What iMac would be best for me?

[anywhere08]

I was wondering what would be the smart decision to make. Should I get the quad-core intel core i7 w/ 8GB ram or 3.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo w/ 8GB ram and ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB? After adding the prices up, the former is $2,399.00 while the later is $2,249.00 so theres no real big price difference.

I am going to use the computer mostly for music, streaming movies to the tv, microsoft word, surfing the net and occasional video games.

So what would be the better/smarter decision to make?

Thanks

 

[Hellhammer]

Core i7 is only 150$ more so I'd definitely get that. It's a lot better than 3.33GHz C2D

 

[zedsdead]

Core i7 is only 150$ more so I'd definitely get that. It's a lot better than 3.33GHz C2D

I agree. The Quad-Core i7 is an amazing chip.

 

[DDave]

For that difference get the i7, it will last you longer into the future.

 

[dwd3885]

if you are sure you want 27" and 3.33 C2D, you might as well get the i5 or i7. Me, I didn't necessarily want 27" or the 3.33, so it'd be $500 US more for 27 and i5

 

[anywhere08]

So I guess the i7 is more "future-proof"? But I will have to check out the 21.5" vs 27" to make a final decision on size, but I guess I will get the i7 over the C2D then. Also, is the 8Gb THAT much more better than a 4Gb for what I am going to be using the iMac for?

Thanks guys, really appreciate the answers.

 

[Hellhammer]

So I guess the i7 is more "future-proof"? But I will have to check out the 21.5" vs 27" to make a final decision on size, but I guess I will get the i7 over the C2D then. Also, is the 8Gb THAT much more better than a 4Gb for what I am going to be using the iMac for?

Thanks guys, really appreciate the answers.

Don't buy the RAM from Apple. Extra 4GB will only cost like 70$ and installing it is idiot-proof.

 

[anywhere08]

Also, whats the difference between 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB and 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB?

 

[zedsdead]

So I guess the i7 is more "future-proof"? But I will have to check out the 21.5" vs 27" to make a final decision on size, but I guess I will get the i7 over the C2D then. Also, is the 8Gb THAT much more better than a 4Gb for what I am going to be using the iMac for?

Thanks guys, really appreciate the answers.

No. Try out the 4 gig, if you find it a little sluggish, buy 4 more from OWC.

Also, whats the difference between 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB and 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB?

the cheaper one takes up all available RAM slots, hence the four 2gig sticks, ie. 4x2=8.

The more expensive version only takes up 2 RAM slots, two 4gig sticks, ie. 2x4=8. This option leaves the other slots open in case you want to upgrade to 16 gig without buying all four stick again.

 

[Hellhammer]

Also, whats the difference between 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB and 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB?

4x2GB means that there are four 2GB chips and 2x4GB means that there are two 4GB chips and two empty RAM slots. As I said above, don't get the RAM from Apple

 

[dwd3885]

So I guess the i7 is more "future-proof"? But I will have to check out the 21.5" vs 27" to make a final decision on size, but I guess I will get the i7 over the C2D then. Also, is the 8Gb THAT much more better than a 4Gb for what I am going to be using the iMac for?

Thanks guys, really appreciate the answers.

future proof is really a bad term. The i5 might last a little longer than C2D, but for instance, my uncle edits HD video in iMovie and does Photoshop work all the time on his 1.83 Core Duo iMac. So really it doesn't matter, about future proof. They will both still last.

 

[rich2k4]

wouldn't the 3.33 ghz core 2 duo actually be faster then quad core i7 at single task things?

quad core i7 is only 2.8 GHZ so for single core things, you'd only be using 2.8 while with the core 2 duo you'd be using 3.33 ghz.

this argument has come up in the past, when people asked about quad core mac pro's vs 8 core.

 

[aaquib]

wouldn't the 3.33 ghz core 2 duo actually be faster then quad core i7 at single task things?

quad core i7 is only 2.8 GHZ so for single core things, you'd only be using 2.8 while with the core 2 duo you'd be using 3.33 ghz.

this argument has come up in the past, when people asked about quad core mac pro's vs 8 core.

The quad core automatically overclocks to 3.2GHz when only 2/4 cores are being used. So, you get similar performance in dual core applications, and significantly superior performance in quad core apps.

 

[Hellhammer]

The quad core automatically overclocks to 3.2GHz when only 2/4 cores are being used. So, you get similar performance in dual core applications, and significantly superior performance in quad core apps.

And Core i7 2.8GHz goes up to 3.46GHz

 

[wodeh]

No. Try out the 4 gig, if you find it a little sluggish, buy 4 more from OWC.

the cheaper one takes up all available RAM slots, hence the four 2gig sticks, ie. 4x2=8.

The more expensive version only takes up 2 RAM slots, two 4gig sticks, ie. 2x4=8. This option leaves the other slots open in case you want to upgrade to 16 gig without buying all four stick again.

Depending on how far in the future you should decide to upgrade to 16GB, this could actually work out to be considerably more expensive.

Working in wonderful pounds here. It costs £480 to upgrade to 8gb, 2x4GB.

This is also at the cost of the pre-existing 2x4GB which Apple charge, quite clearly, £160 for.

So, total cost of 2x4gb is actually £640.

Crucial.com list this same kit at £459.99. For the sake of argument let's say you could sell the stock 2x2GB on Ebay for £40. This brings the price to £419.99 for 8GB. Or £60 cheaper than Apple's RAM.

Of course, if you value your time this is an entirely worthless observation because the effort of ebaying and installing RAM could easily account for the difference.

However. £67.85 will upgrade you from the stock 2x2GB to 4x2GB which leaves you £412.15 better off.

Now, right now 16GB will set you back almost £1000. But I'm pretty sure that by the time you actually need 16GB you'll be able to get it for less than £412.15. Assuming, of course, that you haven't simply replaced your computer by then and thus saved that entire amount. If you DO upgrade, you've then got 4x2GB spare to give away, sell, turn into geeky jewellery, or eat.

What happened to the i7 being triple channel, anyway!?