Back in April of this year, Apple launched the new 24-inch M1 iMac along with the new iPad Pro models. While the event's main highlight was the iPad Pro model with a mini-LED display, Apple made sure that the iMac received its due performance upgrade. However, it seems that upgrading your 21.5-inch iMac with Intel's Core-i9 processor can result in better performance.
Custom Built 21.5-Inch iMac WIth Intel Core-i9 Processor Outperforms New M1 iMac - Video
YouTuber Luke Miani has shared a new video in which he custom built a 21.5-inch iMac with Intel's Core-i9 processor. The results are pretty surprising as it manages to outperform Apple's latest and greatest M1-powered 24-inch iMac. Currently, you can buy the 21.5-inch iMac with an Intel Core-i5 chip. However, the machine was also initially offered with a Core-i7 processor as well.
Taking matters into his own hands, Luke Miani upgraded the 21.5-inch iMac with a Core-i3 8100 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD storage, and Radeon Pro 555X graphics. Miani upgraded the machine with a Core-i9 9900 processor and 32GB of RAM. This bumps up the price of the 21.5-inch iMac to $1,250. In comparison, Apple's latest 24-inch M1-powered iMac is available at $1,299 with 8GB of RAM.
After the upgrade, the YouTuber performs a Geekbench 5 test, showing the M1 iMac scoring 7,700 in the graphics department. In contrast, the Intel Core-i9 21.5-inch iMac scored 7,400. In terms of computing performance, the M1 iMac scored 20,000 while the 21.5-inch iMac scoring 15,789. However, the YouTuber shifts his interest to Cinebench for the more elaborative and detailed test. The M1 iMac scored almost 7,500 while the Intel Core-i9 21.5-inch iMac scored a whopping 9,214. Moreover, the Intel-powered iMac rendered the sample project in three minutes - half the time compared to the M1 iMac.
One thing to note at this point is that the Blender on M1 iMac is running through the Rosetta emulation which might have resulted in the lack of performance compared to the Intel iMac. The full video of the customization is embedded above, so be sure to check it out.
What are your thoughts on the custom-built 21.5inch iMac beating Apple's latest and greatest 24-inch M1 iMac? Let us know in the comments.
