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New 27 inch i3 or last year i7 quad refurb???

E

Evargo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 21, 2010
4
0
Hi - I am just about to buy a new Mac and these are both at the same price - which one should I go for?

The first is the new 27 inch iMac which has just been released with a i3 3.2ghz processor.

The second is a 27 inch refurb from last year which has a i7 quad core 2.8ghz.

Now they both have a 1tb hard drive, seem to have a similar video card and 4 gb of ram.

Do they look any different visually, are the new iMacs better quality graphics and visuals?

I am not sure which one to go for however I am mainly after great graphics and future proof setup.

Which one would you recommend?

Thanks!!
 
The refurb model has the better cpu (obviously) and still better graphics. They do not look any different.

The only benefit you'd get with the new model would be a lower power consumption equaling lower power bill.
 
TMRaven said:
The refurb model has the better cpu (obviously) and still better graphics. They do not look any different.

The only benefit you'd get with the new model would be a lower power consumption equaling lower power bill.
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree and go with the i7 refurb. The i7 is a quad core chip with hyperthreading and the OS sees 8 cores. vs. just 2 for the i3. You have plenty of speed to spare so you essentially future proof your purchase a little longer.
 
Get the i7 refurb. Ignore the people warning of 2009 issues. There are plenty of stories about people receiving i7s in 2009 and are perfectly happy (me included).

If you don't like it, you can send it back and get another one.
 
Do NOT ignore the refurb issues! I did, and sadly, I got an 09 27" i7 with the yellow tint problem covering the entire bottom third of the machine. This is after I was promised (I know, they are there to sell computers) that I would not receive a display that was produced before the "fix" of February of this year. I tried to look my serial number up to see when mine was produced, but apparently they change the serial numbers on the refurbs. It did have a production week #20.

Returned it and bought a refreshed i5. It's perfect. I cost me about $300 more, but I bought the itouch which I plan to sell to help defray some of the cost. Oh, and because of a multitude of problems and Apple's great customer service I got two free trackpads, a $45 discount, a $50 discount, the itouch without having to deal with a rebate (don't expect that, it was a mistake,) and free overnight shipping. Granted, I had to put up with a lot of headaches that these "credits" were to "make up for," but now that I have my new imac, I'm thrilled.

So, my humble advice is... if you REALLY NEED a quad core i7, and not many people DO, YET, and don't want to have a decent chance of having to return your refurb, then stick with the i3. It's a great processor in and of itself.
 
I have an i7 refurb and I absolutely love it. Worst case bad screen just send it back for a replacement.
 
Eh

jailorjoe1978 said:
If the refurb I7 in question is from late 2009 then i would avoid it. there is a huge list of issues with the core series of imacs from late 2009 and only 1 or 2 problems have been accepted by apple and solved. i have an I5 from 2009 and its been a nightmare.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/999162/
Click to expand...

I got my 2.8 ghz i7 in late June 2010 and it was perfect. No problems.
 
What is the 'MAIN' differences in the 2009 imacs to the mid 2010 imacs for i7 Series... besides the slightly slower CPU... Physical characteristics?
 
Absolutely no physical characteristical differences!

(I dont think that is a word! :p)

Main Differences are

Faster Memory

Better GFX especially in lower-end models
 
In that case seriously.. that would be a great buy!!!! why? I use the q9550 and overclock it to 3.6 [once to 3.8 but not stable]... and for the 2.8 i7 it is probably as good as the q9550,,,, and still save $400-500+ with Tax... and still get some software's with the savings...8)... No PCs is perfect even all of us...I sometimes try to enjoy the simple things in life rather than complain just about anything to get by...
 
I would definitely go for the i7 because it so much faster than the i3 and also will be usable well into the future.
 
raysfan81 said:
I would definitely go for the i7 because it so much faster than the i3 and also will be usable well into the future.
Click to expand...

I know for sure the quad core is way faster...had one for about 2+ years now.. and still feels faster than my other Duo cores....
 
I too thought that the 2009 i7 refurb was too good a deal to miss. However, I have just returned my fourth refurb due to yellow tint issues and have all but given up on the idea. The apple guys in after-sales were almost of the opinion "what do you expect buying a refurb" and suggested I buy a new one from a retail store.

To be honest, I can't face buying another iMac and have decided to buy a base model Mac Pro as I already have a monitor.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
PipT said:
I too thought that the 2009 i7 refurb was too good a deal to miss. However, I have just returned my fourth refurb due to yellow tint issues and have all but given up on the idea. The apple guys in after-sales were almost of the opinion "what do you expect buying a refurb" and suggested I buy a new one from a retail store.

To be honest, I can't face buying another iMac and have decided to buy a base model Mac Pro as I already have a monitor.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Click to expand...

What were the issues you actually had.... I believe if for something small I probably will keep... unless there is like a major scratch on the monitor or body...etc... for like tinting yes I will as well...
 
refurb all the way!

i just got 9989 in geekbench 2.1 on my 2009 i7 that arrived this morning 4gb ram all standard - barefeats lists it as 8000ish

dont give a monkeys about any slight screen tint as I'll be usin it with my 30inch colour calibrated Dell monitor :D

yup thats 27 & 30 inches, 2560x1440 & 2560x1600, 3686400 & 4096000

for a grand total of 7,782,400 pixels :eek:

VERY VERY VERY happy:p
 
I7 purchased

I went ahead and got the i7.... Thanks for the advice everyone!

Just hoping my refurb is ok... Just read so many posts on this forum about horror stories with refurbs!!!!
 
Allegedly

DannyBres said:
Absolutely no physical characteristical differences!

(I dont think that is a word! :p)

Main Differences are

Faster Memory

Better GFX especially in lower-end models
Click to expand...

There's a thread in imac forum here that states the 2009 Macs can run the same 1333 mhz memory the 2010 refresh machines run and at the same speed.

See https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=8845274#post8845274 for details.



My guess as to why they specced 1066 at the time? Cost.
 
jrko said:
i just got 9989 in geekbench 2.1 on my 2009 i7 that arrived this morning 4gb ram all standard - barefeats lists it as 8000ish

dont give a monkeys about any slight screen tint as I'll be usin it with my 30inch colour calibrated Dell monitor :D

yup thats 27 & 30 inches, 2560x1440 & 2560x1600, 3686400 & 4096000

for a grand total of 7,782,400 pixels :eek:

VERY VERY VERY happy:p
Click to expand...

Here's my geekbench score on my 2009 iMac 27" Corei7:

geekbench.jpg
 
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