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So maybe i7 isnt worth it for my needs? or?

henrikrox

henrikrox

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 3, 2010
1,219
2
After there being a delayment in shipping, i have now a choice to wait for 2 weeks to get my i7 or get and i5 tomorrow.

I can also get the i5 tomorrow at student discount because of my gf, so i save another 100 dollars ontop of the price difference.

I will not do video editing, just photoshop, iphoto and games.

Also the imac will be connected to a custom built pc for "heavy games" down the line.

Then again, im a person who sadly allways want the best when i can, and i am afraid if i get the i5, i will always think its not good enough.

Then again, my mbp is being repaired because of faulty HDD, so i kinda need a computer.

GAH, i cant make up my mind
 
When is the tax free day for your state? You may want to wait until then to save a lot more money. I think that the i5 will be fine for your needs. The difference is negligible. Get more ram or an ssd instead.
 
henrikrox said:
After there being a delayment in shipping, i have now a choice to wait for 2 weeks to get my i7 or get and i5 tomorrow.

I can also get the i5 tomorrow at student discount because of my gf, so i save another 100 dollars ontop of the price difference.

I will not do video editing, just photoshop, iphoto and games.

Also the imac will be connected to a custom built pc for "heavy games" down the line.

Then again, im a person who sadly allways want the best when i can, and i am afraid if i get the i5, i will always think its not good enough.

Then again, my mbp is being repaired because of faulty HDD, so i kinda need a computer.

GAH, i cant make up my mind
Click to expand...

Hey, just wondering what delay in shipment? If you are not sure on the i7, IMO you should go ahead and get the i5.
 
appleguy123 said:
When is the tax free day for your state? You may want to wait until then to save a lot more money. I think that the i5 will be fine for your needs. The difference is negligible. Get more ram or an ssd instead.
Click to expand...

I live in Norway, so i dont have a tax free day :)
 
henrikrox said:
Then again, im a person who sadly allways want the best when i can, and i am afraid if i get the i5, i will always think its not good enough.
Click to expand...

I'd say get the i7 if you have enough money. Let's put it this way... I'm sure most of these 27"/i7 -people actually need the size and the speed for their work etc. But let's not kid ourselves. There are many people who max out every option so that they have the best setup Apple Store has to offer and then use it to do same stuff people with the 21.5" base model are using their iMacs for. So you are definately not alone. :) Anyway, I've read that i7 gives a good performance boost over the i5 so it's a justified investment, and obviously you cannot have enough gaming power.

I guess this Apple-frenzy is quickly becoming another sign of douchness. I mean it always puts a smile on my face when I see in the signatures that some folk have 1 Mac Pro, 1 iMac, 2 Mac Minis, 1 Macbook Pro, 1 Macbook Air, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch and so on. :D I mean I know some people need one home computer and maybe one work laptop, but owning 3-6 new(ish) Apple computers... I guess some people have too much money. Don't get me wrong, I like quality stuff also and I do like fancy gadgets but I wouldn't buy, say, a television for each room of the house.

EDIT: Oh I forgot... And 2 iPads. :D
 
The "discussion" on one's sweet spot between enough CPU power and too much money is a very difficult target to hit. It can be debated back and forth and still not have a 100% correct answer...

IMO... If you know you'll be driving heavy games in the future, get the i7. If you want to keep a machines for 4-5-7 years, then get the maxed out machine. If gaming, get maxed out machine. If on a budget, get middle machine. If you plan to upgrade with USB 3,0 comes out (under 2 years), then get middle of the pack. If you plan to give to another family member in 3 years (after its AppleCare is done), then get middle CPU machine. But if you know "for sure" that games is your thing, get the larger size CPU.

There's no right or wrong anwer. It's really what "feels most comfortable to you".

Good luck...
 
I know alot of people on these forums think refurb is a bad name but you can always get a i7 refurb quad for $1699 and mine is flawless it runs faster than the new i5 quad with the better video card to future put it and take the extra money and put more ram in it that is what I did.
 
Thank you all for you comments i apreciate it.

One last question. I Will not keep this for 3-4 years. Likely i Will sell it and buy the new one when it comes out. Yes I hate myself for being like that but I can't help it. So I will have this computer for 1 year give or take.

I guess the i5 will be more then enough. Dont Get me wrong the i7 is the better buy. But 2 weeks without a computer is pain.
 
I've seen myself reflected on this post ,... I'm doubing "quad i5 vs quad i7"

The Intel policy it's quiet clever, you choose a quadcore in i5 but with i7 you have HT too ... mmmmm ... da*m! :D

Yes , looking into the near future, could be interesting to have HT for the apps to come... I'll go for it :) as it's not a big difference of money refurbishing speaking (120$) and I could feel bad in the future for not getting the newest technology at this time ...just for a bit more bucks.
 
Between i5 quad and i7 quad:
You won't see any difference unless you do a lot of multi-threading tasks such as video encoding/rendering.
IMO, 870 is worth the extra cost only if a lot of your time is spent on multi-threaded apps.
 
i was thinking about the i7 but i got an i5 instead. I mainly use adobe CS5 suite, some gaming, and the usual stuff. I wanted the 27" and thought quad core would benefit me more than the dual 3.6 i5 in the long run. Just get what you need based on what you do cuz most likely by the time you really need something better, there will be a refresh of the entire line.
 
Tigerman82 said:
I'd say get the i7 if you have enough money. Let's put it this way... I'm sure most of these 27"/i7 -people actually need the size and the speed for their work etc. But let's not kid ourselves. There are many people who max out every option so that they have the best setup Apple Store has to offer and then use it to do same stuff people with the 21.5" base model are using their iMacs for. So you are definately not alone. :) Anyway, I've read that i7 gives a good performance boost over the i5 so it's a justified investment, and obviously you cannot have enough gaming power.

I guess this Apple-frenzy is quickly becoming another sign of douchness. I mean it always puts a smile on my face when I see in the signatures that some folk have 1 Mac Pro, 1 iMac, 2 Mac Minis, 1 Macbook Pro, 1 Macbook Air, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch and so on. :D I mean I know some people need one home computer and maybe one work laptop, but owning 3-6 new(ish) Apple computers... I guess some people have too much money. Don't get me wrong, I like quality stuff also and I do like fancy gadgets but I wouldn't buy, say, a television for each room of the house.

EDIT: Oh I forgot... And 2 iPads. :D
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I really "need" the quad i7 power, but on the long run, I'm hoping that it'll be a good investment. I usually do lots of multitasking (video encoding, photo editing, movie editing, word processing, surfing or gaming) so I'm thinking those extra cores and HT technology will come in handy ;)

So in the end, I went for the refurbished i7, which i found was the best value for money. Especially since it beats the i5 performance wise. The only caveat is the graphics card, but then again it still performs quite well according to benchmarks and the graphics driver update should help boost performance :)
 
After doing som research about the apps im using, i canceled my order for the i7 and went for the i5.

Main reason, i dont need the HT for the apps im using now, and considering i will only have it until the next refresh i dont need to future proof as much.

Also, another reason is that i cant really live without a desktop computer for 2 weeks. Ill be picking my i5 up tomorrow, and im very excited :)

Yes i know the i7 is a better buy for a small price difference, but considering a need a computer and dont need the HT, i think the i5 will serve me well.

Thanks for all the help :)
 
have fun with the 27" i5 :D I've been enjoying mine since I got it a few days ago. Everyone's needs are different, just make sure you're happy with what you have and you'll be fine.
 
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