Don't Buy the iMac Pro, Build This Instead

I've been a full-time wedding photographer for the past eight years and an Apple fan since I was in fourth grade. But today, that has all changed. Here is why.

In fourth grade, I remember using the Apple II GS workstation in math class. When I was in high school I learned Photoshop on the famous colored and clear iMacs. In 2004 I bought the first line of the G5 white iMacs and I upgraded a few years later to a Mac Pro tower with dual processors. In 2008 I bought a Macbook Pro and after that a 27-inch iMac i7 with an array of connected G-Tech hard drives. So to say I was an Apple fan would be an understatement; I was truly committed in every way.

Six months ago it was time for an upgrade and I was willing to pay an extremely high price to purchase a computer that could keep up with my busy wedding photography business. I went to my local Apple Store and was sadden to see Apple's current workstation options. It felt like Apple was completely neglecting the pro market. As an example, a top of the line 27-inch iMac costs $5,300 and this doesn't even include the market's latest hardware. $1,400 of that price was for the RAM alone (more than double the market price). I was told by an Apple Store employee that the new line of iMacs are no longer user upgradable, and if I attempted to add RAM after the sale it would void the warranty. I was willing to pay a premium for an Apple computer but this was ridiculous.

When it comes to the physical look and design of Apple computers, it's obvious that they are still the king. How do they do it? Throttling. Have you ever held a powerful GPU? They are huge; almost the size of an iMac by itself, and that's why you can't get a powerful GPU in any Mac. Even if an iMac has the same chip as a comparable Windows computer, by slowing down the performance of that chip, it will create less heat, and Apple can save space. I love the beautiful design, but for my business, I need the best tool for the job, not the sleekest.

If you're anything like me, you're probably a big fan of Apple's operating system, but if you really think about it, you may realize just how little you rely on your operating system. I don’t know about you, but for me as an actual working pro my software needs are simple:

  • Email
  • Lightroom
  • Photoshop
  • Photomechanic
  • Premiere Pro
  • Word and Excel
  • Google Chrome and Google Calendar 

None of the computing needs for my business require an Apple computer. But, when I thought about building my own computer, I realized that the Apple ecosystem was limiting me. Here's a list of things that you could never do with an iMac: 

  • Ability to experiment with VR.
  • Ability to play some 3D AAA game titles.
  • Ability to integrate ALL external drives inside of one case (clear off my desk!).
  • Ability to have removable internal storage for offsite backups.
  • Ability to replace or upgrade any part at any time.
  • Ability to use a screen larger than 27 inches and not have to have more than one (or have to use Thunderbolt).
  • Ability to use the latest tech, and have full control over power and performance.

So I decided to leave Apple and for the first time in my life. I built a PC, and not just any PC, “my” PC.

My Computer Components

Now, I will save you the time in totaling this all up and tell you that it’s $7,213 before shipping. That might sound like a lot, but it is still more powerful and way cheaper than a top of the line iMac Pro and external storage. If you're unfamiliar with building a computer, check out this video.

My Workflow and Data Backup System 

Speaking of storage, one of the things that I am most proud of on either system (Apple or PC) has been my personal “data workflow” which I shared here on Fstoppers about this time last year on my Apple computer system. I am so excited to have been able to finally refine this and drastically reduce the amount of “mess” needed to accomplish the same task with this PC build. I use separate internal drives (listed above) for different applications. Then, every night at 3:30 a.m. my system looks at all the connected drives one by one and writes not one, but two copies of all the data creating a mirror on large 8 TB drives (basically a RAID 1). One of them is the master backup and lives in my PC all the time. The other is the offsite drive and this is ejected, and replaced with a third 8 TB drive once a week and taken offsite. So, this means that all my data is on four drives at all times and one of them is offsite. The program that I use on the PC to manage all of this, ViceVersa Pro, is incredible and costs just $60. I would strongly recommend this setup for anyone who can not afford to lose their clients data, and complete details can be found in the video at the top of the article. To me, this is what it means to have a professional setup and workflow.

What's It Like Using Windows?

Coming from a lifetime of using OSX, moving to Windows was my greatest fear. I can tell you that all of the little things that I loved about OSX are now available in Windows 10, and a current PC is not like it was years ago. Microsoft has finally caught up to Apple in this sense and is leading in many ways. Gone are the days of worrying about blue screens of death or viruses. My computer just works and the operating system is almost completely forgotten as I use the same software that I used on my Mac. 

macOS is a closed system with hardly any user options. This is not the case with Windows 10. You have the control to use your computer how you see fit, but, at the same time, it doesn't require any customization if you'd rather keep things simple. Using Windows 10 has been incredibly easy, and at no point have I wished I was back on macOS.  

I am not here trying to say that Windows PCs are the best solution for everyone, it all depends on how you use a computer. If you don't have a long list of performance expectations, then Apple’s products may be the best choice for you. But, if your goal is to work as quickly and efficiently as possible, you may want to consider building a custom rig to meet your exact needs. 

Don’t just listen to me, or any one person. Do your own research and become your own expert. Don’t let emotion cloud your judgment when it comes to high ticket items like this. Do what makes the most sense, and don’t be afraid to consider all of your options. I can tell you that my only regret is that I did not do this sooner.

Written by Travis Harris.

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Personally I'd have looked at going down the Ryzen or better still the Threadripper route with a LCS. The main downside is that the mobo's are not as 'mature' as Intel but apart from single threaded performance AMD's offerings generally beat Intel for multi-threaded performance and value.

As to mobo's I usually swing between Gigabyte or ASUS. PSUs is always Seasonic, they're the gold standard of the industry. As to the card reader I integrate those into the case through one of the 5.25 bays, and gives me additional USB 3.x ports.

Building a PC is as much about personal preference as it is about requirements.

Seems to me like you wanted to make yourself a gaming PC of some kind and justified it as a business decision. You can't even buy the iMac Pro right now so acting like it is an alternative for anyone is a little ridiculous. I run my photography business through a fully loaded 5k iMac that I bought refurbished for $3k. USB 3 drives area cheap enough and I'm only contracted to hold onto data for 1 year. Only when exporting full weddings do I max out the CPU. It's straight up absurd to spend $7-8k for LR & PS work. Adobe apps suck at taking advantage of hardware. You can do all you want and they stay slow because they have us by the balls and stopped trying to compete.

The folks that will want or need an iMac Pro are those who regularly edit 4k+ video or do 3D animation. Maybe it would be somewhat helpful if you shoot with an IQ3 100 Phase back, but probably not that much.

Also, it's interesting that you say your machine is cheaper than an iMac Pro considering they HAVEN'T RELEASED THE PRICING.

Hi Mark! Thanks for sharing your opinion. I would agree with you, that I wanted to have more options on my computer than what would have been offered with a Mac, and as I said I wanted to be able to use VR and do more training in X-Plane 11 which is much better on a PC. This is what broke the ice for me.. and then more research came into play. I think its pretty clear given my workflow, and history with my business that this was a clear win regardless if I can "play games" or not, which is not the focus or point. But, I can understand why you would think that. I'm just being honest with you in my reply. Apple has been clear that the starting price for iMac Pro will be $5K (many places have said this, and I am sure its correct) and some specs are listed on their site: https://www.apple.com/imac-pro/specs/. It's not hard to see what this is going to be given the track record of Apple, and more to the point its very clear where they position themselves to the "pro" users, and this cant really be argued when its been almost 5 years since an update to the Mac Pro LOL. Also, the cost of my machine is not just for LR, and PS work. Did you watch the video at all? Did you see my workflow, and do you understand why thats so important to me? Again, all of this is your option like this is all mine so there is no right or wrong. Lastly, if you read the post again you will see that I said its actually cheaper THAN A REGULAR iMAC! LOL not even the "pro" ;-)

I'm confused. You got a Quad core i7 CPU and think it's more powerful than an 8 core, 10 core, or 18 core XEON processor? The slowest CPU pon the iMac Pro is an 8 core XEON processor. Or was that your old PC CPU?

Actually, the 7700K is more fit to Lr or Ps than the super multi cores CPU. At least for now. Ps and Lr are not very well optimized yet with multithreading. Some features scale very well, other still prefer pure clock speed. For example in Lr (2015.12, to see with the later release) the export was pretty well scaling with a higher number of cores, but on a complete workflow, core speed still matters more, and offer a better performance for a fraction of the price : https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Lightroom-CC-2015-12-CPU-Perf...

Exactly. This is true, and what I also researched before the build. At the moment I am able to do more, with fewer cores and faster clocks.

Yes, for now this is actually true, i7 7700K has more IPC than other CPU's but when Adobe remembers of optimizing for multithreaded CPU's this i7 will not be an future proof piece of hardware.
Does the new LR CC has optimizations regarding multithreading? Because you'd be better off with a R7 1700X than the 7700K.

But other developers do, including Phase One C1 Pro. Having a future proof CPU, specially with hyperthreaded cores, will allow you for a much longer usage. It's all about future proofiness. (making words).

And when or if Adobe do optimize, it will cost some hundreds dollars and less than an hour to replace the CPU with one with more cores and threads...
Intel has started to deliver prosumer CPU's with more than 4 cores and will continue do that in the future...
On Apple that's not possible if I understand it correctly...

And if he wants a dual CPU Xeon system, a new motherboard cost a few 100 USD, same with the CPU's and coolers...
He can then choose to go for ECC RAM or not...

Point is, he is not stuck with one predesigned configuration, he can whenever he like change any part of this build to another "class" i.e. dual XEON 32 cores system with 1TB RAM, still his workflow will be exactly the same, he do not need to change any disks, he don't need to change the GPU, but can easily install another if he like to...

You lost me at Windo...

LOL, you have to open your mind. I was the same way. THE SAME way I promise you. Its so great now, I cant even express how much better things are now!

In the price comparison I could not see the time (cost) of finding and certifying components, how much you paid to have it assembled, or the warranty costs. Apples to Oranges?

Glad your time is worth nothing—lucky you. Assembling, loading software, configuring and testing a games machine is more than 2 hours. Not all components are compatible with each other. Warranty claims are time consuming and proving that you did not do something wrong can be difficult.

With Apple its like sitting in the back of limo whenever you want to get somewhere. It's nice, luxury, etc.. but if you want to drive faster, or be in a different car where your the driver.. then you need to learn to drive. This means doing a little work, and understanding what you need and want. Chances are if your on Apple, and happy you dont need a PC like this. For me, I wanted to drive, and am now very happy.

If you really want to get down and dirty the Mac is a Unix box—there is a command line if you want to go all out. And yes I am (now) a Mac only person having spent nearly 40 years in IT and until 2 years ago using Mac, Linux and Windows. I'm glad you are happy that's good but just a few things: When I bought my 5k iMac we could not build a Windows machine for the same price and that is without even considering warranty and support. Maybe you do need what looks more to me like a games machine (my son builds Windows game machines and I see a lot of similarities) but I doubt many need such a device. There is also the consideration of the time/cost of learning how to build a machine, from my experience not everyone is capable of doing that and those of us who are mostly have had to pay a price (usually but not always in time) I have spent a reasonable amount of time over the years of rebuilding failed builds by people who did not know what they were doing.

I've used both. My Apple experience was only for about a year or so and then I was back to PC/Windows. You'll never convince an Apple fanboy though. and really, who cares, to each their own.

Yeah, thats true. You can only lead the horse to water. You cant make him drink LOL.

Nice machine! I also switched from Mac to PC, but under Linux, a few years ago. Much more hardware options, more open system. I'm pretty happy with my decision. Windows 10 is much better than Windows 8 was, too. But the updating process is still a pain, so are installations in general. I find that on those fronts, Linux distros such as Ubuntu and Mint are quite ahead.

Right on!

I know it is a personal choice, for me, I work with Windows everyday as an IT Manager and use a Mac for my photography. Windows 10 is just awful, looks awful, cack-handed, looks awful, convoluted, looks awful, oh, and did I mention it looks awful and will for no apparent reason develop faults. It will happen to you. My Mac on the other hand is just beautiful to use, works harder and just keeps going. If you are happy with Windows, then, good for you. I would rather use my old trusty Mac any day. It makes my work experience pleasant.

Hey Chris! It's nice to hear from an actual IT guy! Yeah, I could imagine all the nightmares you see inside of the Windows world lol. It's such an open, and customizable environment that this is what happens, as different people and business use PCs to accomplish specific tasks. So if you deal with that all day, Apple is a breath of fresh air to come home too! No doubt. For me, personally I switched because I knew I really do not need to interact with the OS (windows) hardly at all. I'm inside of apps all day, or a web browser. Like I mentioned in my write up. When you take a step back and look at this from a business stand point, and look at the type of workflow I have setup.. this is a clear win :-)

Similar to you Chris I work with Windows all day at work and Mac at home. I don't find Win10 to be that bad, but I really like OSX not sure how to describe it. But, it seems to be less intensive than Windows.

Hi Lee! Yes your correct. It's less intense, because it's a closed OS. Less user options. It's what makes OSX attractive to a lot of people, but.... it's also it's biggest downfall at the same time.

This is strange, I have always build my PC's myself, everything from my first dual Pentium 200, P3, Pentium 2 Xeon, Xeon on 604 socket, Single Socket Core systems, with both AMD and Nvidia GPU's, Raid 6 Storage servers based on nearly all versions of Windows Server...
Started building my first system on an Asus P5 MB with dual pentium and a Windows NT 4.0 WS...

Most stable system I ever had is still running Windows Server 2000 on that Dual Pentium 200 MMZ Hardware...

If you stop browsing every xxx site you find and stop open every e--mail you get, you will have a solid system that seldom crashes by using Windows...

use the system for what its buildt and be a little self-critical what you actually do on the system...

I know more Apple users than Windows users that have lost all their works because their system got critical crashes for different reasons...

I can also build a much better spec PC for the same price that an Apple computer, but Apple have done one thing "right", they have locked their system so driver problems should have been eliminated, but then again... its extremely much problems with GPU drivers and a lot of Graphic software on Apple, that is easily fixed on a Windows computer...

But, for everyone that think Apple works for them, great... and for those who need the flexibility of Windows or Linux, great for them that those systems exist...

The price difference between Mac vs Windows. Has become way far apart to justify buying a mac anymore. Once I have too replace my iMac. It will be a custom windows rig.

You will be so happy. Not a doubt in my mind.

I will with performance, just not the windows maintenance you have to deal with. I do miss having control over everything but I got over that real quick.

ZERO Windows maintenance I have done, and its been 4 months of 24/7 use. People need to get over what once was.. and start looking at what IS now. I place the USB drive in the PC, installed windows 10 pro, and then installed all my apps. I turned off all the crap that I did not want to be notified with, and I have not had any issues at all. It just works. In fact, I have only restarted twice! TWICE. and that was for an update that I wanted. My machine will be fine tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.. etc.. etc..etc.. I dont touch the OS. I dont go and download free porn, or hack movies, or whatever else gets people into issues. I think if your a real pro.. and treat the PC like it should.. its the best thing in the world for sure. You WILL love it. Keep the Apple for looking at porn, and "personal" use :-)

Windows XP was when I left. Now at my job for the past 2 yrs and running windows 7 enterprise and its been a pain in the ass but these are severely under powered units. I am done with Apple, wont buy a Macbook Pro or a new iMac. I'm just waiting for it to become slow. Which will be about a min of 5yrs at least. (I've had it for 2yrs)

You can still control most Windows Updates and maintenance, you just need pro or enterprise and use Group Policy... I still decide when to install updates, only thing I can't do are to choose not to install any one update... but mostly its security reasons to install them, so ...

It's good to know that some people can actually look at things with their own eyes.

Yes, OSX is great but, by the end of the day how many of us are actually developing for iOS or using Powershell?
All I do on a Mac or PC is, sit my ass in front of it, open Photoshop or Lightroom and up I go. The keyboard mapping is somewhat the same on both systems for Adobe tools. And Windows only lacks what? Final Cut Pro?
I've been using both for like...well, since I remember using computers, and never had issues with any (well besides Windows Vista and Windows Millenium Edition). Well, at least user issues, as for the machines and OS's themselves, i saw Mac's not booting and deleting everything (thank God for Ubuntu to let us recover those files), PC's BSoD'ing without any plausible reason (mostly drivers) and Linux kernels die because I've managed to install the wrong thing, these are just machines, developed under the same languages for the same CPU achitectures, so they will suffer all with issues and most are common to all platforms.

So, you wanted a workstation and you bought a gamming CPU. For that price, and for the demands of Premiere you would be better off with an Ryzen 7 1700X CPU. But still, the 7700K is a great CPU.
GTX 1080, killer right there, best GPU on the market paired with the 1080TI.
My only thing goes with the CPU, i'll upgrade my PC next year and i'm just waiting for the second iteration of AMD Ryzen CPU's, if the IPC of the R7 1700 lineup increases, i'm sold.
32GB of DDR4 3000, a good Motherboard to go along (Asus).

Just my 2 cents on this :)

Have been there with windows (and PC upgrading disks memory.. Clean install windows was fun every 6 months..

Until I switched to mac 10 years ago, and never looked back

These days going back to do anything in Windows sometimes at work, to any version, is a major pain! frustrating experience,
Im not saying Mac is perfect,, it is not, but
I hope i will never go back to windows,.

Hi Kris! See.. I was just like you. I switched in 2004 to Apple. That's just it.. 10+ years ago. Things are not the same anymore. So rather than "never looking back". Look forward. Look at what Apple
Is trying to do, and really sit down with some honest time in terms of what you "want" and "need". If your in a bussiness setting like me, and have watched my videos.. it's pretty clear :-)

not watched your videos, but the thought of having have to go to windows. gives me shivers, so No, , Even if Apple does not innovate for the next 10 years, I am fine. I'd rather that than get bold early,.

No worries. If you see some of my videos you will see I was very vested in Apple :-). Sounds like Apple is best for you then! No doubt a good option for a lot of people.

I'm a big kid at heart too. Lol.

I recently bought my first Mac after using Windows all of my life. I find myself missing Windows 10 and have actually thought of installing it instead. Mac OS is not bad, but there have been no "oh wow this is so much better" moments either. Windows Stability since Windows 7 has been pretty great and more resource friendly than ever before. When run from an SSD, it's snappy even after years of use.

Exactly. I have many issues with OSX and Apple hardware in the past too. It's not all smooth sailing with Apple either. Lol. I have had logic boards fail twice, PSU on my Mac Pro tower, I had a display go bad in my MBP, etc. I came to the conclusion that the hardware is a wash on either platform. It's just as reliable etc. the OS, if setup correctly is just as good on either side, with Windows 10 having more options IF you want them.

Fair enough. I figure at the very least it's good to learn new things right? :)

I'd lessen my SSD costs and get myself a 6-Core, 12-thread Intel i7 8700k for just a bit more.

At the moment an i7 runs LR and PS faster than a multi core CPU.

??? But I did mention an i7 above. And a multicore CPU with more cores (6 vs 4) runs faster in LR during batches, especially when you also enable NR and Lens Correction, both features rely on multithreading onto a single image.

Oh, I understand what your saying. It's just that right now I don't believe that there is much difference (real world) in the performance from the i7 to the Multi core CPU's. Someone else explained this above better than I. Here is another link to check out: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Lightroom-CC-6-Multi-Co.... The problem is that Adobe has not really written the apps to take full advantage of the extra cores, so at the time of this having fewer cores, and a faster clock speed seems to be the best all around solution.. Even if there IS an advantage, its not ground breaking (i.e. x2 as fast etc.) and this than again goes back to cost vs. performance.

Well, you have me really flabbergasted. A pc oriented article favoring Windows over an Imac. ON FSTOPPERS.
Normally, the Capital of the Apple fan boys.
I have to take a tranquilizer to calm down.

Did exactly this for the same reason a year ago :)
went from a mac mini 2012 to a custom built i7 6700k and GTX 1070.
Have almost the same routine as far as backup goes. I use Bvckup2 which is a very easy and cheap app. But does all I need it to do.

I also taped the memory card reader under my desk so it isn't cluttering the desk :)

For the first time in many many years I've found myself not missing Windows per se, but missing the process of building a machine from scratch, tinkering with it, solving problems and generally the hands-on process.

I think my next computer is sure to be a PC and I'm really looking forward to assembling all the bits and pieces. The best part is it will be a heck of a lot more awesome than the last one I built about 20 years ago in my teens.

Add to that the cost savings I can make, I can't really see any negatives apart from Windows itself but as you mention in the article; most of the time we are inside an app which actually becomes the main user interface we are experiencing day-to-day.

Exactly. You will be so happy, and it is in fact very rewarding to do the build, which takes an afternoon at most.

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