27" iMac vs Custom Build 9600K System?

[lumencreative]

I am looking at buying a new work computer for home. I currently use a Core i5 HP Envy laptop but hate almost everything about it, so while a laptop would be more convenient, I know I could get much more value from a desktop computer.

So, being a fan of Mac's, my first instinct was to go with an 27" iMac (but probably a previous gen one), so would probably spend £1,000 or so. However, for £900, I could build a pretty decent Core i5 9600K system with 16GB Ram, 512GB Intel NVMe Drive and something like an nVidia GTX1050 GPU. I already have 2 Dell 23" U2312HM screens so don't need a new screen.

If it was you, what would you go for?

 

[Combat squirrel]

Depends on how much you want OSX and if you want/need OSX for your work - I currently have a high end windows system, but windows 10 is doing my head in so saving up for an OSX based powerful system, sadly, it will cost me 3500 or more after selling this system to match its performance, but i gain OSX and basic human rights as far as privacy goes (windows 10 is a spyware hell)

 

[lumencreative]

Depends on how much you want OSX and if you want/need OSX for your work - I currently have a high end windows system, but windows 10 is doing my head in so saving up for an OSX based powerful system, sadly, it will cost me 3500 or more after selling this system to match its performance, but i gain OSX and basic human rights as far as privacy goes (windows 10 is a spyware hell)

That's what I cannot decide. I love OSX (my wife has a Macbook, and I used to have a Macbook Pro). I use Windows at work, but there's nothing that requires Windows as such (mainly use Photoshop, Dreamweaver and such). Our accounts system is also Quickbooks Online so don't need Windows for that, and we have Office365 at work so I can download Office for Mac from there.

If I could choose, I would most probably choose OSX over Windows, but from a performance standpoint, as you said, Macs are way more expensive.

 

[TheUncookedPie]

I already have 2 Dell 23" U2312HM screens so don't need a new screen.

If it was you, what would you go for?

Base 2018 Mac mini with the i7 upgrade (£1069). Then add your own RAM, larger OS SSD/storage drives at your convenience. Plus the option of an eGPU if you ever feel the need in the future.

 

[ChrisD.]

Base 2018 Mac mini with the i7 upgrade (£1069). Then add your own RAM, larger OS SSD/storage drives at your convenience. Plus the option of an eGPU if you ever feel the need in the future.

This.

 

[Spit]

Yep new Mini to power your monitors. No brainer if you love OSX.

 

[Feek]

Base 2018 Mac mini with the i7 upgrade (£1069). Then add your own RAM, larger OS SSD/storage drives at your convenience. Plus the option of an eGPU if you ever feel the need in the future.

Wait, are you me? This is what I’m suggesting as well.

 

[Combat squirrel]

Base 2018 Mac mini with the i7 upgrade (£1069). Then add your own RAM, larger OS SSD/storage drives at your convenience. Plus the option of an eGPU if you ever feel the need in the future.

Good idea that - I'm close to doing this, I just need to check its performance vs my overclocked Ryzen, however I will also need to instantly buy an eGPU to sort out the lowly GPU performance, I currently have a 1070 8gb - which is a mare to run on OSX I understand.

 

[TheUncookedPie]

I currently have a 1070 8gb - which is a mare to run on OSX I understand.

Personally, I'd see how you go with the on board stuff before investing in the eGPU. All of your uses seemed to revolve around office etc, and your displays are only 2 x HD.

 

[Combat squirrel]

Personally, I'd see how you go with the on board stuff before investing in the eGPU. All of your uses seemed to revolve around office etc, and your displays are only 2 x HD.

Oh I'm not the original poster - my uses are all photo/video editing, so decent GPU helps, how much I am unsure vs latest iGPU

 

[TheUncookedPie]

Well, that'll teach me to read! Sorry bud.

 

[Journey]

Not allowed, to say not allowed. Oh what a farce.

 

[lumencreative]

Thanks for the replies. I was under the impression the SSD on the Mac Mini is soldered to the logic board, so would need to run an external which I'm not overly keen on. Will look into the Mac Mini more though.

 

[LiE]

I'm doing a similar comparison as well. I was looking at the Mac Mini and specced it up with education discount it comes to £1,527 for i7, 16GB RAM and 512 SSD. I know RAM is user replaceable and you can plug in an external SSD, but with education pricing the savings are negligible. Especially since the RAM replacement effecting warranty isn't 100%.

Then I specced up a PC. It's more expensive but I did this quickly on a first pass.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - OEM= £409.99
• 1 x Samsung 970 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £124.99
• 1 x Team Group Dark Pro "8Pack Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C14 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £218.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming Intel Z390 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard= £129.95
• 1 x be quiet! Pure Power 10 600W CM 80 Plus Silver Modular Power Supply= £88.99
• 1 x Fractal Design Meshify C Mini Dark TG Micro-ATX Case - Black= £84.95
• 1 x NZXT Kraken X52 AIO Water Cooling Unit - 240mm= £129.95
• 1 x Inno3D GeForce RTX 2080 Twin X2 8192MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £659.99

Total: £1,860.40 (includes shipping: £12.60)
​

The gaming PC is very well specced and cooled, but runs Windows. In terms of my usage - Photo editing and development, I'm not sure there will be massive difference between the mini and the PC. It has the added benefit of being able to play games, at 4k. I'd be looking at running a 27" 4k at 150% scaling to provide a sharper 1440p experience. One of the big draws of OSX is the LG Ultrafine screens that provide very nice reading/text experience with scaling which is where I spend majority of my time.

The sticking point for me is OSX. I prefer it, so I may not really go with the PC due to this.

 

[Journey]

The cost of OSX is effectively ~£1000 if you just build the basics of that £1500+ Mac Mini you listed

 

[LiE]

The cost of OSX is effectively ~£1000 if you just build the basics of that £1500+ Mac Mini you listed

Yea a custom built PC provides some very strong hardware compared to the mini which is why I started considering it.

I had sold my gaming PC to go back to Mac, but tbh when I sat down and looked at the value for money it got me looking back at a custom PC again.

I really like OSX which is why it's not a no brainer.

 

[Journey]

Yea a custom built PC provides some very strong hardware compared to the mini which is why I started considering it.

I had sold my gaming PC to go back to Mac, but tbh when I sat down and looked at the value for money it got me looking back at a custom PC again.

I really like OSX which is why it's not a no brainer.

Thing is, what the heck do you need a £1500+ mini for if it's just reading etc. There's zero GPU power in it, so you unless you buy an eGPU for christ knows how much then you might as well get a 2012-14 Mac Mini and put an SSD and 8GB of RAM in it, then upgrade to the latest OSX for about £250, then put it along side your actual computer both connected to the same monitor.

 

[LiE]

Thing is, what the heck do you need a £1500+ mini for if it's just reading etc. There's zero GPU power in it, so you unless you buy an eGPU for christ knows how much then you might as well get a 2012-14 Mac Mini and put an SSD and 8GB of RAM in it, then upgrade to the latest OSX for about £250, then put it along side your actual computer both connected to the same monitor.

I use Lightroom and Photoshop for photography (hobby). It's very CPU intensive, but also benefits from the GPU and fast SSD.

 

[Journey]

I use Lightroom and Photoshop for photography (hobby). It's very CPU intensive, but also benefits from the GPU and fast SSD.

I must be confused, sorry I thought you said you spend most of your time reading on it, which is why you like OSX for the scaling.

Pretty sure that if you run that Mini for anything remotely intensive for more than 5 minutes, it'll be running at 3.2GHz or less the majority of the time and the fan will be going like the clappers. I've designed and used several systems over the last 12 months that use the 35w 8700T CPU which is lower power than the 8700 in the i7 model, and I can tell you that even in a 1U chassis with a 1U Dynatron blower cooler making as much noise as a jet they still throttle on strenuous loads.

 

[LiE]

I must be confused, sorry I thought you said you spend most of your time reading on it, which is why you like OSX for the scaling.

Pretty sure that if you run that Mini for anything remotely intensive for more than 5 minutes, it'll be running at 3.2GHz or less the majority of the time and the fan will be going like the clappers. I've designed and used several systems over the last 12 months that use the 35w 8700T CPU which is lower power than the 8700 in the i7 model, and I can tell you that even in a 1U chassis with a 1U Dynatron blower cooler making as much noise as a jet they still throttle on strenuous loads.

My day job I spend in a browser coding/configuring which is where most of my time is spent. However my hobby has me using Lightroom and Photoshop. Importing 500+ photos into Lightroom and generating previews will see the CPU hit 100%. I'm using an 7th gen i5 laptop at the moment and it took over an hour to import and I had to cancel the previews because it was choking hard. Also applying any adjustments to a photo is very choppy.

My day job runs fine on the 7th Gen i5 laptop, but the screen size is very limiting. The logical choice for me was the iMac, but darned if I'll be buying that with the 7th gen CPUs. So I was then looking at the Mini, and then back looking again at custom PCs.

Even my previous Ryzen R5 1600 (running 3.8Ghz) found Lightroom hardwork. I've read Ligthroom runs better on intel chips due to the higher boost clocks.

I don't need the RTX 2080 if we remove gaming from the equation. However, with the 4k screen I'd pair with the PC if I did want to play some games (Cyberpunk for eg) then the 2080 would be a good fit. It also has the benefit of providing some extra grunt in photoshop.