Buying new 27" iMac - which model would be best for Photoshop?

[pavinder]

I'm going to upgrade my late 2013 iMac to a new iMac (unless Apple announce new models in the next month or two).

Other than web browsing/playing music/movies, my main use is for Photoshop work. I work on large multilayered files occasionally up to 3 or even 4GB. All files are stored on external 4TB hard drives.

The Fusion drive on my current iMac broke just after the warranty expired, so since then I have booted from an external 512GB SSD which seems pretty fast.

I'm basically trying to understand the relative importance of CPU vs GPU vs RAM

1. Would the 3.8GHz processor be noticeably faster for Photoshop work or would the base model 3.4 GHz be fine?
2. Would adding more RAM (to 16GB or 32GB) make a bigger difference for Photoshop than a faster processor or better GPU?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[chscag]

The most important item on your list should be the GPU, not the CPU. The base model iMac comes with 4 GB of video memory and fast graphics plus 8 GB of base memory which you can upgrade yourself. I would recommend going for the base model but instead of the fusion drive, choose an SSD instead. 512 GB or a 1 TB SSD will add to the cost of the base model but will be well worth it. A faster or more powerful CPU in my opinion is not going to make that much difference for Photoshop. If you were doing a lot of video work then the faster CPU would be a good investment.

 

[pavinder]

The most important item on your list should be the GPU, not the CPU. The base model iMac comes with 4 GB of video memory and fast graphics plus 8 GB of base memory which you can upgrade yourself. I would recommend going for the base model but instead of the fusion drive, choose an SSD instead. 512 GB or a 1 TB SSD will add to the cost of the base model but will be well worth it. A faster or more powerful CPU in my opinion is not going to make that much difference for Photoshop. If you were doing a lot of video work then the faster CPU would be a good investment.

The consensus seems to be that an SSD rather than Fusion drive is recommended, so I'll definitely do that.

You suggest that the CPU would be good for video work, but on other threads people suggest that the GPU is critical for gaming and video processing rather than the CPU. And that for stills, GPU makes little difference. There is so much conflicting information about the relative value of CPU vs GPU vs RAM (beyond 16GB) I find it very hard to know what's true...

 

[Raz0rEdge]

GPU is necessary for doing video/image editing since most of the apps that do that work use math and the GPUs have streamlined pipelines to do that work. The CPUs are more general purpose workers that don't have the kind of specialized punch like the GPU. RAM is really useful to ensure that the apps have enough space to keep the work available as needed.

So having a good GPU and lots of RAM coupled with a decent CPU is the best bang for the buck.

 

[pavinder]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Much appreciated.