Help with iMac Purchase

[Backless]

Greetings everyone. I've had a 2014 dual core MacBook Pro for years, but I'm needing something more powerful for expanding plugins with Logic Pro X. I ordered the new MacBook Pro 16 and was very disappointed with the fan noise and heat - even when not working very hard, so I returned it. I'm now looking into the 27" iMac, which I don't know much about.

Is it correct to assume that a 3.6, i9 iMac, with 32GB and 2TB Fusion drive would be a very quiet machine? I record in the same room as the computer and am looking for something as quiet as possible. It's interesting that my current 2014 MacBook had been near silent, so I was surprised by the noise of the new MacBook.

Thanks for any help and advice.

Cheers!

 

[sublunar]

Maybe you got a bad revision A 16" MacBook Pro? A Fusion drive would probably not be as quiet as a full SSD machine and if you're in a recording environment would moving using a Mac mini be a more flexible solution as you could move it away from the recording source?

 

[Backless]

Thanks. Initially I thought that the mini wouldn’t be powerful enough, but I now see the 6 core i7 with 32 GB should be plenty powerful enough for Logic Pro?

 

[marzfreerider]

Don't pay for Apple's RAM upgrade, save the money and buy your own. Put the money into an SSD instead. You can install the RAM yourself, very easy on a iMac, mini is a little more work but can be done. I have the 2019 iMac with i9 and 64GB with SSD, it's a quiet machine.

 

[ondert]

Also people say iMac with Vega48 gpu runs quieter although it’s a better performing gpu.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fusion drive iMac will have a spinning hard drive as well as fan, so more noise.

iMac with SSD will be quieter and FASTER.
512gb is "the sweet spot" in SSD size.
If you need more space, get an external USB SSD.

I'd get "the midrange model" instead of the i9 -- potentially less fan noise. Owners of previous "high-end" iMacs complained about that.

 

[Backless]

Fusion drive iMac will have a spinning hard drive as well as fan, so more noise.

iMac with SSD will be quieter and FASTER.
512gb is "the sweet spot" in SSD size.
If you need more space, get an external USB SSD.

I'd get "the midrange model" instead of the i9 -- potentially less fan noise. Owners of previous "high-end" iMacs complained about that.

I notice there’s no i7 option for iMac. Will the 3.7 GHz, 6 core i5 (9th gen) be a good choice and sufficient for Logic Pro X?

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't use Logic. (I like Cubase)
But unless you're going to load it down with dozens of plugins, the i5 ought to do fine.