Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) vs Apple Mac Pro (2019)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) | AppleMac Pro (2019) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | August 2020 | December 2019 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i5-10500, Intel Core i5-10600, Intel Core i9-10910 or Intel Core i7-10700K | Intel Xeon W-3223, Intel Xeon W-3235, Intel Xeon W-3245, Intel Xeon W-3265M or Intel Xeon W-3275M |
| CPU cores | 6, 8 or 10 | 8, 12, 16, 24 or 28 |
| CPU threads | 12, 16 or 20 | 16, 24, 32, 48 or 56 |
| Graphics | Radeon Pro 5300 (4 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) or Radeon Pro 5700 XT (16 GB GDDR6) | AMD Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5), AMD Radeon Pro Vega II (32 GB HBM2), AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo (32 GB HBM2 per GPU), AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (8 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (16 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X (32 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (32 GB GDDR6; later option), AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (32 GB GDDR6 per GPU; later option) or AMD Radeon Pro W6600X (8 GB GDDR6; later option) |
| Memory | 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB | 32 GB, 48 GB, 96 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB or 1536 GB (better) |
| Storage | 256 GB to 8 TB | 256 GB to 8 TB |
| CPU | Six-core Core i5 at 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.5 GHz) or 3.3 GHz (4.8 GHz), or eight-core Core i7 at 3.8 GHz (5.0 GHz). Upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz ten-core Core i9 (5.0 GHz). Exact CPU identities follow Geekbench. Apple specifies a 5.0 GHz Core i7 limit in this iMac, while Intel lists 5.1 GHz for the chip itself. | Intel Xeon W with 8 cores at 3.5 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz), 12 at 3.3 GHz, 16 at 3.2 GHz, 24 at 2.7 GHz or 28 at 2.5 GHz (all up to 4.4 GHz). Sound On Sound identifies the exact processors as W-3223, W-3235, W-3245, W-3265M and W-3275M; Intel confirms their specifications. Intel's separate Turbo Boost Max 3.0 figures are not asserted as Mac Pro system capabilities. |
| GPU | Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB GDDR6 on the two Core i5 bases. Upper base has Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB GDDR6, optionally Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB or 5700 XT with 16 GB GDDR6. | One MPX module per listed configuration. Launch options were Radeon Pro 580X (8 GB GDDR5), Vega II (32 GB HBM2) and Vega II Duo (two GPUs with 32 GB HBM2 each). Later maker-listed options include W5500X and W6600X (8 GB GDDR6), W5700X (16 GB GDDR6), W6800X and W6900X (32 GB GDDR6), and W6800X Duo (two GPUs with 32 GB GDDR6 each). Two MPX bays support up to four GPUs; Apple confirms upgrades to two Vega II or two Vega II Duo modules, and an Infinity Fabric Link between two W6800X Duo modules. GPU memory is not pooled into one GPU's capacity. |
| Memory type | 2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules. Four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 16/32/64/128 GB on every base. | Twelve user-accessible DIMM slots for DDR4 ECC memory; 32, 48, 96, 192, 384 or 768 GB. 1.5 TB requires the 24-core or 28-core processor. Memory runs at 2666 MHz with the 8-core CPU and 2933 MHz with the other CPUs. 768 GB uses six 128 GB or twelve 64 GB modules; 1.5 TB uses twelve 128 GB modules. |
| Storage type | Lower base: fixed 256 GB SSD. Middle base: 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD. Upper base: 512 GB/1/2/4/8 TB SSD. | T2-encrypted SSD storage; 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB. The 256 GB and 512 GB versions use one module; larger capacities use two modules of half the total capacity. Apple states up to 3.4 GB/s sequential reads and writes. The current 512 GB option was not listed in Sound On Sound's original configuration table. |
| Expansion slots | – | Eight PCI Express Gen 3 slots; two MPX bays provide x16 graphics and x8 Thunderbolt bandwidth each, with up to 500 W for an MPX module. Three additional full-length slots provide one x16 and two x8 links; the half-length x4 slot holds the Apple I/O card. Optional Afterburner x16 card accelerates ProRes and ProRes RAW in supported applications; current maker tests report up to six 8K ProRes RAW or 23 4K ProRes RAW streams, compared with the lower figures in the initial announcement. |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 27″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 5120 × 2880 | – |
| Panel | IPS LCD | – |
| Brightness | 500 nits | – |
| Display type | LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Apple does not publish native refresh rate in the specification sheet. | – |
| Display features | Wide colour (P3), one billion colours and True Tone; standard glass or optional nano-texture glass | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack | 4 × Thunderbolt 3, 2 × USB-A, 2 × Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | Up to 2 | – |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Front ports | – | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on top of the tower; up to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt, up to 10 Gb/s USB-C and DisplayPort support |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD | – |
| Back ports | Four USB-A ports; two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Optional 10Gb Ethernet supports 1/2.5/5/10Gb connections. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters. | Apple I/O card has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports at up to 5 Gb/s and a 3.5 mm headset jack. Two Ethernet ports support 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 Gb/s. Graphics ports vary by MPX module; 580X, W5500X and W6600X have two HDMI ports, while the other listed modules have four Thunderbolt 3 ports and one HDMI port. The chassis port counts above exclude graphics-module ports. TechRadar and The Verge describe an additional internal USB-A port for a software dongle. |
| External displays | One 6K or 5K external display, or two 4K displays; two 6K displays require Radeon Pro 5700 or 5700 XT. All listed external modes run at 60 Hz. | Display limits depend on the graphics configuration. One 580X supports six 4K displays, two 5K displays or two Pro Display XDRs; W5500X supports four 4K, one 5K or one XDR, and W6600X four 4K, two 5K or two XDRs. W5700X, W6800X and W6900X support six 4K, three 5K or three XDRs per module. Vega II supports six 4K, three 5K or two XDRs; Vega II Duo eight 4K, four 5K or four XDRs. W6800X Duo supports eight 4K, four 5K or six XDRs. Apple's dedicated current Vega II Duo guide confirms two modules can drive twelve 4K, six 5K or six XDR displays; port and bus placement restrictions apply. |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers | Built-in speaker; 3.5 mm headphone jack supports a headset |
| Microphones | Three-mic array with directional beamforming; supports Hey Siri | – |
| Keyboard and mouse | Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional numeric keyboard and Magic Trackpad | Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse in silver and black; optional matching Magic Trackpad |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Tower |
| Weight | 8.92 kg (better) | 18 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 650 × 203 × 516 mm | – |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available. | Apple's UK and US sheets publish height 52.9 cm, width 45.0 cm and depth 21.8 cm for the tower with feet, but the width and depth labels appear transposed relative to the maker's front and side image. Main dimensions are omitted pending resolution. The US sheet gives 55.7 cm height with optional wheels. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; rack enclosure specifications are separate. |
| Power supply | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase | 1.4 kW supply; maximum continuous output 1280 W at 108–125 V or 220–240 V, and 1180 W at 100–107 V. AC input 100–125 V at 12 A or 220–240 V at 6 A; 50–60 Hz. |
| Noise | – | Regional maker acoustic tables differ; UK reports 2.5 B sound power at idle and during wireless web, while US reports 2.7 B and 11 dB operator-position sound pressure. Both describe a 12-core configuration with 48 GB memory, Vega II graphics and a 256 GB SSD. |
| Materials | Recyclable, low-carbon aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight | Low-carbon aluminium housing on a stainless-steel frame; BFR-, PVC- and beryllium-free |
| In the box | iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth | Tower, Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, Magic Mouse, 1 m USB-C to Lightning cable and 2 m power lead. Launched with macOS Catalina; the current support sheet describes the later macOS Ventura release. Graphics options added after launch remain part of this generation, with their timing distinguished above. |
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