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I got approved for the barclay creditcard which 27"

P

parkerross

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 17, 2011
9
0
Portland, OR
I got approved for the 12 months no payments or interest and $1800. I do a lot of photo and video editing with lightroom, photoshop, after effects, final cut and also use dreamweaver.

So I can only spend $1800 on my new card and with my student discount a 27" imac is 1599.00. So with that I can only afford one upgrade so should I upgrade the processor from 3.20ghz i3 to i5 3.60ghz (both dual core) or upgrade the video card from ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM to ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM.

thanks

Parker
 
that's a tough one, I hate having to choose...
I would consider the CPU since that would increase your speed quite well with enough RAM. Also, DO NOT BUY RAM FROM APPLE!!! You can get it much cheaper directly from the vender such as crucial.com
If that saves you a few bucks get both :D
 
I'd do some research on which of those programs use the GPU much (I think Lightroom and Photoshop rely more on the CPU; not sure about the others) and then evaluate your workload and decide from that.

The other thing is that maybe the current set up is fine (diminishing returns--you may not get a lot more speed by upgrading CPU/GPU) and you cold use the extra $200 to pick up some more software or an accessory (e.g Wacom tablet)
 
Both cards are good for high end photography so I would go w/ the CPU. If you were to get at least 8GB of RAM you wouldn't notice the difference for years. The only way you'd feel bad about not upgrading the vid card would be if you were either doing CAD or gaming.
 
danvdr said:
the other thing is that maybe the current set up is fine (diminishing returns--you may not get a lot more speed by upgrading cpu/gpu) and you cold use the extra $200 to pick up some more software or an accessory (e.g wacom tablet)
Click to expand...

best advice yet
 
parkerross said:
I got approved for the 12 months no payments or interest and $1800. I do a lot of photo and video editing with lightroom, photoshop, after effects, final cut and also use dreamweaver.

So I can only spend $1800 on my new card and with my student discount a 27" imac is 1599.00. So with that I can only afford one upgrade so should I upgrade the processor from 3.20ghz i3 to i5 3.60ghz (both dual core) or upgrade the video card from ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM to ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM.

thanks

Parker
Click to expand...

Make sure that it is really 12 months no payments or interest and no just 12 months no interest with payments big difference. The reason I say that is with all the changes to credit cards I don't believe card companies can offer the first option anymore.
 
danvdr said:
I'd do some research on which of those programs use the GPU much (I think Lightroom and Photoshop rely more on the CPU; not sure about the others) and then evaluate your workload and decide from that.

The other thing is that maybe the current set up is fine (diminishing returns--you may not get a lot more speed by upgrading CPU/GPU) and you cold use the extra $200 to pick up some more software or an accessory (e.g Wacom tablet)
Click to expand...

if it's not really gonna make a big difference either way then maybe I should just go for the refurb for 1439.00
 
Refurb makes me cringe but as long as you've got the warranty go for it. The good thing about Mac's is that they have a great resale value for when you're ready to upgrade and the warranty transfers.
 
yeah no interest, I obviously have to make payments and pay off before the 12 months.

also I already have all the software I need for now and a wacom tablet too.

I'm also surprised, I was expecting to hear everyone say upgrade the graphics card. But everyone so far says cpu.
 
Last edited:
ZilogZ80 said:
saving money makes you cringe? :confused:
Click to expand...

I've been repairing electronics for over 10 years and Refurb does, not saving money. There's a huge difference. Ever hear of a lemon? Odds are you will get a good machine but then there's the odds that you'll get one with a gremlin inside. There's a reason it was refurbed and most of the time it isn't a 30 day return.
 
chris98vf said:
I've been repairing electronics for over 10 years and Refurb does, not saving money. There's a huge difference. Ever hear of a lemon? Odds are you will get a good machine but then there's the odds that you'll get one with a gremlin inside. There's a reason it was refurbed and most of the time it isn't a 30 day return.
Click to expand...
I feel the opposite. Most of the refurbs, at Apple at least, are tested more thoroughly than new computers. The warranty should be the same as new as well. Also, I heard a manufacturer once say that 10% defect rate for electronics is the norm. Not sure if that's true or not but it sure seems about right. Just because it's a new computer doesn't mean it won't be DOA.
 
QuarterSwede said:
I feel the opposite. Most of the refurbs, at Apple at least, are tested more thoroughly than new computers. The warranty should be the same as new as well. Also, I heard a manufacturer once say that 10% defect rate for electronics is the norm. Not sure if that's true or not but it sure seems about right. Just because it's a new computer doesn't mean it won't be DOA.
Click to expand...

I've seen the inside of some Apple refurbs and on the outside they look just as good as new but on the inside you can see a used product. Had an iPhone replaced once and it died out of warranty. Cracked it open and there was corroded contacts on the mainboard. I don't live in a humid environment and I am more careful with my personal electronics than a new mother with a newborn. I doubt Apple double tests refurb products because in the end time is money and even if they did gremlins will never show up at the factory, they know better lol.
 
I would honestly try and go for a refurb 27 i5 quad, the money you pay in the upgrade for the 27 to have better CPU/GPU works out about the same. You can easily beat both and maybe even save money.

Its under full warranty and apple will take it back no doubt if you really dont like it, so what have you got to lose?
Just see what the refurb is like, dont install everything and spend days setting it up until you know you are going to keep it, then all you waste is a bit of shipping time.
 
as of today there are no refurb i5's but maybe i'll wait til the end of the month to purchase and keep checking that sounds like a smart idea.
 
Personally I would not buy a computer off credit, and especially not one through Apple. I'd wait till I could pay in full.

However, not everyone is me. If you are determined to get one, I would choose the quicker proc
 
chris98vf said:
I've been repairing electronics for over 10 years and Refurb does, not saving money. There's a huge difference. Ever hear of a lemon? Odds are you will get a good machine but then there's the odds that you'll get one with a gremlin inside. There's a reason it was refurbed and most of the time it isn't a 30 day return.
Click to expand...
Your claims have no factual basis. How many times have you heard users on these forums talk about problems with Apple refurb machines? Very, very rarely.
Also, refurbed Macs are completely separate to refurb iPhones.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Buy when you actually have the money.
 
RaceTripper said:
I don't think the OP asked for advice about whether he can afford the computer. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Nope, but it's good advice nonetheless and since the MacRumors lot are such a sage bunch he is going to get the benefit of their wisdom whether he likes it or not! :D
 
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