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Will I notice the difference?

R

riverbed

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 21, 2011
2
0
Literally just about to click the buy button when the question set in - Will I notice a difference?

I am a professional designer and work on large documents and files that drain my iMac and I sit there waiting for it to complete its task. This time wasted = lost revenue. I currently work on a 20" iMac Intel Core Duo 2GHz with 2GB memory which has served me well but needs replacing. The iMac I was going to purchase is the 27" 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, but WILL I NOTICE A DIFFERENCE? or will I still be sat there waiting for it to complete large tasks?

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks.:)
 
What software/applications are you using and how big are these large documents and files?
 
bpeeps said:
What software/applications are you using and how big are these large documents and files?
Click to expand...

Hi, mainly photoshop files up to 1GB or large 300-400 page quark document with layers etc... Not always this big but this is when the colour spectrum wheel just spins and spins!
 
Yes, you would notice quite the difference. If you do buy a new machine, and you're working with such large files, more RAM would also be advisable (DIY is cheaper than apple's upgrade, and easy to do)
 
bpeeps said:
What software/applications are you using and how big are these large documents and files?
Click to expand...

This question really has no bearing on the answer. Going from your current setup to any of the new sandy bridge processors will be a huge jump. They are more efficient, have higher clock speeds, and also have hyperthreading.

Not to mention the RAM upgrade.
 
Have you considered upgrading to the i7? I think it'd benefit you in terms of time. Also, will you be upgrading the RAM? Getting 16GB will certainly help you in Photoshop.
 
mackage said:
This question really has no bearing on the answer. Going from your current setup to any of the new sandy bridge processors will be a huge jump. They are more efficient, have higher clock speeds, and also have hyperthreading.

Not to mention the RAM upgrade.
Click to expand...
Not all of the SB's have hyper-threading. The quad-core i5, i.e, does not.
 
mackage said:
This question really has no bearing on the answer. Going from your current setup to any of the new sandy bridge processors will be a huge jump. They are more efficient, have higher clock speeds, and also have hyperthreading.

Not to mention the RAM upgrade.
Click to expand...
Yes it does :rolleyes:
 
As a rough guide you need roughly 4x your document size in RAM to use Photoshop efficiently I.e. To stop writing to/from the scratch disk all the time which is what you're getting ATM.
So if you regularly have to work with 1GB files then as a minimum you need at least 6GB as your system also needs RAM to function.
If you went for the i5 with 12GB memory you would notice a massive difference from your current setup, with everything in PS being virtually instant.
 
mackage said:
This question really has no bearing on the answer. Going from your current setup to any of the new sandy bridge processors will be a huge jump. They are more efficient, have higher clock speeds, and also have hyperthreading.

Not to mention the RAM upgrade.
Click to expand...

MythicFrost said:
Not all of the SB's have hyper-threading. The quad-core i5, i.e, does not.
Click to expand...

mackage said:
....but its still a quad sandy bridge vs. a core 2 duo. Did your comment add anything to this thread?
Click to expand...

Actually MythicFrost DID add something to this thread. He was informing the potential buyer of some potentially false information you gave. So don't get your panties in a bunch if someone calls you out on it.
 
riverbed said:
Hi, mainly photoshop files up to 1GB or large 300-400 page quark document with layers etc... Not always this big but this is when the colour spectrum wheel just spins and spins!
Click to expand...

I'd go for both the i7 and 16 GB RAM. If you plan to use the new iMac for at least three years, it's worth the money.
 
BigBeast said:
Actually MythicFrost DID add something to this thread. He was informing the potential buyer of some potentially false information you gave. So don't get your panties in a bunch if someone calls you out on it.
Click to expand...

The point is.....its a moot point. Either way the OP is going to see a big difference in performance whether he purchases a new dual core with hyperthreading or a new quad core without.

Also, the OP mentioned the 2.7 dual core that has hyperthreading but refered to it as a quad core.
 
Michael D. said:
I'd go for both the i7 and 16 GB RAM. If you plan to use the new iMac for at least three years, it's worth the money.
Click to expand...

Thats a waste of money.

You should updated years ago. Or at least got more ram.

The 27" i5 + 8 gigs of ram, for a total of 12 gigs (half as much as 16 gigs) would be a monster update.

ORder already.
 
mackage said:
....but its still a quad sandy bridge vs. a core 2 duo. Did your comment add anything to this thread?
Click to expand...
It doesn't matter how good of an upgrade it is from what he has, that doesn't make it anymore an i7 with hyper-threading.

And yes I did add to this thread, I made sure that the OP and anyone else reading my post would be aware that the i5, for example, doesn't have hyper-threading.

mackage said:
Also, the OP mentioned the 2.7 dual core that has hyperthreading but refered to it as a quad core.
Click to expand...
There is no 2.7 dual-core. Every single iMac model is a quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU.
 
I think you'd notice a difference just adding RAM to you current machine, but not nearly the difference you'd notice with a new machine.

I'm pretty much in the same boat ---> 2.4 Ghz Core2Duo with 3 GB Ram

Was going to boost my RAM but my iMac is nearly 4 years old - Apple Car expired last year.

Time for a new machine! ;)
 
I'm a designer and work in CS5 InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator as well as video work in Premiere and After Effects. I have the same machine as you except that it is a 27" 2.4 GHz model (not much different). I had 2GB of RAM and learned I could up that to 6Gb and when I did that I noticed a substantial difference.

I know for a fact that the leap from a Core-duo to a Quad core iMac is going to be much faster, but I also know that more RAM (to a point, e.g., 6GB), scratch, and a separate drive for data and OS, and even an SSD upgrade on the old machine can make a big difference too—but it is an OLD machine. All of these cost money, but save time, and like you said: time=money....

If yours is as old as mine (2007 7,1) I hope you are judicious about BU because your HDD is getting pretty long in the tooth. With the new 27" machine the real estate of the screen alone is going to rock your world. Mine is en route now....
 
Last edited:
I also have 3 20" 2.0s as well. They can take 4GB of RAM. You could add that + have OWC replace your main HDD + add an SDD but I'd just get the 27" w/8GB RAM min.
 
i just upgraded from a 2.2 ghz c2d macbook with 2 gb ram to the 2.7 i5 27" and its such a huge difference. the new machine runs circles around my macbook.
 
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