21.5" iMac (4K Retina) for video editing?

Question

21.5" iMac (4K Retina) for video editing?

I'm seriously considering purchasing the 21.5" iMac (4K Retina), with these specs: 3.0GHz quad core Intel i5 processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1 TB hard drive, Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB video memory. It's main use, other than everyday personal use, would be video editing. We shoot multi-angle, in 4K, and edit on Adobe Premiere, off of an external drive. So would the specs of this iMac be sufficient for this type of video editing, or should I upgrade to the i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, or just go all in and get the base model 27" 5K iMac (3.4 GHz quad core Intel i5 procesor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1 TB Fusion Drive, Radeon Pro 570 with 4GB video memory? I don't want to spend more money than I have to, but I'm willing to if that's what it takes.

P.S - as said previously, all editing would be done off of an external drive.

Posted on Aug 23, 2017 1:49 PM

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Answer 1

babowa

Level 9

78,163 points

Aug 23, 2017 2:18 PM in response to Im4gesAndW0rds

Even if you use an external, you are still using the internal processor and RAM to do the rendering, etc. And for that, I'd not go with anything less than an i7 processor and a minimum of 16 GB RAM. FWIW (although you won't use it for editing or rendering), the 21" models all have a slow 5400 rpm hard drive (vs. the 7200 rpm in a 27" iMac), so anything and everything it does reading/writing will be about 33% slower.

And, my personal preference: I will not ever have another fusion drive - had one for a week and returned the Mac because it was exceedingly difficult to control/partition/re-partition the drive. Took me two days to get it back to factory condition for the return and it only finally worked because I had made a bootable clone fresh out of the box. But, that is my personal opinion.

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,765 points

Aug 23, 2017 2:01 PM in response to Im4gesAndW0rds

It is sufficient since it's specs probably exceed those of the older computer you now use.

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