Refub 27 i7 vs new 27 i7

[gr997s]

I am looking to buy high end with SSD etc for video and photo. I think I can save $6-800 going the refurb route. I understand no Thunderblolt, but is it worth that much more? I don't see a big difference other than that. Comments please....thanks....

 

[martinm0]

Buy new. I've not seen any refurb i7's with an SSD in the Apple Store, and unless you're feeling saucy and want to tear open the machine yourself, Thunderbolt will allow you to use an external SSD as your main drive to give you the performance you're looking for.

 

[iSayuSay]

IF you can wait long enough, the iMac with thunderbolt will also end up in refurbished store, say about 3 months ... that way you can still save the money.

The drawback? Well you never know which iMac end up there .. it could be the base i5, 21" or 27" .. it could be the ultimate i7, but it's all about luck there

 

[Badger^2]

I have never see a refurb with a SSD.

Helps with video. Does nothing for photos.

 

[gr997s]

Thanks, but I see refurbs with SSD and HD's weekly. They do go fast....

 

[100Teraflops]

Thanks, but I see refurbs with SSD and HD's weekly. They do go fast....

Sir your situation is what I refer to as being stuck between a rock and a hard place! You can save a few bucks and purchase a refurb or you can buy a new iMac and have thunderlightning, hence be deemed a future proof macster. Honestly, I prefer being a future proof macster, as I want to utilize thunderbolt.

 

[martinm0]

Only refurb 27" I've ever seen hasn't been quad core and was priced higher than the last gen i7 and I check pretty regularly.

In any case, both are great machines and super fast. Newest generation feature faster specs all around, Thunderbolt and HD FaceTime cameras. Everything else is the same. I personally feel Thunderbolt is a must so I went new, but I also move terabytes of data back and forth...

 

[rsm333]

SSD iMac

I bought a refurb i7 2.93 with the 256GB SSD a couple of months ago and could not be happier. It would be difficult to go back to a Winchester HD for me...the Mac boots more than twice as fast and apps launch with NO waiting...go for it!

 

[mackage]

There are refurbs with SSD's for sale quite often. I saw two just in the past week. I thought about taking this route as well but i wont be abke to take advantage of the education credit and back to school promotion with a refurb.

 

[patp77]

There are refurbs with SSD's for sale quite often. I saw two just in the past week. I thought about taking this route as well but i wont be abke to take advantage of the education credit and back to school promotion with a refurb.

This is what would probably tempt me towards a new i7. Education + free iPod = ~$400 savings on a new iMac. It's still a couple hundred more than a refurb but then you can add Thunderbolt port + 3.4GHz vs 2.93GHz (~25% performance increase) + 6970 vs 5750 (~25% performance increase) which should tilt it in favor of the new iMac.

 

[MH01]

I am looking to buy high end with SSD etc for video and photo. I think I can save $6-800 going the refurb route. I understand no Thunderblolt, but is it worth that much more? I don't see a big difference other than that. Comments please....thanks....

I could care less about TB, but Sandy Bridge in a nice upgrade. Also would you ever want to run you imac as a display from a PC or another equiped mac pre thunderbolt ? http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3775 This is my biggest issue with upgrading to the new Imac.

I'd recommmend you get the new one, based on the Sandy Bridge architecture.