[ Update: On March 19, 2019, Apple released updates to both 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs. These new systems feature improved CPU and GPU options, though the display and storage remain the same as earlier versions. I’ve reflected these new options in my recommendations below. ]
At their WWDC, in June, 2017, Apple announced and released new iMac computers, designed to meet the needs of professionals. These new systems sport a variety of very exciting features. However, if you are on a budget, how do you determine where to spend your money?
This article is designed to help you make more informed choices when you don’t have a lot of money to spend.
NOTE: I have not purchased any of these systems. My recommendations are based on past experience, current system specs and talking with informed individuals.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
If money is no object, buy the top of the line iMac. It will work great and you’ll have bragging rights over all the other systems.
But, if money IS an object, then you need to make trade-offs, balancing the performance you need with the money you have. However, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a system today that can meet your editing needs for the next several years.
ALSO: Here are two other configuration articles you may find useful:
YES, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE IMAC PRO?
Holy smokes! What a system.
This review covers the iMac. Click here to read about the iMac Pro.
YES, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MAC PRO?
Given the latest iMac releases, there are very, very few reasons to purchase a Mac Pro right now; especially given its price. Keep in mind, however, that Apple has already announced they are working on a new, top-of-the-line Mac Pro which will ship sometime in 2019.
Given what Apple has announced for the iMac Pro, however, that upcoming Mac Pro will need to be a true screamer to compete. I’m looking forward to seeing what Apple creates – but, as I mentioned earlier, I still need to pay my bills today.
And that leads us directly to the latest updates to the iMac.
WHAT SIZE SCREEN?
Both Final Cut Pro X and Premiere interfaces work best on larger screens. This is not to say they work poorly on smaller screens, but both of these display a LOT of elements on screen. More screen room is MUCH better.
I recommend a 27″ display. Plus, all the new 27″ iMacs now share the same 5K Retina Display.
NOTE: One of my iMacs is an older 5K iMac. I’ve discovered, that while seeing a 5K image is nice, the on-screen text is often very hard to read. So I’ve lowered the screen resolution using System Preferences to make the text larger. I prefer to easily read the text to seeing every pixel in my image.
However, if the purpose of the new system is video compression, you don’t need the bigger screen size. In which case, you can save money and improve performance with a 21″ system.
NOTE: Both H.264 and the up-coming H.265 video codecs are hardware-accelerated in all the new hardware. While this won’t help when transcoding into ProRes, hardware-acceleration will significantly speed compressing files for the web.
WHAT SPEED CPU?
UPDATE Intel’s latest 8th-gen and 9th-gen Core processors, including up to a 3.2GHz six-core 8th-gen Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz for the 21.5-inch 4K iMac and up to a 3.6GHz eight-core 9th-gen Core i9 with Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz for the 27-inch 5K iMac.
While CPU speed is important, it is not critical for video editing; remember, iMacs that were current as recently as last month, were easily able to edit almost all forms of SD, HD, and 4K media.
Any of the processors in any of the new iMacs will be fine for video or audio editing.
UPDATE: The choice in the 21.5″ iMac is between i5 and i7. The i7 is worth the money because of its support for multi-threading. The choice in the 27″ iMac is harder: between i5 and i9, because it’s a $500 differential. Unlike the i5, the i9 supports multithreading. If you are doing multicam, 4K or HDR editing, or lots of video compression, the i9 is worth the money.
HOW MUCH STORAGE?
I really like that Apple has put Fusion drives into all but two of their iMacs. I own two iMacs with Fusion drives and I remain very impressed with these systems. They are an excellent balance between the speed of an SSD with the storage capacity of spinning media.
Keep in mind that the SSD portion of a Fusion drive is only a part of the total storage. For example, the 1 TB Fusion uses a 32 GB SSD, while the 2 and 3 TB Fusion drives use a 128 GB SSD. The OS watches what you do and moves files onto the SSD based upon what you are using most. Which means that a Fusion drive works fastest with files you access over and over.
NOTE: Here is an updated article on storage speeds and media requirements that explains the load your storage system needs to carry.
If you want maximum performance AND you plan to store media on an external drive, get the 512 GB SSD. All the files in macOS will take less than 30 GB, leaving plenty of room for working files and immediate storage.
If you want an excellent balance between performance, price and capacity, stay with the 1 TB Fusion drive. Again, store media externally.
If you don’t plan to purchase external storage – and you will, you just don’t know it yet – get the 3 TB Fusion drive. (An extra TB for $100 makes this a better value than the 2 TB Fusion drive.)
One of my systems has a 3 TB Fusion drive. Currently, I’m using 600 GB of it. The rest is sitting around idle. When using external storage, you really don’t need lots of internal storage.
If you just want maximum performance from your storage, get the 1 TB SSD. It’s pricey, but it’s speed will make you giggle.
Apple notes: “For the best performance, iMac systems with 32GB or more of memory should be configured with a 2TB or larger Fusion Drive or all-SSD storage.”
NOTE: Apple’s marketing materials now define a terabyte as one trillion bytes. This means that when a disk is formatted, its storage capacity will be less than 1 TB because of the differences between how marketing and engineering calculate disk sizes.
WHICH GPU?
Configuring the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is now done when you pick the initial iMac, rather than as a build-to-order option within each iMac family. So, much though I would like to pick the mid-range system and add a high-end GPU into it, we no longer have that option.
Which is a shame. Because while we don’t need the high-end CPU system for most video editing, we would significantly benefit from the high-end 580 GPU in any system.
Both Final Cut and Premiere are increasingly using the GPU for most editing tasks, because the GPU is much faster than the CPU at rendering bitmapped images. Therefore, the best choice is the high-end GPU. The high-end GPU also includes 8 GB of video memory (VRAM).
However, the mid-range system with the Radeon Pro 575X is a perfectly adequate choice.
NOTE: The difference between the 575X and 580X is performance. The 575X has a peak performance of about 4.5 Teraflops, while the 580X supports up to 5.5 Tflops. Both will handle video just fine. All of the Radeon chips support OpenCL and Apple’s Metal and up-coming Metal 2 GPU computing API.
Here’s a link to learn more about Radeon’s GPU chips.
NOTE: Again, if you are principally doing video compression, the GPU speed is less important than the CPU speed. So, compressionists don’t need as high-performance a GPU as an editor.
UPDATE: When looking at GPU performance, use the specs for Metal or Metal II. OpenCL will not be supported going forward. Also, while eGPUs are attractive, I don’t see them, yet, as a big enough benefit for iMacs. eGPUs are principally designed for laptops.
HOW MUCH RAM?
Both Final Cut and Premiere will use as much RAM as you can afford.
Based on my tests with the 2016 MacBook Pro, I recommend a minimum of 16 GB of RAM, though, all my systems here have 32 GB. Again, if you have the money, max out the RAM. However, 32 GB of RAM will be sufficient for virtually all projects.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I SPEND?
You are going to be using this computer for four years. Spend what you can afford, but don’t be stingy in areas that matter: GPU and RAM.
All the base systems are fine, But, depending upon your needs, you can tweak the configurations to better match what you want the systems to do. All systems feature wireless mice and keyboards; though, in my office, I prefer my mice and keyboards wired.
NOTE: Apple has not yet delivered the Touch Bar on any stand-alone keyboards.
If it were my money and I was doing video editing on a budget, here’s what I would get:
Total: $2,499 (you’ll still need to spend additional money for 3rd-party RAM)
However, I wish that Apple made the Radeon 580X available on the mid-range unit.
If it were my money and I was doing mostly video compression, I’d get the high-end Mac mini. (This, in fact, is what I did personally.) Here’s an article that explains this in more detail.
As always, I’m interested in your opinions.
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346 Responses to Configure a 2019 iMac for Video Editing [u]
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Larry says:
July 11, 2019 at 10:02 am
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Sam says:
July 16, 2019 at 5:50 am
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Larry says:
July 16, 2019 at 6:15 am
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Sam says:
July 16, 2019 at 9:25 am
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Larry says:
July 16, 2019 at 9:46 am
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Sam says:
July 16, 2019 at 10:34 am
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Neal Andrews says:
August 4, 2019 at 9:28 am
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Larry says:
August 4, 2019 at 9:52 am
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GD says:
August 16, 2019 at 9:39 am
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Larry says:
August 16, 2019 at 9:46 am
← Older Comments Newer Comments →RCD:
It all depends upon what you mean by “can it handle?”
Yes, a 21.5″ iMac can easily handle Premiere and After Effects. Neither of these are yet fully optimized for the GPU. Most, but not all, of their rendering is CPU based. So, a faster CPU will be a benefit.
32 GB of RAM is excellent, so is the high-end CPU. Remember that with media, the speed and capacity of your storage is equally important. As for 3D rendering, yes, it can handle that. The issue isn’t quality, but speed.
The other issue to consider is screen size. Premiere and After Effects benefit from larger screens – there is a LOT to see in each interface. You might want to consider getting either a 27″ iMac OR a second monitor – such as on from LG – to give you room to see your images properly.
Just thoughts.
larry
Larry,
Thanks for your article, it’s easily the best I’ve read so far.
For my budget it seems to come down to choosing between the CPU and the GPU.
For me, I’m not concerned about screen size, but of course don’t mind having a larger screen if it works out that way. I care about speed and future-proofing. For my budget my options seem to me to be:
A 21.5″ with 32gb RAM and the i7 (but the 560 GPU).
Or
The 27″ with third party RAM and the i5 (coming with the default 580 GPU).
There’s a roughly $150 difference in price, which is OK. Going to i9 is too much for me I think.
So essentially it’s a choice between getting the better CPU, or the better graphics card.
I’m using it exclusively for editing in Premiere and grading in DaVinci Resolve and – I’m sure as we all do – I want it to be as future proofed as possible.
What do you think?
Many thanks for your help,
All best
Sam:
Both of these are good systems.
First, read this article:
https://larryjordan.com/articles/ram-cpu-and-libraries-in-apple-final-cut-pro-x/
I haven’t had time to write one for Premiere, but the discussion of RAM and CPUs will be very similar. That can help you make your choice.
I would lean toward the 27″ iMac. First, the larger screen really does make a difference. Second, you can upgrade the RAM, which you can’t in the 21.5″ iMac. Third, it has a faster GPU. While I am less impressed with the i5, it is NOT a bad chip, just a bit slower.
In both cases, your final quality will be the same.
Larry
Larry,
Thank you. Your response is much appreciated. I have a follow up if it’s alright? Will it make a tremendous difference to my life to only have 256GB SSD in built, or do I need to get the 512 SSD. This puts me at the very edge of my budget.
Thank you again.
Sam:
Only you know your budget. But, since you ask, get the 512 SSD. You don’t need the 1 TB version, but the 256 SSD will leave you feeling very cramped.
Larry
Noted.
Much appreciated, Larry.
Have a great day!
Hi Ray, I’m mulling over the same issue, and am becoming paralysed by indecision! At the end of this YouTube video, these guys seem to suggest that the GPU is most important, and having an i5 instead of an i9 won’t make a lot of difference for most users, especially if you’re using FCPX and not counting the seconds.
I’m in a slightly different position…until I read Larry’s article, I was going to go for an i5! 🙁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXp7FffiJSI
Neal:
I TOTALLY understand the “paralyzed with indecision” part!
First, don’t panic. There’s no bad decision here, just choices.
Second, not all apps use the GPU, nor all sections of apps use the GPU. For now, most media compression is CPU based. Premiere is mostly CPU-based.
However, I have a personal story here. I recently updated from a 2013 iMac with an i7 to an 2017 iMac with an i5. I can easily tell the difference. The i5 is fine, but no where near as peppy as the i7. When I buy my next system, which I plan to do in the spring of next year, I’m getting an i7 with a medium to high-end GPU. Yes, if I had unlimited money, I’d get the top of the line. But, I’m discovering the multi-threading in an i7 or i9 CPU makes a big difference in how the computer feels during editing.
An i5 is NOT bad. But an i7 is much better.
Larry
Hi Larry
I plan to shoot a no-budget feature with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in 4K BRAW format. I want to edit, color correct and deliver in Resolve.
I want to buy a 2019 iMac but I don’t know which one, probably the iMac 27″.
What GPU you recommend? Radeon Pro 570X / 575X with 4GB ram is enough to edit 4K BRAW natively? Or the Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB ram is a must?
What if I shoot 4K BRAW, edit proxy with optimized media, and then deliver in 4K? Can I do it with 575X 4GB?
How would this setup work for native 4K or proxy?
iMac 27″, 3.1 Ghz, 6 Core i5, 16GB Ram, 575X with 4GB ram?
(I will have about 12 hours footage, so I think its safer to edit proxy, otherwise I will have a HDD speed problems also… But with proxies I could edit this from a single TB3 drive…right?)
Money is a big factor, I’m not a professional editor, so I need a good computer that able to do the job, but it is Okay if its slower in rendering or delivery… I hope you see what I mean. I cannot try before purchase, this is why it would be great if you could tell me your opinion.
Thanks,
Gabe
GD:
Raw is a computer-intensive format – ESPECIALLY for a no-budget feature. You’ll need either an external SSD or RAID to deliver the speed you need – though you are correct, a proxy workflow will make your life a LOT easier.
I consider an i5 the bare minimum for Raw footage. For editing, you’ll need the CPU more than the GPU. All a faster GPU gets you is speed. the 575X will be fine, but a bit slower. This simply means that you need to wait a bit, the quality will be the same as a high-end-GPU.
16 GB of RAM is also the low end for Raw. I recommend 32 GB, however if you get the 27″ iMac, you can add more – and less expensive – RAM via a third-party, such as OWC.
Yes, proxies will allow you to edit from a single TB3 external drive. The iMac you spec will do the job. If possible, add more RAM. The system will be reliable and get the job done.
Larry