iMac 27″ processor quandery

[Gary Bettan]

Larry Jordan has posted some great articles on configuring a new iMac for video editing. We posted this one on our blog https://www.videoguys.com/Blog/K/iMac/Larry+Jordan+Editing+with+the+New+iMacs/0x3253f24285d94934c2dd5261f2d31e7b.aspx

We’re in the process of updating our Thunderbolt Guide. (should be posted tomorrow) https://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+Guide+to+Thunderbolt+July+2012+Update/0x3eed8c5e8ed41e21f4e9636e7c732480.aspx

In the update I give this advice:

What iMac configuration does Videoguys recommend?
We get asked all the time what kind of computer you need to run the latest NLE software. On the Windows side this is a complicated answer with many options. With a Mac it’s easier to answer. If you go with the higher end model iMacs, Mac Minis or Mac Book Pros with i7 quad-core processors you will get excellent results.
If you want the best configuration for a new iMac for video editing, Videoguys recommends the 27 inch iMac with:

• Intel Core i7 processor
• 32GB RAM
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX GPU

This is a fully loaded machine, and it’s going to cost you about $3K, but it will run any Mac based NLE great and has all the power you need for all HD tapeless workflows.
If are on a tight budget the first place to look to save is by dropping down to the GTX 675MX GPU which will save you $150, the next place to cut is your RAM, down to 16G, but we can’t recommend going down to just 8GB. That brings the cost down below $2500. If you are serious about editing video on a new iMac, that’s the bottom. While you can configure the 21.5″ model with an i7 processor, you are limited to the GTX 650M GPU, which only has 512MB of RAM, which just isn’t going to cut it.

Gary

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[Nick Toth]

The i7 has hyperthreading and the i5 does not. See this document for a discussion.

https://www.postmagazine.com/documents/SilveradoPrepforFCPX.pdf

As far as the Fusion drive IMHO as a system drive it looks great. I haven’t seen any need at this point for a system drive over 1 TB. I’m using less than 200 GB on the system drives of my edit systems and most of that would not be accessed regularly. Either Fusion drive has 128 GB of SSD which should be enough for the way it works with regularly accessed files stored on the SSD section.

Typically you would be using an external drive for media so the extra capacity of the 3 TB Fusion would probably make a lot less of an impact than extra RAM and the 2 GB graphics card.

anickt

[Gary Huff]

[Gary Bettan] “If you want the best configuration for a new iMac for video editing, Videoguys recommends the 27 inch iMac with:

• Intel Core i7 processor
• 32GB RAM
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX GPU”

I second the i7, but I believe you should get the 768GB SSD instead of the Fusion drive (the spinning mechanical drive is only 5,200 RPM). The hard drive is going to be the primary bottleneck, and you can’t upgrade it in the new iMacs, so you should go all out.

I’d also get 2GB of RAM instead of the 1GB for that very reason as well. Sure, you may not need it now, but better to have it in case you could use it in the future if none of the other specs on the machine require you to purchase an entirely new system.

[John Davidson]

FYI, The 27″ spinning drive is 7200rpm for the fusion drive. I helped perpetuate that so now I’m trying to fix it :).

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Why mess around?

Order the fully maxed iMac and wait.

If you start using fcpx to its full potential, you’ll need every ounce (gram?) of CPU/GPU/RAM Apple can muster.

Jeremy

[Anthony Burokas]

WHat of older models that actually supported two drives?
OWC made a kit to take the second drive SATA port and make an external SATA port, and no, they won’t have thunderbolt, but the ability to install and upgrade your own separate SSD and HDD drives inside the box has appeal to me. THis way I can do a SSD to cover apps with some growth over time, and then a 3 TB media drive. I’d only have to offload projects when finished and done with them. FW800 would be sufficient for that.

Anthony Burokas ~ https://IEBA.com

[Gary Huff]

[John Davidson] “FYI, The 27″ spinning drive is 7200rpm for the fusion drive. I helped perpetuate that so now I’m trying to fix it :).”

Bad John! Bad, bad John! 😉

I’ll amend my opinion from here on out.

Still, it’s something to consider. Get a Fusion drive, stuck with it. It’s impressive, for sure, but I think I’d suck it up and spend the extra for the full SSD.

[Craig Alan]

[Gary Bettan] “That brings the cost down below $2500”

plus apple care plus tax.

I’m only saying this because the more expensive the total package out the door, the less of a deal killer any particular choice seems, psychologically.

For sure get the minimum ram and look to OWC or crucial to get your 32 gigs. Or 16 gigs. OWC has 2 x 8 gigs for $115. You can always add the other two later if the need is there.
Hold onto the original ram. Great way to find out if the ram has gone bad or something else when you start having problems.

Since it requires surgery to replace the hard drive, I think the sweet spot is 1TB fusion. Under warranty Apple will replace it. After that, you can elect surgery or just go external. We’re most likely looking at about three years from now and fusion and SSD will be a lot cheaper and thunderbolt will have a lot more options.

Not sure if the Mac will boot with a dead internal drive. Hopefully by then the repair shops will be good at cracking open sealed Imacs and the new Mac pro will somehow blow these Imacs out of the best option for pro apps advice blogs.

MacPro4,1 2.66GHz 8 core 12gigs of ram. GPU: Nvidia Geoforce GT120 with Vram 512. OS X 10.6.x; Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170, Sony Z7U, Canon HV30/40, Sony vx2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.

[Jason Bernagozzi]

The fusion drive is an unnecessary cost for such a small improvement. You get get an extremely fast SSD from OWC installed that would blow the fusion drive out of the water: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_6G/

I got the 6G extreme for my 2011 imac setup and I am amazed with the performance.

[Mark Dobson]

[Jeremy Garchow] “rder the fully maxed iMac and wait.

If you start using fcpx to its full potential, you’ll need every ounce (gram?) of CPU/GPU/RAM Apple can muster. “

Thanks – sounds like the right thing to do.

[Gary Bettan] “If you want the best configuration for a new iMac for video editing, Videoguys recommends the 27 inch iMac with:

• Intel Core i7 processor
• 32GB RAM
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX GPU”

Gary thanks for that info – look forward to reading your updated thunderbolt drive test results- I’d read Larrys article/Blog. He’s gone for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 1GB GDDR5 and hasn’t as yet topped out the ram.

As with all these things the price does start to creep up very quickly and with a directq conversion from pounds to dollars the iMac 27″ with this configuration + Applecare comes to £2,317.99 inc tax or $3,670.424

I asked one of the Guys in the Applestore to show me how to change the Ram and whilst a tiny bit fiddly it seems a simple task.

and Gary – how about opening a UK Videoguys branch?

[Craig Alan] “Since it requires surgery to replace the hard drive, I think the sweet spot is 1TB fusion. Under warranty Apple will replace it. After that, you can elect surgery or just go external. We’re most likely looking at about three years from now and fusion and SSD will be a lot cheaper and thunderbolt will have a lot more options.

Not sure if the Mac will boot with a dead internal drive. Hopefully by then the repair shops will be good at cracking open sealed Imacs and the new Mac pro will somehow blow these Imacs out of the best option for pro apps advice blogs.”

That is an interesting question as to hether the machine will boot from an external drive. With no home repair/replacement possible I would definitely get Applecare and buy a 1TB Fusion drive and A 2TB Time Capsule – although some people have given older models pretty bad reviews.