5K Retina iMac VS 6 Core New Mac Pro ~ 4K Video Editing Comparison – Final Cut / Premiere Pro

50 Comments

1. Excellent video, especially for spectards to watch.

2. Recommendations appreciated. My company has told me I can upgrade my system, I’m a mac user, video editor (I currently use the older Mac Pro tower, 64GB). I know the latest Mac Pro (trashcan version) is in need of an update and now I don’t know what direction to go. Shall I just go for the fully loaded new MacBook pro and hope they release another MacPro within the next year or so (and then get that too), or just go all out and buy the fully loaded "trashcan" now? Their budget is $13,500.. plenty.

3. I had no intention of watching this whole video, but man, great info. Thanks for putting this together!

4. Hey man i’m debating if i should buy the 27inch imac 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz. 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM – two 4GB, 512GB Flash Storage, AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory with a third party ram upgrade or just build a window pc for my 4k editing. primarily for premiere and after effect. Thanks!

5. For CPU intensive tasks that don’t use much of GPU, you still think mac pro is not that much better? Do you recommend mac pro 2013 since now the starting price for quad core is $1999 ($1000 less)?

6. Temps are also very depends on ambient room temp… On mid2011 iMac, I have 27-28C° "incoming air", and 65-70C° in like a 2 to 8 hours of Cinema4D rendering.

7. Hi,
   I Saw your video… Really impressive… Knowledge full…

   But I have a question…

   Sir,
   I am professionally a sound engineer, I have my own audio video studio. In my studio i work limit less hours.. Sometime almost for 15 to 20 hours..
   We work on 4k video editing..
   Audio editing.. Etc..

   Please help me referring the best..
   What should I buy..
   Imac pro… Or…mac pro..

   I found you knowledged person regarding mac or imac…
   Please guide me

8. Man sweet, sweet review. For some odd reason i was thinking about the imac because of simple portability. Silly me not realizing that the new macpro is uber portable. Just have to find a hard case for a monitor i guess. Just tired of these computers piling up. I wish i could just lease instead. Nice to know you can upgrade the ram in the imac. I guess it is time to kiss the 2010 mac pro good bye.

9. Compare to IMac Pro which fits the same market and price as the Mac Trash Can. Problem with the Trash Can is has no monitor but then it really was a dead end concept.

10. I admit…mac pro is no longer "pro."

11. So glad I found this video. B&H had the MacPro 4 Core for $2,000 after a "$1,000 savings". I wanted an Apple desktop to hook up to my 50 inch 4K TV which already has a Windows PC and PS4 hooked up. The Mac Mini is really underpowered and outdated. Ironically I don’t want the iMac because I have no space being that I already have a 50 inch tv on top of the desk.

    Because the Mac Pro is underpowered in Final Cut, I might buy the iMac 5K put it on another room, wait to see if Apple updates the Mac Mini this fall, or buy a MacBook Pro and dock it under the TV. #FirstWorldProblems

    But thank you so much on doing the FCPX benchmarks for the Mac Pro and iMac.

12. I believe the Imac gets hotter because of the monitor as well. I have the Mac Pro and I edit videos all day. Its FAST!

13. best comparison out there

14. hey Max really nice video. i do have a question for you, for web browsing, and running multiple apps/programs on the background. would the base imac 27" be good enough, and upgrade the ram to 32gb. my priority is multi tasting with no slow downs. no video editing.

15. Best review I’ve watched. Great information. Thank you!

16. appreciate these videos. especially when you talk about what level computer is needed for curtain tasks. but i am curious how much computer is needed for professional recording studio programs like logic pro X. and others. i want a new computer for photography. 4k video editing. and also for the center piece of a recording studio. i have been holding off getting a new computer for a long time waiting for a new mac pro. but the new iMac seems really good. but I’m still wondering what i really need for my needs. should i wait for an iMac pro or mac pro. or is the iMac enough for me. I’m not a computer tech person. i just use them. but i want something that will have no trouble doing what i need it to do for the next 5 years or so. thanks

17. How in this time in History can we justify these kind of prices. We paid those prices 20 years ago. Are we to assume Apple can’t get good deals on their components?
    Or are they simply esoteric?

18. iMac 27" with Retina 5K owner. *8gb memory. I’ve got 25 min project with a lot of callout titles my workflow is as slow as on some old pc. Will spending £600 on 64gb upgrade will make a big difference ? i need help guys

19. In your opinion, based on technology growth over time, how long before the iMac (in its maxed out configuration) is outdated? The only reason I’d go with the Mac Pro is to have it longer. I think maybe it pays for itself a little in that way

20. The biggest thing that is keeping me from going to pc right now is future proof software. I want to go the pc route because of the problem I’ve run into with my current laptop not being able to upgrade. The idea of not being able to upgrade my laptop at all is frustrating. But what if later premiere isn’t an option in the budget and I can’t afford it? I feel other than final cut and premiere, there are no good video editing programs that offer good video stabilization, editing workflow, and needed features.

    Davinci resolve would be an option if the stabilization software could give me results like warp stabilizer. I tried stabilizing a glidecam shot and it took 15 minutes to fine tune the video to get what I wanted, while fcp7 took 2 minutes. I wish the controls in davinci stabilizer could use a mix/percentage slider instead of a check box for each adjustment.

21. You deserve a million thumbs up

22. What 4/5K monitor do you recommend to use as a secondary monitor on the iMac?

23. Hello max,
    First of all I would like to thank you for your detailed video and advises.
    I am currently considering the acquisition of a iMac 27 ,I7,16GO , with R9 M395X (2015 model) and I would really appreciate it if you could tell me whether or not it’s worth waiting a few months longer for a new model (2017?). If a new model comes out, would the 2015 be obsolete?
    Thanks

24. Do you look at Max….or does Max look at you :I

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    If you enjoy our content please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $2 a month helps us make more and better content for you! https://www.patreon.com/MaxYuryev

26. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. It is tremendously helpful! 💕

27. This was super helpful. Thank you!

28. Very nice video!!! thank you

29. Great video, thank you for your attention to detail and for comparing speed in both FCP and PP. This video has been hugely helpful as I am about to buy a new Mac.

30. I found this video helpful even 2 years later. I went with a late 2015 27" iMac 3.3 core i5 2TB fusion drive and got curcial ram from Amazon separately. Right now in time this is a good balance for me. I have most of my video editing experience working with MiniDV but I have access to HD via my iphone’s camera. With that said I’m also looking into doing screencasting with programs like screenFlow. I upgraded the RAM to 32 GB as I also virtualize and want to have enough ram to treat modern virtualized operating systems like the OS was on a physical computer. I have the M395 graphics card. This is an upgrade from a late 2013 13" macbook pro.

    Overall I’ve been pleased with the setup and find it to be a great performer.

31. It’s my understanding that Intel’s QuickSync reduces quality. Not sure by how much, not sure how much it makes a difference with 4K. Also curious if the new Kabylake GPU with H265 support is a lot better.

32. Thank you SO MUCH for your review. Worth every minute!

33. "That’s all I’m going to say…" Why? Say what you have to say. I wanted to know the answer.

34. Hi.
    Which mac faster and performance for video edit and render?

    Mac Pro
    3.5GHz 6-core with 12MB of L3 cache
    32GB (4x8GB) of 1866MHz DDR3 ECC
    512GB PCIe-based flash storage
    Dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

    iMac 2017
    4.2GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
    32GB 2400MHz DDR4
    512GB SSD
    Radeon Pro 580 with 8GB video memory

35. Great insights! FCPX seems to work more efficient with the iMac i7. Thanks for the video!

36. Hey mate do you know how well the 2015 or 2014 MacBook Pro 15" would do here? Wether it would be anywhere near?

37. Hi. I have a 5k imac with i5 3.5Ghz 16Gb of ram , r9 m290x,and 516Gb of ssd. My problem is it cant handle 4k editing. Rendering was decent but the editing playback was lagging. Question 1: what do you think is the main problem? My cpu or my gpu? Can i upgrade any of the 2 ?( ive heard the cpu is can be replaced)

38. All mass produced on a machine. Humans are getting replaced by robotics. Apple are a rip off.

39. Man. It annoys me that even with a desktop as big as the 27 inch iMac, the cooling systems they put in are just cutting it, running the chips right at the processors tjunction max. My 15" rMBP does the same, runs right at 99C.

40. Thanks a lot….

41. Hi Max, it’s been a year & things change. I’m waiting for a Mac Pro w/TB3…. In the meantime, I’d be interested in a comparison of the new MBP vs. a Mac Pro on FCPX. I still have my 2011 13"MBP with two SSDs & upgraded memory; I use a Mac Pro for FCP and I can live w/o FCPX on my laptop vs. paying $3500 for the new MBP; I’d save the money for a down payment on a Mac Pro and wait for the new one that has TB3. …whenever that is. Apple as lost their way IMHO.

42. thanks..
    great job!..

43. Really helpful brother! Have owned Apple products my whole career (worked on multiple platforms however). Getting ready to make a huge overhaul on camera equipment and editing system and wanted a detailed feedback on what’s out there, this answered everything. Truly appreciate your thoroughness. All the best Max! Cheers -Q

44. What graphics cards do you have in the MacPro? D300 D500 or D700 ?

45. Do you use opencl in premiere pro on mac pro or just cpu rendering?

46. What about editing GoPro’s Fusion videos?

47. I use SMC Fan Control on my iMacs since 2008 the Core 2 Duo 24" burned the GPU – after researching in foruns found this a permanent iMac design flaw (aggravated by Apple software trying to keep it silent)…

48. From all my research I’ve concluded the same results. Single processor tasks are better on the iMac, but when you push it, it runs really hot and loud and isn’t a great solution ultimately, for high end constant use.

    The mac pro as well as being more expandable and upgradeable is a much quieter and more consistent performer, exactly what you need in high end use. Plus when you use programs that take advantage of the twin GPU the Mac Pro it leaves the iMac behind every time. With more cores you also get better results on software that takes advantage of them.

    If you use a lot of high end software, all the time ultimately the Mac Pro is going to see you better, it’s much more reliable and adaptable and it will last. Though the iMac is clearly highly capable, and for edit and export only it’s great, even with AE it’s pretty good.

49. I’m so torn. I love my CinemaWide (UltraWide) Monitor so much and also love Mac but need more HDD, RAM…power! I was so hoping they would update the Mac mini because the Pro is just way too much for so little. I need more than 1TB of storage but considering this option. The iMac is a great deal for all you get in my opinion but I really don’t want or need the monitor. I have a 4K ultra wide. Any advice, tips etc… would be appreciated. Thanks

50. 100°C!!! That’s boiling temperature! That could destroy the computer within a couple of years! How shortsighted of Apple!.. 😏
    Apple must address the issue – perhaps, by devising some sort of thermal insulation.