Back to the Mac 020: iMac (2020) high-end thoughts

Thoughts about the high-end 2020 iMac.

DETAILED VIDEO SYNOPSIS:
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Although the entry-level 2020 iMac is more than enough computer for most people, those that wish to use high-end workflows, or work with multiple high-end apps simultaneously might consider the 2020 iMac. I also recommend the top tier iMac with 5700XT GPU for Windows Boot Camp gaming.

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TIMESTAMPS:
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0:00 Introduction
0:39 Windows gaming
2:10 Benchmarks
3:13 Final Cut Pro X

HASHTAGS:
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#backtothemac #imac #mac

[WarriorsPhoto]

Glad you shared your thoughts and I agree. For me a mid range of these new iMacs would be great. Thank you Ben.

[SamAlexanderYouTube]

Ugh, I’ve been thinking about upgrading from my iPad Pro (2018) to an iMac because I’ve been doing a lot of video editing for my new youtube channel.. but... money.. 😔
i really want that big screen

[simianinc]

New subscriber here. Love your iMac content. I’m curious to know how you got Basecamp fully working with the 2020 iMac. I installed Windows on an external drive, but it didn’t install any Wifi or Ethernet drivers. Have I missed something?

[Smordor_Stormcrow]

I own the 27 in 2020 iMac, and I play a lot of rocket league. I’m surprised you mentioned it😄.

[daisybell]

5700XT glitch with white line popping up randomly across the screen is discussed at length on MacRumours and Apple Support forums, yet you don't seem to even know about this issue. I am holding back on ordering the iMac with the 5700XT because of this issue which Apple has not officially addressed yet. The glitch seems to not occur if you have two monitors connected or work in Bootcamp/Windows which leads to think it could be a software problem. Still, this is extremely disappointing and it's very hard to believe that Apple's Quality Control process didn't see this before putting out these BTO options. Would appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks.

[yirgadamtew]

The name of the game is Project Cars 2 and not Cars 2

[kathleensi]

what about the fan noise between base model and i7?

[casperes]

I'm watching this on my 2020 5K iMac with 5700XT, 10700K, 32GB of RAM and 2TB SSD.
I really like it. The fan seems louder to me than my 2014 5K at the same RPMs, but that's probably just placebo; The 2014 model broke over a year ago so just been using my laptop since. - Screen also feels bigger than I had anticipated though; had forgotten what it's like to have 27" in front of ya. I'm liking it. Very very speedy for everything I've thrown at it

[ViViToCreations]

You mentioned Rocket League... so does it run it nicely or just good enough??

[TheHitchcockBlues]

Hi, was the timeline able to play back the EOS R footage in 8K? For the entry level model? Would the base model i7 with the 5500 XT be more of a sweet spot on a budget? Thanks

[ricardorgomez]

This updated iMac is just amazing. Maybe the best value/performance machine Apple currently has. The only thing they should do at this point is make a Mac Pro mini or Mac mini Pro. Especially the former. Really, give me half the expansion slots, memory capacity and price and keep everything else the same. I think it would be a hot seller.

[drockhead]

Great video. Haven’t seen a dedicated base vs maxed iMac 27inch out yet.

[ankiank]

Hi,
Many thanks for the video :)
Would you recommend the 8 core CPU with the 16GB 5700 XT GPU.
Most applications that I use are Adobe suite, Autocad, may be Rhino at times.
Please guide! Thanks :)

[eyefocus]

Can you find out if MS Flight sim 2020 is playable at a decent frame rate and video quality

[hassaan.]

What’s that keyboard. I forgot the name

[AhmadKhan-mrqj]

Can you compare 3rd party memory and Apple memory Geekbench ?? 128GB module

Some ML (Create ML) test would be nice – it's via GPU. And Compare.

[garfieldirwin]

Replaced my late 2014 27" retina with the very cost-effect 8-core i7 base model. This will easily keep me happy editing 4k video until the real powerhouse ARM machines appear in a couple of years. I feel I get good value from Apple. Intel? No so much.

[vernearase]

The high end iMac makes one _hell of a_ transition machine.

Tomb Rider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider all benchmark at 1440p (SotTR at 1440p HDR) with high settings at 57-60 FPS - essentially limited to the display refresh rate - and that's on macOS. I expect numbers to go up when booted on Windows - though to be honest I haven't used Boot Camp much except to install it, put Parallels on it, and install HALO - The Master Chief Collection under Steam.

Been transcoding two hour 1080p videos to 8 bit HEVC from .mkv blu ray RIPs using Handbrake's vt_h265 encoder in 14-19 minutes at almost 200 FPS - I believe this is the same as the GUI H.265 (Video Toolbox) encoder. The machine is just so much faster than my 2017 top-of-the-line iMac 5K that it's unbelievable - though CPU-based HEVC still takes forever - though nowhere near as long as the 2017. Not sure if it's using T2 or 5700 XT hardware assist at this point, though I suspect it's using still using T2. I wonder if there will be a speed advantage if and when they switch to the 5700 XT.

I don't expect Apple silicon to catch up to these performance levels for a while - maybe the rumored 3nm A15 Mac SoC? Or maybe the Apple silicon 5K replacement will still allow discrete GPUs?

It'll be interesting to see what the new SIP design for the A14 SoCs can do - and if the A14s implement Thunderbolt 4 and/or USB 4.

Nice thing about the chassis staying the same is that the 2020 iMac 5K was a simple drop-in replacement for my 2017 - just plug in the same cables in the same place and go - and even upgrade the RAM from 8 GB to 128 GB of 3rd party RAM. I would have appreciated another Thunderbolt bus though - and 4 ports instead of two, but if they did that they might've soldered in the RAM and lost the user upgradable RAM door option.

[MacintoshFanTechnology]

There's a typo in the title. "Mac to the Mac **020**...". Lol