Is the basic new iMac (i3 3.06Ghz, 4Gb RAM) a big upgrade for me....

[MrMister111]

is the basic new iMac (i3 3.06Ghz, 4Gb RAM, 21.5") a big upgrade for me with my iMac I have at moment? I currently have a (bought in Dec 2007), Aluminium Intel Core 2 Duo 2Ghz, 2Gb RAM, 320Gb HDD, 20" with Snow Leopard and iLIfe 09 on?

I notice in UK store theres a refurb basic spec iMac for GBP £850, or new in Edu store GBP £938.

I've just seen a couple of my spec go on eBay for £410-490

It was my first Mac computer in 2007, and now will probably always have one. I use it for general internet, iLife, iTunes/music, nothing fancy really

cheers

 

[alust2013]

It's a decent upgrade, however, since your usage is fairly basic, you may not notice much of a difference

 

[mulo]

It's a decent upgrade, however, since your usage is fairly basic, you may not notice much of a difference

that being said you get a lot more bang for your buck getting the all trixed out i7 27", that should be able to last you many years.

 

[tehpwnerer19]

Here is a comparison of an i3 and a Core 2 Duo. The i3 is a 2.93 GHz and the C2D is a 2.13 GHz, so not identical, but obviously your C2D would be a little worse and the new i3 would be a little better. You can see in a lot of tasks it would be at least twice as fast and in other areas it's not noticeable. I am the kind of guy who likes the latest and greatest and I would say upgrade, you should notice a difference.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...compare,2416.html?prod[4487]=on&prod[4433]=on

I'll also quote barefeats again:

IS THE TOP iMAC THE BEST BUY?
The 'mid 2010' iMac Core i7, is as much as 45% faster than the Core i5 for 10% more cost.
The Core i7 is as much as 104% faster (twice as fast) as the Core i3 for 29% more cost.
The Core i5 is as much as 41% faster than the Core i3 for 18% more cost.

To put it another way, going by the Cinebench rating,
you pay $400 for each rating point on the Core i7,
you pay $526 for each rating point on the Core i5, and
you pay $629 for each rating point on the Core i3.

Want real world? In the After Effects render test,
the Core i7 beats the Core i5 by 33%, though costing 10% more, and,
the Core i7 beats the Core i3 by 42% though costing 29% more.

Want more real world? In the iMovie "export to HD" test,
the Core i7 beats the Core i5 by 20% though costing 10% more, and,
the Core i7 beats the Core i3 by 34% though costing 29% more.

I say the top iMac model is the best buy.

 

[weckart]

In the real world, if your usage is basic, spending extra money on capacity and power you will never use is wasted money.

 

[dwhynman]

For general uses like yours keep your computer until it dies. You will not see any huge differences.