Final Showdown

[nightscape94]

Okay, I've settled on these two refurbs:

2.8GHz Intel Quad-Core i5/4GB memory/1TB hard drive/ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics with 1GB memory

2.66GHz Intel Quad-Core i5/4GB memory/1TB hard drive/ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory

The difference between the two is only about $170, which isn’t a huge deal. Updated processor and graphics card, but would it be a hugely noticeable difference? I’ll be using it for standard things (internet, video, etc) but I’ll also be using it for music recording/editing (which is why I figure on the quad-core). I won't be gaming or doing video editing. I just want to ensure that i'm getting more bang for my buck. If I really won't even notice the difference, then I'll stick with the 2.66GHz.

What do you guys think?

 

[TMRaven]

Get the older one.

 

[nightscape94]

Does that have more to do with the performance not being all that much of an improvement, in terms of monetary worth, or is there some other reason?

 

[JasonR]

What are the prices on each?

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Get the newer one. You won't miss the $170 that much and you'll eek out a bit more future proofing from the expanded GPU memory. The processor speed is nice but you won't notice that too much (thanks to bottle necks elsewhere).

 

[TMRaven]

Does that have more to do with the performance not being all that much of an improvement, in terms of monetary worth, or is there some other reason?

Yeah not much of an improvement. The only ream improvement is in the graphics card, but even that is only a 15-20% boost when gaming.

Someone did mention gpu memory, and that is a valid point. Often times a lot of programs won't even allow you to use them unless you have a certain amount of gpu memory, while others greatly benefit from a large amount of vram. One example of this is my hd-pvr, which won't install unless you have a card with 256mb of vram. However usually the only programs that do this usually relate to 3d rendering. So, if you ever think you will use 3d rendering programs, you might consider the extra 170 for a bit of future proofing, but beyond that, there's almost no reason to get the newer computer. (Manufacturers like AMD produce the lower end discrete graphic cards like HD 5450 for those types of reasons, people who just do everyday tasks and don't require programs that need lots of vram and/or gaming.)

 

[nightscape94]

What are the prices on each?

The new one is $1699, the older is $1529.

Thanks for all of the feedback guys, looks like I'll be putting my order in tonight when I get home from work!