I plan to get the i9 8 core, 1 TB SSD, 8GB RAM and possibly the Vega 48 (waiting on 680X/Vega 48 results.) I plan to wait and buy a refurbished unit to lower the price to somewhere under $3280.
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Refurb iMac Pro or high end 2019 iMac?
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I plan to get the i9 8 core, 1 TB SSD, 8GB RAM and possibly the Vega 48 (waiting on 680X/Vega 48 results.) I plan to wait and buy a refurbished unit to lower the price to somewhere under $3280.
Ha, yes, try being subjected to them! I thought the fusion had changed, just wssnt sure when or the specifics. Surprised they are still including spinning drives in this day and age and price point they just aren't as nice to use at all. Then they could be because of the kit I use, it all tends to be top end stuff - makes it harder to be objective I guess.
Update. My refurb iMac Pro arrived today. $3999 OTD (no shipping, no tax).
What put me over the top? The 1080p FaceTime camera....
Ok, joking aside...I really believe it to be the best deal after reviewing user performance
(Not just geekbench scores, but real world usage testing - video/sound)
A comparably spec’d 2019 iMac with RAM purchases outside of Apple was $4150 after tax, so there was only about a $150 price differential.
Yes, the new i9 iMac is great, AND there were cases where it performed better (one YouTube video showcased slightly faster time for MP4 conversion) but there were also many where it didn’t.
At the end of the day, the better cooling design for quieter ops, more ports, better video card, 10G Ethernet, better sound, and a higher res FT camera along with an extra $150 in my pocket steered me to the iMac Pro. Also, refurbed Apple products are immaculate, and aside from the box there is no noticeable difference from a brand new one.
Appreciate your feedback. Thanks All.
What put me over the top? The 1080p FaceTime camera....
Ok, joking aside...I really believe it to be the best deal after reviewing user performance
(Not just geekbench scores, but real world usage testing - video/sound)
A comparably spec’d 2019 iMac with RAM purchases outside of Apple was $4150 after tax, so there was only about a $150 price differential.
Yes, the new i9 iMac is great, AND there were cases where it performed better (one YouTube video showcased slightly faster time for MP4 conversion) but there were also many where it didn’t.
At the end of the day, the better cooling design for quieter ops, more ports, better video card, 10G Ethernet, better sound, and a higher res FT camera along with an extra $150 in my pocket steered me to the iMac Pro. Also, refurbed Apple products are immaculate, and aside from the box there is no noticeable difference from a brand new one.
Appreciate your feedback. Thanks All.
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I should have done this last May when the iMac Pro refurbs were first available but I was in the middle of building my studio. The reason I ultimately didn't when they updated the iMac was because I qualify for EDU discount (although technically everyone does if you know how to click links you're not supposed to). For me I saved a few hundred bucks vs. the refurb and got double the SSD at 2TB, 8GB more RAM at 40GB (that I can upgrade in the future), and an i9 that is a little faster than the base 8-core Xeon. My Vega 48 is a little bit slower than the Vega 56 but I plan on getting an eGPU eventually anyway because neither one can play some of the more recent games on higher settings with 60fps on 1440p or above anyway, and most games coming out in the next year or two probably will have to be lowered even more in graphical quality to run smoothly. I'd like to get a Radeon VII or something newer (Navi? I need to research) in the future to work in tandem with my Vega 48 to play 4K 60Hz games on my 4K LG display which supports AMD Freesync. I think it should be doable with both cards working together.
That!
You won’t mind the extra coin if it does everything you want but you’ll regret not spending (fill in amount here) if it doesn’t.
For the last few years, I kicked myself for not spending the extra $180 for the i7 on my wife’s 2011 iMac. The twin TB ports would have allowed me to run two external monitors without using a DisplayLink box. One of my bread & butter apps runs dreadfully slow on an i5 compared with the i7 in my 2010 so swapping was never an option I could consider..
Realy? The base price was $4,999 when introduced and that has not changed.
Most of the $3,999 refurbs from OWC (out at the moment) and other large resellers are not refurbished.It’s Apple’s way of moving more units. I’m talking about the Apple refurbs eligible for AppleCare, not “seller refurbished—whatever that means. I think that, with the i9 iMac, those surplus “refurbs” will become scarce—get ‘em while you can.
Not that anyone knows. The speculation is that the SSDs are serialized to the T2 chip. It may be possible in the future but, like the 2018 Mini, not presently.
Not true. The RAM is upgradeable but you have to pull the screen like any other iMac from 2012 on. It’s quite doable even if not recommended (the power supply is exposed which can be dangerous if you don’t take adequate precautions). The CPU, likewise, is upgradable. There’s a YouTube vid of a guy taking a base model, upgrading to 128BG RAM and a 10 Core CPU — he saved $14 over Apple’s BTO for the same machine. No special boot ROM or anything else needed.
I pulled the trigger on a used iMac Pro this evening after making sure that I can add AppleCare when it arrives. Although it appears that Mojave 10.14.4 has solved the T2 kernel panic issue with certain peripherals, I want Apple to own that and other such issues for the next 2 1/2 years. I was able to find one with more RAM and cores for the price I was willing to pay in the Refurb Store after CA Sales Tax.
Speaking of which, on April 1, more states were added to the rolls that have to collect tax when selling to CA residents.
Agree with your assessment Mike. I even had a corporate discount with Apple and the refurb iMac Pro was still the better deal for me.
10 advantages of the iMP over iMac:
1) Better video card
2) More ports (USB C)
3) Faster Ethernet
4) ECC RAM
5) 1080p FaceTime camera
6) Better speaker system
7) Better design for cooling
8) T2 chip with its image signal processor
9) Keyboard with numeric keypad (Can pay to upgrade to this on an iMac)
10) UHS-II SDXC slot
While not all of these may be ‘game changers’ individually, together they are significant enough that I’m glad I went with the refurb iMP for the same price.
Thanks
10 advantages of the iMP over iMac:
1) Better video card
2) More ports (USB C)
3) Faster Ethernet
4) ECC RAM
5) 1080p FaceTime camera
6) Better speaker system
7) Better design for cooling
8) T2 chip with its image signal processor
9) Keyboard with numeric keypad (Can pay to upgrade to this on an iMac)
10) UHS-II SDXC slot
While not all of these may be ‘game changers’ individually, together they are significant enough that I’m glad I went with the refurb iMP for the same price.
Thanks
New base iMac Pro was discounted to $3999 a couple months after they came out at Microcenter.
The only thing I am saying is that steep discounts on iMac Pros have been available almost since they were introduce.
Fathergll
I would have to disagree with you on one point.
While I agree that the iMac Pro was discounted to $3999 just a few months after launch (I would know, I bought one at that price from Microcenter in Mayfield Heights), it did not stay at that price for long. Many were amazed then at the pricing (myself included) and I was able to talk to a few sales managers at Microcenter to try to understand what was going on with the pricing. They explained to me at that time that Apple was testing its price elasticity.
Two points here:
1) The discounted price they used in Q1 of 2018 to test the elasticity of demand is irrelevant. It was the first time they had released a product like that, and it was clear they were testing the waters.
2) The main discussion point here is where we’re at now (and potentially, what you believe the future will hold). A refurbed iMac Pro can be procured at $3,999 to your door and a comparable 2019 iMac will be slightly more.
Which do you choose and why?
I would have to disagree with you on one point.
While I agree that the iMac Pro was discounted to $3999 just a few months after launch (I would know, I bought one at that price from Microcenter in Mayfield Heights), it did not stay at that price for long. Many were amazed then at the pricing (myself included) and I was able to talk to a few sales managers at Microcenter to try to understand what was going on with the pricing. They explained to me at that time that Apple was testing its price elasticity.
Two points here:
1) The discounted price they used in Q1 of 2018 to test the elasticity of demand is irrelevant. It was the first time they had released a product like that, and it was clear they were testing the waters.
2) The main discussion point here is where we’re at now (and potentially, what you believe the future will hold). A refurbed iMac Pro can be procured at $3,999 to your door and a comparable 2019 iMac will be slightly more.
Which do you choose and why?
Where can a refurb IMP be purchased for $3999? If this is not a true Apple refurb, how can you be sure that this was truly refurbished and not just a used iMac Pro that some just labeled “refurbished”?
Really good question. You have to ask. Certain high end resellers get them. OWC had a hundred in March, advertised as genuine Apple Refurbs and sold them for $3,999. If I didn't need 2TB storage on board, I would have pulled the trigger. They were gone as of 10 days ago — no idea if they're coming back.
Anyway, how do you really know, right?
Simple: If a genuine Apple refurb, it will have a standard one year warranty from Apple and you can add AppleCare to it. If not, you can't. Period.
Dirty little secret: Most Apple iMac Pro base model refurbs aren't. If that weren't true, the Apple Refurb store would run out — and they never do on the base model that they sell at $4,249 every day including right now.
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac/imac-pro
Higher end BTOs are refurb and, if you want one, you need to jump hard and order the second you see it — if you blink, it's gone (as was the 10 core 64G RAM 2TB I saw last week — I hesitated and, poof! It vanished).
So... I bought a 7 month, used 14 core, 2TB with 128GB for about the same price. I already checked the serial number to make sure I can add AppleCare. It is scheduled to arrive Friday.
Just to be fair that sale at Microcenter was actually pretty long which is easily verifiable via google. I would say most of Q1 2018 that sale was running at $3999 into Q2. It wasn't like this a 2 week flash sale.
I wouldn't buy right now since the iMacs just came out. Same principal holds now as it did when the iMac Pro came out in Dec 2017. You wait a couple months to see what deals start to come up and then make an informed decision based on prices and reviews of the computer. I would be hesitant to spend $4000 on a computer limited to 32GB when I can get basically the same performance from one that will probably be a few hundred dollars cheaper in a couple months and can take up to 128GB. iMac Pro is very attractive though but you need to evaluate if there are any specific workflows that benefit the iMac Pro or iMac and go with that.
The base configuration of the 27-inch iMac is not limited to 32 GB of RAM; that’s merely the most that Apple will sell you with that configuration. It can be upgraded by the user to 128 GB, according to all reports.
https://ipowerresale.com/product/27-imac-pro-8-core-3-2-5k-late-2017-space-gray-2/?
Certified Apple refurbed. Eligible for AppleCare. I opened the box and it was immaculate. The only outlier was the box. Instead of the cool black that it came in when I purchased new last year, it was a plain, white box with no graphics.
Nonetheless, the machine runs flawlessly and is Apple certified. No tax, free shipping.
Also, I used a 2% back card so that dropped the price to $3919 after my cash back award.
No, not the iMac Pro; I misunderstood you.
(For some reason I spaced out and thought you were talking about the base configuration of the 27-inch iMac, but now that I read your comment again, it’s clear that you weren’t.)
So tempting as I wait and wait and wait for my 2019 iMac to be shipped, but I’m in CA so I’m guessing it would be taxed.
Anyone know of a place that sells refurb iMac Pros for $3999 that wouldn’t tax for a CA buyer??
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