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First post looking at i5 27in refurb

T

tc3jg

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 25, 2010
86
0
Hey everyone this is my first post ive been lurking for a while and finally am looking to purchase my first iMac. Sadly I can not afford that powerful turbo charged i7.

So I am looking to get a refurb i5 27in online at the apple store. I didnt see much information on the i5 here on this forum so I figured I would ask and see if you lovely people could help me make up my mind. Would it be smart to get the refurb which is an older model or to get the newer i3 model with the faster processor the i5 is a quad core and from my understanding the quad core can multi task better. I am still a student and could use my student discount with the new imac with the i3 but not with the refurb i5quad core.

The older i5 2.66 ghz quad core is $1,624 shipped
The newer i3 3.2 with the education discount has no tax and is $1,599 shipped

I could also get an ipod touch for free with rebate and sell it (have an ipod touch already). That would further lower the cost of the i3

decisions decisions
any thoughts?:confused:
 
well now it looks like I can get the refurb i5 for the $1,529.00 using the student discount as well with no tax. that just makes it harder.

are the pluses of the i5 much greater than the pluses of the i3?
 
Hellhammer said:
Unless the free iPod is the deal-breaker, get the refurb. Simply put, it's faster and costs less
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the pointer yeah the ipod definitley isnt a deal breaker as I prob will buy the new one when it comes out and then have like 4 ipods so I am just looking more so for which is the best bang for my buck. Some of the numbers were higher on the i3 which is why I asked.
 
tc3jg said:
Ok thanks for the pointer yeah the ipod definitley isnt a deal breaker as I prob will buy the new one when it comes out and then have like 4 ipods so I am just looking more so for which is the best bang for my buck. Some of the numbers were higher on the i3 which is why I asked.
Click to expand...

The refurb i5 is a quad core so much better than an dual core i3. If you do not need a quad than i3/i5 is no big deal.
 
Awesome thanks alot mac geniuses I will be making my purchase more than likely tonight....cant wait to get that MONster of a machine in on my desk. who knows if my old unibody aluminum macbook will get any use :( I bet my 27 in will though :). Also how hard would it be to switch to a i7 processor in the future if I wanted?
 
im not sure it will be possible to switch processors, however if it is i dont reckon it would be very cost effective, if you think you will need the i7 then buy as bto rather than trying to swap out processors.
 
tc3jg said:
Awesome thanks alot mac geniuses I will be making my purchase more than likely tonight....cant wait to get that MONster of a machine in on my desk. who knows if my old unibody aluminum macbook will get any use :( I bet my 27 in will though :). Also how hard would it be to switch to a i7 processor in the future if I wanted?
Click to expand...

So did you get it?

I just got a refurb 21.5" in the mail today (ordered last Thurs evening). This one's not for me though - it's to keep the rest of the family off my machine :) It's pretty much cemented the fact that I'll be getting a 27" for myself this Christmas though (running a mini right now). The 21.5" display is really unbelievable.

btw- the refurb is perfect. Not a scratch and works perfectly.
 
Uabcar said:
So did you get it?

I just got a refurb 21.5" in the mail today (ordered last Thurs evening). This one's not for me though - it's to keep the rest of the family off my machine :) It's pretty much cemented the fact that I'll be getting a 27" for myself this Christmas though (running a mini right now). The 21.5" display is really unbelievable.

btw- the refurb is perfect. Not a scratch and works perfectly.
Click to expand...

Hey man IM BOUT TO ORDER IT NOW !!!!!!!! im stooked haha yea I understand that getting it for them to keep them off your stuff :D
 
tc3jg said:
well now it looks like I can get the refurb i5 for the $1,529.00 using the student discount as well with no tax. that just makes it harder.

are the pluses of the i5 much greater than the pluses of the i3?
Click to expand...

how do you use your student discount towards a refurb???
 
woa woa ok just put it through sheeshhhh that was a huge purchase CANT WAIT....:D
1,624 is the total cost
 
knowell said:
how do you use your student discount towards a refurb???
Click to expand...

I didnt I thought it was going to work but it turns out it didnt at first I thought it took off the tax but once I got to check out it didnt :(
 
tc3jg said:
I didnt I thought it was going to work but it turns out it didnt at first I thought it took off the tax but once I got to check out it didnt :(
Click to expand...

ahhh i see..i just purchased the same imac...and returning for a new one due to backlight bleeding and noisy harddrive..hope you have better luck..
 
knowell said:
ahhh i see..i just purchased the same imac...and returning for a new one due to backlight bleeding and noisy harddrive..hope you have better luck..
Click to expand...

Ok cool good info ...I will surely be checking mine upon arrival and returning if there is an issue...they cover shipping correct?
I wonder how many they will return until they give you something new lol but knowing apple never lol.
 
i'm sure you don't want the slow one but the 3.06 27" refurb for 1269$ is what i did then doubled the ram. for like 1325$ i think it's pretty good. i, like you was holding out for a crazy quad core (with blu ray :rolleyes:) but since that was not happening soon and this was such a deal, i went for it.
 
jrcsh6 said:
i'm sure you don't want the slow one but the 3.06 27" refurb for 1269$ is what i did then doubled the ram. for like 1325$ i think it's pretty good. i, like you was holding out for a crazy quad core (with blu ray :rolleyes:) but since that was not happening soon and this was such a deal, i went for it.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks alot for your input but I ordered the i5 last night...was the one you got the intel core 2 duo? how was the screen or other related issues people have had with their imacs?
 
I purchased the i5 refurb and it's a pretty darn fast machine. Rendering video several times faster than my old machine... screen is beautiful. no blemishes that I could see. The Seagate HDD isn't the quietest that I have ever heard but it's certainly no deal breaker.

Props on the order! :apple:
 
webpoet73 said:
I purchased the i5 refurb and it's a pretty darn fast machine. Rendering video several times faster than my old machine... screen is beautiful. no blemishes that I could see. The Seagate HDD isn't the quietest that I have ever heard but it's certainly no deal breaker.

Props on the order! :apple:
Click to expand...

Thanks alot I surely look forward to the 1rst of sept thats when they say it will be delivered.
 
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