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Buying the new 27" quad core iMac.

T

The Final Cut

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
378
0
Some quick questions....

1) The i5 is $200 less than the i7, seems like it would be ridiculous to upgrade, the graphics card is somewhat limiting the system overall so what would be the purpose of switching to higher end CPU from an already powerful one?

2) Do all games support the awkward resolution? Im just asking if they support it, not how well they will run( I know that already).

3) Does the iMac use laptop memory? Can I easily install a 8 GIG kit, what's the cheapest?

4) When I but the next revision (would only buy if a MUCH better graphics card came along, as well as dual hdd's , blu ray) what % resale value do iMacs tend to fare on eBay? Better than a windows laptop, I guess?

5) How stable is it in terms of it falling over on my desk? I intend to use one of those twelve south backups for my raid WD hdd.

6) How is the magic mouse for games? Better or worse than the mighty mouse (which was awful for this purpose iMO)
 
The Final Cut said:
Some quick questions....

1) The i5 is $200 less than the i7, seems like it would be ridiculous to upgrade, the graphics card is somewhat limiting the system overall so what would be the purpose of switching to higher end CPU from an already powerful one?

2) Do all games support the awkward resolution? Im just asking if they support it, not how well they will run( I know that already).

3) Does the iMac use laptop memory? Can I easily install a 8 GIG kit, what's the cheapest?

4) When I but the next revision (would only buy if a MUCH better graphics card came along, as well as dual hdd's , blu ray) what % resale value do iMacs tend to fare on eBay? Better than a windows laptop, I guess?

5) How stable is it in terms of it falling over on my desk? I intend to use one of those twelve south backups for my raid WD hdd.

6) How is the magic mouse for games? Better or worse than the mighty mouse (which was awful for this purpose iMO)
Click to expand...


1) What are you doing with the machine? the i5 and i7 performed very similar in terms of gaming, the i7 outperformed it in video by a good margin. Not all programs are going to be able to take advantage of the hyper-threading on the i7 at this time. The i5 is a good buy right now but there will be some people on here who will say your crazy for not spending the extra $200, I happen to disagree....

this is a good read: http://en.hardspell.com/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=6804

2) I don't think so... but should do a pretty good job converting it to a 16:9 aspect ratio. Remember you monitor on the 27 in is actually better than 1080p so there will be converting no matter what you do.

3) it uses 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory... this is not laptop memory... adding 4 additional gigs will run you around $90... installing an additional 8 gigs will be very costly. I went with the Kingston from newegg.com

4) macs have much better resale values then PCS in my experience.

5) No, it is very stable and will not fall off your desk unless you hit into it....lol

6) The magic mouse seams to be app specific.... the game I tried only seam to support it as you would using a scroll wheel... but it really is amazing.

The 27 in iMac is so sick.... can't wait til mine ships!
 
Passels said:
3) it uses 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory... this is not laptop memory... adding 4 additional gigs will run you around $90... installing an additional 8 gigs will be very costly. I went with the Kingston from newegg.com
!
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong but it IS laptop memory..... same as the last 24" iMac no?
 
The Final Cut said:
Some quick questions....
1) The i5 is $200 less than the i7, seems like it would be ridiculous to upgrade, the graphics card is somewhat limiting the system overall so what would be the purpose of switching to higher end CPU from an already powerful one?
Click to expand...
There isn't a consensus yet, at least not amongst benchmarkers or users of this forum. I think it's fairly clear that the i5 gives you better bang for your buck, however the jury is still out on exactly what the performance advantages/disadvantages of Hyperthreading are (which is the main feature the i7 boasts over the i5). It seems that if you're doing a lot of video encoding, the i7 might be worth it. Obviously it boasts a clockspeed advantage of 0.14 Ghz (2.8 vs. 266) on 4 cores, or 0.26 while in turbo on one core (3.46 vs. 3.2), but I don't think it's worth it on that basis alone. The profit margin for Apple on this part is pretty huge. It costs approx. $90 more from intel, but Apple is charing $200 for the upgrade.
2) Do all games support the awkward resolution? Im just asking if they support it, not how well they will run( I know that already).
Click to expand...
I don't know the answer to this question for sure, but I'm pretty sure that most modern games populate their list of available resolution based on what the SYSTEM reports, and accordingly, I think that most modern games WILL support the resolution of the display.
3) Does the iMac use laptop memory? Can I easily install a 8 GIG kit, what's the cheapest?
Click to expand...
Again, I'm not 100%, but I believe I read that the iMac uses the same RAM modules as the MB and MBP, which would mean DDR3-1066 SODIMMS (laptop RAM). I'm sure that DDR3-1333 SODIMMS would also work (they'd just downclock)...I know that at my local computer shop, the 1333's are actually cheaper than the 1066's. SAVE your money and by a 2x2GB kit aftermarket. You don't need to worry about matching the second set to the first. There are 4 slots, so purchase 2x2GB afterwords will give you 8GB, but obviously feel free to install 2x4GB (much more expensive), if you have the cash and need that much RAM.
4) When I but the next revision (would only buy if a MUCH better graphics card came along, as well as dual hdd's , blu ray) what % resale value do iMacs tend to fare on eBay? Better than a windows laptop, I guess?
Click to expand...
Macs retain their value MUCH better than windows PC's. Keep your box and the reading material. I sold my previous iMac for about 80% of it's purchase value (if I included the tax cost, it would be less) after 18 months.
5) How stable is it in terms of it falling over on my desk? I intend to use one of those twelve south backups for my raid WD hdd.
Click to expand...
Very stable, don't worry about this at all.
6) How is the magic mouse for games? Better or worse than the mighty mouse (which was awful for this purpose iMO)
Click to expand...
I haven't used the magic mouse, but it has to be better than the mighty mouse, which was atrocious. However, it's still not perfect, you have to lift your left finger for it to recognize the right click. However, you can always use any other usb or bluetooth mouse for gaming.
 
According to OWC, the new iMacs use PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SO-DIMM, which is also compatible with the Mac Mini and all the newer notebooks.
 
Passels said:
If i recall correctly the 24" iMacs used PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2
Click to expand...

Correct, from early 08 up until the Early 09's. The early 09's use DDR3-1066 SODIMMS (I think the code is PC3-8500 1066 Mhz DDR3 SODIMM).
 
sfmountainbiker said:
Thanks for this. Very interesting that the i5 actually outperformed the i7 on Resident Evil and FarCry. Since I will not be doing any video encoding, this really helped me decide that the i7 just isn't necessary for myself. Thanks for saving me a few hundred bucks!
Click to expand...

However the i5 is 2.66 and the i7 2.8 in the imac. Those benchmarks are for 2.66
 
Does the OS that comes on the iMac take advantage of 8Gb of memory? what about 16? How much memory can it use?

Thanks!
 
I'm new to Mac. My wife is a professional photographer. How good is this display? Is it raising up to the standards?

Thanks!
 
mariuscmorar said:
I'm new to Mac. My wife is a professional photographer. How good is this display? Is it raising up to the standards?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I shoot with a Canon 5D MarkII. The display is exceptional. The best I've ever seen. I have a 24" iMac and the 27" is completely superior in color, sharpness and contrast IMO.
 
robotkiller said:
I shoot with a Canon 5D MarkII. The display is exceptional. The best I've ever seen. I have a 24" iMac and the 27" is completely superior in color, sharpness and contrast IMO.
Click to expand...

Me too. (5D MKII) I cant wait to see this screen and I REALLY cant wait to see how Lightroom works on the 2.8 I7 Quad!!
 
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