Before there was Apple’s powerful but lower-tier Mac Studio than the Mac Pro, there was the iMac Pro. We don’t see the premium all-in-one desktop on the market often compared to regular iMacs, but it still has its fans.
Today’s top user, who records and masters audio in a home studio, refuses to give up his 7-year-old iMac Pro until necessary. Because he’s still great. And for some people, it could be a great bargain on the second-hand market (see some options in the equipment list below).
Still going strong: iMac Pro audio setup
Redditor Wanderedabit (“Dab”) showed off the setup in a post titled “Anyone Still Using an iMac Pro?” You asked a perfectly valid question because it still works fine in your audio recording and mastering setup. He has no immediate plans to replace it. He handles a 2017 iMac Pro, from the machine’s first year of production out of a total of four years.
The setup’s custom desk looks almost like an officer’s station on the bridge of a Federation starship, Star Trek style, though it’s all about tunes, with audio equipment built into the desk frame. (The science officer and total rocker, Mr. Spock, simply walked away for a moment to use the bathroom. Not that we know if Vulcans use the bathrooms, since he never appeared in the shows or movies.)
iMac Pro shows no limitations… yet
“I love this computer and I haven’t run into any limitations…yet,” Dab said. As for the facility as a whole, which he began putting together during the COVID-19 pandemic, he added, “It’s been a huge task and a labor of love for the last two and a half years.”
Your 2017 iMac Pro comes with these specs: 2.3GHz 18-core Intel Xeon chip, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics, 128GB DDR4 RAM, and 2TB SSD storage.
When a commenter mentioned he was hoping to see the Mac Pro, Dab said that would be his dream computer, “but I’ll hold out on this one until I force myself to upgrade.” Another person mentioned that he recently switched from a 2017 iMac Pro to an M1 iMac and sometimes regretted it. But they did not give more details.
Apple’s ‘most elegant computer’
Photo: Apple
“The 2017 iMac Pro is Apple’s most elegant computer,” said another commenter. “Magnificent. And I think it’s still very powerful. I hope Apple releases something similar on m4/m5.” Apple now uses M3 chips.
“I completely agree, it’s a very elegant design,” agreed Dab, happy for now with his iMac Pro’s audio setup. “I’ve been waiting for a successor. “Especially with all the established chip designs, it could be even more powerful than this model.”
Discontinued in spring 2021, the used iMac Pro could be a good option on the used market
Apple discontinued the iMac Pro on March 5, 2021, and it disappeared from the iPhone giant’s website and online store before the end of that month. Rumors that he might return persisted for a while. Mac Studio and Studio Display came out almost exactly a year later, on March 18, 2022. The first iMac M1 came out in May 2021.
It’s difficult to recommend used computers of a certain age because Apple may soon stop supporting them. Lately, we’re looking forward to about six years of macOS updates plus another couple of security patches. This suggests that many users who want great value along with consistent ease of use might want to stay away from older used iMac Pro machines and aim for those from more recent production years.
Good luck getting through this deal, though.
And can you find great deals on them? One commenter on Dab’s post talked about purchasing a “fully loaded” 2020 iMac Pro for $400. It needed a lot of cleaning, which the user said he did himself for a cost of about $50.
This is what he said about the work and its result:
I recently purchased a fully loaded 18-core Vega 64X/256GB for $400 because it had a lot of dust on the backlight and was quite dirty, but was otherwise in perfect condition. Original purchase date in 2020. Cleaned all dust, repaired backlight, put on new thermal paste, thoroughly cleaned and has been very pleasant to use. It’s new again for under $50. The temperatures are much better than my 2017 iMac and it’s as fast as my M1 Max MBP (faster for some things). Additionally, you can use Bootcamp. I know people like to discount Intel Macs, but a 5K display and a Xeon processor for that price are hard to beat.
That story seemed to blow Dab’s mind, whose “deal” on his machine in 2018 cost him nearly $7,000.
“That’s an insane price!” he said about $400. “I would still take that deal for a second editing room if I saw that. A good cleaning and reinstallation at least once a year keeps mine in good condition. I worked for Apple at the time and bought mine for just under $7k in 2018 lol.”
Buy these items now:
Computer:
Input devices:
Audio:
If you’d like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-resolution images to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or don’t like about your setup and let us know about any special touches, challenges, and plans for new additions.
27-inch iMac Pro
This space gray all-in-one desktop machine features an Intel chip, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD for storage (MQ2Y2LL/A, refurbished).
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