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Hellhammer

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sebsimone

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 16, 2010
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Sorry for the use of your name in the threat hellhammer, i value your opinion considerably and wish to purchase my mac ASAP, essentially i just wish to hear your opinion on a question for the new imacs.

I wish to purchase a 21.5 model now the graphics is upgraded in them, with standard ram (if thats enough) the question is, i3 or i5.

I will use the mac for basic photoshop editing, nothing high end, latest games not using bootcamp and general use. I understand the basic principle of the i5 being better for taking advantage of the virtual cores, of which adobe products seem to take use of, but how useful is it for non demanding adobe software use and ofcourse, games.

Thanks

Seb
 
sebsimone said:
Sorry for the use of your name....

the question is, i3 or i5.

I will use the mac for basic photoshop editing, nothing high end, latest games not using bootcamp and general use. I understand the basic principle of the i5 being better for taking advantage of the virtual cores, of which adobe products seem to take use of, but how useful is it for non demanding adobe software use and ofcourse, games.
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hellhammer is out right now ;) ill notify him of this thread for you.

how basic photo shopping are we talking here? if you are talking just the usual touch up etc, then the i3 will be fine for your needs.

the i5 will give much better performance for games - but the main bottleneck is with the GPU of course. what games are you planning on playing?

it's probably a good idea going with the i5 because it will last quite a few years longer then the dual core counterpart.

RAM and HDD speed/capacity are the main bottlenecks of any computer, given that the iMac supprts 16GB RAM it will last quite a while :)

:)
 
DoFoT9 said:
it's probably a good idea going with the i5 because it will last quite a few years longer then the dual core counterpart.

RAM and HDD speed/capacity are the main bottlenecks of any computer, given that the iMac supprts 16GB RAM it will last quite a while :)
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Agreed - going with the i5 will futureproof you for a bit longer. And as mentioned, you will be able to upgrade the ram to 16GB in a couple of years when you feel the restraints of your computer, and when 4/8GB RAM modules are a lot cheaper, so it'll feel like a brand new machine again. I vote i5.
 
Sorry i am not a regular forum user, a PM did not cross my mind, ofcourse other opinions matter, i have merely noticed Hellhammers opinions to often be very useful and correct, as i am eager to purchase the mac i wanted to get his immediate attension, that is all.

Dofot9, more intense photoshop use than that, quite a lot of image manipulation so using a lot of layers, just in my opinion not to hardcore. Some dreamweaver and flash animation too.

Games such as WoW and COD will be played on it, i was thinking the I5 would last me longer so would be a sensible way to go about it. In terms of RAM, if i went with the 4gb standard, over time it would be more wise to upgrade it rather than buying a bigger bulk to start?

Cheers

Seb

tristangage said:
Agreed - going with the i5 will futureproof you for a bit longer. And as mentioned, you will be able to upgrade the ram to 16GB in a couple of years when you feel the restraints of your computer, and when 4/8GB RAM modules are a lot cheaper, so it'll feel like a brand new machine again. I vote i5.
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Ok you posted that as i was writing mine, cheers for the info on the RAM :)
 
tristangage said:
Agreed - going with the i5 will futureproof you for a bit longer. And as mentioned, you will be able to upgrade the ram to 16GB in a couple of years when you feel the restraints of your computer, and when 4/8GB RAM modules are a lot cheaper, so it'll feel like a brand new machine again. I vote i5.
Click to expand...
Sorry but future proof doesn't describe any computer. You may find that the extra speed may help you to not upgrade more if you have half a mind (as opposed to those who think .2 mhz means so much that they have to upgrade annually) but it's never going to be future proof.

I do agree, my vote is i5 and it does appear to fit the needs of the OP. However, until they get their answer from their buddy I'm certain they won't be buying. I hope Hellhammer can also help guide them on what to eat for lunch too.


sebsimone said:
Sorry i am not a regular forum user, a PM did not cross my mind, ofcourse other opinions matter, i have merely noticed Hellhammers opinions to often be very useful and correct, as i am eager to purchase the mac i wanted to get his immediate attension, that is all.
Click to expand...
His/her opinions mirror many other opinions on this site, the difference is that she/he is more visible to some. Your question, however, is common and asked frequently ... sans the request that only one member answer you.
 
sebsimone said:
Dofot9, more intense photoshop use than that, quite a lot of image manipulation so using a lot of layers, just in my opinion not to hardcore. Some dreamweaver and flash animation too.
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right, if thats the case then the i5 really would suit your requirements.

Games such as WoW and COD will be played on it, i was thinking the I5 would last me longer so would be a sensible way to go about it. In terms of RAM, if i went with the 4gb standard, over time it would be more wise to upgrade it rather than buying a bigger bulk to start?
Click to expand...
yes! over time is the best. they have come down SO much in price recently. yesterday i purchased 2x4GB sticks for $227US, about 3 months ago it was easily over $300 for the same stuff. 4GB SHOULD be enough for you by the sounds of it, provided that you do not wish to run any Virtual Machines nor multitask heavily - if thats the case then consider purchasing 2x2GB sticks (cheap as chips) or 2x4GB sticks ($227 as i said before) if you want to save money in the long run.

your call really.


jessica. said:
Sorry but future proof doesn't describe any computer. You may find that the extra speed may help you to not upgrade more if you have half a mind (as opposed to those who think .2 mhz means so much that they have to upgrade annually) but it's never going to be future proof.
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future proof in the sense that the computer will be supported for as long a time as possible. a quad core is most certainly going to have a longer life then a dual core computer.
 
sebsimone said:
Dofot9, more intense photoshop use than that, quite a lot of image manipulation so using a lot of layers, just in my opinion not to hardcore. Some dreamweaver and flash animation too.
Click to expand...

If you're using lots of layers, more RAM will definately be useful. 4GB should be plenty for Photoshop, but if you intend to use Photoshop with lots of layers, and at the same time use Flash and Dreamweaver, then I'd recommend the boost to 8GB. I say this as an Adobe user, and I wish my Macbook had the option for 8GB of RAM.

sebsimone said:
Games such as WoW and COD will be played on it, i was thinking the I5 would last me longer so would be a sensible way to go about it. In terms of RAM, if i went with the 4gb standard, over time it would be more wise to upgrade it rather than buying a bigger bulk to start?
Click to expand...

It would certainly be a lot cheaper to wait a few months/years for RAM prices to decrease before you choose to upgrade, plus you might not even know if you need the extra RAM at the moment. If you wanted more ram right now though, I'd recommend upgrading yourself anyway, because Apple overcharges for it's extra RAM. Summary: Buy the stock amount of RAM from Apple, see how it goes, if you need to upgrade then upgrade, if you don't then wait for prices to drop and get it cheaper :) (that's my advice)

I still vote i5 :) Games like CoD will like i5 more than i3.

*edit - didn't notice post*

jessica. said:
Sorry but future proof doesn't describe any computer. You may find that the extra speed may help you to not upgrade more if you have half a mind (as opposed to those who think .2 mhz means so much that they have to upgrade annually) but it's never going to be future proof.
Click to expand...

What I simply meant is that it will last longer before needing to be upgraded.
 
Cheers for the help guys, i'll fork out the £150 for the i5 then, see how the ram goes and upgrade when need be.

jessica. said:
However, until they get their answer from their buddy I'm certain they won't be buying. I hope Hellhammer can also help guide them on what to eat for lunch too.

His/her opinions mirror many other opinions on this site, the difference is that she/he is more visible to some. Your question, however, is common and asked frequently ... sans the request that only one member answer you.
Click to expand...

A request for an opinion from a forum member who has a reputable, positive association with the knowledge of the area i require information on, requires not for you to respond with a witty comment, rest aside, for future reference, if i thought a particular forum member could best assist me, i shall pm them to avoid trolling.

jessica. said:
I hope Hellhammer can also help guide them on what to eat for lunch too.
Click to expand...

If hellhammer has any useful suggestions he wishes to share which are more innovative and unique than what i had in mind for lunch, be my guest im open to the suggestion. :cool:
 
Have you looked at the prices on last years models (2009).

I have to make sure everyone knows this, money is a deciding factor whenever I go to buy something, mainly because my wife freaks if I spend to much :p.

The 27'' i7 is down to $1699 in the refurb store.
If you are not a big gamer, the 4850 GPU will be sufficient for anything you throw at the machine. And aside from some benchmarks, most users will never notice a performance difference between the i7-860(2.8Ghz) and i7-870 (2.93Ghz)
 
dexthageek said:
Have you looked at the prices on last years models (2009).

I have to make sure everyone knows this, money is a deciding factor whenever I go to buy something, mainly because my wife freaks if I spend to much :p.

The 27'' i7 is down to $1699 in the refurb store.
If you are not a big gamer, the 4850 GPU will be sufficient for anything you throw at the machine. And aside from some benchmarks, most users will never notice a performance difference between the i7-860(2.8Ghz) and i7-870 (2.93Ghz)
Click to expand...

I have looked into this yes, it is a nice option, however the 27inch is just to big for the space i have, so best spec 21.5 will have to do :)
 
sebsimone said:
If hellhammer has any useful suggestions he wishes to share which are more innovative and unique than what i had in mind for lunch, be my guest im open to the suggestion. :cool:
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I wouldn't ask a Scandinavian for lunch suggestions if I were you, not unless you like pickled herring anyway :D

If it helps I recommend you nip down Marks' and get some pasta salad. Oh, and pick up some Percy Pigs whilst you're there :)
 
sebsimone said:
Cheers for the help guys, i'll fork out the £150 for the i5 then, see how the ram goes and upgrade when need be.



A request for an opinion from a forum member who has a reputable, positive association with the knowledge of the area i require information on, requires not for you to respond with a witty comment, rest aside, for future reference, if i thought a particular forum member could best assist me, i shall pm them to avoid trolling.
Click to expand...

Well at least it was witty. :D Good job ignoring the fact that I actually answered your question and my name isn't hellbammer.



DoFoT9 said:
future proof in the sense that the computer will be supported for as long a time as possible. a quad core is most certainly going to have a longer life then a dual core computer.
Click to expand...

No, they'll both last just as long. How well they run is another story.
 
jessica. said:
Well at least it was witty. :D Good job ignoring the fact that I actually answered your question and my name isn't hellbammer.
Click to expand...

Sorry, i did say 'thankyou guys' which was an open thankyou to anyone who inputted :) but yeah i5 seems most suitable, thanks :p
 
jessica. said:
I do agree, my vote is i5 and it does appear to fit the needs of the OP. However, until they get their answer from their buddy I'm certain they won't be buying. I hope Hellhammer can also help guide them on what to eat for lunch too.



His/her opinions mirror many other opinions on this site, the difference is that she/he is more visible to some. Your question, however, is common and asked frequently ... sans the request that only one member answer you.
Click to expand...

What is this really about? The OP values the opinion of a specific user. As simple as that. And later this thread will be beneficial to every member and lurker.

Man, these forums suck sometimes.













Just kidding. Most of the time.
 
Hellhammer should set up a PayPal account and charge for private consultation services. :)




....anyway, its good to have a member like himself on the boards. Balances out the ignorance!
 
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