Choose for me New 2.93GHz imac or Old 3.06GHz?

[telepati]

Im very confused for this decide.. Please help me... Im usually using iMac for Photosop, Flash, and After Effects... Tell me which one I choose for this programs?


Old iMac 24-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory

New iMac 24-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory

I can upgrade new model iMac 8GB Ram and thats a lot of power for software but Old model has a better graphiccard...

What do you think?

Ps: I know many people will say if you upgrade 2.93 to GT130 that great for you but I cant cause I dont have a many...

 

[NRose8989]

Your case I think is a bit different from the thousands of other "Which iMac to buy?" threads because of the apps your going to use.

Adobe's CS4 suite can use a better GPU, and I believe they only support nVidia's 8800 series and the Quadra series.

Like wise PS and AF can benefit greatly from more memory, I know for a fact that the more memory you throw at After Effect, the better is runs.

it's really hard to say which is going to be better because the refurb does have the edge of a faster CPU and GPU but being limited by ram. The newer iMacs support more ram out of the box but is slower than the previous refurb.

Ultimately, I think you should go with the refurb because your getting a overall faster system. And I believe there is a thread lingering about putting more than 4GB of ram in the previous gen iMacs. I don't know for sure because I've been to lazy to read through the entire thread.

EDIT: After some thought and looking at tech specs, I really think you should consider upgrading the GPU of the 2.93. The reason being is that after you buy the refurb 3.06 and upgrade the ram (+$50), your only looking at an extra $100 for a upgraded 2.93 w/ factory 4GB of memory, which I know money gets tight but I think it would be worth it more in terms of future proofing yourself when you start to need 8GB of ram. I know i'm contradicting myself but you really do have a hard decision to make because of the apps your going to use.

BTW are you using CS4? if you not and you don't plan to upgrade for a while, then i'd go with my previous recommendation and say go refurb.

 

[itommyboy]

You said it yourself you don't have the money. So my suggestion then is to me a no brainer - get the older gen 3.06GHz with the 8800 GS card. Spend a mere $70 or so to upgrade it to 4GB of RAM and it will blow everything you need it to do away. In fact I have 2 brand new sticks of 2x2GB 4GB Total Corsair RAM for that very iMac! I'll sell it and ship it to you for $50!