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imac refurbs: 2008 vs 2009

R

rjp

macrumors regular
Original poster
With yesterday's infusion of 2009 imacs into the refurb store, which do you now feel is the better deal and why?

2008 24", 2.8GHz, 2GB (max 4GB), 320GB, HD2600, DDR2 1066.

$1199.00

or

2009 24", 2.66GHz, 4GB (max 8GB), 640GB, 9400M, DDR3 1066.

$1299.00
 
Whichever has a defect-free screen is the better deal 😀

Remember that the 2009 doesn't have a dedicated graphics card whereas the 2008 does. But that may not matter if it's going to be a general family computer, in which case the larger HD would be better for your iPhoto album. However, you've said you're also concerned about gaming performance, so there's your answer.
 
is the HD2600 really better than the 9400M?

JayLenochiniMac said:
Whichever has a defect-free screen is the better deal 😀

Remember that the 2009 doesn't have a dedicated graphics card whereas the 2008 does. But that may not matter if it's going to be a general family computer, in which case the larger HD would be better for your iPhoto album. However, you've said you're also concerned about gaming performance, so there's your answer.
Click to expand...

I'm not so concerned about gaming, but it's "nice to have".

My main interest in the GPU would be to the extent that it can help with other applications. For example, CS4 can use it, Aperture can use it now. I'm not sure if the iLife apps use it. More and more applications will take advantage of it as SL comes along.

I have read whatever benchmark comparisons I could find of the HD2600 vs the 9400M. I am a little confused by the results. The first question, of course, is "what the heck is a HD2600 pro?" That is, is it a 2600 or a 2600 XT? Or somewhere in between? Nobody seems to know.

The comparisons I see show the 2600 easily beating the 9400M for 3DMark 05, but for all of the actual game benchmarks the difference is frequently in favor of the 9400M, so I don't know which is the better system.

You seem to feel the 2600 is the obvious choice for games. What is this based on?

Here's where I looked.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9400M-G.11949.0.html
 
rjp said:
With yesterday's infusion of 2009 imacs into the refurb store, which do you now feel is the better deal and why?

2008 24", 2.8GHz, 2GB (max 4GB), 320GB, HD2600, DDR2 1066.

$1199.00

or

2009 24", 2.66GHz, 4GB (max 8GB), 640GB, 9400M, DDR3 1066.

$1299.00
Click to expand...
If I were you I'd spring for the 3.06 with the 130. But it's about $1800 so it's probably more than you want. Between those two you listed I like the 2008 2.8. In fact it is the once I would have puchased if I would have chose the more frugal option. Instead I bit the bullet and got the ati4850.
 
FoxHoundADAM said:
If I were you I'd spring for the 3.06 with the 130. But it's about $1800 so it's probably more than you want. Between those two you listed I like the 2008 2.8. In fact it is the once I would have puchased if I would have chose the more frugal option. Instead I bit the bullet and got the ati4850.
Click to expand...

Too expensive. Suppose the 2008 and 2009 were offered at the same price, 1199 for either one. Which would you buy?
 
rjp said:
With yesterday's infusion of 2009 imacs into the refurb store, which do you now feel is the better deal and why?

2008 24", 2.8GHz, 2GB (max 4GB), 320GB, HD2600, DDR2 1066.

$1199.00

or

2009 24", 2.66GHz, 4GB (max 8GB), 640GB, 9400M, DDR3 1066.

$1299.00
Click to expand...


Going through this bit by bit I would say as follows:

1. The jump from 2 Gig of Ram to 4 Gig is worth $50 (upgrade with Crucial Ram)
2. There, practically, is no worthwhile difference to go from DDR2 to DDR3 Ram.
3. Depending on your needs and one's availability of an external harddrive, the larger drive has no value for me.
4. The processor bump on the 2008 is worth a little bit but nothing earth shattering.
5. Having the 9400M as opposed to the HD2600 Pro is to me a demerit. You have obviously looked at the various threads here. The HD2600 Pro is an XT with a slower core clock and memory clock.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2151671,00.asp

Since they are both refurbished perhaps they both have sub-par (for us) displays 🙂

I would go for the 2008 as that 9400M really bothers me.
 
new replacement

Peterg2 said:
Going through this bit by bit I would say as follows:

1. The jump from 2 Gig of Ram to 4 Gig is worth $50 (upgrade with Crucial Ram)
2. There, practically, is no worthwhile difference to go from DDR2 to DDR3 Ram.
3. Depending on your needs and one's availability of an external harddrive, the larger drive has no value for me.
4. The processor bump on the 2008 is worth a little bit but nothing earth shattering.
5. Having the 9400M as opposed to the HD2600 Pro is to me a demerit. You have obviously looked at the various threads here. The HD2600 Pro is an XT with a slower core clock and memory clock.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2151671,00.asp

Since they are both refurbished perhaps they both have sub-par (for us) displays 🙂

I would go for the 2008 as that 9400M really bothers me.
Click to expand...

Peter,

The reason I asked about the same price is I just heard back from Apple and they are now offering me either the 2008 or 2009 brand new as a replacement for my second defective 2008 refurb. I posted this in another thread here.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/7545519/

That is such great customer service. I am also leaning towards the 2008, but it feels weird to be turning down the latest model. I really wish I knew more about the GPU issue. I've read all I could find on the 9400M vs the HD2600 and I'm still not convinced the 2600 is much faster except on 3DMark 05. Games seem to favor the 9400. Then the big question is which will do better when Snow Leopard is released?

Does anyone know of a good thread discussing this?
 
I'm in the exact same boat. After teetering back and forth between the 20" and 24", the 20" feels cramped.

The 2009 is appealing because of the 4gigs, 640gb hard disk, and the newness factor. Interesting for me though is the fact that I'd have to pay $50 more for the regular keyboard as I have to have it for data entry and an external keypad is out of the question.

I'm leaning toward the 2008 because it's ahead in processor and video benchmarks. Yes, it costs almost $50 more for the memory upgrade. I'd like to have a bigger hard disk, but I do know that there are some people who have attempted the replacement. I replaced the hard disk in my early 2006 MBP and was successful, so I could get one later.

At least I have the 20" off the table now. I like the newness of the 2009, but the 2008 looks so much more appealing as far as price goes.
 
kvasir said:
I'm leaning toward the 2008 because it's ahead in processor and video benchmarks. Yes, it costs almost $50 more for the memory upgrade. I'd like to have a bigger hard disk, but I do know that there are some people who have attempted the replacement. I replaced the hard disk in my early 2006 MBP and was successful, so I could get one later.
Click to expand...

I bought the 2008 and put in 4GB of RAM for $25 and a 1TB hard drive for $90. If you replaced the hard drive in a MacBook Pro, you won't have much trouble doing it in an iMac. Took me 10 minutes.
 
Thanks mjrogers, and hello from Indy!

I purchased the 2008 model as I couldn't see myself spending $175 more for a bigger hard disk.

B+H photo has it for $1229 brand new with free shipping and you get Parallels 4.0 for free. Can't argue with that.

Now I need to find a good deal on RAM. How did you get it for $25? Rebates?
 
kvasir said:
Now I need to find a good deal on RAM. How did you get it for $25? Rebates?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I picked up a 4GB OCZ kit from Amazon for $25 after rebate. I see specials go by every couple weeks that are similar deals from NewEgg, etc, but I don't see any now. Looking at any of the reputable places at the moment, it looks like you'll be spending $45 for a 4GB DDR2-800 kit.
 
rjp,

So where do you stand now with iMacs? The last 24" refurb has been returned I assume and you were talking about a 20". Were you meaning a refurb or a clearance or the new 20"?

Peter
 
Peterg2 said:
rjp,

So where do you stand now with iMacs? The last 24" refurb has been returned I assume and you were talking about a 20". Were you meaning a refurb or a clearance or the new 20"?

Peter
Click to expand...

Apple offered me a brand new 24" for the same price as the refurb. I chose the 2008 version. I am happy with it, and very pleased with Apple.
 
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