Apple Upgrades iMac and iMac Pro: More Cores, More Graphics, More Memory
by Anton Shilov on March 19, 2019 5:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Desktop
- AMD
- Apple
- Intel
- iMac
- Coffee Lake
- iMac Pro
- Radeon Pro Vega
Apple has introduced its updated iMac all-in-one desktop computers to use Intel's latest generation processors with up to eight cores plus AMD’s latest Pro graphics, and its iMac Pro to be equipped with more memory and a faster GPU. Since Apple upgrades its iMac product line every couple of years or so, the company has every right to claim that its top-of-the-range AIO PCs are now up to twice faster than their predecessors.
The new 21.5-inch and 27-inch Apple iMac AIO desktops come in the same sleek chassis as their predecessors and use the same 4K and 5K display panels featuring the P3 color gamut and 500 nits brightness. The systems are offered with Intel’s latest Core processors paired with up to 32 GB of DDR4-2666 memory, SSD storage or a hybrid Fusion Drive storage (comprising of NAND flash used for caching and a mechanical HDDs), and a discrete AMD Radeon Pro GPU. Optionally, customers can equip their new iMacs with Intel’s eight-core Core i9 as well as AMD’s Radeon Pro Vega 48 8 GB GPU.
Since the new Apple iMac AIO desktops inherit quite a lot from their ancestors, they feature the same set of I/O capabilities, including a 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth adapter, a GbE port, two Thunderbolt 3 connectors, four USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, an SDXC card reader, a 3.5-mm audio jack, built-in speakers, and a webcam.
Apple iMac 2019 Brief Specifications | ||||||
21.5" | 27" | |||||
Display | 21.5" with 4096 × 2304 resolution 500 cd/m² brightness DCI-P3 support |
27" with 5120 × 2880 resolution 500 cd/m² brightness DCI-P3 support |
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CPU | Default | Core i3 4C/4T 3.6 GHz |
Core i5 6C/6T 3.0-4.1 GHz |
Core i5 6C/6T 3.1-4.3GHz |
Core i5 6C/6T 3.7-4.6 GHz |
|
Optional | Core i7 6C/12T 3.2 - 4.6 GHz |
- | Core i9 8C/16T 3.6 - 5.0 GHz |
|||
PCH | ? | |||||
Graphics | Default | Radeon Pro 555X | Radeon Pro 560X | Radeon Pro 570X | Radeon Pro 575X | Radeon Pro 580X |
Optional | - | Radeon Pro Vega 20 | - | Radeon Pro Vega 48 | ||
Memory | Default | 8 GB DDR4-2666 | ||||
Optional | 16 - 32 GB | 16 - 64 GB | ||||
Storage | Default | 1 TB HDD | 1 TB Fusion | 2 TB Fusion | ||
Optional | 1TB Fusion 256 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 1 TB SSD |
256 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 1TB SSD |
2TB Fusion 256 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 1 TB SSD |
2TB Fusion 3TB Fusion 256 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 1TB SSD |
3TB Fusion 512 GB SSD |
|
Wi-Fi | IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi + BT 4.2 | |||||
Ethernet | 1 GbE | |||||
Display Outputs | 2 × Thunderbolt 3 | |||||
Audio | Stereo speakers Integrated microphones 1 × audio out |
|||||
USB/Thunderbolt | 2 × Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C 4 × USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A (10 Gbps) |
|||||
Other I/O | FHD webcam SDXC card reader |
|||||
Dimensions | Width | 52.8 cm | 20.8" | 65 cm | 25.6" | |||
Height | 45 cm | 17.7" | 51.6 cm | 20.3" | ||||
Depth | 17.5 cm | 6.9" | 20.3 cm | 8" | ||||
PSU | ? | |||||
OS | Apple MacOS Mojave |
Apple’s latest 21.5-inch iMac with Intel’s quad-core Core i3 “Coffee Lake” processor and AMD’s Radeon Pro 555X 2 GB graphics adapter will start at $1,299. Meanwhile, a more advanced 21.5-inch iMac with Intel’s six-core Core i5 chip and AMD’s Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB graphics will start at $1,499.
Apple’s 27-inch iMacs with Intel’s six-core Core i5 CPUs will cost from $1,799 to $2,299 depending on the configuration. Once upgraded to Intel’s eight-core Core i9, AMD’s Radeon Pro Vega 48 8 GB, and 16 GB RAM, the price of the system will increase to $3,349.
Also updated is the iMac Pro, which uses Intel's Xeon-W line of processors. The biggest jump in this line of products is the DRAM capacity, with Apple now offering a 256 GB DDR4 option. In order to get this option, users will have to pay an extra +$5200 above the cost of the default 32 GB configuration, which a number of users have voiced is a lot of money, considering the equivalent 4x64 GB memory layout can be purchased for around $2500. Also offered is an upgrade to the Radeon Pro Vega 64X, although details on what this card has (aside from 64 compute units) has not been disclosed at this point. Based on the '12 TF Single Precision' metric on the Apple Store, it appears that the frequency has increased by 9% over the '11 TF Single Precision' Radeon Pro Vega 64 model. The price difference between the two is $150.
A fully kitted out iMac Pro now stands at $15700, with an 18-core Xeon-W, Vega 64X, 256GB of DDR4 ECC memory, and a 4TB SSD. The base model is $4999, and comes with an 8-core Xeon-W, Vega 56, 32 GB of DDR4 ECC memory, and a 1TB SSD.
Related Reading:
- Apple Starts iMac Pro Sales on Dec. 14
- ASUS Launches Zen AiO 27 Z272SD: New Design, 4K, Six-Core CPU, dGPU, 32 GB RAM
- Apple Updates The iMac Line With a 21.5" Retina Model
Source: Apple
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808Hilo - Sunday, March 24, 2019 - link
xogsuIts 32, 10 bit proofscreen and does HDR. I see things that you cant.
damianrobertjones - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
Just look at those Bezels! :pcoder543 - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
and that spinning hard drive... seriously. A $1300 computer that doesn't include an SSD? That's going to be an awful experience for people who don't realize there's a big difference between that and the Fusion Drive version. I thought Apple cared about the experience their users have, but it seems clear that, at a minimum, their iMac department just doesn't care.nevcairiel - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
Even the Fusion drives are a joke. At the prices those things go at, they could've easily just thrown in SSDs of that size as standard, and don't bother with HDDs at all.Samus - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
Yeah, never been a fan of hybrid storage soluitions. I'm glad Intel\Microsoft ditched Readyboost and all that shit, only for Intel to bring it back in insulting fashion with Optane (which for all intents and purposes is Fusion Drive on steroids.)Two points of failure, slower than an SSD, for marginally less cost. Cool.
Lord of the Bored - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
Long live the disk!AdditionalPylons - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
Completely agree. HDD-only is not acceptable even in 2014 so it is surprising to see Apple allowing this to destroy the user experience like this in 2019. The pricing for upgrades are completely insulting. It's 4-5x the retail prices of high-end SSDs and RAM!However, considering that a 5K screen retails for about $1200, the 27-inch model is actually priced quite competitively as long as you upgrade the RAM yourself and use external storage. Another issue is that most people are really fine with 4K instead, which is around $800 cheaper, but Apple seems unable to make a computer for us.
(Personally I've been a Mac user since mid-90s and still prefer macOS. I am holding on to my rMBP 15" 2012, but the lack of upgradability and horribly thin keyboards will make me buy a PC laptop next time. Built a stationary Xeon workstation for Lightroom and Resolve on Windows that is a lot faster, more upgradable and affordable than anything Apple has to offer.)
jaydee - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
Not sure how you find this surprising. Doesn't say, but it's probably still 5400 RPM. Years ago, Apple entered the land of higher margin/no innovation, because people will blindly buy their brand.ABR - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
I'm right there with you. But sadly macOS *still* has it all over Windows.FunBunny2 - Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - link
that's why macOS cadged *nix. you can too.