Hello guys!
Want to ask some questions about iMac 27 2020 base model vs Radeon pro 5300m.
I want to choose between iMac 2020 and Mac mini M1 with external monitor (27inch 2k).
My questions is for iMac owners, how much FPS can you get with different settings? I want to play wow in 5k Mac, even with low settings, I prefer low graphic and smooth image.
So can I get it with only 5300m graphic card? Or will I have to run 50% scale for 2k?
Or it’s better to buy M1 and 2k screen because it would be no difference between 2k monitor and 50 scale on iMac?
If someone owns iMac 2020 base model you can whisper me (#mrgreen22963), so I can ask proper question.
P.s. sorry for my English)
I don’t have a 2020 iMac, but I do have a 2017 iMac Pro which is similar in terms of CPU power and uses the same 5k display but has a more powerful GPU (Vega 56).
With this machine I can run WoW in nearly-maxed settings at 50% render scale (effectively 2560x1440) at 60FPS without its fans becoming audible. I can do 5k 60FPS at mid settings, but the fans become quite loud to keep it cool. It could probably run minimum settings at 5k without being noisy but I haven’t tried that because I personally can’t stand minimum settings.
To give you an idea of where the 2020 iMac’s Radeon 5300 sits in terms of performance, Geekbench ranks it at 36875 in their Metal benchmark, roughly the same as that of a Radeon 580X. The Vega 56 in my iMac scores 69229, about 1.8x as powerful.
But keep in mind that the cooling of the standard iMac is much more weak than the iMac Pro’s cooling. So with that in mind, I would guess that the base model 2020 iMac might be able to swing minimum settings 5k at 60FPS, but it might have a hard time doing it consistently and it’ll probably be noisy doing it.
If the need isn’t immediate, I would strongly recommend waiting for Apple to release revamped Apple Silicon iMacs that rumors suggest are imminent. They will likely be considerably more powerful while also being less noisy, and even if they aren’t the base model 2020 iMac will drop in price, improving its cost:value ratio.
2 Likes
No one else owns an IMac 2020?
No one is running WoW at 5K and 60 FPS unless the settings are turned way down and spend all their time in situations where there is no graphics load being applied.
Next up, there is a bug in the game right now that is actually lowering the FPS for many Mac owners. Common denominators being ARM-based Macs and those computers running Big Sur. Whether it’s a Blizzard fixable bug or something Apple needs to address we do not know. What we do know is that is hasn’t been fixed yet and showed up in the 9.0.5 update. Given Apple’s past indifference to such things, don’t hold your breath for a speedy fix.
The only prudent advice anyone can give you is this… if you are looking to get a new Mac… WAIT! Apple is releasing new Macs this year (iMac is very likely based on the rumors). If you intend to keep this new computer for a while, buying now is a mistake… unless you want to be locked into EOL hardware sooner rather than later.
You aren’t getting a lot of replies because most players don’t ever actually visit the forums… Mac users probably the least. Add into that we are in a lull between patches for a while and you can see why there are so few responses.
1 Like
I replaced my Late 2013 27" iMac last October with a 27" 2020 iMac. I would have waited if it wasn’t for the fact that my 2013 iMac had failed and I needed a replacement right away for work. As others have mentioned, I would recommend waiting if you can.
This is what I have:
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i7
32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB
I purchased this configuration simply bcs it was the only 27" iMac available right away within a 3 hour drive and the estimated shipping time I was given for a new order would have been 2 weeks which didn’t work for me as I needed it for work. It came with 8GB RAM by default which I upgraded with third party RAM. This is the first iMac I have owned with a 5K display and I have it set to 50% with graphics setting at 4 and the FPS set to 60. This is pretty much how the game looked on my 2013 iMac so it’s what I was used to. I could run the graphics settings higher but this works for my needs.
I’m definitely not a technical person when it comes to computers so I’m probably not the best person to ask but I do have a 2020 iMac so if you have specific questions I might be able to kinda help.
I run the late 2020 iMac 27” with no issues. I run with graphics at 7 and a t 2k resolution. It raids really nice.
I have the 2020 iMac with 32 GB RAM and the Radeon 5700 XT. I run at full resolution scaled at 50%, which makes it 1440p. I have Vsync on, meaning the frame rate cap is 60. iMac monitors are 60 hz. I have the graphics on 7 and I change the particle settings from High, to Good. Ardenweald particles drop the FPS to the 40s if I don’t change the particle quality. My frame rate pretty much stays at 60 in all content. I hope this answers your questions.
PS, if you are thinking about buying a 2020 iMac, do not buy extra memory from Apple if you have any technical expertise. Just buy the identical memory from somewhere else for much cheaper.
I toyed around with playing wow on my 2019 27” i9 9900k and 580x. (I have a separate gaming PC). At 5k resolution it looks pretty but is nowhere near playable IMO. I would immediately run at 50% render scale for a 1440p experience. It’s def playable once you toy with graphics settings to hit an acceptable frame rate, though personally if I was buying an iMac today I would opt for a more powerful GPU.
That said, at this point I would just wait to see what the ARM iMac looks like.
I use a 2020 iMac 5K 27 inch with the 3.6 GHz, 10-core i9 and Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16 GByte, as well as the 1 TByte flash storage and 64 GByte of memory. I run at the full, 5120 x 2880 resolution for best dynamic range and contrast for my old eyes. Until 9.0.5, I was able to get 50 - 60 fps everywhere outside instances (which I don’t do much of) at graphics setting 6. Now, at setting 5, it’s 30 fps or so. I don’t know what Blizz and/or Apple has done since then, but while it was noticeably better than my 2017 model before, it isn’t now. 
As for waiting for an Apple Silicon (I’m betting called something other than “M1”) iMac, that may or may not come this year, but sometime before the end of next year. I bought the Intel machine last year because my old machine had come off extended warranty, and I was convinced it would give me a step up in performance in playing WoW as well as ruining other apps. Until 9.0.5, it did.
I would definitely hold off buying a new computer/iMac until later this year. My 2017 runs wow like a dog - I’m averaging 10-20 frames per second in most places. I want to upgrade but… holding off to see what’s on offer by fall.
It seems like there is an ongoing problem/glitch with wow on m1, there’s a thread right here about it, which is a shame because it looks like that really has some super potential. Like prior to glitch it was performing really well vs price point.
Imac is ok but the trick there is you have to sort of un-retina the fancy display. You can play around with all sorts of graphics options and it does help here and there. But the big one is a slider where you are telling warcraft how many (logical) pixels to render separate from the size of your render window. Lower the value for overall snappier performance.
The slider at the top value is essentially the physical screen resolution. How many physical pixels there are. If you put the slider there every single fancy retina pixel is rendered. This crushes performance. Lower the slider, lower the render load. The simplest setting is to cut it in half. So like if the top setting is 6000 x 4000 then drop it to 3000 x 2000. I don’t know what methods they are using to interpolate logical vs physical but if it’s anything like what I’ve seen whole values are easier graphics load wise. So half the pixels are rendered and then they double it to fit the screen screen, sort of. That’s how you get imacs to work, as far as I have seen.