Which is Better?

[JediSkipdogg]

So I'm looking at buying an iMac and am trying to stay low in cost. I want to do some basic video editing on it. I do wedding videos and small commercials, basically nothing power hungry as right now I do it on a Macbook perfectly fine. I see on the Refurb site a new listing (as in one I haven't seen before.)

Option A is $1050 and Option B is $1000. I like the better video card in option A as video editing utilizes quite a bit of it, however, the system bus and L2 cache are lower. Any other differences I don't know about and how would the system bus and L2 cache affect overall system performance? Thanks all.


Option A
Model Refurbished 20-inch iMac
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache 4MB Shared
System bus 800MHz
Memory 1GB (one SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300), supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 320GB Serial ATA; 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display 20-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1680 by 1050 pixels, millions of colors
Video Built-in iSight; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
FireWire One FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each
USB Three USB 2.0 ports on computer; two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard
Audio Built-in stereo speakers with 24-watt digital amplifier, built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in
Ethernet Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, and Mighty Mouse
Other Built-in IR receiver
Size and weight Height: 18.5 inches (46.9 cm)
Width: 19.1 inches (48.5 cm)
Depth: 7.4 inches (18.9 cm)
Weight: 20 pounds (9.1 kg)


Option B
Model Refurbished 20-inch iMac
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache 6MB Shared
System bus 1066MHz
Memory 1GB (one 1GB SO-DIMM) of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 250GB Serial ATA; 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display 20-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1680 by 1050 pixels, millions of colors
Video Built-in iSight; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory
FireWire One FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each
USB Three USB 2.0 ports on computer; two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard
Audio Built-in stereo speakers with 24-watt digital amplifier, built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in
Ethernet Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Hardware accessories Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, and Mighty Mouse
Other Built-in IR receiver

 

[bozz2006]

Option B is newer hardware and newer technology than option A. So, option B could be considered "better".

 

[PuckDaddy]

be patient and wait for the impending refresh
the new batch should be markedly better (especially with video) than either of those
and neither of those cards really outclass the other ... not by the upcoming standard. 128mb vram ? pffft...we'll get a minmum of 512 vram soon, and hopefully DUAL GPU's running in pairs for video purposes for 1gb of vr
plus like 8gb of RAM

with all they're saying how 10.6 will better utilize cores and gpu's, i want the hardware that it's intended for, hopefully that package is well thought out and on it's way in the next few days (or at least by Easter)

we should have seen iMac's at Christmas. there has to be (better be) a good reason for a delay, with hardly any a hint

I believe Apple has something big in store with the '09 iMac
sure it will be well worth the few extra coin over those machines

 

[bozz2006]

he's looking to buy a refurb, not asking whether or not to wait for the new imacs. you think the new imacs will utilize dual GPU's?

 

[JediSkipdogg]

he's looking to buy a refurb, not asking whether or not to wait for the new imacs. you think the new imacs will utilize dual GPU's?

If the new ones are that much better I may highly look into them. But of course, if they follow suit with the Macbooks and remove the Firewire 400 I may will have to pass them up. I have too many external drives that use 400 as I feel 400 is still highly used. Apple somehow disagrees.

 

[avihappy]

Even if you are buying a refurb, I would wait for the refresh so that you can see what the newest options are, and maybe even get a better refurb (if the refurb prices go down along w/ the refresh, or if the refurbs get a bump themselves).