Thinking of buying the 24" Imac with the core extreme upgrade.Is the cpu upgrade worth it?I will be doing video and photo editing.
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New Imac decision
- Thread starter applegreenhorn
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I say if you got the money go for it. I have the 2.4 with 2GB RAM and I never run into problems with it. I also dont do much of video editing I have done some with iMovie but nothing too crazy (some transitions, credits and some effects) I do more photo editing with it thought all iPhoto also. I am certain that the 2.8 is faster but I don't know about the price per performance ratio.
My 2c.
My 2c.
Do you think if I max out the ram on the 2.4ghz model it would match the performence of the 2.8ghz?
If you have the extra money, go as fast as you can. In case you have not ever read it, the best\cheapest way to order the 2.8, is to actually start your order for the 2.4 24" and "upgrade" the proc to 2.8. This allows you to keep the ram at 1GB, and order what you need, max 4GB, elsewhere, say Crucial or OWC, and save literally hundreds on ram alone.
Play around with the configurator on the Apple site and you will get the idea.
As far as the 2.4 vs the 2.8, yes, I believe it makes a difference. I do a lot of video editing, rendering etc., and it feels considerably faster at it than a close friend of mines that runs the same machine, only the 2.4 version.
Play around with the configurator on the Apple site and you will get the idea.
As far as the 2.4 vs the 2.8, yes, I believe it makes a difference. I do a lot of video editing, rendering etc., and it feels considerably faster at it than a close friend of mines that runs the same machine, only the 2.4 version.
It won't equal the performance, but it does help. It's not really the 4 gb part that helps- it's the fact that apple ships their iMacs with only one memory slot populated, which makes the memory bus operate with less bandwidth. Going to 2 or 4 Gb will occupy both slots, which I believe gives you 256 bit wide access to memory. 4 gb helps vs. 2 gb for apps like photoshop where you want to avoid hitting the HD whenever possible, or if you want to run a virtual machine and give max ram to both operating systems.
As for going for the 2.8 ghz, it does not help with 3d intensive games, but everything else is faster. I look at it as paying an extra $250 ($225 with ed discount) to future proof your machine a bit. It does not make too much of a difference now, but I think it will help more in the future. I just can't look at a 24in. LCD screen as disposable just because there are faster processors available to upgrade too. I want to use that mac for as long as possible.
As for going for the 2.8 ghz, it does not help with 3d intensive games, but everything else is faster. I look at it as paying an extra $250 ($225 with ed discount) to future proof your machine a bit. It does not make too much of a difference now, but I think it will help more in the future. I just can't look at a 24in. LCD screen as disposable just because there are faster processors available to upgrade too. I want to use that mac for as long as possible.