2020 iMac 5K: Real World Photoshop: Make Multi-Res Image Series

2022-01-10 • SEND FEEDBACK •
Related: 2019 iMac 5K, 2020 iMac 5K, 4K and 5K display, computer display, iMac, iMac 5K, Macs, memory, Other World Computing, Photoshop

re: recommended Macs for photographers and videographers
re: 2020 iMac 5K: Recommended Models and Accessories.

MPG tested the 2020 iMac 5K 3.6 GHz Intel Core i9 10-core / 128GB / 2TB / Radeon 5700. Smart move: buy with 8GB memory, then add 64GB or 128GB OWC memory to save a ton on memory cost (same memory as 2019 iMac 5K).

Please buy your gear at B&H Photo and OWC/MacSales.com using any link from this site.
Unsure which Mac to get or how to configure it? Consult with Lloyd.

2020 iMac 5K

About

This test is as real world as it gets, one that Lloyd does frequently for generating lens rendering aperture series, such as for this lens comparison. It is a time-consuming and work-stopping task, so performance gains are very welcome. It is a workflow that might have limited significance for the workflow of others. Still, if workflow is scripted in Photoshop, it likely applies.

This javascript-driven automation script generates series of images which does not lend itself to multiple CPU cores. But surprisingly the 2020 iMac 5K is notably faster, suggesting that improvements have been made in the latest version of Photoshop.

If below are out of date: view current Mac wishlist and all current OWC wishlists.

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended Memory, Storage,etc

CLICK TO VIEW: Recommended iMac 5K (buy OWC memory separately)

Results

The 2020 iMac 5K offers about a 16% advantage over the 2019 iMac 5K, but the 2019 Mac Pro is even better.

2020 iMac 5K vs 2019 iMac 5K, 2019 Mac Pro: Photoshop : 21 x 36-megapixel layers in 6.1GB file: resize, sharpen, convert profile, save as JPEG size variants

2020 iMac 5K