home › Education › New aimak. iMac Pro Review (2017) - The most powerful all-in-one PC for professionals. A great update to an outdated all-in-one design

New aimak. iMac Pro Review (2017) - The most powerful all-in-one PC for professionals. A great update to an outdated all-in-one design

My father, being an excellent radio electronics engineer, assembled my first computer, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48 kb. I am sure that it is not worth talking about it in detail, since Spectrum is familiar not only to the older generation, but, I hope, also to young people: a simple operating system, loading programs and games from cassettes (how can you forget the unusual loading sound), color image, control over Kempston joystick and so on.

Later there were gaming television consoles Dendy and Sega, which were very captivating, but did not interrupt the craving for the world of “big” computers.

Around the age of 12, I, like most of my peers at that time (90s), began to get interested in computer equipment, fortunately there was a lot of literature, television programs and various sales salons. However, financially, computers were not as accessible as they are today, so for many they remained a dream. Same for me. But then one day at SUT (the Station for Young Technicians, which I visited), I overheard a conversation between two boys, one of whom boasted that he had a computer at home, but it seemed incomprehensible to him and too difficult to use, so he offered to exchange it for a console with his friend Dendy. This kind of barter was not interesting to the guy, so I jumped into the conversation with a counter offer: at that time I had the most sophisticated ZX Spectrum 128 kb with two disk drives and a Yamaha music processor, a huge number of floppy disks with games and applications. That is, I offered to exchange the Spectrum for a PC unknown to me. He reasoned like this: even if the boy has the weakest computer, in any case it will be a PC with DOS or even Windows! Surprisingly, the boy agreed, and we agreed to meet for an exchange.

Having opened the case of the “cherished” computer at his home, I was somewhat disappointed to find inside motherboard With Intel processor 80286. Frankly speaking, I flattered myself with hopes of seeing at least the “386th”, but, in the end, I came to terms with the fact that the “286th” would still be better than the outdated “Spectrum”.

The funny thing is that the PC did not have a monitor, and connecting it to the TV seemed almost impossible, unlike the same Spectrum. However, my father was still able to find a way out of the situation for the first time: he soldered some kind of board and eventually connected the “286th” to the “Electronics” TV. The plus was that the image appeared, but the minus was that it was only in DOS, and in Windows the picture was only at the top of the screen :)

Later, gradually gaining experience, I assembled a PC from components. By the way, the day recently passed the announcement of the legendary 3DFX Voodoo Graphics video card, which appeared in 1995, which I also used in my Windows computer. Basically, I have been using this operating system almost until the present day.

Actually, such a long preface was created not only because of the emotions and nostalgia that surged during the writing of the article, but also so that you understand that I am from that generation that takes a serious and thorough approach to any technical devices, especially if it concerns them purchases.

The crux of the matter

For about 7-8 years I have practically not replaced anything in my PC, because at that time I had assembled good hardware, and if it weren’t for the games (which I don’t play), I could still use it to this day. However, at some point I thought that I didn’t need powerful components, I was a little tired of the noise of the coolers, the huge case was taking up space, there were a lot of wires around the table - it was simply ugly (a year ago I carefully put them together, but there are still a lot of cables). Therefore, I decided to take a closer look at all-in-one PCs running Windows. It turned out that there weren’t many beautiful, productive solutions on our market, and besides, we really wanted something new. Therefore, the choice fell on the Apple iMac (friends and colleagues persuaded me to take it): nice, fast (according to friends) and without a ton of wires.

Frankly, I have (I think, like many reasonable people) a psychological barrier in front of a certain amount, for example, I’m not ready to spend more than 500 rubles for communication services, on a smartphone - no more than 40,000 rubles, on a computer - no more 80,000 rubles and so on.

Taking into account the “barrier”, I was ready to spend about 80,000 rubles on an iMac. For this amount they offered me an Apple iMac 21.5’’ FullHD with weak hardware. This situation did not suit me, since the Mac in this situation was no different from my PC, and the screen was also smaller.

I had to overcome myself and put up a psychological barrier worth about 130,000 rubles. That’s exactly how much the “friendly store” BiGeek Apple iMac 27’‘5K with Fusion Drive agreed to sell me for. In general, I came to BigGik, called Apple, clarified that the “machine” was certified, and went home.

Bugs, oddities and other things

I unpacked the box, set it on the table, and turned it on. The first thing I noticed was a slight flare on the screen at the top right when it was filled with black. I grabbed my heart and quickly looked for it, no, not Corvalol, but an explanation - on the Internet. It turned out that the phenomenon is common and there is no need to panic. As they say, “the spoons were found, but the sediment remained”...

Having connected the keyboard and mouse, I began to study the system.

The second thing that confused me was Magic Mouse. For me it turned out to be extremely inconvenient, since I was used to working with a large mouse that has at least two adequate mechanical buttons. By adequacy I mean the following: if you click on the left, then it is a left click, on the right, it is a right click. In Magic Mouse, the right click must be done completely to the right at the top, which is inconvenient. Probably a matter of habit. Without various software accelerators, the speed of moving the needle on a 27-inch monitor turned out to be agony: I had to move the mouse on the table from side to side. As a result, I installed MouseZoom, and everything fell more or less into place. However, in any case, I never got used to the ergonomics of the MM design.

I tried replacing MM with other mice. There were three options at home. They all worked haphazardly, the biggest killer was the scrolling: sometimes it’s slow, sometimes it’s very fast, sometimes it skips a lot of pages, sometimes it doesn’t respond to smooth scrolling. In short, I stayed on Magic Mouse, temporarily.

While I was setting up the system, checking the functionality of the applications, when playing a video (any - youtube, movie) I noticed a strange feature. It’s quite difficult to describe it in words, but the gist is something like this: in the video, at a relatively sudden movements contrasting objects, the edges moved unsmoothly, slightly jagged, approximately the same as not the best response time. There was something to compare with: there was a monitor nearby (24’’ FullHD) connected to a PC. On it, the same videos looked much smoother, and the picture itself was perceived as more pleasing to the eye.

Before calling Apple, I decided to look at the iMac of my configuration in one of the showrooms from the re-store (the employees will forgive me, but most of them have practically no understanding not only of Apple hardware, but also of the system). To my surprise, it turned out that the screens there behave similarly in terms of the strange thing I discovered. Moreover, I checked with the employees whether they saw the same thing as me. Yes, they do. Just wanted to make sure I'm not going crazy :)

Having somehow come to terms with the situation, I discovered another unpleasant moment for me personally - scaling. The fact is that the 5K image looks great on 27 inches, but the entire interface is too small. It's easy to select a larger format in the settings. However, the entire interface becomes slightly cloudy and blurry. Question: why use 5K if the picture looks bad? Since I didn’t want to be made a fool again, I asked the store consultant if he saw blurry fonts and icons. The answer was again in the affirmative.

A high-quality matrix is good: excellent brightness, rich colors, natural white and high contrast. If you don’t spend days working with text, then the iMac 27’’5K is a cool “machine.” My profession is related to writing texts, so I sit at the computer for hours. In this regard, small font, thin letters and interface elements, coupled with high contrast, played a cruel joke: after 30-40 minutes, the eyes quickly get tired of peering at a small image. Yes, you can try to come up with something with the font, with the brightness of the backlight, with other things, but overall nothing good came of it for me!

Next, I decided to test the speed of the video editing application iMovie and Final Cut. The first program somehow passed the tests and did not slow down particularly, but in the second timeline it “groaned” with unpleasant brakes on the moving clip. In the end, I suffered more than I edited the video. I know such things as Optimization and Proxy, but they are used slowly.

Here, most likely, Fusion Drive is to blame, that is, it was necessary to take an iMac with an SSD, but this is no longer 130,000 or even 150,000 rubles. At this rate it would be possible to get to 200,000 rubles. For that kind of money it’s already easy to buy a space PC.

I won’t talk about the oddities of the OS, because from the very beginning I was ready to put up with the lack of many convenient applications. Even pirated programs - try installing them if they are usually not supported new version systems.

What does it cost just to save data to your hard drive if it worked with Windows :) The Page text editor constantly had problems: when writing text, the letters could not keep up with the speed of my typing. From time to time, turning to full screen was accompanied by lags.

If someone tells you stories about bug-free OSX, then do not believe in these tales. Of course, if you only use Mac for social networks and the Internet, then most likely there will be no problems. This is also true for Windows.

As a conclusion

Here I will summarize why I bought a cool Apple computer and was dissatisfied with it and even somewhat disappointed:

Not the most convenient, in my opinion, mouse control. But this is generally what happens in the system. “Understanding and forgiving” is difficult...
Strange behavior of the video on the screen - lack of smoothness.
Poor scaling. I think Apple should be ashamed of making a 5K screen and using low-quality upscaling.
The small interface, coupled with high contrast and harsh white color, hits the eyes, making it difficult to work with text for a long time.
Brakes in Final Cut and other minor bugs.

Giving advice is a thankless task, but before Apple purchase iMac Think carefully about whether the game is “worth the candle”, try to get a gadget somewhere and use it for at least a few days. However, it took Evgeny Vildyayev about 4 months to get used to the OS...

Roma is a hater! :)

A design that has not changed for 5 years. True, if it were changed, there would be even more dissatisfied people. What is more important is what is inside - and with that everything was fine. Over these 5 years, no one has answered one question: why does a desktop computer need an extremely thin case? Agree, there is no need for this. Because of her, a lot had to be sacrificed. Probably, there was a point in all this: all these 5 years, competitors were desperately trying to repeat his success.

“The good just got better,” the reviewers wrote.

And, in order not to lose the trust of their readers, they added a fly or two in the ointment. The screen is great - but backward Apple still doesn't support a touch interface on this screen. Everyone supports it, but Apple doesn’t. No Touch ID. All connectors are on the back of the case. Horror!

And the “magic mouse” of the second generation, which cannot be used for its intended purpose while it is charging! This is beyond good and evil. Although, in order for the mouse to work for several more hours (if it’s “pressed”), it is enough to connect it to the charger for one or two minutes. One or two minutes can always be found, no matter how pressing the circumstances.

And the new iMacs were very good. Against the backdrop of ill-conceived and unfinished solutions, which even Apple had more and more of, they stood out and even inspired hope that someday everything would be fine again.

For displays with the same resolution (5120x2880), for example, for the LG UltraFine 5K, they asked for from $1,100 to $1,300. Prices for the iMac 5K started at 1,799. Expensive, I agree - but this price cannot be called unfair - Apple’s “5K display” also included a computer.

The new iMacs weren't just 5K, they were an outstanding 5K display. Brightness 500 cd/m2, contrast 740:1, quite decent.

DCI-P3, 10-bit dithering, “billion colors”. A person perceives 7-10 million colors and shades, perhaps this is excessive. But great.

It’s even somehow inconvenient to talk about IPS, anti-reflective coating and other goodies.

This display was used in all variants of the 2017 27-inch iMac. Because it is cheaper to produce one variety of a complex and expensive component than two or three. And the price of these components is lower, the larger the circulation.

Apple's greed turns out to be a good thing sometimes.

The 2017 iMac's 27-inch displays had their downsides. For example, the assembly of the LCD panel and the coating protecting it was fragile - and replacing it was expensive. It would seem that for desktop computer this is not as critical as for a smart phone or tablet, but alas: things happen in life, and sometimes you have to climb inside an ultra-thin case. To do this, you first have to remove the screen.

I won’t say anything about other shortcomings, like “too bright” and “too big”.

iMac 5K 2017

In the online store of Apple (and its partners), the model with the identifier iMac18.3 was presented in three initial configurations.

In the initial configurations – 8 Gigabytes random access memory PC4-19200 (2400 MHz) DDR4. All variants of the iMac18.3 coped well with 64 GB, and thanks to the hatch above the power cable connector, upgrading the RAM was simple and convenient. Why not do the same in the 21.5-inch model?

Apple discussed the exact opposite idea: to remove the RAM access hatch from 27-inch models. Because in the media, in various places, they called for buying an iMac with a base 8 Gigabytes, because their upgrade to 16 Gigabytes cost Apple 200 dollars, and on the free market - 99. But, after weighing the pros and cons, they left everything is as it is.

All 27-inch iMacs in 2017 came with . All of them used discrete graphics from AMD. The set of connectors and wireless communication tools were also the same.

2 USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), 4 regular USB connectors (USB 3.0), Gigabit Ethernet and a regular power cable.

2017 27-inch iMac connectors

802.11ac (with support for 802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.2.

All 2017 iMacs supported one external display with a resolution of up to 5120 x 2880 (5K) or two displays with a resolution of up to 4096 x 2304 (4K). But the iMac 5K could not be used as a display for a laptop or Mac mini. Due to a number of technical problems.

Processors

All processors used in iMac18.3 are .

— Intel Core i5 3.4 GHz (i5-7500), with a third level cache of 6 MB, with a maximum clock speed in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode of 3.8 GHz;
— Intel Core i5 3.5 GHz (i5-7600), with a third level cache of 6 MB, with a maximum clock speed in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode of 4.1 GHz;
— Intel Core i5 3.8 GHz (i5-7600K), with a third level cache of 6 MB, with a maximum clock speed in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode of 4.2 GHz;
- Intel Core i7 4.2 GHz (i7-7700K), with a third level cache of 8 Megabytes, with a maximum clock speed in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode of 4.5 GHz.

The first three were used in the initial configurations, the fourth (Core i7) could be selected in the configurator for options with Intel Core i5 3.5 GHz and Intel Core i5 3.8 GHz, for a $300 and $200 surcharge.

The processors were installed in the LGA 1151 socket. But there is no reliable information about attempts self-replacement I didn't find the processor. Theoretically this is possible.

Budget luxury option

The budget option cost $1,799, excluding taxes and fees. Intel Core i5 3.4 GHz (i5-7500), AMD Radeon Pro 570 with 4 GB of video memory, Fusion Drive 32 GB SSD + 1 terabyte HDD. HDD was faster than in 21.5-inch models, with a rotor speed of 7,200 rpm (instead of 5,400 rpm), and the 32 GB SSD cache in some cases turned out to be insufficient.

For example, when copying from external sources 50 Gigabyte file. In 2017, Fusion Drive began to be treated worse than before. SSDs became more and more accessible, they were beyond competition, with the first versions of APFS (new file system Apple) Fusion Drive had problems. Which were corrected, but a residue remained.

Fusion Drive 1 Terabyte in the budget option configurator could be replaced with Fusion Drive 128 Gigabyte SSD + 2 Terabyte HDD, and SSD with a capacity of 256 Gigabyte, 512 Gigabyte or 1 Terabyte, for 200, 100, 300 and 700 dollars.

RAM, officially, could be increased from the base 8 GB to 16 or 32, for $200 and $600. An increase to 64 Gigabytes was not offered in the configurator of this option (although the budget device worked without any problems with 64 Gigabytes of RAM). Outside of Apple, RAM was half the price.

Basic options

There were two main options, for $1,999 and $2,299. The first one used Intel Core i5 3.5 GHz (i5-7600) and discrete graphics AMD processor Radeon Pro 575 with 4 GB of video memory, the second – Intel Core i5 3.8 GHz (i5-7600K) and AMD Radeon Pro 580 with 8 GB of video memory.

The size of RAM could be increased in the configurators of both options to 16, 32 and 64 GB, for 200, 600 and 1,400 dollars.

The initial configuration for $1,999 included a Fusion Drive 32 GB SSD + 1 terabyte HDD. When placing an order, it could be replaced with a Fusion Drive of 2 or 3 terabytes (128 GB SSD + 2 or 3 TB HDD), for $200 or $300. Or for a pure SSD with a capacity of 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB, for 100, 300 and 700 dollars.

The configuration for 2,299 included Fusion Drive 128 GB + 2 TB. For an additional $100, it could be upgraded to a 128GB + 3TB Fusion Drive. Or on a 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB SSD for $200, $600 or $1,400.

The highest possible configuration, with an Intel Core i7 4.2 GHz (i7-7700K), 64 GB of RAM and 2 terabytes of SSD, cost $5,299, before taxes and fees.

But compared to another iMac announced on the same day, these were still flowers.

The most productive version of the Apple iMac arrived in our test laboratory - and this is not one of the basic configurations, but an option that is only available when ordering through the website (at the time of writing, this option did not yet work in Russia). In particular, the processor in it is replaced with a Core i7-7700K, the amount of RAM is increased to 64 GB, and a two-terabyte SSD is used as a drive (instead of a standard hybrid drive). The cost of the proposed configuration in the US can be seen in the screenshot below.

On the one hand, this is, frankly speaking, a niche and highly specialized option, designed for those people who really need the most from a computer and are willing to pay serious money for it. Of course, there are not many such people (in percentage terms). But on the other hand, for us this particular option is of interest as a certain maximum that Apple computers are capable of today (not counting the Mac Pro, which with its server hardware is a completely different story, and the iMac Pro, expected only in December).

Here detailed list technical characteristics the model about which we'll talk Further.

Apple iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)
CPU		Intel Core i7-7700K (4 cores, 8 threads, 4.2 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz)
Chipset		N/A
RAM		64 GB DDR4, 2400 MHz
Integrated Graphics		Intel HD Graphics 630
Discrete graphics		AMD Radeon Pro 580 (8 GB)
Screen		27 inches, IPS, 5120×2880, 218 ppi
Storage device		SSD, 2 TB
Optical drive		No
Network interfaces	Wired network	Gigabit Ethernet
	Wireless network	802.11a/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz
	Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2
Interfaces and ports	USB	4 × USB 3.0
	HDMI 1.4
	VGA	no (support via adapter available)
	Thunderbolt	2 × Thunderbolt 3 (via connectors USB Type-C)
	Memory card support	SDXC
	Microphone input	yes (combined)
	Headphone output	yes (combined)
	Line audio output	No
	Line audio input	No
Input Devices	Keyboard	included (Magic Keyboard)
Input Devices	Touchpad	By default, Magic Trackpad 2 is not included, but can be included instead of Magic Mouse 2
Additional devices input	Touch Bar	No
Additional devices input	Touch ID	No
IP telephony	Webcam	FaceTime HD Camera (720р)
IP telephony	Microphone	There is
Battery		No
Dimensions (cm)		51.6×65.0×20.3
Mass without periphery		9.44 kg

Here is information about this model in the OS X operating system:

So, the basis of the model we tested is the quad-core Intel Core i7-7700K (Kaby Lake) processor. This processor has a base clock speed of 4.2 GHz; in Turbo Boost mode the frequency can increase to 4.5 GHz. Its L3 cache size is 8 MB, and the estimated maximum power- 91 W. Graphics integrated into the processor Intel core HD Graphics 630, the base clock speed of which is 350 MHz, and the maximum (in Turbo Boost mode) is 1.15 GHz. The discrete graphics appropriate for a top-end monoblock is AMD Radeon Pro 580 (8 GB). The monoblock is equipped with 64 GB of DDR4 RAM. The memory in the new iMac operates at 2400 MHz. And the SSD storage capacity is 2 TB.

The standard configuration of this model uses Core processor i5 with a base frequency of 3.8 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz), 8, 16 or 32 GB of RAM and a hybrid Fusion Drive with a total capacity of 2 or 3 TB.

The communication capabilities of the monoblock are determined by the presence of a wireless dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) network adapter that complies with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac specifications. The monoblock is also equipped with a built-in 720p webcam.

We won't cover the design and features since they haven't changed from the previous generation iMac, so we suggest you read our articles about the 2015 iMac 5K and iMac 4K. In this article we will focus on the performance that we will test using our new method and the quality of the display.

You can find a detailed description of the performance testing methodology and, so in this article we will not justify the need for certain test scenarios, as well as explain their order and tasks, but will move directly to a description of the results.

Performance testing in Final Cut Pro X and Compressor

In our main test set, the results were quite interesting. In 4K video stabilization, the new iMac significantly outperformed the previous record holder - MacBook Pro 15″ (Late 2016). True, we cannot compare the performance of the new product with its immediate predecessor - the 2015 iMac 27″, since we did not yet have this technique. But the superiority in stabilization tests over today's most powerful laptop with discrete graphics is still impressive.

But the next two tests already show very strange results. When creating picture-in-picture video, the iMac was inferior to the MacBook Pro 15″ 2016, and in the final rendering via Compressor it was inferior even to the laptop from last year. What's the matter? Most likely the problem is throttling. An all-in-one PC equipped with desktop hardware (and not laptop hardware, as is usually the case with all-in-one PCs, including the iMac), overheats in stabilization tests, and when it comes to the last tests of the method, the frequencies drop and the result turns out to be worse than expected.

What does this mean in practical terms? That although the performance of the 2017 iMac 27″ is truly a record for models with macOS (with the exception of Mac Pro), prolonged operation under maximum load is not optimal in terms of results: the all-in-one PC overheats and drops frequencies.

BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve

Another professional video editing application is BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve. We used version 12.5. And this is what happened:

Here, too, the result is predictable, although one cannot say that the difference is significant. But still, together with the other results, this one is also quite eloquent.

Browser benchmarks: JetStream

Now let's move on to benchmarks. Let's start with the browser-based JavaScript benchmark JetStream. Safari was used as the browser.

And here the situation is repeated.

Geekbench

Geekbench confirms that the processor and video accelerator used in the new iMac 27″ are faster than anything previously used in Apple computers.

GFX Benchmark Metal

Below are detailed test results.

GFX Benchmark 3	iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)		MacBook Pro 15″ (Mid 2015)
1440р Manhattan 3.1.1 Offscreen, fps	217,8	68,5	44,5
Manhattan 3.1, fps	47,0	32,0	24,9
1080p Manhattan 3.1 Offscreen, fps	358,6	120,1	55,8
Manhattan, fps	68,5	48,9	38,8
1080p Manhattan Offscreen, fps	422,8	163,6	60,1
T-Rex	119,5	105,6	59,0
1080p T-Rex Offscreen, fps	712,8	301,9	103,1

Let us remember that in Offscreen mode all participants are rendering the same picture (resolution 1440p or 1080p, as indicated in the name of the test). So this is a pure performance comparison, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is head and shoulders above the competition. Paired Onscreen tests use the test subjects' native screen resolution, meaning the test shows how well they handle the game in real-world conditions. Here, too, there is a noticeable superiority of the iMac 27″ over the old MacBook Pro, but the difference is smaller, that is, the 5K resolution is harder to “pull” (which is logical).

CompuBenchCL

The latest benchmark that tests GPU performance is Compubench. Here, among other things, the ability to test OpenCL performance of any GPU (discrete and integrated) and CPU is important.

So here are the results. The first number is the test data using a powerful discrete accelerator, the second is the integrated GPU, and the last number is the CPU.

CompuBenchCL	iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Late 2016)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Mid 2015)
Face Detection, MPixels/s	100,5 / 30,7 / 6,56	33,6 / 26,0 / 4,96	25,8 / 17,1 / 4,84
TV-L1 Optical Flow, MPixels/s	23,27 / 4,36 / 2,06	6,56 / 3,17 / 1,60	5,69 / 5,93 / 1.61
Ocean Surface Simulation, fps	1172 / 353 / 105,5	575 / 261 / 75,9	528 / 358 / 84,1
Particle Simulation - 64k, MInteractions/s	636 / 281 / 51,6	284 / 173 / 40,1	220 / 188 / 39,7
Video Composition, fps	112,2 / 20,1 / 3,12	48,1 / 17,7 / 2,13	36,7 / 19,0 / 2,11
Bitcoin Mining, MHash/s	659 / 36,9 / 8,24	163 / 31,0 / 5,61	123 / 30,1 / 5,76

In general, the situation is similar to the GFX Benchmark: the new product is many times ahead of laptops, and the external GPU is again head and shoulders above its rivals, and the advantage of the CPU is more modest, but also clearly recorded. Pay attention to the Bitcoin Mining subtest.

BlackMagic Disk Speed

If the benchmarks listed above help us evaluate the performance of the CPU and GPU, then BlackMagic Disk Speed is focused on testing the drive - the speed of reading and writing files.

Here we also got a very interesting result. Based on BlackMagic Disk Speed, the new SSD-equipped iMac was even slightly faster at reading and writing files than the MacBook, although it did significantly better than previous models.

The table below shows the results of the tested models.

So, in this regard, the 2017 iMac 27″ is also a leader.

Games

To test gaming performance, we use Deux Ex: Human Revolution and World of Tanks: Blitz, launched through the Count It utility. Below you can see the launch schedule for Deux Ex: Human Revolution. The game itself begins where the schedule is more or less even.

During the game itself, the number of frames per second remains mostly above 100 fps. This means the game is at its maximum possible settings(which is exactly what we put up) will be perfectly comfortable.

As for World of Tanks: Blitz, the picture here is just as clear, although the number of frames in the game itself is limited to 60 per second. These are exactly what we observed. The deep drop in the graph below is the moment the splash screen is shown during the launch of the game, so only further data should be taken into account.

Overall, the iMac 27″ (Mid 2017) gaming performance is this moment exemplary for Apple computers, and all games available on Mac App Store, will run on this model without the slightest problem.

True, we note a fairly high level of noise and heating of the monoblock under load, but this concerns games to a lesser extent than video editing.

Screen

The new iMac is equipped with a 27-inch diagonal IPS screen with a resolution of 5120x2880, which gives a pixel density of 218 ppi. The previous iMac 5K 27″ had the same parameters.

The screen is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, and, judging by the reflection of objects in it, it has a very effective anti-glare filter. As a result, very high image clarity is maintained; of course, there is no “crystalline” effect (local brightness variation) and reflections in the screen do not interfere with work. There may be an air gap between the glass and the surface of the matrix, but we cannot say this categorically.

When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 500 cd/m², the minimum was 3.8 cd/m². As a result, at maximum brightness even in bright daylight(taking into account what was said above about anti-glare properties), the screen remains readable, and in complete darkness the screen brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the peephole front camera). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider - the user uses it to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. By moving the slider in an office environment and in the dark, we managed to achieve an acceptable result: in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 550 lux) - 210-300 cd/m², in complete darkness - 32 cd/m², in a very bright environment (corresponds to clear lighting during the day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness increases to 500 cd/m². At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This Apple iMac uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. Just for illustration, here is a photo in which a test image with an integrated sRGB profile is displayed on the screen of an Apple iMac:

When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened slightly and acquires a slight purple tint. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good, but it cannot be called ideal (mouse cursor in the center):

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - 1000:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 17 ms (10 ms on + 7 ms off), the transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 43 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.24, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve almost does not deviate from the power-law dependence:

These and other results were obtained, unless otherwise noted, using the device's native operating system without changing the original screen settings and for test images without profile or with sRGB profile. Let us recall that in this case the initial properties of the matrix are precisely corrected programmatically.

Color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:

The spectra show that software correction mixes the primary colors with each other to the desired extent:

Note that such spectra are often found in mobile and not very mobile devices Apple and other manufacturers. Apparently, such screens use LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphors (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Yes, and the red phosphor apparently uses so-called quantum dots. For a consumer device that does not support color management, a wide color gamut is not an advantage, but a significant disadvantage, since as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (which are the vast majority) have unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. In this case, color management is present, so the output of images in which the sRGB profile is specified or no profile is specified at all is performed with gamut correction to sRGB. As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation.

Native to most modern Apple devices is the Display P3 color space with slightly richer greens and reds than sRGB. The Display P3 space is based on SMPTE DCI-P3, but has a D65 white point and a gamma curve of approximately 2.2. Indeed, by adding test images ( JPG files and PNG) with the Display P3 profile, we got a wider color gamut than sRGB (output in Safari):

Note that the coordinates of the primary colors coincide almost exactly with those specified for the DCI-P3 standard. This coverage differs from Adobe RGB: red in Display P3 is slightly more saturated, and green can be considered less saturated. Let's look at the spectra in the case of test images with the Display P3 profile:

It can be seen that in this case no significant cross-mixing of components occurs, that is, this color space is native to the Apple iMac screen.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is very good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen of the all-in-one Apple iMac (2017) has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used without problems in bright external lighting conditions. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include the absence of flickering of the backlight, good uniformity of the black field, excellent stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane and high contrast. Combined with support from the OS, the Apple iMac screen by default correctly displays pictures with or without a registered sRGB profile (they are considered to be sRGB), and displaying images with a wider gamut is possible within the gamut of Display P3. The screen has no significant flaws.

conclusions

The new iMac has only one major problem: it overheats under high load, which immediately leads to a performance hit (though not enough to make it uncomfortable or ineffective).

If the time of maximum load is measured (and this is what usually happens, even with video editing), then an iMac equipped with a desktop hardware, and a top-end one at that, will demonstrate its capabilities in all its glory. Until the release of the iMac Pro in December 2017, the model we tested will be the most powerful computer running macOS (with the possible exception of the server-based Mac Pro).

Add to this a magnificent display, as well as a case design that remains relevant, and we get, perhaps, the best monoblock to date. And the most expensive, of course. But here it’s worth choosing the optimal solution for your tasks. Such performance as that of the model we tested is only suitable for professional applications - such as video editing. Everything else, including games, can be used with equal success on more affordable iMac configurations.

Apple updated all lines of computers running macOS in 2017 (with the exception of Mac Pro). The design of the models remained unchanged, but the “filling” was significantly improved. Today we're testing the most powerful new product introduced in June - the 27-inch Apple iMac.

Here is a detailed list of technical characteristics of the model that will be discussed below.

Apple iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)
CPU		Intel Core i7-7700K (4 cores, 8 threads, 4.2 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz)
Chipset		N/A
RAM		64 GB DDR4, 2400 MHz
Integrated Graphics		Intel HD Graphics 630
Discrete graphics		AMD Radeon Pro 580 (8 GB)
Screen		27 inches, IPS, 5120×2880, 218 ppi
Storage device		SSD, 2 TB
Optical drive		No
Network interfaces	Wired network	Gigabit Ethernet
	Wireless network	802.11a/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz
	Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2
Interfaces and ports	USB	4 × USB 3.0
	HDMI 1.4
	VGA	no (support via adapter available)
	Thunderbolt	2 × Thunderbolt 3 (via USB Type-C connectors)
	Memory card support	SDXC
	Microphone input	yes (combined)
	Headphone output	yes (combined)
	Line audio output	No
	Line audio input	No
Input Devices	Keyboard	included (Magic Keyboard)
Input Devices	Touchpad	By default, Magic Trackpad 2 is not included, but can be included instead of Magic Mouse 2
Additional input devices	Touch Bar	No
Additional input devices	Touch ID	No
IP telephony	Webcam	FaceTime HD Camera (720р)
IP telephony	Microphone	There is
Battery		No
Dimensions (cm)		51.6×65.0×20.3
Mass without periphery		9.44 kg

Here is information about this model in the OS X operating system:

So, the basis of the model we tested is the quad-core Intel Core i7-7700K (Kaby Lake) processor. This processor has a base clock speed of 4.2 GHz; in Turbo Boost mode the frequency can increase to 4.5 GHz. Its L3 cache size is 8MB and its rated maximum power is 91W. The processor integrates the Intel HD Graphics 630 graphics core, the base clock frequency of which is 350 MHz, and the maximum (in Turbo Boost mode) is 1.15 GHz. The discrete graphics appropriate for a top-end monoblock is AMD Radeon Pro 580 (8 GB). The monoblock is equipped with 64 GB of DDR4 RAM. The memory in the new iMac operates at 2400 MHz. And the SSD storage capacity is 2 TB.

The standard configuration of this model uses a Core i5 processor with a base frequency of 3.8 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz), 8, 16 or 32 GB of RAM and a hybrid Fusion Drive with a total capacity of 2 or 3 TB.

Performance testing in Final Cut Pro X and Compressor

In our main test set, the results were quite interesting. In 4K video stabilization, the new iMac significantly outperformed the previous record holder - the MacBook Pro 15″ (Late 2016). True, we cannot compare the performance of the new product with its immediate predecessor, the 2015 iMac 27″, since we did not yet have this technique. But the superiority in stabilization tests over today's most powerful laptop with discrete graphics is still impressive.

BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve

Another professional video editing application is BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve. We used version 12.5. And this is what happened:

Here, too, the result is predictable, although one cannot say that the difference is significant. But still, together with the other results, this one is also quite eloquent.

Browser benchmarks: JetStream

Now let's move on to benchmarks. Let's start with the browser JavaScript benchmark. Safari was used as the browser.

And here the situation is repeated.

Geekbench

Geekbench confirms that the processor and video accelerator used in the new iMac 27″ are faster than anything previously used in Apple computers.

GFX Benchmark Metal

Below are detailed test results.

GFX Benchmark 3	iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Late 2016)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Mid 2015)
1440р Manhattan 3.1.1 Offscreen, fps	217,8	68,5	44,5
Manhattan 3.1, fps	47,0	32,0	24,9
1080p Manhattan 3.1 Offscreen, fps	358,6	120,1	55,8
Manhattan, fps	68,5	48,9	38,8
1080p Manhattan Offscreen, fps	422,8	163,6	60,1
T-Rex	119,5	105,6	59,0
1080p T-Rex Offscreen, fps	712,8	301,9	103,1

CompuBenchCL

The latest benchmark that tests GPU performance is Compubench. Here, among other things, the ability to test OpenCL performance of any GPU (discrete and integrated) and CPU is important.

So here are the results. The first number is the test data using a powerful discrete accelerator, the second is the integrated GPU, and the last number is the CPU.

CompuBenchCL	iMac 27″ (Mid 2017)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Late 2016)	MacBook Pro 15″ (Mid 2015)
Face Detection, MPixels/s	100,5 / 30,7 / 6,56	33,6 / 26,0 / 4,96	25,8 / 17,1 / 4,84
TV-L1 Optical Flow, MPixels/s	23,27 / 4,36 / 2,06	6,56 / 3,17 / 1,60	5,69 / 5,93 / 1.61
Ocean Surface Simulation, fps	1172 / 353 / 105,5	575 / 261 / 75,9	528 / 358 / 84,1
Particle Simulation - 64k, MInteractions/s	636 / 281 / 51,6	284 / 173 / 40,1	220 / 188 / 39,7
Video Composition, fps	112,2 / 20,1 / 3,12	48,1 / 17,7 / 2,13	36,7 / 19,0 / 2,11
Bitcoin Mining, MHash/s	659 / 36,9 / 8,24	163 / 31,0 / 5,61	123 / 30,1 / 5,76

BlackMagic Disk Speed

If the benchmarks listed above help us evaluate the performance of the CPU and GPU, then BlackMagic Disk Speed is focused on testing the drive - the speed of reading and writing files.

The table below shows the results of the tested models.

So, in this regard, the 2017 iMac 27″ is also a leader.

Games

During the game itself, the number of frames per second remains mostly above 100 fps. This means that playing at the highest possible settings (which is what we set) will be ideally comfortable.

In general, the gaming performance of the iMac 27″ (Mid 2017) is currently exemplary for Apple computers, and all games available in the Mac App Store will run on this model without the slightest problem.

True, we note a fairly high level of noise and heating of the monoblock under load, but this concerns games to a lesser extent than video editing.

Screen

The new iMac is equipped with a 27-inch diagonal IPS screen with a resolution of 5120x2880, which gives a pixel density of 218 ppi. The previous iMac 5K 27″ had the same parameters.

When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 500 cd/m², the minimum was 3.8 cd/m². As a result, at maximum brightness, even in bright daylight (taking into account what was said above about anti-glare properties), the screen remains readable, and in complete darkness, the screen brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider - the user uses it to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. By moving the slider in an office environment and in the dark, we managed to achieve an acceptable result: in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 550 lux) - 210-300 cd/m², in complete darkness - 32 cd/m², in a very bright environment (corresponds to clear lighting during the day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness increases to 500 cd/m². At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This Apple iMac uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

These and other results were obtained, unless otherwise noted, under the device's native operating system without changing the original screen settings and for test images without a profile or with an sRGB profile. Let us recall that in this case the initial properties of the matrix are precisely corrected programmatically.

Color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:

The spectra show that software correction mixes the primary colors with each other to the desired extent:

Note that such spectra are often found in mobile and not-so-mobile devices from Apple and other manufacturers. Apparently, such screens use LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphors (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Yes, and the red phosphor apparently uses so-called quantum dots. For a consumer device that does not support color management, a wide color gamut is not an advantage, but a significant disadvantage, since as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (which are the vast majority) have unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. In this case, color management is present, so the output of images in which the sRGB profile is specified or no profile is specified at all is performed with gamut correction to sRGB. As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation.

The native color space for most modern Apple devices is Display P3 with slightly richer greens and reds compared to sRGB. Space Display P3 based on SMPTE DCI-P3, but has a D65 white point and a gamma curve of approximately 2.2. Indeed, by supplementing the test images (JPG and PNG files) with the Display P3 profile, we obtained a color gamut wider than sRGB (output in Safari):

Note that the coordinates of the primary colors coincide almost exactly with those specified for the DCI-P3 standard. This coverage is different from Adobe RGB: red in Display P3 a little more saturated, and green can be considered less saturated. We look at the spectra in the case of test images with a profile Display P3:

It can be seen that in this case no significant cross-mixing of components occurs, that is, this color space is native to the Apple iMac screen.

conclusions

The new iMac has only one major problem: it overheats under high load, which immediately leads to a performance hit (though not enough to make it uncomfortable or ineffective).

Add to this a magnificent display, as well as a case design that remains relevant, and we get, perhaps, the best all-in-one PC to date. And the most expensive, of course. But here it’s worth choosing the optimal solution for your tasks. Such performance as that of the model we tested is only suitable for professional applications, such as video editing. Everything else, including games, can be used with equal success on more affordable iMac configurations.

Apple unveiled the iMac Pro at WWDC 2017 as "the most powerful Mac ever made," and Cupertino delivers. This is an incredibly powerful and stylish all-in-one device that is designed for professional use.

What is iMac Pro 2017?

The iMac Pro is a carefully built all-in-one with powerful components. The price has also increased, but if it helps reduce time on projects and save time that can be spent working with clients, new Apple The iMac Pro 2017 will be an invaluable assistant.

Apple iMac Pro 2017 Specifications

CPU	3,0 GHz Intel Xeon W (10-cores, 14 MB cache)
	AMD Vega 64 (16 GB HBM2 memory)
RAM	128 GB DDR4 (2666 MHz)
Inner memory
	27″ Retina 5K (5120×2880)
Interfaces	4×USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), 4×USB 3.0, SDXC card reader, 10 GB Ethernet, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connection	802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
	MacOS 10.13 High Sierra
	FaceTime HD webcam (1080p)
	65×20.3×51.6 cm, W×D×H

Price and Availability

The Apple iMac Pro all-in-one PC comes in several configurations, allowing you to choose a device that suits your needs and budget.

The base model iMac Pro costs $4,999 (RUB 283,000). For this price you get 27-inch 5K Retina display, 8-core Intel Xeon W processor, AMD Radeon Vega 56 graphics (8 GB), 32 GB RAM and solid state drive 1 TB (SSD).

You can choose an iMac with a 10-core Xeon W processor, 16GB of memory (HBM2), AMD Radeon Vega 64 graphics, and a 2TB SSD. This model costs $7,999 (RUB 453,000).

There is also an option with an 18-core Intel Xeon W processor, 128 GB of RAM, 4 TB SSD and the same AMD Radeon Vega 64 for $13,199 (RUB 748,000).

The configuration can also be assembled to your liking, for example, installing an SSD with a different capacity, adding RAM, or installing a 14-core Intel Xeon processor.

Monolithic design

All of the iMac Pro's components are housed beneath the 27-inch screen, giving it a sleek, minimalist design that will look great in any office or studio.

The thickness of the Apple iMac Pro 2017 at the edges is only 5 mm, with a weight of 9.7 kg, this makes it easy to move the all-in-one PC from one desk to another.

The presence of powerful components requires a suitable cooling system. The new iMac has two fans that help circulate cool air inside the case while pushing out hot air. Everything works very quietly, the noise of the fans will not distract you while working.

Overall, the iMac Pro's design is what you'd expect from Apple.

Best screen

An important aspect for professional photographer, video or graphic editor is the screen. The iMac Pro 2017 features a 27-inch 5K display with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels and 500 nits of brightness. This makes it attractive to professionals and helps speed up the workflow by eliminating the need to enter and exit full screen mode.

The Apple iMac Pro display supports 100% of the wideband RGB color space, which is widely used in digital film production.

On the top is a 1080p FaceTime camera. Previous FaceTime cameras on iMac were 720p. The webcam has 4 microphones that do an excellent job of noise reduction. However, when working in very noisy environments, it is better to use a headset.

Connectors and ports

The IMac Pro all-in-one is equipped with a decent set of ports, this will allow you to connect many peripheral devices. At the base of the back is a 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot, 4 USB 3.0 ports, 4 ports USB-C Thunderbolt 3 and Ethernet port 10 Gbit.

USB port 3.0 will allow you to connect outdated peripherals, and USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 supports devices with data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps, and allows you to connect two additional 5K 60 Hz or four 4K UHD 60 Hz external displays.

Magical Periphery

iMac Pro 2017 comes with additional accessories from Apple - numeric keypad Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and the new Magic Trackpad 2. Everything except the new Space Gray color in these devices will seem quite familiar to users of previous models.

The Magic Keyboard is a convenient addition for fast typing. Despite the thin keys and small pressure, it is quite comfortable to type text. But, if you plan to write a lot, then it is better to look for a more comfortable and more tactile keyboard.

In my opinion, the Magic Mouse 2 has been slightly improved. It feels smooth and responsive to use and glides well on a variety of surfaces. Charging uses a Lightning cable that connects to the bottom of the mouse.

Magic Trackpad 2 is a handy add-on that lets you control your iMac Pro in a similar way to your MacBook. This is a good and alternative method for viewing files or websites, and for zooming and deleting photos.

To connect your Magic Trackpad 2 to your iMac Pro for the first time, you must use the included Lightning cable.

Performance will not disappoint you

The 2017 Apple iMac Pro I tested had a 3.0GHz 10-core Intel Xeon W processor, 128GB of DDR4 RAM, and graphics card Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16 GB HBM2 memory. With these specifications, the iMac Pro delivers stellar performance.

Last MacOS version High Sierra installed on a 2TB SSD drive runs smooth and fast. Thanks to a powerful processor and video card, editing video files with high resolution runs very quickly. You can edit, add effects, adjust colors and view all changes in real time, even on a connected headset virtual reality HTC Vive. This shows the new iMac's versatile multitasking capabilities.

Powerful processor makes this all-in-one from Apple a miracle machine for transcoding video files. Handbrake turns a 10-minute 4K 60 fps file into a 1080p 30 fps file in just 4 minutes.

Twinmotion software for architects allows you to create virtual representations of planned buildings with high accuracy in 3D graphics, and is enough power for smooth work.

Looking at the benchmark results, you can see a huge leap in the performance of the new iMac Pro.

Test results

What we liked and didn't like about the Apple iMac Pro 2017

The 2017 iMac Pro is equipped with cutting-edge components that can bring dramatic improvements to your daily workflow. This gives you the opportunity to focus on other aspects of the project you are working on.

Undoubtedly, the high price is disappointing. But for the most part it's worth it, thanks to the powerful components and build quality. The Magic Mouse 2 also still has a drawback - the charging port is located at the bottom.

Bottom line

Apple iMac Pro 2017 is the best PC from Apple. It is the most powerful machine with an unrivaled slim design and high quality assemblies. For many professionals, the iMac Pro is a dream come true, despite the high price. A powerful, professional all-in-one device that is not for everyone.

High-quality assembly, innovative features and excellent professional-oriented components fully justify the high price of the all-in-one PC from Apple. If the iMac Pro 2017 suits your needs, you won't be disappointed.