# IMac Pro 3.2GHz 8-core Intel Xeon



## fiestared (Mar 21, 2018)

I use Logic and all the big libs, what do you think of this model :

3.2GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor
Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
32GB 2666MHz ECC memory
1TB SSD storage1
Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8GB HBM2 memory
10Gb Ethernet
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
27-inch Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display
 Thanks


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## babylonwaves (Mar 21, 2018)

if you use all the big libs, 32GB RAM might be not enough. depends on your template. and 1TB SSD neither, if you plan to have them on the internal drive. if you don't you probably don't need a 1TB internal capacity and you can save some money there.


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## fiestared (Mar 21, 2018)

babylonwaves said:


> if you use all the big libs, 32GB RAM might be not enough. depends on your template. and 1TB SSD neither, if you plan to have them on the internal drive. if you don't you probably don't need a 1TB internal capacity and you can save some money there.


Thanks, unfortunately in France, there is no way for less than 1TB SSD, for the libs I already have 3 SSD, so no prob. For the template, I'm in the minimalist side, I need power and don't want "crack, spike, etc..." anymore. My question in fact is, is this 3.2GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor "enough" for Logic ?


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## babylonwaves (Mar 21, 2018)

fiestared said:


> Thanks, unfortunately in France, there is no way for less than 1TB SSD, for the libs I already have 3 SSD, so no prob. For the template, I'm in the minimalist side, I need power and don't want "crack, spike, etc..." anymore. My question in fact is, is this 3.2GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor "enough" for Logic ?


you have no BTO (build to order) in france? I'd verify that with apple. it's a good way to save money. IMO you'll be happy with the CPU - if you have enough RAM


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## khollister (Mar 21, 2018)

Clearly the 10 core is more than enough based on Christian's preliminary testing in a recent blog he posted here. I also gave the 10 core and I'm more than pleased. Whether the 8 core is enough would depend on your track count, VI complexity and effects load, but I can't imagine it not being fine given your "minimalist" comment. 32GB will eventually come back to bite you in the ass though - I went for 64GB.


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## khollister (Mar 21, 2018)

babylonwaves said:


> you have no BTO (build to order) in france? I'd verify that with apple. it's a good way to save money. IMO you'll be happy with the CPU - if you have enough RAM



1 TB is the smallest SSD available on the iMP even with BTO. The BTO options are 2 and 4


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## artomatic (Mar 21, 2018)

I have the same model and run Pro Tools 2018.3.1 and it's handling tons of VI instances. I have VEP handy and ready to go if needed. But I upgraded to 64 ram and was glad I did.


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## D Halgren (Mar 21, 2018)

artomatic said:


> I have the same model and run Pro Tools 2018.3.1 and it's handling tons of VI instances. I have VEP handy and ready to go if needed. But I upgraded to 64 ram and was glad I did.


Ditto


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## babylonwaves (Mar 21, 2018)

khollister said:


> 1 TB is the smallest SSD available on the iMP even with BTO. The BTO options are 2 and 4


my bad, i didn't see the "pro" in the headline


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## rlw (Mar 21, 2018)

I also suggest that you should consider 64gb of memory instead of 32gb. I made the decision and bought the 10 Core Imac Pro with 128gb memory last December. The most memory I have used to date is 96gb of ram. The only issue I have had is when I have using Wave L 316 on the stereo channel with my large 200 plus track template. However Waves advises you to only use this plugin for your final mastering session of a Stereo mix file. Otherwise a single Core gets all the pressure while the other cores are used very little. Still the 10 Cores carried the load and did what Waves says "never do".


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## WindcryMusic (Apr 22, 2018)

Bringing up this same question again ...

In a newer thread here, a 2.6 GHz Dell with gobs of cores was described as having "too slow of a clock speed" for music production, and that one should look for "at least 4.0 GHz".

Well, the fastest base clock speed on an iMac Pro is only 3.2GHz, and that is only on the 8 core model ... the speeds go even lower on the CPUs with more cores. Does that mean that the iMac Pro also isn't as well suited to music production as would be, say, the latest standard iMac with the 4.2GHz 4 core CPU upgrade? Or, if it is, would the 3.2 GHz 8 core CPU of the base iMac Pro be better than spending more on, say, the 3.0 GHz 10 core CPU upgrade or the 2.5GHz 14 core CPU upgrade? (I know that all of the iMac Pro CPUs say they have "Turbo Boost" at or above 4.0 GHz, but I assume that what we care about is sustained performance with all cores working, and from what I have read, that is a scenario where Turbo Boost may not always be available.)

I've very wary of just buying the latest iMac since its memory maxes out at 64GB and I'm already running into serious template troubles with having just 32GB ... 64GB doesn't seem like enough space to grow into over the many years I hope to get use out of any DAW computer I buy at this point. Also, I've heard that the latest iMacs (non-Pro) run very hot and have a lot of fan noise, which isn't studio-friendly of course. The only things that the non-Pro iMacs seem to have going for them are price (relative to the Pros), and the higher base clock rate of the CPU, which is why I am asking how much the latter ought to be considered for a DAW.


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## khollister (Apr 22, 2018)

WindcryMusic said:


> Bringing up this same question again ...
> 
> In a newer thread here, a 2.6 GHz Dell with gobs of cores was described as having "too slow of a clock speed" for music production, and that one should look for "at least 4.0 GHz".
> 
> ...



My 10 core iMP spends most of it's time at 4.0-4.2 GHz when lightly to moderately loaded and clocks down to about 3.4-3.6 if I run something that maxes out all 20 cores (physical and hyper threaded) for 15-20 minutes. Christians has done a couple vlogs about his iMP and claims it is faster than his previous 8 core dustbin MP. The turbo boost multipliers are very high on the latest CPU's compared to a couple generations ago.


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## WindcryMusic (Apr 22, 2018)

khollister said:


> My 10 core iMP spends most of it's time at 4.0-4.2 GHz when lightly to moderately loaded and clocks down to about 3.4-3.6 if I run something that maxes out all 20 cores (physical and hyper threaded) for 15-20 minutes. Christians has done a couple vlogs about his iMP and claims it is faster than his previous 8 core dustbin MP. The turbo boost multipliers are very high on the latest CPU's compared to a couple generations ago.



That's great news. It wasn't clear to me how much of a load would defeat the value of Turbo Boost … this sounds much better than what I feared might be the case. Guess I will have to keep on budgeting for the iMP after all.


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## fiestared (May 14, 2018)

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Pro
According to "fixit" it's possible to upgrade memory. 
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/iMac-Pro-Memory-Maxxer-RAM-Upgrade-Kit/IF382-003-1


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## Nmargiotta (May 14, 2018)

fiestared said:


> https://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Pro
> According to "fixit" it's possible to upgrade memory.
> https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/iMac-Pro-Memory-Maxxer-RAM-Upgrade-Kit/IF382-003-1




Yes you can but it may cost you a bit more for a few reasons : 

1. You will have to pay for the install at an Apple authorized service center. There is a list of them on apples support site. They can open up the imp without causing damage or voiding warranty, and install the new RAM. Last time I had that priced for my non “pro” iMac (on a HD upgrade) it was a few hundred dollars for the install. 
2. The RAM used on the imp is server grade ram. Not the budget stuff you can find cheap on crucial (although crucial I’m sure carries the proper RAM, you will see the price hike) 
3. If you try to do it yourself with the heat gun, suction cups, etc. your just taking an insanely expensive risk, voiding warranty and potentially having to purchase a whole new machine if damaged severely. 

Some things to consider as much as it’s rough to pay full price for the Apple ram from the initial order.


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## fiestared (May 14, 2018)

Nmargiotta said:


> Yes you can but it may cost you a bit more for a few reasons :
> 
> 1. You will have to pay for the install at an Apple authorized service center. There is a list of them on apples support site. They can open up the imp without causing damage or voiding warranty, and install the new RAM. Last time I had that priced for my non “pro” iMac (on a HD upgrade) it was a few hundred dollars for the install.
> 2. The RAM used on the imp is server grade ram. Not the budget stuff you can find cheap on crucial (although crucial I’m sure carries the proper RAM, you will see the price hike)
> ...


You're right, the price is only one part of the story... complicate world


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