Video card upgrade OR cpu upgrade on 24" imac

[chrisprobert]

I'm planning on purchasing a 24" imac within the next few weeks to take advantage of my student discount free ipod deal. My budget allows me to have either:

a 3.06Ghz chip with an ATI 2600 PRO (256 mb) graphics card
or
a 2.8Ghz chip with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS (512 mb) graphics card.

I plan on using it for photo and video editing, but I also run some processor intensive tasks which have minimal graphics requirements. I will be using a second monitor, which may tilt the decision towards the 512mb video card option. I would greatly appreciate any advice as to which configuration would better suit me.

 

[AlexisV]

No question - the 2.8Ghz.

The CPU speed difference is miniscule, whereas the 8800 is a much better GPU (although I understand the OS X drivers for the GeForce aren't quite as developed, so there is more speed to come from it).

 

[TraceyS/FL]

No question - the 2.8Ghz.

The CPU speed difference is miniscule, whereas the 8800 is a much better GPU (although I understand the OS X drivers for the GeForce aren't quite as developed, so there is more speed to come from it).

I"ll 2nd this!

 

[candyman]

Based on the scenario, I concur with the 2.8GHz model. That card will be much better suited for you.

 

[hippo206]

no question about it... 2.8

 

[I'mAMac]

Def the 2.8. The performance difference you will see between cards far outweighs the performance difference of the two processors.

 

[9007938]

Definitely the one with the 8800 512MB, 2.8.

 

[uicandrew]

get the one with the better video card, but you can also go to barefeats and see real benchmarks that directly compare 2 systems.


www.barefeats.com

nice informative site with thorough and real life tests