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Which of these two iMacs is better?

S

secretpact

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 24, 2007
271
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Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera


The i3 has the Radeon HD 5670, and the i5 has the Radeon HD 4850. Which computer is better?
 
how is a 4850 faster than a 5670? im not doubting you hellhammer( love that name! ) just going by numbers of the card......48-56.

thanks,
trout
 
Trout74 said:
how is a 4850 faster than a 5670? im not doubting you hellhammer( love that name! ) just going by numbers of the card......48-56.

thanks,
trout
Click to expand...

The first number is basically the generation, the last three being the model basically, so higher is better. So the 5670 is one of the low end cards of the 5000 series, whereas the 4850 is one of the higher end models of the 4000 series. The higher end of the last generation will usually be better than the lower end of the latest generation.
 
secretpact said:
Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera


The i3 has the Radeon HD 5670, and the i5 has the Radeon HD 4850. Which computer is better?
Click to expand...

The main differences are the graphic cards, the SDXC vs SDHC slot, and the 1333 memory. SDHC goes up to 32GB, but can in practice go up to 2tb. But are slower than SDXC cards. I never use these slots and feels it is faster to use a already attached USB cord. Removing a SDXC card repeatedly degrades the copper contacts on the card reducing speed and the longevity of the card.

The difference between 1066 memory and 1333 memory is not much at all. 21Gbs vs 17Gps. The 2009 i5 will take the 1333MHz memory but the 1066 will have to be removed and you will have to purchase 8gb. I would not bother, personally.

The i5 quad core is faster than the i3 dual core. The CPU between the two is the most important factor here. The Quad core i5 750 imac is the best deal at any price imac right now. As well as the 2009 i7 860 imac. $1500 and 1700. is a good price for these imacs.
 
The quad-core model is much faster out of the box.

The 2010 3.2GHz model should be considered if you plan to order it with SSD (not possible in earlier models). For many applications the SSD can make the more difference than having twice as much CPU power.
 
mpe said:
The quad-core model is much faster out of the box.

The 2010 3.2GHz model should be considered if you plan to order it with SSD (not possible in earlier models). For many applications the SSD can make the more difference than having twice as much CPU power.
Click to expand...

Ok so say I get a SSD drive for the first config. Then which one is better?


Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
120GB SSD
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

vs

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera
 
The iMac with SSD will be much faster for normal apps, office, browsing, etc. It will be much faster in starting apps, booting, switching between apps, etc.

More CPU horsepower is good for apps that can really use it like video editing, encoding, scientific applications. Games will be also higher on quad-core (particularly due to stronger graphic card), at least the maximum frame rates. On the other hand SSD will improve load times between levels and possibly also help to sustain minimum framerates.

Unless you are sure that you apps can utilize CPUs at 100% go for the computer with SSD. It will be much better overall computing experience. Obviously ideal combination is quad-core CPU + SSD.
 
Trout74 said:
how is a 4850 faster than a 5670? im not doubting you hellhammer( love that name! ) just going by numbers of the card......48-56.

thanks,
trout
Click to expand...

Well if I remember correctly a 5670 is basically a 4670 with some small improvements.

Thats not saying its bad, but the 4850 is better with the i5.
 
secretpact said:
Ok so say I get a SSD drive for the first config. Then which one is better?


Refurbished iMac 27-inch 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 processor
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
120GB SSD
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

vs

Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera
Click to expand...

http://www.macworld.com/article/153602/2010/08/mid201_corei7imac.html

Look at the 27 inch with the dual core 3.6 with SSD and the one without. SSD is better but not in most applications tested. Now would a dual core i3 3.2 with SSD be faster in those tasks tested than a quad core 2.66? maybe but maybe not. The quad core 2.66 would be faster in most tasks if we go by just these tests.

The second is better. Just because it has SSD does not make it automatically faster in everything. You're going to void your warranty by adding a SSD drive? Pay hundreds more if you get it spec from apple for what? And spend more money in the process? And maybe mess up your computer? Good luck with that.

You can get a new imac 2.66 early 2010 model for between 1500 or 1600. Brand new. Not refurbished. That is the best deal going for any mac, as is the early 2010 model with the i7 which can also be purchased 'new'. For around 1700.
 
I have different opinion. Although SSD doesn't shine in synthetic benchmarks like transcoding videos or rendering 3D scenes, the difference between SSD and HD in standard tasks we do a computer every day is dramatic. In fact it is like night and day. For example opening a browser or booting the computer, starting any application, loading data files, saving work, browsing photos, etc. Disk not the CPU is a real bottleneck of todays computers and SSD is magnitude faster. You need to run a very CPU intensive calculation to see the difference between let's say Core i3 and i5 or even i7 in real life. The quad-core Core i7 CPU might be two times faster than i3, but in vast majority of apps we are counting just nanoseconds there. In case of SSD vs HD, we are counting seconds and I bet you'll notice that.
 
mpe said:
I have different opinion. Although SSD doesn't shine in synthetic benchmarks like transcoding videos or rendering the difference between SSD and HD in standard tasks we do a computer every day is dramatic. In fact it is like night and day. For example opening a browser or booting the computer, starting any application, loading data files, etc. Disk not the CPU is a real bottleneck of todays computers and SSD is magnitude faster. You need to run a very CPU intensive calculation to see the difference between let's say Core i3 and i5 or even i7 in real life. And even then it doesn't matter if the quad-core decodes a high megapixel picture in 20ms instead of 40ms if it has wait for 10s to write it down to a disk.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Unless you have used one you have no idea.
 
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