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Imac 27" i5 Refurb + Ipad 32G 3G

W

WindowsTraitor

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 31, 2008
251
41
Hi

I sold my MBP in December and I needed a mac so I decided to get the imac.

I wanted to save some $ so I went for the refurb. Was this a good choice.? Also to get the 18 0% deal I got the ipad 3g. ( I am not sure if I will keep it once I get it)

is the i5 a good compromise? I wanted to get the i7, but apple does not offer it in the refurb store.

Any suggestion for when it arrives?
 
discofuel said:
They usually have them in the store - just need to get back on another day
Click to expand...

too late I guess, I already ordered it. Is there such a big difference between the i7 and i5? (watching movies, internet, picture editing, some occasional video encoding)

How much ram is recommended?
 
i5 is a fine machine. I recommend 4 gb minimum. If you: 1) typically have more than a few programs open at a time, 2) want to run windows virtualization programs along with with your Mac apps, 3) are into gaming, 4) do a reasonable amount of video encoding or graphics work, I would recommend at least 8 gb. The extra memory will speed simultaneous processing and reduce the likelihood of slowdowns.
 
WindowsTraitor said:
too late I guess, I already ordered it. Is there such a big difference between the i7 and i5? (watching movies, internet, picture editing, some occasional video encoding)

How much ram is recommended?
Click to expand...

I have a stock i5 with 4 GB of RAM, and highly recommend it. The i5 is definitely fast enough for me. I don't think the i7 upgrade is worth the price, since for most of what you'd like to do, you'll never notice the difference.

The differences between the i5 and the i7 are that a) the i7 is 2.8 GHz (not 2.66 GHz like the i5) and b) the i7 has hyperthreading and can run 8 threads at once vs. 4 in the i5. Not many apps will utilize the extra 4 threads, though, and even if they do, the difference will not be like adding 4 extra cores.

I do a lot of reasonably heavy work at once, and I've never needed more than the stock 4 GB of RAM, either. I often have Mail, Safari, iTunes, Photoshop, XCode, Interface Builder, and the iPhone Simulator open all at once and still have 500 MB or so left of free RAM, so it's never been a problem for me.

I'd say stick with the i5 and 4 GB of RAM, and spend the extra money elsewhere (maybe on a backup drive and accessories for your iPad).

Whatever you end up with, I'm sure you'll be happy. The screen on these 27 inchers is amazing, and you get so much more room than you're used to having.
 
csnplt said:
I have a stock i5 with 4 GB of RAM, and highly recommend it. The i5 is definitely fast enough for me. I don't think the i7 upgrade is worth the price, since for most of what you'd like to do, you'll never notice the difference.

The differences between the i5 and the i7 are that a) the i7 is 2.8 GHz (not 2.66 GHz like the i5) and b) the i7 has hyperthreading and can run 8 threads at once vs. 4 in the i5. Not many apps will utilize the extra 4 threads, though, and even if they do, the difference will not be like adding 4 extra cores.

I do a lot of reasonably heavy work at once, and I've never needed more than the stock 4 GB of RAM, either. I often have Mail, Safari, iTunes, Photoshop, XCode, Interface Builder, and the iPhone Simulator open all at once and still have 500 MB or so left of free RAM, so it's never been a problem for me.

I'd say stick with the i5 and 4 GB of RAM, and spend the extra money elsewhere (maybe on a backup drive and accessories for your iPad).

Whatever you end up with, I'm sure you'll be happy. The screen on these 27 inchers is amazing, and you get so much more room than you're used to having.
Click to expand...

I could do most of my work with the core duo I had on my MBP(2.6GHZ) 4gb. So this for me is an upgrade already from what I was using.

With regards to software, I was working in close contact with engineers that created software for DSPs with multiple cores. The issue I saw was, that is really difficult to do, and sometimes you can create more bottlenecks than else. anyway...

I paid 1699 for the i5 and I plan to spend 350 on 2sticks of 4GB, and sell the 4gb stock. So basically a net add spending of 150$.

Then I should be ok with the upgrades, since I already have a 1tb my book.

So in total it will be 1849$

The i7 would have been 2079(ed. discount) + 150 = 2229


So I have a savings of 380$. But the if I were to get the refurb IMAC I7 the total would be 2000$. That is only a 150$ savings.

On a 3 years life that is only 4 a month more. plus the resale value will be higher for sure.

Would it be possible to return the I5 an get the i7? LIAB
 
csnplt said:
I have a stock i5 with 4 GB of RAM, and highly recommend it. The i5 is definitely fast enough for me. I don't think the i7 upgrade is worth the price, since for most of what you'd like to do, you'll never notice the difference.

The differences between the i5 and the i7 are that a) the i7 is 2.8 GHz (not 2.66 GHz like the i5) and b) the i7 has hyperthreading and can run 8 threads at once vs. 4 in the i5. Not many apps will utilize the extra 4 threads, though, and even if they do, the difference will not be like adding 4 extra cores.

I do a lot of reasonably heavy work at once, and I've never needed more than the stock 4 GB of RAM, either. I often have Mail, Safari, iTunes, Photoshop, XCode, Interface Builder, and the iPhone Simulator open all at once and still have 500 MB or so left of free RAM, so it's never been a problem for me.

I'd say stick with the i5 and 4 GB of RAM, and spend the extra money elsewhere (maybe on a backup drive and accessories for your iPad).

Whatever you end up with, I'm sure you'll be happy. The screen on these 27 inchers is amazing, and you get so much more room than you're used to having.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the guidance. The i5 and i7 are only now beginning to show up in the UK refurb store. I was attracted to the i7, but am certain an i5 will easily be sufficient (more than) for all our needs. I'm also grateful to learn that there's no immediate need to go beyond the supplied 4 GB of RAM.
 
PeckhamBog said:
Thanks for the guidance. The i5 and i7 are only now beginning to show up in the UK refurb store. I was attracted to the i7, but am certain an i5 will easily be sufficient (more than) for all our needs. I'm also grateful to learn that there's no immediate need to go beyond the supplied 4 GB of RAM.
Click to expand...

for 90 bucks it's money well spent. i do photoshop and always max out the 4gb stock ram when opening up mulitple pictures that's why i upgraded to 8gb.
 
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