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27" refurb vs. 21'5" new

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diegobgr

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 22, 2009
340
0
Hi.

Well, I will like to do everything with my iMac. Gaming too.

So, I'm thinking about going for the 27" model.

I can buy the 27" i5 and 4850 refurb. or the 27" Core 2 Duo new for quite the same price.

I also can buy the advanced 21'5 for a bit less.

Which should I do?

What are the - of a refurbished model?
 
Refurbs are generally great. They are just like new ones but come in brown box instead of the fancier white retail box. Quad core 27" is absolutely amazing so if you can, jump for it
 
I believe the key word you described was "gaming" in that case go with the refurb with the 4850.

9400 (useless)
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9400M-G.11949.0.html

4670
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4670.13881.0.html

4850
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4850.13975.0.html

Due note there may be slight performance differences when viewing the FPS given in the above article links due to the VRAM differences that apple incorporates vs. what the cards maximum is. However it should give you an idea of what you can expect.
 
The thing is that I'm a bit closer to the screen.

Now I usually use 17" to 24" screen, depends on where I am. About 24 inch. (60 cms. I don't know well imperial system).

And how much bigger is compared to 21,5" model?

How much fast i5 vs. Core 2 Duo?

And what about lasting for years?

And, what about playing games at 1920x1080 on a 2560x1440 screen?
 
Skip the core 2 duo version, it likely is on the way out and score like a 1/2-1/3 of the performance of the i5/i7s.

If you have to do a refurb i5/i7 instead of a new Core2Duo, do it ... you won't regret it.

Even when the new machine ships, it should be similar to the i5/i7 with a different GPU -- and the current ATI GPU is perfectly fine.

iMac Core i7 versus other Macs
 
Thinking....

I'm running the Corei7 27".

If you can't get that, get the Corei5.

Core2duo = so two years ago IMO.

Refurbs are a GREAT value IMO.

I bought my last Mac that way and would have done it this time out too if my wife hadn't surprised me with a brand new one.
 
Sun Baked said:
Skip the core 2 duo version, it likely is on the way out and score like a 1/2-1/3 of the performance of the i5/i7s.

If you have to do a refurb i5/i7 instead of a new Core2Duo, do it ... you won't regret it.

Even when the new machine ships, it should be similar to the i5/i7 with a different GPU -- and the current ATI GPU is perfectly fine.

iMac Core i7 versus other Macs
Click to expand...

i5 really great there. Quite close to i7 and much better than Core 2 Duo.

But, what are they called refurbished? They have scratches on screen, yellow tint, and things like that?
 
So, I have the same guarantee as a new iMac, no?

What about gaming at Full HD (1920x1080) on a 2.560 X 1.440 screen? Blurry games?
 
I recently bought a refurb i7, and it's an awesome machine. Even at refurb prices it's still a big purchase though. If you cant stretch to that, id definitely recommend the i5. Im pretty certain you wont be disappointed.
I agree with other people though when it comes to steering clear of the Core 2 Duo. If your budget wont allow you to stretch to an i5 or i7 id say the most sensible choice would be to wait for the current Core 2 Duo machines to be updated.
 
diegobgr said:
So, I have the same guarantee as a new iMac, no?

What about gaming at Full HD (1920x1080) on a 2.560 X 1.440 screen? Blurry games?
Click to expand...

Yes, you have 14 days to return it and 1-year warranty. You're better off gaming at 2560x1600 with lower settings than 1080p + high settings as it'll look crappy when not at native res
 
Well, a 4850 is a piece of sh** to play games at 2.560 X 1.440. With only 512 MB...or I am wrong?

And, with i5 and 4850, should I wait for the update? Or will be a very minor update on 27"?
 
diegobgr said:
Well, a 4850 is a piece of sh** to play games at 2.560 X 1.440. With only 512 MB...or I am wrong?

And, with i5 and 4850, should I wait for the update? Or will be a very minor update on 27"?
Click to expand...

4850 plays games fine at 2560x1600, just don't expect the highest settings. Plenty of threads about gaming on 27" iMac

Update won't be significant for the high-end 27" as it uses pretty much the best chips that are available
 
CraigB3 said:
If your budget wont allow you to stretch to an i5 or i7 id say the most sensible choice would be to wait for the current Core 2 Duo machines to be updated.
Click to expand...

We keep telling people that, but the number of them saying they need the machine and have to buy it now now now (when mostly it is a matter of the wanting a new machine NOW.)

Happening so often right now, my facepalm smilie has died.

Really not too often that CPU performance is doubled if they wait, heck even the low end next gen Core2Duo+9400M replacement with the 320M GPU will see a major GPU increase.
 
Sun Baked said:
Really not too often that CPU performance is doubled if they wait, heck even the low end next gen Core2Duo+9400M replacement with the 320M GPU will see a major GPU increase.
Click to expand...

Clarkdale isn't twice as fast as C2D... i3 which is likely the successor of E7600 isn't that much faster, it's actually slower in some benches. The greatest difference is in multi-threaded performance where i3 wins due HT but it still isn't twice as fast. Lynnfield is another story but it's irrelevant as it's unlikely that it's used in 21.5"

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/264538-10-core-core-e8400-clarkdale-benchmarked

Also, 320M cannot be used with iX CPU
 
I'm really lost.

I don't know what to do.

-Stay on PC, that I can upgrade always.
-Buy an 21,5" new advanced
-Buy an 27" refurb.

:confused:
 
To be honest, if gaming is a big factor in your decision, then i would maybe stick with the PC. Especially if your intending to be running games on the highest settings.

However, when you say you use your imac for 'everything', what sort of other things do you use it for? Photography/image editing? Music? (logic, pro tools etc)? Video Editing?

Im not saying these things can only be done on a mac, but if these are the sort of other things that you get up to then maybe it might be worth going for the imac.
On the other hand however, if by 'everything' you just mean web browsing, email, listening to music etc, then again the PC maybe the better option.

If you do decide on mac, then i would say go for the 27" if your budget can stretch to it.
 
diegobgr said:
I'm really lost.

I don't know what to do.

-Stay on PC, that I can upgrade always.
-Buy an 21,5" new advanced
-Buy an 27" refurb.

:confused:
Click to expand...

Either pc or refurb if you are throwing gaming in the mix, you'll get 1080P gaming on a lot of games however native res on stuff 2008ish or older id gather unless your just playing something thats common like wow than native res will work. Actually what are you playing or Hoping to play... That might help
 
I'm not playing anything now, because with my creepy 6600GT I only can play quite decent Team Fortress 2 or things like that.

I will like to play Dragon Age, GTA IV, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed...well, new things.

I will use my new computer for gaming and photo editing.

About the budget. Well, I like to change my computer at least each 5 years. I won't change in less time than that. I can pay a bit more to go to the iMac, it's just 150€ more than the new PC. (I'm talking about the refurb i5)
 
Don't let Hellhammer's overspeculation rattle you, Apple likes to keep things simple and reuse R&D.

The low end iMac is likely to be similar to the MacBook with a 3Ghz Core2Duo+320M.

How many of the other iMac switch over to the new Intel chipset with the iX is the speculation. Everything in the middle is a tossup.

Likely the MacBook model is close to how the iMacs shake out, the entry iMac the MacBook Pro 13, the 21/27 like the MacBook Pro 15/17 -- with core i5/i7.

3CPUs and 2 chipsets is a lot for Apple in one class of machine.

Edit: would be nice to see a Core2Duo with the 320M mobile chipset, the i3/i5/i7 dual core and a i5/i7 quad core option along with the Intel P55 desktop chipset -- but that is a lot and rather too complex a lineup for Apple.
 
Sun Baked said:
Don't let Hellhammer's overspeculation rattle you, Apple likes to keep things simple and reuse R&D.
Click to expand...

What over-speculation? I've been saying that Apple keeps low-end iMac C2D for months. I just didn't get your "twice as fast CPU" thingy. I didn't say all iMacs will have iX. 13" MBP didn't get iX for multiple reasons but they don't affect iMac that much (there is space for discrete GPU and heat is not the issue)

I would like to see i3 + discrete GPU in low-end 21.5" rather than C2D + 320M, integrated GPUs aren't meant for 1000$ desktops.
 
diegobgr said:
I'm not playing anything now, because with my creepy 6600GT I only can play quite decent Team Fortress 2 or things like that.

I will like to play Dragon Age, GTA IV, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed...well, new things.

I will use my new computer for gaming and photo editing.

About the budget. Well, I like to change my computer at least each 5 years. I won't change in less time than that. I can pay a bit more to go to the iMac, it's just 150€ more than the new PC. (I'm talking about the refurb i5)
Click to expand...

Unsure of dragon age but the rest you should get max res
 
Sun Baked said:
So the quad core i5/i7 aren't twice as fast as the core2duo?
Click to expand...

I thought you were talking about Clarkdale, not Lynnfield. Your post just confused me, first you talked about high-end iMac and then on the fly switch to low-end iMac (you said if you wait so I though you meant by waiting, you get twice as fast CPU) :) 48 hours without sleep, 8 hour flight and dozens of beers at Spain's celebration and then trying to post something useful here don't seem to be the best combination :D

Lynnfield is faster (twice is bad thing to say as it isn'
t in all tasks) but Clarkdale is only slightly faster. Anyway, no need to turn this into a speculation discussion again, none of us knows what's going to happen
 
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