Gathering opinions for an i7 purchase

[K-13]

Hey everyone,

Having read through some threads here you guys all seem really helpful, so I figured I would ask for your advice.

I currently own a black Macbook which I've just sold to my sister for her to use at university and so I need to get it to her by the end of August at the latest. I'm pretty much decided on buying the 27-inch i7 from the refurb store. My uses are mainly for home entertainment (watching movies, surfing the web, using it for the occasional video edit) and I want to be able to use it for games (Steam, Starcraft II, Diablo III, etc.) I know that a.) if I'm using my Mac for games, I should get a PC. And b.) I'm probably going overkill with the i7 based on my needs. I'd like to make my $2200 last me as long as possible. Therein lies my problem, though. I'm already a bit peeved that I basically have to pay a $1000 premium to use OS X, but I hate Windows so much it's worth it to me...at the same time, I don't really want to spend more than $2200 which is why I'm taking the refurb route (which from what I've heard is not a bad way to go if you want to save a bit of money.)

I know that the i7 chip is probably going to be the best thing out for a while and so an upgrade so soon after their release is not gonna happen, but it's more a question of other tweaks. I've read the graphics card is due for an update among a couple of other things. Having spoken to the guys at the Apple store, they advised me to wait until I can't anymore (in case of an update in July or August--although I think it'll be more like Sept.-Nov.) but they aren't particularly helpful when it comes to stoking the fires of speculation.

Thus, based on my needs and time constraints, I have a couple of questions for you helpful people!

- Even if I wait until a potential update in August, I want to buy from the refurbished store...Do you think I can expect to see lowered prices or updates immediately or within a short period afterward?

- What are your experiences with the refurb store? Anything I should watch out for?

- Would the gfx card upgrade be worth the wait? I want to be able to play games that come out within the next couple of years. I'm not expecting to play Crysis on high settings, but I want to keep somewhat current. Would the ATI 4850 carry me that long?

- How do those of you who are current generation i7 users find the gaming experience? Like I said, I'd love to play games on steam like Portal, the upcoming Blizzard games, and some FPS'...

- Any other advice or things I should maybe consider and haven't thought of?

I hope you all could help me out, or at least point me to threads that may lead me in a better direction based on what I need my computer for.

Thanks!

 

[Hellhammer]

- Even if I wait until a potential update in August, I want to buy from the refurbished store...Do you think I can expect to see lowered prices or updates immediately or within a short period afterward?

Current gen will get a small price cut but it takes 1-3 months for the new models to show up in refurb store. If your sister is still in university, use her student discount to get free iPod Touch.

- What are your experiences with the refurb store? Anything I should watch out for?

What I've heard, they are great. Individually tested etc so maybe even better than new ones

- Would the gfx card upgrade be worth the wait? I want to be able to play games that come out within the next couple of years. I'm not expecting to play Crysis on high settings, but I want to keep somewhat current. Would the ATI 4850 carry me that long?

Depends on what GPU Apple uses but, no, not really. ATI 5850 isn't really faster, it's actually slower in some tests. 5870 would provide ~15% upgrade but I don't think that's worth waiting

- How do those of you who are current generation i7 users find the gaming experience? Like I said, I'd love to play games on steam like Portal, the upcoming Blizzard games, and some FPS'...

It plays all games with at least lower settings, usually medium

 

[TMRaven]

On windows, the mobility 4850 can play all games at native resolution and 30+ fps, with settings high or maxed. Games like Stracraft2, Dirt2, modern warfare 2 etc. On a game like Dirt2, it'll drop down to 20 or so fps depending on map, so one or two of the settings would have to be dropped to medium, or anti-aliasing be taken off (which really doesn't matter at such a high resolution, game looks good without it)

 

[tsmithgolf2000]

I just purchased a 27" i7 8GB RAM and love it. Well I was determined I was going to wait for the upgrade but then I started thinking about my original Dual G5 I was replacing. I bought this Dual G5 probably a month or two before an upgrade came out. That was 5 years ago I think. I was pissed at first and now I don't even remember what the upgrade was, it was something minimal, speed bump and maybe something else. The thing is there is always going to be upgrades but with the 27" i7, the upgraded are going to be minimal. Now if I was going to buy a 21" Desktop I would wait as the processor will get updated. But since your going with i7, then why wait. A year from now there will be more upgrades coming and the year after that too.

 

[CraigB3]

My 27" i7 arrived today and it is awesome! It's a seriously powerful computer, i really dont think you'll regret buying one!

 

[Star4Ever]

I have had my new 27" i7 iMac now for about 22 days. Just love it.
The only option I ordered was 8GB of memory vs the standard 4GB.
I am running VMware Fusion 3.1 as well, specifically for two Windows XP applications (Quicken Premier and Fund Manager). These work perfectly in the VMware XP virtual machine. From the time I invoke Fusion until I am into Windows, it takes 35 seconds (including the password). Fast? Yes.

I have upgraded the standard Mac wireless keyboard to the Logitec wireless diNovo Edge for Mac edition which has IMHO a really great feel and features.

I am backing up to a local iomega mac USB drive using TimeMachine. This seems to be working out quite well and also using Mozy for offsite backups of documents.

Could not be more pleased with this recent iMac. The system is solid, quiet and blazing fast.