iMac 5K and Mac Pro Workstation Rig Shootout

We put the iMac 5K, Mac Pro Silver Tower, and Mac Pro through their paces with different memory, storage, and/or video card options to see which workstation rigs would reign supreme.

TEST #1: diglloydMedium Photoshop Action Test
Generates a 15.7GB file using a 20,000 pixel wide image.

TEST #2: diglloydHuge Photoshop Action Test
A true torture test that generates a 56GB scratch file using a 40,000 pixel wide image. Machines that can handle this test are pretty darn fast!

These tests mimic working with large images, images with many layers, or many images at once, to show memory, storage, and GPU performance.

Note: We're currently testing the 2017 iMac models and will publish the results here when testing has completed

Toggle the installed memory tabs below to see how these different workstations stack up!   Also available: Test Results PDF
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8GB
SHOOTOUT WINNER!
1ST
PLACE
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display - Late 2015
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Late 2015 – iMac17,1
  • 8GB memory
  • 4-Core i7 4.0Ghz processor
  • 4GB AMD 395X video card
  • 1TB Fusion Drive (1TB HDD + 128GB SSD)
OBSERVATIONS
The top-end 5K iMac never fails to impress. These machines are screamers. This iMac configuration handily beats the pack on the massively challenging diglloydHuge test. Wow! Adding more memory makes the screamer of a Mac go even faster.
diglloydMedium test
20.32
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
164.49
seconds to complete
8GB
SHOOTOUT RUNNER-UP!
2ND
PLACE
Mac Pro - Late 2013
Mac Pro
Late 2013 – Mac Pro6,1
  • 8GB memory
  • 4-Core Xeon 3.7Ghz processor
  • 4GB Dual AMD Fire Pro D300 2GB video cards
  • 256GB Apple SSD
OBSERVATIONS
The 2013 is a fast Mac, period. But it's hugely surprising to see the latest top-end 5K iMac beat this Mac Pro model up so badly on the diglloydHuge test, and to see it run 30% slower on the diglloydMedium test was a surprise as well. Of course, adding more memory will speed this fast Mac Pro up even more.
diglloydMedium test
26.44
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
235.89
seconds to complete
3RD
PLACE
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display - Late 2015
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Mid 2015 – iMac15,1
  • 8GB memory
  • 4-Core i5 3.3Ghz processor
  • 2GB AMD M290 video card
  • 1TB Fusion Drive (1TB HDD + 128GB SSD)
OBSERVATIONS
While the latest top-end iMac is the winner of the pack, this mid-end, previous generation, 5K iMac is no slouch. It's 128GB SSD integrated into its stock Fusion Drive is really helping push this iMac up the performance rankings. To see what happens with a smaller SSD check out 8th place below. Add more memory and this iMac gets even faster!
diglloydMedium test
40.73
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
337.82
seconds to complete
4TH
PLACE
Mac Pro 2009-2010
Mac Pro
Mid 2010 – Mac Pro5,1
OBSERVATIONS
It's still amazing how well one of Apple's most upgradable Mac models ever created holds up as a solid workstation, even being 5+ years old. Of course, we love the performance combination of an upgraded video card coupled with a fast PCIe SSD. Adding more memory will only make this Mac Pro an even faster workhorse.
diglloydMedium test
45.80
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
338.17
seconds to complete
5TH
PLACE
Mac Pro 2009-2010
Mac Pro
Mid 2010 – Mac Pro5,1
OBSERVATIONS
The extra processors in this model didn't help in these tests, so the 2010 Mac Pro performs the same in 6-Core or 12-Core configurations with the upgraded video card and a fast PCIe SSD. Adding more memory makes this Mac an even faster workhorse.
diglloydMedium test
46.39
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
338.51
seconds to complete
6TH
PLACE
Mac Pro 2009-2010
Mac Pro
Early 2009 – Mac Pro4,1
OBSERVATIONS
While just a year older than the 2010 models, the 2009 Mac Pro is just as upgradable, makes for a solid workstation, and can pull about the same performance numbers as the 2010 models. Of course, we love the added performance combination of an upgraded video card coupled with a fast PCIe SSD. Adding more memory will only make this Mac an even faster workhorse.
diglloydMedium test
46.05
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
343.01
seconds to complete
7TH
PLACE
Mac Pro 2009-2010
Mac Pro
Early 2009 – Mac Pro4,1
OBSERVATIONS
While this 2009 model has less processor cores than the 6th place 2009 Mac Pro, its performance is a near tie in these tests. The combination of an upgraded video card coupled with a fast PCIe SSD make this older Mac Pro sing. Adding more memory makes it faster.
diglloydMedium test
47.33
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
344.54
seconds to complete
8TH
PLACE
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display - Late 2015
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Late 2015 – iMac17,1
  • 8GB memory
  • 4-Core i5 4.0Ghz processor
  • 2GB AMD M390 R9 video card
  • 1TB Fusion Drive (1TB HDD + 24GB SSD)
OBSERVATIONS
This iMac release features a smaller 24GB SSD in the 1.0TB fusion drive implementation than the previous generation which utilized a 128GB SSD. Thus, this iMac model ran out of memory and SSD capacity which made it page out data to the hard drive, resulting in it's abysmal score on the large test compared with the previous year's model. The good news is this iMac can take up to 64GB of memory which helps tremendously.
diglloydMedium test
80.72
seconds to complete
diglloydHuge test
1860.87
seconds to complete
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