Both AMD and Apple made an announcement last week: The upgraded version of the 27-inch iMac armed with new AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs has arrived. That combination (Apple+AMD) allows “Up to 30 percent faster timeline rendering and 40 percent faster 8K ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro X”. Read more below.
The new iMac with the new GPU inside
Well, it’s not exactly a whole new model, and actually this announcement by Apple was pretty much of a disappointment due to lack of changes regarding design and more. However, under the hood, there is a decent enhancement that is interesting enough for content creators, like the new GPU by AMD that is implemented exclusively on these iMac models. At the same time, AMD announced the new Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs, which look great on paper, but will only be available in Macs. The new GPUs in this announcement are the Radeon Pro 5700 XT, Pro 5700, Pro 5500 XT, and the Pro 5300. Scroll down to learn more.
Major update to its 27-inch iMac
Apple defines the new 27-inch iMac as: “The most powerful and capable iMac ever”. The iMac features faster Intel processors up to 10 cores, double the memory capacity, next-generation AMD graphics (we’ll talk about this later), fast SSDs across the line with four times the storage capacity, a new nano-texture glass option for an even more stunning Retina 5K display, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, higher fidelity speakers and mics.
AMD Radeon Pro 5000 GPU
In parallel, AMD also announced the availability of new AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs for the updated 27-inch iMac that are dedicated to “Seamless content creation”. “AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs bring new levels of performance and flexibility to the updated 27-inch iMac,” said Scott Herkelman, corporate vice president and general manager, Graphics Business Unit at AMD. “The new AMD GPUs offer the optimal combination of computing performance, energy efficiency, and outstanding graphics features to power a wide range of applications – from consumer to pro – wherever graphics matter the most.”
AMD Radeon Pro 5000 series GPUs bring new levels of performance and flexibility to the updated 27-inch iMac.
Scott Herkelman, corporate vice president and general manager, Graphics Business Unit at AMD
27-inch iMac & AMD Radeon Pro 5000
As stated by Apple: “For GPU-based rendering, editing multiple streams of 4K video, or playing a graphics-intensive game, the 27-inch iMac has more powerful next-generation AMD graphics. iMac delivers up to 55 percent faster graphics performance from its Radeon Pro 5000 series graphics, featuring AMD’s latest RDNA architecture with faster, more power-efficient computing units. And for customers using pro apps that can take advantage of large amounts of video memory for even greater performance, iMac features a graphics option with 16GB of memory for the first time — providing double the video memory capacity of the previous-generation 27-inch iMac”.
Advantages regarding content creation
According to Apple, these are the advantages of the updated 27-inch iMac regarding content creation:
- When compared to the previous-generation 8-core 27-inch iMac, the new iMac delivers: Up to 65 percent more plug-ins in Logic Pro X and up to 40 percent faster 8K ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro X.
- When compared to the previous-generation 27-inch iMac with Radeon Pro Vega 48 graphics, the new iMac delivers: Up to 55 percent faster rendering in Maxon Cinema 4D ProRender and up to 30 percent faster timeline rendering in Final Cut Pro X.
iMac delivers up to 55 percent faster graphics performance from its Radeon Pro 5000 series graphics, featuring AMD’s latest RDNA architecture with faster, more power-efficient computing units.
Apple
Price and availability
Starting at $1,799 (US), the new 27-inch iMac is available to order. For now, you can preorder it from the B&H website.
Insights
The new 27-inch iMac is another example of excellent synergy, partnership, and collaboration between AMD and Apple. Intel also has its own rubber stamp regarding the product, however, AMD Radeon Pro 5000 has been developed for the sole purpose of exclusive implementation on the new iMac, which dictates and defines the mutual roadmap of Apple and AMD that will be accelerated in future products.
