t watch the video at work, but what’s the consensus after his tests?

 

[iono11200]

When you configure your iMac order on Expercom’s web site, you can choose whether you want Apple memory or Expercom memory. If you choose Apple memory, then I’m virtually certain that your rig will be shipped and sealed from Apple.

(It will probably get shipped to Utah first, and then to you, but Expercom won’t even open the box. Expercom simply order your configuration from Apple, and Apple configure it and ship it to Expercom, who then send it on to you. At least that’s the way it worked when I configured-to-order my last two iMacs from Small Dog Electronics. I would have ordered from them again, but they couldn’t match Expercom’s discount.)

Of course, Expercom’s RAM is cheaper than Apple’s, but not as cheap as buying and upgrading the RAM yourself (assuming this is a 27"-inch iMac). If you configure it with the base 8 GB of Apple RAM, you should get a pristine iMac untouched by Utah hands, and for the same US $200 it would cost you to upgrade to 16 GB of RAM from Apple, you can upgrade to 40 GB instead.

Thanks Colonel Blimp. I very much appreciate your input. Fact is, I've received 2 different statements from Expercom. The e-mail I received from them states that as you state, and I quote their email " Any new product you purchase from us will come sealed,never opened, custom built directly from Apple (If you choose to customize your purchase). Yet to verify this, I called yesterday and spoke to them directly and was told that they in fact do open the machine and upgrade them with non-apple branded RAM. I wanted to purchase this weekend due to the discount, but as of this moment I'm just not sure what to believe. Also, can you tell me how to "select" Apple memory on their website? Pehaps It is just me but I cannot find anyway to select Apple memory from other branded memory. Your help is most appreciated.
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When you configure your iMac order on Expercom’s web site, you can choose whether you want Apple memory or Expercom memory. If you choose Apple memory, then I’m virtually certain that your rig will be shipped and sealed from Apple.

(It will probably get shipped to Utah first, and then to you, but Expercom won’t even open the box. Expercom simply order your configuration from Apple, and Apple configure it and ship it to Expercom, who then send it on to you. At least that’s the way it worked when I configured-to-order my last two iMacs from Small Dog Electronics. I would have ordered from them again, but they couldn’t match Expercom’s discount.)

Of course, Expercom’s RAM is cheaper than Apple’s, but not as cheap as buying and upgrading the RAM yourself (assuming this is a 27"-inch iMac). If you configure it with the base 8 GB of Apple RAM, you should get a pristine iMac untouched by Utah hands, and for the same US $200 it would cost you to upgrade to 16 GB of RAM from Apple, you can upgrade to 40 GB instead.

Sheesh! Now I am really confused LOL! I'm looking to buy a 21.5" iMac. Isn't it true that the RAM in a 21.5" model is NOT upgradable after build? So if this is true then it would have to be built as such directly from Apple correct?

 

[Colonel Blimp]

Sheesh! Now I am really confused LOL! I'm looking to buy a 21.5" iMac. Isn't it true that the RAM in a 21.5" model is NOT upgradable after build? So if this is true then it would have to be built as such directly from Apple correct?

Yes indeed.

If you select a 27"-inch iMac to configure on Expercom’s web site, you’ll see the various combinations of Apple-configured and Expercom-upgraded RAM available.

You’re quite right that the RAM in a 21.5"-inch iMac is not user-upgradable, which is why you weren’t seeing those options when you configured your 21.5"-iMac.

See, you’re not confused at all! You only think you’re confused!

 

[jeremiah256]

Unfortunately I can’t watch the video at work, but what’s the consensus after his tests?

Disregard my previous post. The Premiere numbers are crazy.

Edited

 

[iono11200]

Yes indeed.

If you select a 27"-inch iMac to configure on Expercom’s web site, you’ll see the various combinations of Apple-configured and Expercom-upgraded RAM available.

You’re quite right that the RAM in a 21.5"-inch iMac is not user-upgradable, which is why you weren’t seeing those options when you configured your 21.5"-iMac.

See, you’re not confused at all! You only think you’re confused!

Many Thanks Colonel Blimp. Finally at ease now. Was going to wait till morning to order, but was kind of uncertain when the discount would actually expire. Order placed and saved me $111.92 which pays a big part of my Applecare. Again, Thank You!