i5 vs i7?

[ZaYoOoD]

Hey..
I am a little bit torn between the i5 2.5 dual and the i7 2.7 quad..

Currently I am using a 3.07 core2duo, so either probably will be a big step forward. But, my main question is, is the i7 worth the extra 300$?

I mainly use the Mac to watch movies and browse the web. I may play some games that do not need a lot of power (PES 2013)..

Also, will a 16gb make a huge difference from the 8gb? for the kind of use i do?

please help me choose, I am having a great headache choosing!

thnx

 

[fa8362]

You don't need the i7 and you don't need 16 GB of RAM for what you do. Heck you don't even need the i5, but that's the least they sell.

Also, since you don't need an i7, you definitely don't need the 2.6 quad, the base 2.3 quad is already more than you need.

 

[mystic man]

Hey..
I am a little bit torn between the i5 2.5 dual and the i7 2.7 quad..

Currently I am using a 3.07 core2duo, so either probably will be a big step forward. But, my main question is, is the i7 worth the extra 300$?

I mainly use the Mac to watch movies and browse the web. I may play some games that do not need a lot of power (PES 2013)..

Also, will a 16gb make a huge difference from the 8gb? for the kind of use i do?

please help me choose, I am having a great headache choosing!

thnx

nah I think you ll be quite alright with the base model

I would only recommend getting the higher model if you used cpu intensive programms, such as video editing

 

[ZaYoOoD]

I agree completely, the base model is good enough for me..
The only thing holding me back is, in the future, I can change to SSD and upgrade the RAM, but the processor cannot be changed, so I'm afraid it'll get old soon enough..

any thoughts?

 

[kobyh15]

I agree completely, the base model is good enough for me..
The only thing holding me back is, in the future, I can change to SSD and upgrade the RAM, but the processor cannot be changed, so I'm afraid it'll get old soon enough..

any thoughts?

If you continue your current usage pattern it's not going to be a problem. By the time it's "too slow" for what you do you probably would have already upgraded to a new model anyway (or just get a SSD, honestly). Save yourself some money.

 

[mystic man]

I agree completely, the base model is good enough for me..
The only thing holding me back is, in the future, I can change to SSD and upgrade the RAM, but the processor cannot be changed, so I'm afraid it'll get old soon enough..

any thoughts?

cpu-wise I believe you ll have another 3 years down the road without any issues
graphically-wise you might have issues from the 2nd year but thats not something you can alter unless a new mini comes out with a descrete gpu

 

[d.steve]

There is also now risk that you buy a higher end unit today for more money and Apple later comes out with a great new feature that you want, but it isn't available on older models.

That has in part me leaning towards avoiding the high end and refreshing my Mac more often. Roughly same money over time but faster refresh cycle.

 

[ZaYoOoD]

Ok..
What about the SSD, the extra 300$, is it worth it?

Does it only affect the boot time and application launch time?
is it better that getting extra RAM?

 

[risk235]

You don't need the i7 and you don't need 16 GB of RAM for what you do. Heck you don't even need the i5, but that's the least they sell.

Also, since you don't need an i7, you definitely don't need the 2.6 quad, the base 2.3 quad is already more than you need.

You made my choice easier. This is going to be my first Mac and mostly do the same thing as the OP. So I'm getting the base model but was wondering if 4GB was enough memory. My windows desktop crapped out on me though my LCD monitor keyboard mouse etc. still works fine.

 

[mystic man]

Ok..
What about the SSD, the extra 300$, is it worth it?

Does it only affect the boot time and application launch time?
is it better that getting extra RAM?

see where you are with the stock 4Gb of ram, if you feel you need more then go for the 8, 16 feels like an overkill but if you find it in a cheap price then why not

ssd is a very welcome change. you ll find everything working faster and you ll wonder why hadnt you done this earlier

 

[ZaYoOoD]

Thnx for the help guys..
I was going to spend 1500$ on the top module, but now I figure that for my use the base model is enough..
I'm going to buy the 8gb RAM separately, though..

As for the SSD, I'll delay it for future me to figure it out ..

thnx

 

[Mr. McMac]

I have a base mid 2011 mini with 8 gb's of ram I use as an HTPC on my 40" Samsung. It does a great job. Personally, I feel the upper models are a little overpriced for what you get..

 

[ZaYoOoD]

One last question..
For my very little use (watching movie & surfing the web), am I going to feel any difference from the dual core i5 to the 2.6 quad core i7?

or are they roughly the same for my use?

 

[iMas70]

I've been having thoughts similar to the OP. Currently I'm on a 5 year old Dell DXC061 -

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Desktop Processor@ 1.86GHz
3GB PC2-4200 DDR2 Memory
250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive

I only use my desktop for e-mail and surfing the web (and these are when I'm not on my iPhone/iPad), minor photo editing (cropping/resizing), saving pics (I take a lot) and maybe some documents here and there. I think this machine will be more than enough and probably a huge upgrade over what I currently use -

2.5GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB

But... I'm a car guy. I like performance and always think that there is never such a think as to much power so I keep thinking about -

2.3GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB

Not that I have $ to toss away but looking at the specs, the quad core processor is a nice increase over the dual and double the hard drive space. All that for $200.00.

Besides my reasoning, do you think the i7 will still be overkill? I'm used to iDevices but this will be my first Mac.