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I3 or I5 for the 21.5?
- Thread starter gelie
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Ripping movies is limited by the SuperDrive but when encoding videos, the i5 is faster. It's only 200$ so up to you
Apple says on its website that the base model 27" Core i3 supposedly comes with both Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost @ 3.2GHz. The same CPU and the same (erroneous) claim is in the higher-end model of the 21.5" model. There is no i3 that supports TB. I just looked it up to make sure.
I've had my 21.5" for 2 1/2 weeks and now I want to upgrade. Do I have a shot? I just passed the 14-day return window.
I've had my 21.5" for 2 1/2 weeks and now I want to upgrade. Do I have a shot? I just passed the 14-day return window.
Yes. However, you can call them and ask to order one for you so you can then pick it up locally.
Or select your store from this list and simply click the "Shop Online" button and you can order your iMac to be picked up from the store
How do you come up with these numbers? Where are you getting your data from?
According to these benchmarks. The i5 660 is less than %10 percent faster in almost every bench mark. And it runs at 3.33Ghz. The i5 680 runs at 3.6.
I would have ordered one already but this is really giving me pause. According to the benchmarks the 200.00 doesn't seem its worth it. But I hoping it is. We will have to wait and see the benchmarks for the imac as a whole.
I will be ordering one either way tomorrow. Maybe use the extra 200.00 on Ram if the benchmarks are this close.
http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2010/2010052401_Core_i3-550_mini-review.html
Just simple maths. 3.6GHz divided by 3.2GHz equals 12.5% with my maths. 3.86GHz divided by 3.2GHz equals 20.6%. They are based on same architecture etc so that should be fairly accurate. 680 is 266MHz faster than 660 so there comes the few percent difference
That's just theoretical difference though, we have to wait till real world benches to see the real difference but theoretically, i5 should be 12.5% faster in e.g. HandBrake
I hope you're right hellhammer. I thought the same thing too until I saw these benchmarks. I know it's not the i5 680 but the i5 660 but according to these the i5 660 is less than %10 percent faster in every benchmark. It looks like the i5 680 would be roughly %10 faster judging by the i3 550 vs i5 660 benchmarks in the tests since the i5 660 is about %7 faster overall judging by the benchmarks. If that holds up that is not allot at all. Is it worth 200.00 for a %10 increase in speed?
http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2010/2010052401_Core_i3-550_mini-review.html
Actually the benchmarks surprised me.
I have about 2000.00 to spend and may just upgrade the RAM to 16Gb and call it a day since the 1333 actually may benefit since it has increased speed.
Apple makes it so easy to spend your money. Just for a little more you can get this, and for a little more you can get that!
Damn you Apple!
Apple makes it so easy to spend your money. Just for a little more you can get this, and for a little more you can get that!
Damn you Apple!
Haha...that's right! I was thinking the same thing. I thought well, definitely get the cheaper 27", but get the 1GB GDDR5 VRAM for only $150 more...well, maybe might as well get the better CPU, too. It's only a couple of hundred...and with that, I'd be at what the more expensive one costs anyway, which has yet more enticing options (---> quad i7...well, it's only a couple of hundred...) lol...
The financing options should come with another option like a second mortgage on your house.