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richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

27" iMac Haswell i5 vs i7

I'm finally going to upgrade from my '08 24" iMac to a new 27" iMac "dream machine" and need some professional advice. The heavy lifting will be for periodic video editing via Final Cut Pro, After Effects, etc.

Here's what I'm planning on:

RAM: 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
SSD: 512GB Flash Storage
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

Here's where I'm torn:

CPU: 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz

CPU: 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

In the past there seemed to be a greater difference between the CPU options, but now, the disparity doesn't seem as wide. I checked Intel's site and their bottom line:

"The Core i5-4670K has 33% less cache than the Core i7-4770K and no Hyper-Threading. The Core i7-4770K's Hyper-Threading feature helps by creating four additional virtual cores for a total of eight threads, which increases performance during multitasking procedures."

So I'm not sure which would be the most beneficial in my case, particularly during the "heavy lifting" stage.

I'm stretching my budget as it is but am willing spend the additional $200 for the i7 if it would really make a difference and it sounds like it might, but I'm hoping for some expert advice.

TIA!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Sep 29, 2013 1:53 PM

46 replies

richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

Sep 30, 2013 10:06 AM in response to peterfromatlanta

Awesome setup! Bet you can't wait for it to show up.

I was also going to upgrade the RAM myself but the difference between 8GB and 16GB from Apple and Crucial was only $36 and less than that with OWC and others. DIY to 32GBs really makes sense though. Did you consider Crucial? The same 4x8GB RAM is $50 less from Crucial than OWC (and a whopping $270 less than Apple). FWIW I've always had very good luck with Crucial memory...but never a problem with OWC as well.

I didn't mind upgrading to an SSD in my current iMac, but after reviewing the iFixIt piece I don't think I want to tackle it in my new iMac since it's quite a bit more complicated. But that's just me and I may change my mind down the road...particularly as SSD prices continue to drop.

Enjoy your new iMac and let us know how you like it (if you find the time)! 😉

Sep 30, 2013 10:29 AM in response to richsadams

I went with OWC because I have spent a few bucks with them over the years on drives and enclosures. Always had good experiences. That's the only differnce I have every heard beteween Crucial and OWC, customer service. Either one would be a good choice. I'm just loyal, to a fault sometimes!

I replaced my MBP's optical drive with a HDD when I got it. It was a little out of my comfort zone but after the success of that, I feel like this is doable. I'll let you know!

jfaul013

Level 2

250 points

Sep 30, 2013 10:54 AM in response to peterfromatlanta

3.4Ghz i7

32GB DDR3

NVIDIA GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5

I ordered it the day it came out and waited for it to ship. I did however upgrade the memory myself from 8GB to 32GB using crucials memory matcher webapp they have, it was super easy too you just pop off the back panel and swap the memory. I haven't regretted going full out on my system yet as I wanted to make sure that I got a system that would work for years considering the price of it.

Oct 1, 2013 12:30 AM in response to richsadams

As someone who cranks out hundreds of video projects a year, I'd say:

Assuming you mean Final Cut Pro X, then the i7 is a definite yes. It (and Compressor, and Motion) take good advantage of the i7's hyperthreading. After Effects does as well... in fact, these are two of the applications that most benefit from additional threads. Final Cut Pro 7... not so much (though the old Compressor from FCS3 will benefit).

Further, they both make heavy use of the GPU, and you may see as much benefit from GPU upgrades as from CPU upgrades. For futureproofing, you want to maximize the GPU as well as the CPU if you are working in video. Look no further than the new Mac Pro (where are you, new Mac Pro?): Apple has sacrificed CPU power (only allowing a single chip) for GPU power (Standard double GPUs). The new iPhone 5s has dual-core CPU, Quad-core GPU. Certainly Apple, and many other software developers, are offloading more and more of the work to the GPU (through such frameworks as OpenCL and CUDA).

RAM and HD/SSDs you can upgrade... and if you are truly doing a lot of video work, your main need for storage speed will be in external drives that hold your media and render files. But CPU and GPU you need to last a long time.

richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

Oct 1, 2013 1:02 AM in response to PomonaMusicTech

Thanks PomonaMusicTech, that's exactly what I was looking for! Although video editing will be the highest demand I'll put on my new Mac, it's only a part-time endeavor.

So based on earlier, wise advice and now yours I'm more-or-less settled on a 27" iMac with:

3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (will up it to 32GB at some point)
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

BTW, yes I meant Final Cut Pro X and After Effects. I should have mentioned that I'm currently using FC Express 4 and am learning AE, so upgrading to FCPX when I get my new Mac figures into my budget as well.

FWIW I'm going to wait until the new Mac Pro is released before ordering anything because that would certainly be my "dream machine". If by some miracle it's reasonably priced and I could swing a new 27" Cinema Display I'd be in Mac Heaven. However I'm guessing all-in that setup will be out of the range of what I want to spend. One can hope though! 🙂

Thanks again for the great advice!

Oct 2, 2013 9:30 PM in response to peterfromatlanta

Peter, is that how you've interpreted the ifix-it article ie. that you can install 2 ssds. I was under the impression that there is 1xATA slot and 1xpcle slot meaning that if you were to buy a fusion or a ssd drive then the spare slot is only the ATA. Need clarification.

Thanks.

Oct 3, 2013 12:14 PM in response to peterfromatlanta

Finally, some benchmarks are appearing: http://barefeats.com/haswel2.html

richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

Oct 3, 2013 2:45 PM in response to PomonaMusicTech

Thanks for that PamonaMusicTech! (I think.) Seems that the late 2013 27" iMac Core i7 holds it's own overall and really shines in some aspects, but it's still no match for a 2010 Mac Pro, particularly with a GTX 780. The associated "graphics shootout" clearly shows that GPU's sporting the same name are certainly not the same:

http://barefeats.com/haswel1.html

Apparently they didn't have a new iMac equipped with 1TB Fusion drive to test either.

Guess the new iMac Vs older Mac Pro is really apples and oranges, but it makes me want to revisit my decision process a little...as well as wait to see the price of the upcoming 2013 Mac Pro.

It's always something. 😉

Thanks again!

Oct 3, 2013 5:09 PM in response to kap_australia

That WAS how I took it. Now it seems there is more info. Guess we will have to wait until the sleds/drives show up in the marketplace. I am good and happy with my config, I got it up and running last night. Compares well with my office workstation which is a Westmere, 12core 2012 Mac Pro with 48GB of ram and an nvidia Quadro 4800GPU. It's going to be a great box to have at home!

Oct 8, 2013 2:17 AM in response to peterfromatlanta

And now the I7 chipped IMac has disappeared from both the UK and US stores. Anyone know why?

LowLuster

Level 6

12,105 points

Oct 8, 2013 2:22 AM in response to The Enemy

No it hasn't. But it is only available on the Top of the Line 27" iMac.

The Enemy wrote:

And now the I7 chipped IMac has disappeared from both the UK and US stores. Anyone know why?

Oct 8, 2013 2:26 AM in response to LowLuster

Right. Sorry, my mistake.

richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

Oct 14, 2013 8:30 AM in response to richsadams

There's a new article today from Macworld about the late 2013 iMacs that includes extensive bench tests not only for raw speed but performance with a lot of popular applications. It's a good read...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2051357/benchmarks-ultimate-imac-gets-boost-from -pcie-flash-storage-faster-cpu.html#tk.nl_mwbest

richsadams Author

Level 1

90 points

Oct 23, 2013 7:38 PM in response to richsadams

After seeing the pricing for the new Mac Pro yesterday I decided to go ahead and order the 27" iMac...

- 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

- 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (will up it to 32GB at some point)

- 1TB Fusion Drive

- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

Wish I could justify the Mac Pro "dream machine" plus a new Cinema Display, but not this time around.

Many thanks to all for your suggestions and advice, much appreciated.

Now I'm going to camp out by my front door and wait...patiently... ;)

lenn5

Level 4

2,537 points

Dec 12, 2013 1:16 PM in response to richsadams

The one concern I have with the fusion drive is will the iMac still run if the spinning drive part of Fusion fails? I ask this because if after the 3 year AppleCare warranty ends and the spinning drive fails it is no trival task and probably expensive to take these new iMacs apart and replace the drive.

27" iMac Haswell i5 vs i7