For the high-end model, which processor has the best single-core performance? Based on the available benchmarks, which have to be adjusted due to the fact that the 10-core chip in the iMac doesn't appear to be the same as the standard i9-10900, there is a reasonable chance that the 8-core i7 chip will have nearly the same (or maybe better) single core performance than the 10-core chip. This was not the case for the 2019 models. I need single core performance, so if I can save $400 by going with the i7 chip, then that would be great.
What exactly is the Radeon Pro 5700 XT? There are so many different flavors of Radeons with the same number but different prefixes and suffixes, I can't keep track. The 16 GB card looks like a beast, but it's no Big Navi. I hope Barefeats can post some benchmarks soon.
I'm a bit bummed that the new iMac has a T2 chip in it - I realize the T2 chip does some great things, but it also means I can't swap SSDs if necessary. It also means that this is the beginning of the end for the hackintosh, which will be able to run the latest version of Mac OS until the 2019 iMac is no longer supported.
Nice. I just placed my order -- the 8 core model with the base Radeon, 8GB RAM, and 512GB SSD.
Then, I bought 64GB of RAM from OWC, a four bay external drive enclosure, and a 2 TB 2.5" SSD (I already have a few other drives laying around to add to the enclosure).
I figure OS and apps on the internal drive, most other stuff on the external. Big savings relative to buying the extra RAM and storage from Apple.
The description of the new iMac strongly suggests that the SSD can not be upgraded by the end user. That is frankly a showstopper for me since the SSD pricing (> $1K for 4TB!!) are easily double what you can buy online. A very disappointing decision on Apple's part.
USB 3 and TB3 ports are very fast. This isn't a laptop, so it's not a big deal to get external storage. That's what I did.
For the high-end model, which processor has the best single-core performance? Based on the available benchmarks, which have to be adjusted due to the fact that the 10-core chip in the iMac doesn't appear to be the same as the standard i9-10900, there is a reasonable chance that the 8-core i7 chip will have nearly the same (or maybe better) single core performance than the 10-core chip. This was not the case for the 2019 models. I need single core performance, so if I can save $400 by going with the i7 chip, then that would be great.
What exactly is the Radeon Pro 5700 XT? There are so many different flavors of Radeons with the same number but different prefixes and suffixes, I can't keep track. The 16 GB card looks like a beast, but it's no Big Navi. I hope Barefeats can post some benchmarks soon.
I'm a bit bummed that the new iMac has a T2 chip in it - I realize the T2 chip does some great things, but it also means I can't swap SSDs if necessary. It also means that this is the beginning of the end for the hackintosh, which will be able to run the latest version of Mac OS until the 2019 iMac is no longer supported.
I suspect the answer to the single core performance question is that they are essentially the same, given the 5GHz boost.
Personally, I don't think the 10 core is worth the extra $400, especially because I'm skeptical of the thermals.
Just think about the external storage or user-upgradeable RAM that you can get for that $400...
Seems strange to add a T2 this late in the game, especially since on the desktops it doesn’t really do much. I doubt they’ve just recycled the iMac Pro logic board as the Xeons are a different beast and would require a lot of engineering to convert the socket to a Core CPU.
I wonder if Apple will use the lack of a T2 chip in future Macs as a reason to drop support.
They are probably leveraging mac mini hardware, although the mac mini has 4 TB3 ports instead of the 2 that the new iMac has (despite the incorrect description in the article).
I doubt that, the Mac mini logic board is very different to the iMac one. No discrete GPU and associated power supply/RAM for a start.
The description of the new iMac strongly suggests that the SSD can not be upgraded by the end user. That is frankly a showstopper for me since the SSD pricing (> $1K for 4TB!!) are easily double what you can buy online. A very disappointing decision on Apple's part.
What kind of SSD are you pricing out? A 2.5" SATA connected SSD is about 1/4 the speed of the Apple drives.
A NVME PCI connected M.2 drive (I think I have that correct) would be more comparable for performance.
The description of the new iMac strongly suggests that the SSD can not be upgraded by the end user. That is frankly a showstopper for me since the SSD pricing (> $1K for 4TB!!) are easily double what you can buy online. A very disappointing decision on Apple's part.
Thunderbolt and external drives/ssds are an easy fix. keep the drive in the machine for OS. etc.
Is the RAM still user upgradeable? Because £600 for 32GB is to put it mildly...”cheeky”.
Yes, RAM is still user accessible.
There's also a useful price/performance improvement, depending on spec.
We've just canceled a pending order for the previous spec 3.7GHz 6-core/8GB/512GB ($2399) in favor of the new 3.8GHz 8-core/8GB/500GB ($2299). So a small clock speed bump and 8 cores instead of 6, for $100 less. OK!
Seems strange to add a T2 this late in the game, especially since on the desktops it doesn’t really do much. I doubt they’ve just recycled the iMac Pro logic board as the Xeons are a different beast and would require a lot of engineering to convert the socket to a Core CPU.
I wonder if Apple will use the lack of a T2 chip in future Macs as a reason to drop support.
They are probably leveraging mac mini hardware, although the mac mini has 4 TB3 ports instead of the 2 that the new iMac has (despite the incorrect description in the article).
It looks like they confused the TB3 and USB ports!
I just don’t know what to say... the same rip off upgrade pricing, and a design that is now 13 years old.... the only thing that’s happened since then is ditching the DVD drive and making it thinner from the sides, and giving it a bigger screen. The money Apple must be saving on this design is high I’ve no doubt.. shame as the specs aren’t too bad.
Do you know where all these going ? Heavy assaults on Windows to capture more market share to drive service revenue. Future MACs based on Apple Silicon will be better featured, somewhat cheaper(pass Intel->Apple Si savings to customers). In recent months, switching from Windows to MACs have accelerated and will continue for foreseeable future.
No they won’t be cheaper, Apple has been designing its own iPhone chips for how long now? And yet it has deliberately forced the pricing of its market sector higher and higher and they are not premium phones, because those exist and cost a LOT more for crazy rich people. but based on Apples history it’s future Mac range will not be cheaper because they’ll have Apple processors in them.
Do you know where all these going ? Heavy assaults on Windows to capture more market share to drive service revenue. Future MACs based on Apple Silicon will be better featured, somewhat cheaper(pass Intel->Apple Si savings to customers). In recent months, switching from Windows to MACs have accelerated and will continue for foreseeable future.
No they won’t be cheaper, Apple has been designing its own iPhone chips for how long now? And yet it has deliberately forced the pricing of its market sector higher and higher and they are not premium phones, because those exist and cost a LOT more for crazy rich people. but based on Apples history it’s future Mac range will not be cheaper because they’ll have Apple processors in them.
The description of the new iMac strongly suggests that the SSD can not be upgraded by the end user. That is frankly a showstopper for me since the SSD pricing (> $1K for 4TB!!) are easily double what you can buy online. A very disappointing decision on Apple's part.
You can buy a TB3-certified, external case for an NVMe drive for $80 from OWC. Put whatever SSD you want in it. A much better proposition than cracking open an iMac. The drive will run about as fast as what Apple supplies internally.
Sure you can. In fact I did the same and use the external SSD as the boot drive. That isn’t the point. We buy a beautiful iMac for its design perfection with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to minimise cable clutter..
Then hang an external SSD off it, ruining that beauty. All because Apple overcharges for storage it has made too hard for a user to replace.
Do you know where all these going ? Heavy assaults on Windows to capture more market share to drive service revenue. Future MACs based on Apple Silicon will be better featured, somewhat cheaper(pass Intel->Apple Si savings to customers). In recent months, switching from Windows to MACs have accelerated and will continue for foreseeable future.
No they won’t be cheaper, Apple has been designing its own iPhone chips for how long now? And yet it has deliberately forced the pricing of its market sector higher and higher and they are not premium phones, because those exist and cost a LOT more for crazy rich people. but based on Apples history it’s future Mac range will not be cheaper because they’ll have Apple processors in them.
iPhone, iPad have never used Intel chips.
Peza’s point is making things cheaper is not the Apple way and will not be the objective of Apple Silicon. Apple phones set industry pricing, and not in a cheap way. Otherwise SSD upgrades would reflect market SSD prices.
It is annoying you have to go to the top i7/i9 model to be able to upgrade the GPU too. Why not the mid range model? I would have been quite happy with an i5 paired with the 5700. Particularly as the mid range option already comes standard with 512 GB storage.
Comments
For the high-end model, which processor has the best single-core performance?
Based on the available benchmarks, which have to be adjusted due to the fact that the 10-core chip in the iMac doesn't appear to be the same as the standard i9-10900, there is a reasonable chance that the 8-core i7 chip will have nearly the same (or maybe better) single core performance than the 10-core chip. This was not the case for the 2019 models. I need single core performance, so if I can save $400 by going with the i7 chip, then that would be great.
What exactly is the Radeon Pro 5700 XT?
There are so many different flavors of Radeons with the same number but different prefixes and suffixes, I can't keep track. The 16 GB card looks like a beast, but it's no Big Navi. I hope Barefeats can post some benchmarks soon.
I'm a bit bummed that the new iMac has a T2 chip in it - I realize the T2 chip does some great things, but it also means I can't swap SSDs if necessary. It also means that this is the beginning of the end for the hackintosh, which will be able to run the latest version of Mac OS until the 2019 iMac is no longer supported.
Then, I bought 64GB of RAM from OWC, a four bay external drive enclosure, and a 2 TB 2.5" SSD (I already have a few other drives laying around to add to the enclosure).
I figure OS and apps on the internal drive, most other stuff on the external. Big savings relative to buying the extra RAM and storage from Apple.
Yes (on the 27")
USB 3 and TB3 ports are very fast. This isn't a laptop, so it's not a big deal to get external storage. That's what I did.
Personally, I don't think the 10 core is worth the extra $400, especially because I'm skeptical of the thermals.
Just think about the external storage or user-upgradeable RAM that you can get for that $400...
"8GB (two 4GB) of 2666MHz DDR4 memory; four SO-DIMM slots, user accessible
Configurable to 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB"
A NVME PCI connected M.2 drive (I think I have that correct) would be more comparable for performance.
There's also a useful price/performance improvement, depending on spec.
We've just canceled a pending order for the previous spec 3.7GHz 6-core/8GB/512GB ($2399) in favor of the new 3.8GHz 8-core/8GB/500GB ($2299). So a small clock speed bump and 8 cores instead of 6, for $100 less. OK!
Isn’t that just Matte?
but based on Apples history it’s future Mac range will not be cheaper because they’ll have Apple processors in them.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/04/what-apples-nano-texture-is-and-what-it-brings-to-apples-new-27-inch-imac
iPhone, iPad have never used Intel chips.
Then hang an external SSD off it, ruining that beauty. All because Apple overcharges for storage it has made too hard for a user to replace.