# Which iMac Pro?



## Fleer (Jun 30, 2018)

(Also posted in the Samples forum)

To run Logic Pro X with EastWest Hollywood Diamond Orchestra and Spitfire libs, I’m thinking of getting the iMac Pro with:

- 10-Core CPU (with highest boost speed and still enough cores)
- 128 GB Ram (for large libs)
- Vega 64 GPU with 16 GB
- 1 TB SSD (as I have external)
- Mac Trackpad

Thoughts?


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## WindcryMusic (Jun 30, 2018)

I got the one with the base Vega 56 videocard … didn’t see the need for an extra 10% or so of graphics performance in a DAW. I haven’t noticed any problems because of that decision so far.

Other than that, mine is similar to your specs: same CPU (and for the same reason you described), same maxed out RAM, but I did also get a 4TB SSD since I intend for this machine to last a while and I always, always end up needing more space than I have. So far I’ve been pretty pleased with it.


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## fiestared (Jul 1, 2018)

Fleer said:


> (Also posted in the Samples forum)
> 
> To run Logic Pro X with EastWest Hollywood Diamond Orchestra and Spitfire libs, I’m thinking of getting the iMac Pro with:
> 
> ...


How much for this "baby" ? 

something that maybe will interest you...
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Pro+Teardown/101807

The RAM and CPU are both modular, meaning repairs and upgrades are a go—despite what Apple tells you. ???


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## Fleer (Jul 1, 2018)

True, and there’s also the promise of eGPU. Then again, as it’s a “gift” up to $10K I “have to” choose, I guess it’s my best bet for now.


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## fiestared (Jul 1, 2018)

Fleer said:


> True, and there’s also the promise of eGPU. Then again, as it’s a “gift” up to $10K I “have to” choose, I guess it’s my best bet for now.


A gift ? Wow, happy for you mate, let us know how's life with your "Ferrari"...


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## Simon Ravn (Jul 1, 2018)

Nothing "pro" about the iMac Pro - I wouldn't touch it. Also way too expensive. Hopefully the new Mac Pro will be a better product, but I am not holding my breath considering how Apple is treating their Mac product line lately.

I would get a 2nd hand 2010 Mac Pro which should be able to serve you for a few good years and give higher performance for a much lower price. And then make the inevitable jump to PC if Apple disappoint with the new Mac Pro.


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## fraz (Jul 1, 2018)

Hi,

fwiw!!! - The new iMac Pro looks to be a good machine with a strong CPU very similar to the 7820 X. The price is a sore point, sure I agree 100% it is a huge price.

If used with VEP if someone needs a Mac I'm sure they'd be happy when they've recovered from the price they've paid.

The new Mac Pro from a little I've read will be modular, presumably to make it easier to add add-ons ??? - This too will be expensive that will make people pull funny faces - 

Again fwiw, it seems PC has come along way for studio / home studio uses - with thunderbolt available on motherboards or via add in cards some excellent machines can be built on enthusiast sockets as well as HEDT.


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## tmhuud (Jul 1, 2018)

I'm looking forward to pulling a funny face.


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## Simon Ravn (Jul 2, 2018)

If the new Mac Pro is as expensive as the iMac Pro it will be DOA. I doubt that Apple are that stupid. The original Mac Pro, and even the trashcan, was never that expensive.


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## fraz (Jul 2, 2018)

I hope you are correct.

Some re-sellers still have what will soon be the old model (trash can) - Would there be a big price reduction on the remaining stock?


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## Simon Ravn (Jul 2, 2018)

I wouldn't buy the trashcan either. It's impossible to upgrade and because they had to make it so pretty and shiny it is prone to hardware failure because of the airflow restrictions. Apple themselves kinda admitted it should have been directly in the trash can.


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## Alex Fraser (Jul 2, 2018)

I suspect the eventual price of the new Mac Pro will cause a multi-page rage/apple is crazy thread here.

As for the iMac pro - expensive is relative. 
For a computer that's expected to..

Last the best part of a decade.
Have at least 6-7 years of running the latest MacOS.
Be used at least 10 hours a day, 6 days a week for resource hungry music production.
Be used for everything else (development, admin etc)
Pays the mortgage(!)
..£6k is fine. Not everyone cares what's in the box provided it stays on the desk and does it's job without fuss.
Just a counter opinion. YMMV etc etc.


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## WindcryMusic (Jul 2, 2018)

Alex Fraser said:


> I suspect the eventual price of the new Mac Pro will cause a multi-page rage/apple is crazy thread here.
> 
> As for the iMac pro - expensive is relative.
> For a computer that's expected to..
> ...



This is especially true when one considers that the iMac Pro "package" includes what is just about the best display available ... someone apparently researched this and found that the nearest standalone monitor equivalent was selling at around $1700. So if you deduct that from the iMac Pro's price, it starts to look a little less painful from the standpoint of the rest of the hardware you are also getting. Its true that I paid a premium price for the extra RAM and SSD on mine, but I wasn't about to try to open this thing up and upgrade either one of those myself (I'm not that handy with hardware). And if it lasts as long as I am hoping and works as well as I expect, I'll be fine with the cost.


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## Simon Ravn (Jul 2, 2018)

Alex Fraser said:


> I suspect the eventual price of the new Mac Pro will cause a multi-page rage/apple is crazy thread here.
> 
> As for the iMac pro - expensive is relative.
> For a computer that's expected to..
> ...



I hope you are right about the "last the best part of a decade". My experience from people using iMacs tells that you could well end up with pricey repairs within a few years though. And if something breaks down you have NOTHING while your all-in-one box is in for repair.

Having all that heat generated inside such a small enclosure puts a lot of strain on the electronics. I really, really hope Apple designed this so well that it won't be a problem. But there have been a lot of hardware problems with the previous "normal" iMacs. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guinea pig using this for heavy work on a daily basis for years and hope nothing breaks down. I simply wouldn't trust an all-in-one device for heavy work.


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## D Halgren (Jul 2, 2018)

Alex Fraser said:


> I suspect the eventual price of the new Mac Pro will cause a multi-page rage/apple is crazy thread here.
> 
> As for the iMac pro - expensive is relative.
> For a computer that's expected to..
> ...


I agree! Plus, when the Mac Pro comes out, I'm thinking the Imac Pro will be a great master to a massive Mac Pro slave set up!


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## fraz (Jul 2, 2018)

Hi,

I got an iMac in 2008 - still have it today - and have got a good price on an iMac Pro 8 core which is powerful.

I've learned to build some windows machines which means more of the technology is understood at the hardware level but because I've not used an iMac / Mac Pro extensively I'd ask - it is obvious air flow is not good compared to a cheese grater desk top case, but how many hardware failures have their been?

I don't mean a precise number but it is more asking have a lot of users had to send their Mac back to Apple for repair?

Thermal issues for the music people? - I've read that video rendering heats the system up lots...?

fwiw-Even on a PC Windows machine it isn't easy to cool the 14-16-18 core processors


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## WindcryMusic (Jul 2, 2018)

fraz said:


> I've learned to build some windows machines which means more of the technology is understood at the hardware level but because I've not used an iMac / Mac Pro extensively I'd ask - it is obvious air flow is not good compared to a cheese grater desk top case, but how many hardware failures have their been?
> 
> I don't mean a precise number but it is more asking have a lot of users had to send their Mac back to Apple for repair?



I've had three iMacs thus far: a 2010 model which unfortunately failed within a couple of years due to a known screen defect (not an airflow-related issue), a 2013 model which works perfectly to this day, and the new iMac Pro which I haven't had long enough to say much about other than that it has been fine thus far. That's far from a definitive sampling, but at least a few have passed through my hands, and I've yet to encounter any sort of an airflow-related problem with any of these.


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## fraz (Jul 2, 2018)

Thanks WindcryMusic,

By 2013 model you mean the trashcan right? - which processor?


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## WindcryMusic (Jul 2, 2018)

fraz said:


> Thanks WindcryMusic,
> 
> By 2013 model you mean the trashcan right? - which processor?



No, all three of these are iMacs. I've never had any Mac Pro.

Both of the older iMacs had quad core i7 processors.


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## Alex Fraser (Jul 2, 2018)

Simon Ravn said:


> I hope you are right about the "last the best part of a decade". My experience from people using iMacs tells that you could well end up with pricey repairs within a few years though. And if something breaks down you have NOTHING while your all-in-one box is in for repair.
> 
> Having all that heat generated inside such a small enclosure puts a lot of strain on the electronics. I really, really hope Apple designed this so well that it won't be a problem. But there have been a lot of hardware problems with the previous "normal" iMacs. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guinea pig using this for heavy work on a daily basis for years and hope nothing breaks down. I simply wouldn't trust an all-in-one device for heavy work.


I understand the point you’re making. 
I can only go on my own experience: My (now vintage) 2011 iMac fulfills all the above and is still going fine. (Hopefully I haven’t just cursed it..)

I understand the iMac pro has a better cooling solution than the prosumer models.


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## Fleer (Jul 2, 2018)

Spitfire’s Christian Henson:


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## JohnG (Jul 2, 2018)

good video. Irrelevantly, I think it sounds better with "too many" reverbs.


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## JohnG (Jul 2, 2018)

fraz said:


> I don't mean a precise number but it is more asking have a lot of users had to send their Mac back to Apple for repair?



I have never had to do that and not heard of any problems like this in about 20 years. (Mid 1990s there was a bad run of laptops). Only now retiring a 2008 Mac Pro and not because of any hardware problems at all -- just wanted to upgrade Pro Tools and couldn't do it on that machine.

I expect to get something for the Mac Pro on eBay -- the thing is solid, quiet, powerful, and has a lot of RAM.


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## dcoscina (Jul 2, 2018)

I like Christians video because it’s acually a very flattering portrait of the much maligned MP 6,1. I’m planning on getting a 6 core used and then upgrading it as funds are available. I honestly don’t know how so many people are buying these iMac pros which in Canada start at $6200 for the base model. I can get a much more expandable MP for half that price and it will do more than what I need out of it. Hell, I’ve been relying on my wee little Mb Air i7 for even fairly large templates using LPX.


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## dcoscina (Jul 2, 2018)

JohnG said:


> I have never had to do that and not heard of any problems like this in about 20 years. (Mid 1990s there was a bad run of laptops). Only now retiring a 2008 Mac Pro and not because of any hardware problems at all -- just wanted to upgrade Pro Tools and couldn't do it on that machine.
> 
> I expect to get something for the Mac Pro on eBay -- the thing is solid, quiet, powerful, and has a lot of RAM.


Which unit did you replace it with John?


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## JohnG (Jul 2, 2018)

dcoscina said:


> Which unit did you replace it with John?



I decided on the iMac "regular" but it's powerful, with 32GB of RAM, a 27" screen, and the fastest processor. I'm using it only for Pro Tools so the super-monster-killer capabilities of the iMac Pro would have been overkill. I sequence using DP on a separate Mac Pro, which is a 12 core machine.


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## dcoscina (Jul 2, 2018)

JohnG said:


> I decided on the iMac "regular" but it's powerful, with 32GB of RAM, a 27" screen, and the fastest processor. I'm using it only for Pro Tools so the super-monster-killer capabilities of the iMac Pro would have been overkill. I sequence using DP on a separate Mac Pro, which is a 12 core machine.


Ah good to know John. I’ve been vacillating back and forth between a quad iMac i7 or used MP 6,1 for my main rig. Truthfully I’m not working at the level a lot of guys are here. I rarely have to deliver PT sessions, separate stems, etc. My track count is usually 20-40 tracks with 1 VI per instance in LPX and this is on my little MB air. My concern with the iMac is the all-in-one issue even though it’s technilogy is more current than the MP 6,1. I’m not a power user by any means and the people that are running the trash cans don’t have any issues with them.


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## JohnG (Jul 2, 2018)

If I were a graphic artist, or a climate scientist or particle physicist as well, I might choose the iMac Pro for its screen and (from what I've read) unrivalled modelling capabilities in a personal computer for that kind of complexity.

If, however, your work on this particular machine would be devoted solely to what you wrote, @dcoscina , I'd probably do a used, upgraded / refurbished Mac Pro. Those things just last forever. My main DAW is a 5,1 I think and it accommodated 64GB of RAM and 12 cores with the various upgrades.

You lose Thunderbolt, unfortunately, which is a pity, but if you already own a display it's 10x cheaper and probably just as good for at least some number of OS updates ahead.


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## dcoscina (Jul 2, 2018)

JohnG said:


> If I were a graphic artist, or a climate scientist or particle physicist as well, I might choose the iMac Pro for its screen and (from what I've read) unrivalled modelling capabilities in a personal computer for that kind of complexity.
> 
> If, however, your work on this particular machine would be devoted solely to what you wrote, @dcoscina , I'd probably do a used, upgraded / refurbished Mac Pro. Those things just last forever. My main DAW is a 5,1 I think and it accommodated 64GB of RAM and 12 cores with the various upgrades.
> 
> You lose Thunderbolt, unfortunately, which is a pity, but if you already own a display it's 10x cheaper and probably just as good for at least some number of OS updates ahead.


Yeah I have thought about it but I cannot put $2000'towards hardware that won't support the newer OS especially since I need something to last and moved with Apple/music tech updates for the next 5-8 years.


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