I saw the other 21.5 vs 27" thread, however I didn't want to hijack it, as I'm looking specifically at some lower cost models, and he's considering spring for quad cores and whatnot.
I'm looking at getting either the entry level 21.5" iMac with the Core i3 CPU, or the 27" Core 2 Duo refurb here - my problem is that I can't decide which to get.
I currently own a late 2009 white Macbook (2.26ghz Core 2 Duo), and just want a faster machine for home, where I intend to do some lightweight photo editing (Lightroom 3, maybe Photoshop some day).
The massive screen size of the 27" certainly appeals to me, however based on everything I've read, the 21.5" is faster - and since the entire purpose of me buying an iMac is to get something faster than my Macbook, I kind of think I should just choose the fastest option in my budget (~$1250).
So, with the refurbished 27" being $1,269, with 8% cashback (making it ~$1168), and the current best Black Friday deal that I've seen for the new 21.5" making it $1050 ($1200 - ($125 gift card + $25 in Reward Zone points)), the difference is about $118 to go for the refurb 27" with the larger screen and HD, but slower everything else.
Any thoughts/advice?
PS - How are Apple refurbs? The only refurbished computer I've ever purchased was an HP that showed up with faulty RAM and a broken optical drive, so I'm a little wary about refurbs now.
I'm looking at getting either the entry level 21.5" iMac with the Core i3 CPU, or the 27" Core 2 Duo refurb here - my problem is that I can't decide which to get.
I currently own a late 2009 white Macbook (2.26ghz Core 2 Duo), and just want a faster machine for home, where I intend to do some lightweight photo editing (Lightroom 3, maybe Photoshop some day).
The massive screen size of the 27" certainly appeals to me, however based on everything I've read, the 21.5" is faster - and since the entire purpose of me buying an iMac is to get something faster than my Macbook, I kind of think I should just choose the fastest option in my budget (~$1250).
So, with the refurbished 27" being $1,269, with 8% cashback (making it ~$1168), and the current best Black Friday deal that I've seen for the new 21.5" making it $1050 ($1200 - ($125 gift card + $25 in Reward Zone points)), the difference is about $118 to go for the refurb 27" with the larger screen and HD, but slower everything else.
Any thoughts/advice?
PS - How are Apple refurbs? The only refurbished computer I've ever purchased was an HP that showed up with faulty RAM and a broken optical drive, so I'm a little wary about refurbs now.
