2017 iMac (Radeon 580) vs. Custom PC (+Monitor)

[Bing Bing Bong]

Hello, 

 

I am a HUGE Apple fanboy and I have been using iMac's since 2009s first 27inch iMac release. However, after watching Linus Tech Tips I am starting to get excited with the idea of building a custom PC. However, while comparing Apples to PCs, the iMac always seems to be a better value with significant benefits. I have my eye on one particular PC setup I have been thinking about getting over a new 2017 iMac and I would like your opinion.

 

*Screen quality is the most important factor* Minimum Size 27inch 4K

 

First I will compare the iMac vs PC in price (Canadian $) and specs

 

2017 iMac $3,241 +TAX

CPU - 7700K

GPU - Radeon Pro 580 8GB

RAM - 2400MHZ 24GB

SSD - NVME m.2 512GB

Screen (Built In) - 5K Resolution, 60HZ, 10bit, 500Nits, 27inches

 

Custom PC $2,800 +TAX | Monitor $1,400 + Tax | Total $4,200 + TAX

Canadian Computers and Electronics Custom 1080ti build - link

CPU - 7700K

GPU - Nvidia 1080ti 11GB

RAM - 2400MHZ 32GB

SSD- NVME m.2 250GB

HDD - 2TB

Monitor (XB321HK)- 4K Resolution, 60HZ, 10bit, 350nits, 32inches 

 

 

The problem with the PC is that I will need a high quality display to go with my high performance new PC tower, a display that will easily put my budget over $1,000 more than the iMac at minimum. 

 

iMac Pros

-Can run both Windows 10 and MacOS

-Perfect and easy tech support

-Amazing resale value

-Amazing industrial design

-No Viruses

-Monitor Included

-5K Screen

iMac Cons

-Lower performance graphics card

-None Upgradeable (Except RAM, Maybe CPU)

-Smaller Screen 

 

 

I am just not sure which one to pick, they are both amazing machines.... Please help me pick. The custom PC is almost as much as the iMac but that isn't including the price of a 4K monitor. 

 

What do I use the computer for?

Really basic stuff...

Browsing the internet

Playing games (Starcraft 2, EVE Online, Minecraft, VR)

[Rekcut722]

It comes down to which operating system you need for certain programs (i.e. final cut pro x only runs on macOS) If that doesn't matter, I would go with the PC, just because you will have some upgradability in the long run (and PC's are awesomer)

[RadiatingLight]

Build

It

Yourself

[DrMacintosh]

well that 1080Ti is going to crush the Radeon Pro 580 (aka RX 580) 

 

Actually with this years 5K iMac you can upgrade the CPU and RAM yourself (it just requires time and skill)

 

I personally prefer macOS infinitely more over Windows however if you are planning on gaming a lot the PC might be the way to go, however the iMac can play games extremely well at 1440p in Bootcamp. 

 

The iMac also has the best screen on the market, a super fast SSD, and that Apple life style we fans know and love  

 

(also Thunderbolt 3 and USB C) suck it PC users!

[themctipers]

lowkey dying inside because you're a canadian and apple prices

 

if you are brave enough you can hackintosh,  but you will need to do some software 'hacking' (edit) to make the 7700k look like a 6700k for the iMac.

[TheGleaner]

You can run macos on a PC, I believe that's called a hackentosh or something like that.

 

You probably will get somewhat biased answers on here though, leaning towards PC.

 

My answer after dealing with macs at school, build a PC. You may get the 'I built this and I'm proud of it' that you wouldn't with a Mac.

[Zonther]

Figure out if you can build a PC and install Hackintosh then you can have the best of both worlds.

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, TheGleaner said:

You can run macos on a PC, I believe that's called a hackentosh or something like that.

 

You probably will get somewhat biased answers on here though, leaning towards PC.

you can but we are not allowed to talk about it on this forum

[Bing Bing Bong]

I've priced out a custom build PC and weirdly enough I only come in with a savings of about $50, and then lose that savings when I realize I have not installed Windows 10 yet aha. This particular pre-build custom built PC seems to be a cost savings unless I'm doing something wrong. Which I am indeed afraid to do on my first PC.

[TheGleaner]

2 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

you can but we are not allowed to talk about it on this forum

I thought that was only dealing with 'how to hackentosh' but didn't ltt do a video on a hackentosh though?

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Bing Bing Bong said:

I've priced out a custom build PC and weirdly enough I only come in with a savings of about $50, and then lose that savings when I realize I have not installed Windows 10 yet aha. This particular pre-build custom built PC seems to be a cost savings unless I'm doing something wrong. Which I am indeed afraid to do on my first PC.

Use PCPartPicker. Much better prices.

[nickwelsh]

IMO if you're doing creative work, go with the iMac. That 5k screen is perfect for anything from graphic design to video editing. But, if you're gaming, go with the custom PC. You'll have far better performance with the 1080ti, as it's designed for gaming. If you do light creative work but mostly game, the PC will still be the better choice. Plus you can upgrade and expand it easily in the future. VS the iMac, you're sorta stuck with what you bought. (You can upgrade the 2017 model's CPU and RAM but you'd void your warrantee)

[LienusLateTips]

BTW yes viruses on the Mac.

 

A lot slower performance, 580 won't do 4K.

[TheGleaner]

1 minute ago, Bing Bing Bong said:

I've priced out a custom build PC and weirdly enough I only come in with a savings of about $50, and then lose that savings when I realize I have not installed Windows 10 yet aha. This particular pre-build custom built PC seems to be a cost savings unless I'm doing something wrong. Which I am indeed afraid to do on my first PC.

Pcpartpicker.com ? Try that for finding the best price.

[GDRRiley]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($424.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($124.99 @ Memory Express) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350M-A Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($107.50 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($294.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($629.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($101.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card  ($909.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($58.99 @ PC Canada) 
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.98 @ DirectCanada) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($119.50 @ Vuugo) 
Monitor: Dell - P2415Q 23.8" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($459.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Total: $3322.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-02 01:02 EDT-0400

more ssd space, more storage, a better cpu for a mixed workload 

[LienusLateTips]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($378.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($124.99 @ Memory Express) 
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Memory: *Team - Vulcan 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($289.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($222.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Toshiba - X300 5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card  ($909.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ DirectCanada) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Monitor: LG - 27UD58-B 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($469.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Total: $2931.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-02 01:03 EDT-0400

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, GDRRiley said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($424.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($124.99 @ Memory Express) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350M-A Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($107.50 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($294.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($629.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($101.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card  ($909.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($58.99 @ PC Canada) 
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.98 @ DirectCanada) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($119.50 @ Vuugo) 
Monitor: Dell - P2415Q 23.8" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($459.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Total: $3322.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-02 01:02 EDT-0400

more ssd space, more storage, a better cpu for a mixed workload 

or that

[GDRRiley]

Just now, JDE said:

or that

yeah just took me a second 

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, GDRRiley said:

yeah just took me a second 

I would still get my larger monitor though

[GDRRiley]

Just now, JDE said:

I would still get my larger monitor though

some people want a small monitor with high PPI and others was larger 

[DrMacintosh]

Let's be honest here, a similarly speced PC offers very little over this iMac. Finding a 5K display that good takes up a large amount of your budget right off the bat. 

 

These new 5K iMacs are the best value computers Apple has made in recent memory. Dedicated graphics cards, upgradable CPUs, Upgradable RAM, a Full I/O compliment including USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3, and finally that absolutely stunning 5K display. 

 

The Radeon Pro 580 (RX 580) is a great graphics chip and can game very well at 1440p. 

 

Building a similar PC is possible, but it's still nowhere near as elegant. 

[The Sloth]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Let's be honest here, a similarly speced PC offers very little over this iMac. Finding a 5K display that good takes up a large amount of your budget right off the bat. 

 

These new 5K iMacs are the best value computers Apple has made in recent memory. Dedicated graphics cards, upgradable CPUs, Upgradable RAM, a Full I/O compliment including USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3, and finally that absolutely stunning 5K display. 

 

The Radeon Pro 580 (RX 580) is a great graphics chip and can game very well at 1440p. 

 

Building a similar PC is possible, but it's still nowhere near as elegant. 

but thermal management, you can't really game on it, it's more for productivity 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

but thermal management, you can't really game on it, it's more for productivity 

Apparently it handles Battlefied (the new one) very well at 1440p (above 60fps) 

 

Sure it will get warm but it can keep itself well under the thermal limit of the chips inside. 

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Apparently it handles Battlefied (the new one) very well at 1440p (above 60fps) 

 

Sure it will get warm but it can keep itself well under the thermal limit of the chips inside. 

But it's at 5K, not 1440P

[Bing Bing Bong]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

Let's be honest here, a similarly speced PC offers very little over this iMac. Finding a 5K display that good takes up a large amount of your budget right off the bat. 

 

These new 5K iMacs are the best value computers Apple has made in recent memory. Dedicated graphics cards, upgradable CPUs, Upgradable RAM, a Full I/O compliment including USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3, and finally that absolutely stunning 5K display. 

 

The Radeon Pro 580 (RX 580) is a great graphics chip and can game very well at 1440p. 

 

Building a similar PC is possible, but it's still nowhere near as elegant. 

I know that 5K screen and industrial design is the just impossible for me to get over. The only screens which I think will be able to compete will be the upcoming Asus PG27UQ 4K 144HZ HDR G-Sync monitor with 1000Nits. But that monitor is a whole other beast on its own, not to mention the cost of the monitor will be well over $2K in Canada aha. 

 

I refuse to downgrade screen quality after using iMac's for so many years, I just sold my 2015 5K iMac and ready to upgrade now.