iMac 27" i7(old) vs i5(New)

[penduboy]

Hi,

I am looking to buy my first iMac. The refurbished deal on old 27" iMac seems very tempting but want to get some expert opinions before I go ahead an make my purchase. I am holding my purchase for iPod promotion deal with 27" iMac (Higher end). Could you please advice me which of the following two models works best for me (or offer best value for money).
OK, question . . .

I'm looking to get a 27" iMac. The "older" models are on sale and come equipped with a video card with twice as much ram. So I'm wondering, which of these will "appear" to be faster?

2.93GHz Core i7 Quad-Core (Refurbished) Last years model
4GB (2x2GB) RAM
1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB Graphics
Price $1569


3.1GHz Intel Core i5 Quad-Core
4GB (2x2GB) RAM
1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GPU
Price $2099 - $100 (student discount) - $200 (for iPod sale) = $1799

I am planning to use it mostly for Photoshop, lightroom, HDR work, and some time after effects. Am I going to notice any difference in performance between these two?

 

[penduboy]

WoW 71 views but no response!

Is it a hard question? or already answered? I have searched this forum but couldn't find any thread where I can find this answer.

Please help me to make my decision.

Thanks, Pendu

 

[leman]

Well, the 2011 iMac has a faster GPU, CPU-wise they are more or less even. The new i5 will beat the old i7 in many common tasks, and the old i7 may be a bit faster for video encoding and other HT-friendly tasks.

The 2011 iMac will be clearly faster for gaming, and may be faster in everyday work (but nothing noticeable).

 

[penduboy]

Well, the 2011 iMac has a faster GPU, CPU-wise they are more or less even. The new i5 will beat the old i7 in many common tasks, and the old i7 may be a bit faster for video encoding and other HT-friendly tasks.

The 2011 iMac will be clearly faster for gaming, and may be faster in everyday work (but nothing noticeable).

Thanks for your comment. This means the newer iMac 3.1ghz i5 is a better processor than last years 2.93ghz i7. I have no doubt about the GPU, 6970m in new iMac is one of the top line GPU available.

Thanks once again for your response.

 

[azax456]

Did you mean a 3.1 i5, since you can't upgrade the graphics on the 2.7 i5..?

 

[penduboy]

Did you mean a 3.1 i5, since you can't upgrade the graphics on the 2.7 i5..?

Thanks for pointing this out....yes I mean i5 3.1....and corrected it in my post as well.

Thanks again......Pendu

 

[flipster]

I would get the new one, just for the new option of thunderbolt.

Granted nothing uses it yet, but it's still a very new technology and who knows what we could get out of it.

 

[TheNakedMan]

I pulled the trigger on 27inch i7 last tuesday. My refurbished is be delivered next Wednesday.

I'm getting a 1GB video card in it. I think it's a great value with the i7.

The 1gb card in the older iMac I think will be on point for most things I do.

I took the savings and I might be picking up an ipad2. I'm not looking for thunderbolt...if USB3 was on the new one, I'd go for the new one.

That's my thoughts.

 

[penduboy]

Thanks for your responses. I really appreciate that, I think I have made up my mind to buy a new one as it is worth the upgrade for graphic card, sandy bridge processor and thunderbolt.