Apple iMac Pro 18-Core Vs. 8-Core and 10-Core: Which Is the Best Configuration for Video Editing?

With the release of the iMac Pro, there has been tons of talk and plenty of reviews and comparisons versus Window computers and even older iMacs. If you’re a video editor and made up your mind to go ahead on making the purchase of a new iMac Pro but unsure which processor configuration you should choose, this is the video for you.

Coming to you from Jonathan Morrison is a comparison video that puts the iMac Pro 18-core ($13,199) up against a 10-core ($9,599) and the base configuration 8-core ($4,999) variation to see how they handle under some 3D rendering and 4K video work. There is a pretty wide price gap between the different configurations. These prices are based on the configuration changes from Morrison’s listed specifications; if you opt for both the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad, added software, or any additional changes will result in a different price.

18-Core Specs:

  • 18-Core 2.3 GHz
  • AMD VEGA 64 16 GB
  • 128 GB RAM
  • 4 TB SSD

10-Core Specs: 

  • 10-Core 3.0 GHz
  • AMD VEGA 64 16 GB
  • 128 GB RAM
  • 2 TB SSD

8-Core Specs:

  • 8-Core 3.2 GHz
  • AMD VEGA 56 8 GB
  • 32 GB RAM
  • 1 TB SSD

The iMac Pro isn’t for the faint of heart with the $5,000 starting price but these units are meant for working professionals over the average consumer. If you need a computer that is more of a studio workhorse that can handle 8K video editing without much of an issue, you might be looking at one of the different configurations Apple has to offer.

With that, I liked the fact that Morrison actually did some intense testing rather than just opening Adobe Photoshop and saving a photo for comparison to test which processor may work best for you and your budget. In this video, Morrison uses RED Cine-X, Cinema 4D, Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Media Encoder, and Adobe After Effects to compare rendering time between each setup.

If you are looking at getting one of the new iMac Pros, which processor configuration are you going to get?

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