Ok, so I've been waiting it out with the rest of you to see Apple refresh the iMac line in hope of there being some big update to the components or something. Well, now's the time to buy for me as the line has been refreshed and there doesn't seem to be much of a difference. Problem is, I'm not sure what would be my best option.
A brand new, current gen iMac i5 will cost me £1,549.83 with my education discount. However, on the refurb store (since prices have dropped), I can get a previous gen iMac i7 for £1,399. It's a difference of only £150 which I know won't be much at all to some of you who can afford to max out the BTO iMacs but for me, it's money that I could put to good use elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm wondering, since the only things that really got changed were the GPU and a slight speed bump to the processor speeds, would I be better off getting the refurb i7 over a brand new i5? I'm hoping to run the occasional game or two on Windows (e.g GTA and some others) so how much of a difference would the new graphics card make? Other opinion on this was that I should go for the new one cause a refurb wouldn't be worth as much should I come to sell it next year to purchase the 2011 refreshed model.
Overall I am slightly leaning towards the new model with the i5 and the 1GB 5xxx series gpu but am I just getting drawn to the fact that it's new opposed to refurbished? Obviously the i7 in the refurb would be better than the i5 in the new model but I wouldn't feel as if the computer was 'underpowered' if I had an i5. So that pretty much leaves it down to the graphics. 512MB 4850 vs 1GB 5850. I've heard there isn't much difference between the two but wouldn't that extra 512MB graphics memory help out quite a bit with textures? Lastly, the screens. I've seen a lot of people that have had problems with yellowing screens etc and this would likely be something that apple has addressed in the new model. If I go for the refurb, I could run a greater risk of getting a defective screen.
There are arguments on both sides here for me but like I said, I'm leaning towards the new iMac. Just need some second opinions really
.
A brand new, current gen iMac i5 will cost me £1,549.83 with my education discount. However, on the refurb store (since prices have dropped), I can get a previous gen iMac i7 for £1,399. It's a difference of only £150 which I know won't be much at all to some of you who can afford to max out the BTO iMacs but for me, it's money that I could put to good use elsewhere.
Anyway, I'm wondering, since the only things that really got changed were the GPU and a slight speed bump to the processor speeds, would I be better off getting the refurb i7 over a brand new i5? I'm hoping to run the occasional game or two on Windows (e.g GTA and some others) so how much of a difference would the new graphics card make? Other opinion on this was that I should go for the new one cause a refurb wouldn't be worth as much should I come to sell it next year to purchase the 2011 refreshed model.
Overall I am slightly leaning towards the new model with the i5 and the 1GB 5xxx series gpu but am I just getting drawn to the fact that it's new opposed to refurbished? Obviously the i7 in the refurb would be better than the i5 in the new model but I wouldn't feel as if the computer was 'underpowered' if I had an i5. So that pretty much leaves it down to the graphics. 512MB 4850 vs 1GB 5850. I've heard there isn't much difference between the two but wouldn't that extra 512MB graphics memory help out quite a bit with textures? Lastly, the screens. I've seen a lot of people that have had problems with yellowing screens etc and this would likely be something that apple has addressed in the new model. If I go for the refurb, I could run a greater risk of getting a defective screen.
There are arguments on both sides here for me but like I said, I'm leaning towards the new iMac. Just need some second opinions really
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