IMac 27” (mid 2020) Core i7 or I9?

Want to talk about music hardware or software that doesn't include Reason?
Post Reply
User avatar
wendylou
Posts: 465
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: Area 51
Contact:

10 Aug 2020

I ordered the iMac10th gen i9 10-core 3.6 GHz turbo 5.0 GHz. Wondering if 10th gen i7 8-core 3.8 GHz turbo 5.0 GHz is better for Reason? There are barely any Geekbench 5’s yet to compare. Mostly wondering about the delta in clock specs for single core throughput. They haven’t processed the order so I could change it if needed today. Any insight appreciated. Thanks for your kind assistance!
:puf_smile: http://www.galxygirl.com -- :reason: user since 2002

User avatar
Billy+
Posts: 4157
Joined: 09 Dec 2016

10 Aug 2020

I would say go with the biggest fastest you can afford as once you have it you can't upgrade it.

1reasonable
Posts: 101
Joined: 19 Aug 2019

10 Aug 2020

Good advice, but I would add that if it were my choice I would go for more RAM (16GB)and a bigger SSD(1TB) with an i7 over an i9 with 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. Effectively you’re paying the same, but the extra RAM will help, and it’s surprising how quickly you will use up the storage on the SSD.This spec will probably keep you going 8-10 years of Reasoning! My Mac is still going strong with a 1TB Fusion drive.
…………………………………………………………………

:reason: 11.3.6 ,  iMac Intel Core i5 (late 2012) OSX 10.13.6 High Sierra

User avatar
tronam
Posts: 486
Joined: 04 Mar 2015

10 Aug 2020

1reasonable wrote:
10 Aug 2020
Good advice, but I would add that if it were my choice I would go for more RAM (16GB)and a bigger SSD(1TB) with an i7 over an i9 with 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. Effectively you’re paying the same, but the extra RAM will help, and it’s surprising how quickly you will use up the storage on the SSD.This spec will probably keep you going 8-10 years of Reasoning! My Mac is still going strong with a 1TB Fusion drive.
Thankfully the 27" still has user upgradeable RAM, so definitely stick with the base 8GB and buy 3rd party. It'll be 50-70% less than what Apple charges in their configuration page. I got an additional 32GB of RAM from Crucial for around $110.

Since the i7 and i9 both support hyperthreading, the dilemma here is whether 2 additional cores will ultimately be better than higher single core performance. In this case it's only 200MHz though. Most DAWs are pretty scalable when it comes to distributing tracks across cores, so the longterm performance potential still seems better for the 10-core i9.

The SSD upgrades are a lot less expensive than they used to be, so the 1TB seems like a good minimum starting point. External SSDs are cheaper, but nowhere near as fast as the ones Apple installs in their computers.
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

User avatar
wendylou
Posts: 465
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: Area 51
Contact:

11 Aug 2020

So we finally have Geekbench stats on the iMac i9-10910 10-cores and it’s slower single core and only 10% faster multicore, so I changed my order. Not worth extra $400 for that. This is a 95W special order i9-10910 chip that Intel made for Apple; not the same specs as the 125W i9-10900. There are now enough Geekbench scores on the 10-core to see how it compares to the i7 8-core.
:puf_smile: http://www.galxygirl.com -- :reason: user since 2002

User avatar
tronam
Posts: 486
Joined: 04 Mar 2015

12 Aug 2020

wendylou wrote:
11 Aug 2020
So we finally have Geekbench stats on the iMac i9-10910 10-cores and it’s slower single core and only 10% faster multicore, so I changed my order. Not worth extra $400 for that. This is a 95W special order i9-10910 chip that Intel made for Apple; not the same specs as the 125W i9-10900. There are now enough Geekbench scores on the 10-core to see how it compares to the i7 8-core.
I've been really happy with my 2019 8-core i9 over the past year and still haven't come close to maxing it out, so I'd expect even better from the 10th gen chips. I've also not heard the fans spin up in months, so it's been an almost entirely silent system unless I run something like a game that heavily pushes the CPU and GPU simultaneously.
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

User avatar
tronam
Posts: 486
Joined: 04 Mar 2015

12 Aug 2020

wendylou wrote:
11 Aug 2020
So we finally have Geekbench stats on the iMac i9-10910 10-cores and it’s slower single core and only 10% faster multicore, so I changed my order. Not worth extra $400 for that. This is a 95W special order i9-10910 chip that Intel made for Apple; not the same specs as the 125W i9-10900. There are now enough Geekbench scores on the 10-core to see how it compares to the i7 8-core.
The Mac Otakara site posted some Geekbench scores for the new iMacs and they show a 30% faster multicore with nearly identical single core performance. I'm not sure if that's worth $400 or not, but now I'm wondering why there's such a disparity in stats.

Image
http://www.macotakara.jp/blog/macintosh ... 40130.html
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

User avatar
wendylou
Posts: 465
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: Area 51
Contact:

12 Aug 2020

tronam wrote:
12 Aug 2020

The Mac Otakara site posted some Geekbench scores for the new iMacs and they show a 30% faster multicore with nearly identical single core performance. I'm not sure if that's worth $400 or not, but now I'm wondering why there's such a disparity in stats.

Image
http://www.macotakara.jp/blog/macintosh ... 40130.html
I hear ya, and despite changing my order back to an i7 8-core, I’m still unclear what the average benchmarks are for the i9 10-core, as the Geekbench scores are all over the place. Many are faster than the i7 for single and multi, but not every entry supports that. It’s driving me crazy! I have a limited window in which I can cancel and reorder. Gaaah!
:puf_smile: http://www.galxygirl.com -- :reason: user since 2002

User avatar
wendylou
Posts: 465
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: Area 51
Contact:

15 Aug 2020

So I canceled again and ordered the i9 10-core. Besides Reason use, this will benefit 3D rendering, 4K video editing, and X-plane. I figured as long as I’m spending a lot towards a top-tier iMac, an extra $400 could provide useful power and make the investment worth it, as well as last well into the Apple silicon transition.
:puf_smile: http://www.galxygirl.com -- :reason: user since 2002

Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: Marc64 and 15 guests