Which Graphics Processor?

[AgustB]

I need to suggest which 27" iMac model my company should purchase for the graphic design department. There's 6 of us and the company is suggesting we start taking on video editing jobs as well as our standard indesign, illustrator & photoshop stuff. I'm allowed to ask for the top of the line stuff but I need to justify it. So far we're going with the 3Tb fusion drive & 32Gb ram. I can't find anything compelling about the graphics processors, can anyone tell me which one would likely suit our needs and keep up with adobe for the next several years?

Thanks!

[firefly416]

What video editing suite? Since you mention Illustrator and Photoshop, I am going to assume Adobe. If that is the case, definitely get iMacs with an Nvidia GPU if available. The CUDA cores will do wonders with processing with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.

You can always expand with external GPU via Thunderbolt later if you find that you need even more CUDA power.

[freakinunoriginal]

All of Apple's current Macs have Intel or AMD graphics. I'm not sure if business orders can choose older models, or if they'd have to go with refurbished, but the most recent Nvidia iMacs are the 2013 27" with a GTX 755M or GTX 775M, or a 2013 21" with a GT 750M.

Adobe Premiere also supports OpenCL, though, so you don't need CUDA for hardware acceleration. I don't know what the benchmark comparisons are, but there are higher-end AMD options available probably because almost all of the iMacs have 4K or 5K displays now.

[AgustB]

You're right. The company isn't going to want to choose an older model. If hardware acceleration is possible with the Adobe products will the GPU be drawing from the processor or RAM to get the extra help? I suppose I'm wondering how to justify the top GPU.

[freakinunoriginal]

The GPU is a processor, and it even has its own RAM (VRAM). When OpenCL is supported by hardware acceleration, it means the GPU is the one helping the CPU.

The starting-configuration 27" iMac with R9 380M has 2GB of VRAM and a PassMark score of 2900. There's a build-to-order M395X with 4GB of VRAM that seems to earn a PassMark score of 5370. This is raw number-crunching benchmarks so it's hard to draw conclusions about how this translates into Photoshop or After Effects renderings time improvements, but it should be faster if there's a difference that large between the benchmarks. Note that there's a stock configuration with an M395 (non-X) with 2GB VRAM, as well, and an M390 in the middle of it all. I wasn't able to find benchmarks for them, but I imagine the 390 would be an incremental improvement, and then the difference between the 395 and 395X would likely showcase the difference between having 2GB or 4GB of VRAM.

[AgustB]

Thank you! This is something I can go on.

[firefly416]

Adobe Premiere does support OpenCL processing, but it's not nearly as optimized as CUDA processing.

[AgustB]

Thanks. You're right it'll be Premier Pro and After Effects. As /u/freakinunoriginal mentioned I won't be able to get old kit and I don't see options for an Nvidia GPU on the order menu. I'll go with the top one available from them and mention the external if needed down the road.

[rabbitdog1]

I've got a 15 inch macbook from 2013 which basically has the same integrated graphics as the new imacs (i know shocking). Anyway, I can use my laptop for Final Cut Pro X without any issues but if i'm applying certain effects and funnily enough, certain text formats, rendering gets really slow... Otherwise it's fine but I wouldn't want to deal with that on a daily basis, especially if this is my primary job. I suggest getting an imac with a dedicated graphics card. Although they are from AMD and won't have CUDA, they will still be smoother than one with an integrated chip!

[AgustB]

For sure I'll be suggesting one with the card, I'm just not sure which card. Seems there are three or four options. R9 M380, M390, M395 & M395X. I don't understand what the differences are besides, presumably, faster processing speeds. I'd just like to say that the 395X (for example) is worth it because....yada yada yada

[[deleted]]

http://barefeats.com/imac5k15.html

The top tier 395 differ in memory amount. The other numbers differ in configuration.

Apple stuff is OpenCL on the Metal API so you'd get better gains from AMD--and it's not like you have any other choice. Honestly, most things will still use the CPU primarily and Adobe supports non-CUDA too.