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A hasty decision?

E

EChesterfield

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 9, 2011
4
0
Hello!

This post my first one here, but possibly the 100th one about the topic. I didn't find however all the information I was looking for at the same place in other posts.

Here's my concern anyways:
I purchased a refurbished iMac yesterday online (I have yet to receive it), one of the July 2010 release batch, it has the 3.6GHz dual core i5, Solid State Drive (256Gb, but no 1Tb), 4Gb RAM, and finally, the Radeon 5670 512mb video card for a total of 1869$ (Canadian).

Now today, I realized that the 2.7GHz Quad Core has the HD 6770M 512 mb video card, a few new features (including Thunderbolt) and is actually cheaper (1699$ CAD).

Now, considering the stronger video card, the Thunderbolt port and Quad but weaker processor on one hand and a SSD on the other, how much of a bad decision did I make? I will mostly be using this for photo editing 18MP files (now the other dilemma will be do I or do I not jump from LR3 to Ap3?). By the way, the HD camera of the newer release doesn't appeal to me enough to be a game changer.

Now, my other problem might be, if I did take a bad decision, how much of a hassle is it to return my refurbished Mac to get the newer model? Is it worth it? Should I just keep it and eventually upgrade the video card if need be? I'm guessing upgrading the processor in the future wouldn't be an easy feat if at al possible?

By the way I am new to the Mac world, butI feel like I'll enjoy it!

Biggest thanks for reading through and possibly even replying!

Thanks,
EChesterfield
 
Upgrading processor is a no-go. Just call up an Apple store to get the number you need to cancel the order. I did that once. Then you can have it figured out by the time it's shipped to you. At that point you should refuse the package and it'll go back to Apple for free (if you're around when the guy delivers it you can probably talk him into writing a return number on it if necessary).

Good luck. I think it's a better choice to go with the newer unit
 
Upgrading the video card possibly is not possible too!

iFixit said that it may be replaced but did not suggest it could be upgraded and that was on a 2011 machine.

The price difference is due to the SSD. The same SSD will also make the machine feel faster than the 2011 iteration you compare it with but on the down side has only a quarter the capacity of a 1Tb drive, which may become an issue if you do a lot of work with 'heavy' images.

Thunderbolt is a quantum leap upward for transfer speeds. However being in its infancy, there a very few devices presently to use it with [and hence very limited choice between suppliers].

If you can 'fit' within a 256 Gb drive, the i5 3.6 will not disappoint. If your budget will fit the 2011 machine, follow the return advice in the post above.
 
You didn't make a mistake. However as I'm sure you have seen refurbished models are posted every day So if you'd rather go with thundebolt and a larger HDD or even a SSD wait till you see it. Thunderbolt will take several months until we see accessories using this. As for the graphics card the 2011 6970m is better. The HD camera is no big deal.
 
PeckhamBog said:
Upgrading the video card possibly is not possible too!

iFixit said that it may be replaced but did not suggest it could be upgraded and that was on a 2011 machine.
Click to expand...
It is possible - The problem is that no one makes upgrade cards. In theory, if you find a dead 2013 model, and it still has the same hardware setup, you could transfer a newer card to your 2011 model.
 
T'hain Esh Kelch said:
It is possible - The problem is that no one makes upgrade cards. In theory, if you find a dead 2013 model, and it still has the same hardware setup, you could transfer a newer card to your 2011 model.
Click to expand...

Would it be hard to replace if I did stumble upon one? Does Mac OS recognize new hardware on its own? (Sorry, I'm brand new to Mac)
Also, do they appear often on Ebay and such?

By the way, thanks for the feedback everyone! I think I'm starting to think I'll stick with the refurb 3.6. I kind of really want to see how that SSD performs, I'll get an external 1Tb Firewire or something to complement it.
 
EChesterfield said:
Would it be hard to replace if I did stumble upon one? Does Mac OS recognize new hardware on its own? (Sorry, I'm brand new to Mac)
Also, do they appear often on Ebay and such?
Click to expand...
1. Definitely. You need to remove almost everything, and the screen is a b****.
2. I assume you mean drivers? All cards that are supported natively by the OS works as soon as you have installed it.
3. Never. Since no one makes them, you'd have to buy a broken/used machine, tear it up, and get the card it.

In reality, this is a dream that won't ever happen unfortunately, unless you happen to come across someone selling his totally broken machine.
 
Sounds good, thanks for the quick reply!
And yes, I meant drivers.

I proably won't need the huge video card anyways since I'm not a big gamer, pretty sure the 512mb will be plenty enough for LR3/Ap3, right?

I might some day invest in more RAM however, this one seems pretty easy to fit in.
 
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