My experience: i5 vs. i7

[53x12]

So I finally have an i7. I previously had 3 i5's which each had a problem. AppleCare was kind enough to upgrade me for free to the i7. I have spent ~3 weeks with an i5 until today when I got the i7. I thought I would write a few words about what I have noticed and experienced so far.

While the jump in Geekbench score between the i5 and i7 is obvious (~7600 to ~9800 with 8GB ram), the subtler things are what I have really noticed. The i7 still boots up quickly, under 30 seconds just like the i5. However everything just seems snappier on an every day use. I have been using the i7 for the past 7-8hrs and I noticed a difference in the first hour.

I decided to do a clean install of OSX (I also did this on all 3 of the i5's). On the i5's it would take me just under 30 minutes to do a full install (without the printer drivers and languages being installed). Today on the i7, I kid you not, it finished it under 12 minutes from start to finish. I really thought there must have been an error in the process or something wrong happened because I was not expecting it to be done that quickly. But sure enough, just under 12 minutes for a full install. I also notice that the system idles a lot "smoother" on the i7 vs. the i5. On the i5 just being on the internet or the forum the processor would "idle" around the low 90's%. Now with the i7 under the same circumstances I am getting around 97-97% idle consistently. While installing iWorks and iLife I was also on google chat and the CPU was still at 95-96% idle. Just amazing.

One thing I have noticed is that the i7 tends to idle at a few degrees celsius warmer (~3-5) under the same conditions as the i5. Nothing really worth worrying about, however I notice the temps are just a bit warmer.

Overall, the i7 is amazing. While the i5 is a great machine, the i7 is definitely the hands down winner. If any of you are still trying to decide between the i5 and i7, while I understand that money is tight, I highly highly highly recommend waiting a little bit longer to save up that extra $180-200 for the i7. It is more than worth it and you will be much happier.

So the take home message is that the i7 is amazing and is definitely a noticeable difference over the i5. I just want to add that I realize there is no scientific data from me and that this is just anecdotal evidence. I just hope that this was useful for you guys.

[TennisandMusic]

Doesn't seem like there should be that much difference. They are identical chips, with the i7 being 140mhz faster (how fast is the iphone? So this difference is tiny), and of course hyper threading. 10% difference at most, unless you're doing something where hyper threading will REALLY give you a boost, but this is rare. Certainly not the usage you're describing.

Just out of curiosity, what hard drive do you have in your i7?

[53x12]

Doesn't seem like there should be that much difference. They are identical chips, with the i7 being 140mhz faster (how fast is the iphone? So this difference is tiny), and of course hyper threading. 10% difference at most, unless you're doing something where hyper threading will REALLY give you a boost, but this is rare. Certainly not the usage you're describing.

Yeah I didn't think there would be that big of a difference either, but this is what I have experienced so far from reinstalling OSX, installing my apps, and just general use. Surprised me as well. However the i7 also turbo boosts up to 3.46GHz while the i5 only goes up to 3.2GHz.


Just out of curiosity, what hard drive do you have in your i7?

I have the Seagate.

[OasisNYK]

I am glad to read your thoughts - I ordered my first Mac last night, got the i7 - it really is too good to pass up. Hands down the best value in the current lineup.

Your experience sounds awesome, one possible explanation is that the i5 is basically the "Celeron" (stripped down pentium) of this generation of chips. How true that is, I don't know because the architectures are new but the i5 is definitely more of a budget performer. I do think the benchmarks are unreliable but it is clear that the i7 has more horsepower.

Congrats on the system and glad to hear you have none of the issues others have experienced.

[DoFoT9]

yay welcome to the i7 club! im so glad i paid the extra $280Aus for the i7 upgrade. the extra threads will hopefully prove very useful for me :D

i have the WD HDD, i cant fault it! quiet and fast enough for my needs.

@OasisNYK: i think you couldnt be further from the truth. the only differences between the i5 & i7 are the CPU frequency (clearly) and the fact that one has HT enabled and one does not. their architectures are otherwise identical AFAIK.

[mc751n]

Thanks for posting this! For the past week I've been partially regretting ordering and waiting for the i7 instead of just going to the Apple Store and picking up an in stock i5, but this helps to make the wait worth it :)

[53x12]

Thanks for posting this! For the past week I've been partially regretting ordering and waiting for the i7 instead of just going to the Apple Store and picking up an in stock i5, but this helps to make the wait worth it :)

I think you made the right decision. You will be super happy when you get it. :D

[OasisNYK]

yay welcome to the i7 club! im so glad i paid the extra $280Aus for the i7 upgrade. the extra threads will hopefully prove very useful for me :D

i have the WD HDD, i cant fault it! quiet and fast enough for my needs.

@OasisNYK: i think you couldnt be further from the truth. the only differences between the i5 & i7 are the CPU frequency (clearly) and the fact that one has HT enabled and one does not. their architectures are otherwise identical AFAIK.

I read the celeron comparison from someone else - it is purely opinion, and I agree the architectures are similar, but the performance gap appears to be significant. Worth the increase in price for the i7. The i5 is supposed to be the budget solution in the quad core line up but clearly intel has blurred the lines. I still think the i7 is where it's at :-)

[slicecom]

Thanks for the post. I'll be bringing back my i5 after Christmas (yellow tinge, 28 dead pixels in isight, high pitched noise thru speakers), and instead of exchanging it, I'll just return it and order an i7 online.

[DoFoT9]

I read the celeron comparison from someone else - it is purely opinion, and I agree the architectures are similar, but the performance gap appears to be significant. Worth the increase in price for the i7. The i5 is supposed to be the budget solution in the quad core line up but clearly intel has blurred the lines. I still think the i7 is where it's at :-)

hmm from what i have seen the performance gaps are not that significant. i am seeing 5-10% between the two on most benchmarks. the only significant differences are with video converting/encoding where the differences are more like 15-20% (because of HT i assume).

[OasisNYK]

hmm from what i have seen the performance gaps are not that significant. i am seeing 5-10% between the two on most benchmarks. the only significant differences are with video converting/encoding where the differences are more like 15-20% (because of HT i assume).

15-20% is definitely significant, granted it's in video encoding. I think that bodes well for the future when software will take better advantage of HT. Hopefully it will become more main stream to code for it, I seem to recall the last time HT was included it didn't catch on.

Do you know if the i5 and i7 share the same socket?

[slicecom]

15-20% is definitely significant, granted it's in video encoding. I think that bodes well for the future when software will take better advantage of HT. Hopefully it will become more main stream to code for it, I seem to recall the last time HT was included it didn't catch on.

Do you know if the i5 and i7 share the same socket?

The i5 and i7 iMacs are identical in EVERY way except for the CPU, so yes, they share the same socket.

[OldCorpse]

Yeah I didn't think there would be that big of a difference either, but this is what I have experienced so far from reinstalling OSX, installing my apps, and just general use. Surprised me as well. However the i7 also turbo boosts up to 3.46GHz while the i5 only goes up to 3.2GHz.

Congratulations on your new computer! I'm ordering the i7 come January. Btw., how do you deal with the yellow tinge? Did you calibrate or just ignore it? I hear that for some it is slight enough that you won't notice most of the time, unless you are doing a lot of photo editing.

[53x12]

Congratulations on your new computer! I'm ordering the i7 come January. Btw., how do you deal with the yellow tinge? Did you calibrate or just ignore it? I hear that for some it is slight enough that you won't notice most of the time, unless you are doing a lot of photo editing.

To be honest this i7 doesn't have any yellow tinge, and if it does it is ever so slight. Nothing compared to the issue I had on 2 of the 3 i5's I had. I think you should be fine.

[Bryan Bowler]

53x12,

Thank you for porting your thoughts and observations! Benchmarks are great, but I really enjoy hearing reports form the field. I'm dying to get an i7...and am simply holding off a little longer to see how things pan out in regards to the occasional screen issue.

Thanks again!
Bryan

[Sir Cecil]

Congratulations on your new computer! I'm ordering the i7 come January. Btw., how do you deal with the yellow tinge? Did you calibrate or just ignore it? I hear that for some it is slight enough that you won't notice most of the time, unless you are doing a lot of photo editing.

No such thing as yellow tinge. Have someone strong hold the iMac upside down and the so-called yellow tinge either disappears or moves to the top (now viewed as the bottom).
The older Macs had a metal surround that covered the edges of the glass. The new design has glass right to the very edge, uncovered except at the bottom, allowing reflected light to enter the glass from top or sides. When the Mac is viewed upside down, what is now the top of the glass is covered by the "chin" which stops light entering from that side. The perceived yellow tinge can be created or eliminated by external light control, stopping light reflecting back off the top of the chin where it meets the glass.

[slicecom]

No such thing as yellow tinge. Have someone strong hold the iMac upside down and the so-called yellow tinge either disappears or moves to the top (now viewed as the bottom).
The older Macs had a metal surround that covered the edges of the glass. The new design has glass right to the very edge, uncovered except at the bottom, allowing reflected light to enter the glass from top or sides. When the Mac is viewed upside down, what is now the top of the glass is covered by the "chin" which stops light entering from that side. The perceived yellow tinge can be created or eliminated by external light control, stopping light reflecting back off the top of the chin where it meets the glass.

There most certainly is a yellow tinge, I'm looking at it right now, and it exists even in a completely dark room, so that kills your theory right there.

[Sir Cecil]

There most certainly is a yellow tinge, I'm looking at it right now, and it exists even in a completely dark room, so that kills your theory right there.



The light from the screen itself escapes the sides and top because there is no metal edging. But it reflects back off the chin side.

[OldCorpse]

Wow, that's certainly encouraging - and for that matter, I hope that by January, they'll figure out the other problems like blackouts and flickering. Anyhow, I'll buy Apple Care for sure... I think with these babies it's worth it - plus I intend to hold onto my i7 for 4 years minimum (I'll buy it with my AmEx card, which extends the Apple Care for one additional year, so I'll be covered for 4 years total). Damn, if only January wasn't so far away... I want to order about on the 14th or so... then probably another 2-3 weeks until it's in my hands (I'll be ordering from a reseller to avoid the 10% CA tax). Crap, I might not have it until February... so, so, so long to wait :(

[lexvo]

No such thing as yellow tinge. Have someone strong hold the iMac upside down and the so-called yellow tinge either disappears or moves to the top (now viewed as the bottom).
The older Macs had a metal surround that covered the edges of the glass. The new design has glass right to the very edge, uncovered except at the bottom, allowing reflected light to enter the glass from top or sides. When the Mac is viewed upside down, what is now the top of the glass is covered by the "chin" which stops light entering from that side. The perceived yellow tinge can be created or eliminated by external light control, stopping light reflecting back off the top of the chin where it meets the glass.

Interesting, but I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're saying. It almost sounds like I can correct the yellow tinge by myself?

[slicecom]

Interesting, but I'm not sure if I fully understand what you're saying. It almost sounds like I can correct the yellow tinge by myself?

It's simply untrue, just ignore him. By his logic, If I put a mirror along the top edge of my display, I should have a yellow tinge at the top of the screen similar to the one at the bottom. I tried it, and there is NO difference. The yellow tinge at the bottom of the screen remains.

[wesleyh]

Nice to hear that the i7 is noticeably faster even in everyday use!

[OasisNYK]

Nice to hear that the i7 is noticeably faster even in everyday use!

The question is: did he experience the the speed effect because he believes the i7 is faster or is it truly faster in everyday use?

I would think the bottleneck would be the HD or the video card and not the CPU. I am glad to hear it seems to feel faster though.

[BelowTheBelt]

Been using my i7 for about two weeks now, no yellow tinge, no problems.

This machine is worth every cent paid, highly recommend paying the extra for the i7.

[53x12]

The question is: did he experience the the speed effect because he believes the i7 is faster or is it truly faster in everyday use?



That is a good question. To be completely honest I really thought there wouldn't be a noticeable difference between the i5 vs. i7 and one reason why I originally went with the i5. I thought the usual 10-15% difference wasn't going to be noticeable. Now that I have been using the i7 for the exact same things as the i5, I can notice a difference in what I do. It is the small things in general; the one which was the most obvious was the length of time to install OSX. The i7 really shined here and I was actually taken by surprise how much quicker in installed OSX compared to when I installed OSX on the 3 i5's I had. Will it load your internet browser quicker? No. But it does seem quicker to me for every day use. Just my $.02

[OasisNYK]

That is a good question. To be completely honest I really thought there wouldn't be a noticeable difference between the i5 vs. i7 and one reason why I originally went with the i5. I thought the usual 10-15% difference wasn't going to be noticeable. Now that I have been using the i7 for the exact same things as the i5, I can notice a difference in what I do. It is the small things in general; the one which was the most obvious was the length of time to install OSX. The i7 really shined here and I was actually taken by surprise how much quicker in installed OSX compared to when I installed OSX on the 3 i5's I had. Will it load your internet browser quicker? No. But it does seem quicker to me for every day use. Just my $.02

Yeah I hear you - to me the difference in price is worth the benefit of having the i7 over the i5 - its not like its $300+ to get the i7. I got mine with the edu discount and the upgrade was only $180 so it was pretty hard not to go for it.

Which keyboard did you go with? I went with the numbered keyboard - I believe it is wired. I am not a huge fan of wireless keyboards but I am curious what others think on this.

[53x12]

Yeah I hear you - to me the difference in price is worth the benefit of having the i7 over the i5 - its not like its $300+ to get the i7. I got mine with the edu discount and the upgrade was only $180 so it was pretty hard not to go for it.

Which keyboard did you go with? I went with the numbered keyboard - I believe it is wired. I am not a huge fan of wireless keyboards but I am curious what others think on this.

I think you did good spending the bit extra upfront so that you can benefit long term.

I personally went with the wireless keyboard. I really don't like wires and try to avoid them as much as possible. :D Also I didn't need a full numeric keyboard. The wireless one fits my needs perfectly.

[spcdust]

Yeah I hear you - to me the difference in price is worth the benefit of having the i7 over the i5 - its not like its $300+ to get the i7. I got mine with the edu discount and the upgrade was only $180 so it was pretty hard not to go for it.

Which keyboard did you go with? I went with the numbered keyboard - I believe it is wired. I am not a huge fan of wireless keyboards but I am curious what others think on this.

Personal preference really but I also went with wired keyboard as I've always preferred having the numeric keypad. I have a previous generation Apple remote keyboard (with numeric keypad) so if I fancy sitting away from screen I'm also covered.

[sfmountainbiker]

Thanks for the write-up, this is of particular interest to me.

I am currently on my second i5 with yellow tinge and two dead pixels. While on the phone with Apple Care, they offered me a Time Capsule in good faith since I had also lost some pictures the migration process between computers. I said I didn't need a Time Capsule and that I would much rather be upgraded to an i7. They told me that they couldn't do this as I had bought in-store and it would be up to them. That's basically where things left off.

I still have not taken it to the store, but am afraid they won't upgrade me to the i7 since they lose the sale. But bottom line is I don't give a crap about their sales, and I want to be happy with an i7.

Can you tell me what happened to you when they offered the upgrade? I'd also prefer not to be computerless for a few weeks while waiting for the i7 to ship. Is that possible? :confused:

[rayward]

Isn't the i7 the only true desktop chip, while the i5 is a beefy laptop chip?

No matter, I'm ordering an i7 model in the new year...sooner, if I can't stop myself (and threads like this one don't help). The incremental cost of the upgrade from the i5, compared to the overall cost of the machine, makes it a no brainer, IMHO.

[Horus]

They're are both Desktop chips :p

[OasisNYK]

Personal preference really but I also went with wired keyboard as I've always preferred having the numeric keypad. I have a previous generation Apple remote keyboard (with numeric keypad) so if I fancy sitting away from screen I'm also covered.

How long is the chord? Do you find it long enough or is it pretty short?

I am with you - I like having the numeric keypad. I am actually replacing a desktop and my laptop with the iMac (I have a laptop for work but dont need one for personal use now). I miss the numeric keypad when I use laptops. Eventually I might pick up an Air if they update it but for now I think I am sticking with the iMac.

I also originally thought the screen was too big but it is really useful for looking at pictures and I like the ability to open a full web page and not have to scroll.

[agr5]

The price difference on Newegg between the i5 and i7 is only $80. It makes me just want to go with the i5 since I don't think I would utilize the i7 enough to make the $180 jump in price.

Also, how hard is it to install the i7 later down the road?? This is another possibility.

[powerbook911]

The price difference on Newegg between the i5 and i7 is only $80. It makes me just want to go with the i5 since I don't think I would utilize the i7 enough to make the $180 jump in price.

Also, how hard is it to install the i7 later down the road?? This is another possibility.

I'd say if you can afford it, get the i7. Its scores are higher in some tasks. Remember it has hyper threading, to get you 8 virtual threads or whatever.

[DoFoT9]

15-20% is definitely significant, granted it's in video encoding. I think that bodes well for the future when software will take better advantage of HT. Hopefully it will become more main stream to code for it, I seem to recall the last time HT was included it didn't catch on.

Do you know if the i5 and i7 share the same socket?

sorry for late reply. i sure hope that developers start coding for HT - but it will take a lot of effort. multi-core + higher clocked CPUs means that previously coders didnt worry about HT + all the other stuff.. personally i doubt HT will be coded efficiently.

i5 + i7 do share the same socket :)

Yeah I hear you - to me the difference in price is worth the benefit of having the i7 over the i5 - its not like its $300+ to get the i7. I got mine with the edu discount and the upgrade was only $180 so it was pretty hard not to go for it.
exact same situation with me! education discount was $280Aus, and the chip itself is $300+. a no-brainer really.

Which keyboard did you go with? I went with the numbered keyboard - I believe it is wired. I am not a huge fan of wireless keyboards but I am curious what others think on this.
i went with the wired numeric :) the keyboard will be 30cm away from the monitor the whole time, leaving plenty of room for the cable :p

[sfmountainbiker]

Thanks for the write-up, this is of particular interest to me.

I am currently on my second i5 with yellow tinge and two dead pixels. While on the phone with Apple Care, they offered me a Time Capsule in good faith since I had also lost some pictures the migration process between computers. I said I didn't need a Time Capsule and that I would much rather be upgraded to an i7. They told me that they couldn't do this as I had bought in-store and it would be up to them. That's basically where things left off.

I still have not taken it to the store, but am afraid they won't upgrade me to the i7 since they lose the sale. But bottom line is I don't give a crap about their sales, and I want to be happy with an i7.

Can you tell me what happened to you when they offered the upgrade? I'd also prefer not to be computerless for a few weeks while waiting for the i7 to ship. Is that possible? :confused:

...bump....

[53x12]

Thanks for the write-up, this is of particular interest to me.

I am currently on my second i5 with yellow tinge and two dead pixels. While on the phone with Apple Care, they offered me a Time Capsule in good faith since I had also lost some pictures the migration process between computers. I said I didn't need a Time Capsule and that I would much rather be upgraded to an i7. They told me that they couldn't do this as I had bought in-store and it would be up to them. That's basically where things left off.

I still have not taken it to the store, but am afraid they won't upgrade me to the i7 since they lose the sale. But bottom line is I don't give a crap about their sales, and I want to be happy with an i7.

Can you tell me what happened to you when they offered the upgrade? I'd also prefer not to be computerless for a few weeks while waiting for the i7 to ship. Is that possible? :confused:

I bought my i5's in the Apple store; I guess I just got lucky with which customer service representative I got on the phone to get upgraded to an i7. AppleCare said my i5 was DOA and they wanted to replace it. Since my local store was out of stock at that point, they said they would do the exhange by mail. I asked if there was anyway they could upgrade me to an i7 and they put me on hold and when they came back they said that they would do it complimentary due to all that I had been through with the 3 previous i5's. If you are still within your 14 days, just bring it back to the Apple store for a refund and buy the i7 online.

[Maserati7200]

Isn't the i7 the only true desktop chip, while the i5 is a beefy laptop chip?

No matter, I'm ordering an i7 model in the new year...sooner, if I can't stop myself (and threads like this one don't help). The incremental cost of the upgrade from the i5, compared to the overall cost of the machine, makes it a no brainer, IMHO.
They're are both Desktop chips :p

I just want to make this clear, all iMacs have desktop chips now. The core 2 Duos in the 21.5 and 27 iMac are desktop, and the i5 and i7 are both desktop chips.

[sfmountainbiker]

I bought my i5's in the Apple store; I guess I just got lucky with which customer service representative I got on the phone to get upgraded to an i7. AppleCare said my i5 was DOA and they wanted to replace it. Since my local store was out of stock at that point, they said they would do the exhange by mail. I asked if there was anyway they could upgrade me to an i7 and they put me on hold and when they came back they said that they would do it complimentary due to all that I had been through with the 3 previous i5's. If you are still within your 14 days, just bring it back to the Apple store for a refund and buy the i7 online.

Thanks. I wanted to confirm that this was at least possible. I'll call back soon and see if I can arrange something similar. I'd rather not return my computer to the store since 1) its heavy, 2) I want them to comp me the upgrade (since it's cheaper than the Time Capsule they already offered me) and 3) I want to try to keep it while they ship the i7. I hope this all works out as it did for you. :rolleyes:

[FieryFurnace]

...
Your experience sounds awesome, one possible explanation is that the i5 is basically the "Celeron" (stripped down pentium) of this generation of chips. How true that is, I don't know because the architectures are new but the i5 is definitely more of a budget performer. I do think the benchmarks are unreliable but it is clear that the i7 has more horsepower.
...

The "Celeron" would be the i3, the i5 is mainstream.

i3 = budget
i5 = mainstream
i7 = high-end

[OasisNYK]

The "Celeron" would be the i3, the i5 is mainstream.

i3 = budget
i5 = mainstream
i7 = high-end

That makes a lot more sense - I forgot about the i3.

So in reality, if the difference between the i5 and i7 are not that significant, why did intel bother to create the different lines? It seems to be all about marketing. Sure you can get 5-10% better performance in everyday use but average users will never notice it. This thread seems to contradict that but who knows. I bought it because I will probably have the iMac for more than 5 years and I would like to have the power.

[flopticalcube]

So in reality, if the difference between the i5 and i7 are not that significant, why did intel bother to create the different lines?
Some people ar ewilling to pay for even a small amount of performance. In CPU intensive tasks, the difference between the i5-750 and i7-920 is more than 25% and nearly 50% to the i7-940. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html

[Shivetya]

Doesn't seem like there should be that much difference. They are identical chips, with the i7 being 140mhz faster (how fast is the iphone? So this difference is tiny), and of course hyper threading. 10% difference at most, unless you're doing something where hyper threading will REALLY give you a boost, but this is rare. Certainly not the usage you're describing.

Just out of curiosity, what hard drive do you have in your i7?

and considering how barefeats got similar in games with the i5 it means that unless your work truly involves known heavily threaded applications then you have geekbench bragging rights and nothing more.

[DoFoT9]

and considering how barefeats got similar in games with the i5 it means that unless your work truly involves known heavily threaded applications then you have geekbench bragging rights and nothing more.

i reckon the C2D @ 3.33GHz would score higher in games then the quads!

[OasisNYK]

i reckon the C2D @ 3.33GHz would score higher in games then the quads!

Yes but the price to upgrade to that chip and the video card makes it not worth it unfortunately.

[53x12]

and considering how barefeats got similar in games with the i5 it means that unless your work truly involves known heavily threaded applications then you have geekbench bragging rights and nothing more.

Do you really need the application to support HT to take advantage of it? Others have said differently. Also, does OSX utilize HT yet or will that be a future update?



Right, heregoes - a brief history of how processors work and how programs may make use of the tech.

Initially, when we had one processor core and no multi threading. Programs were calculated a bit at a time, written in threads. A thread is basically a stream of code that makes up a program. Many programs (if not all) have more than one thread.

When only one processor core existed, the processors work was dished out between eeach program in quick succession. Giving the impression that many things were happening at once. Once each program was finished with its turn of a thread, it would release the processor an give other programs a turn. This was co-operative multi-tasking.

This had problems though, if a program crashed it wouldnt give control of the processor back to everyone else, and a system would hang.

Pre-Emptive multi tasking solved this, whereby the OS would play nanny and stop a failing program from hogging the processor, allowing more efficient use of the processor and an apparently quicker system. Still only doing ONE thing at a time, but fast enough that us mortals thought it was multi tasking.

Then along came hyperthreading. Programs rely on data going into and out of them in order to function. However a lot of the time the data transfers are slower than the processor could run them, in these situations threads would halt waiting for the information before carrying on with the thread. This is where hyperthreading comes in. Hyperthreading allows (in simple terms) the processor to start ploughing through another thread which is independant of the first one, whilst the first one is waiting for data to be prepared for use. Once it's ready, the processor jumps back to the higher priority thread.

Again, this is still only doing one thing at a time, but now the processor is being used more effectively, so an even faster (apparent) system for us.

The next main step here is multi cores. Which is literally what is says on the tin. Two or more cores can run two or more threads simultaneously. Meaning faster times again. In order for this to work though the programs have to be written intelligently. For example if thread 2 requires the result of thread 1 to run then they cant both be run at the same time - because thread 1 has to finish first. This is a simple example but my point is that programs have to have threads written in such a way that they can be run simultaneously now. The more cores you have, the more intelligent the programming needs to be to make proper use of the extra ability.

Last thing on the cards is turbo boost - this is pretty simple though. Basically the processor slows down one or more of its multiple cores and uses the extra heat / power allowance on the die to boost the clock frequency of the other core, this allows a single thread to be completed faster, for programs which are not happy with the whole simultaneous thread business.

I hope this makes it clearer - It is a SIMPLE description to get the ideas of whats going on in your head. Other people may notice that its not totally technically accurate but its a good image of what's going on I think.

If you've any more questions feel free to PM me or ask! :)


From Wiki:

"Hyper-threading works by duplicating certain sections of the processor—those that store the architectural state—but not duplicating the main execution resources. This allows a hyper-threading processor to appear as two "logical" processors to the host operating system, allowing the operating system to schedule two threads or processes simultaneously. When execution resources would not be used by the current task in a processor without hyper-threading, and especially when the processor is stalled, a hyper-threading equipped processor can use those execution resources to execute another scheduled task. (The processor may stall due to a cache miss, branch misprediction, or data dependency.)

This technology is transparent to operating systems and programs. All that is required to take advantage of hyper-threading is symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support in the operating system, as the logical processors appear as standard separate processors."

[powerbook911]

i reckon the C2D @ 3.33GHz would score higher in games then the quads!

I don't know because doesn't the i7 scale up to more than 3.33 when not using all the cores?

[53x12]

I don't know because doesn't the i7 scale up to more than 3.33 when not using all the cores?

Yes sir, to 3.46GHz.

[eelpout]

Yes sir, to 3.46GHz.

From the Intel spec:

i7-860

Maximum Intel® Turbo Boost Technology frequency per core -
4 core: 2.93 GHz, 3 core: 2.93 GHz, 2 core: 3.33 GHz; 1 core: 3.46 GHz

i5-750:

4 core: 2.80 GHz, 3 core: 2.80 GHz, 2 core: 3.20 GHz; 1 core: 3.20 GHz


Didn't realize it could also boost all cores if thermals allow.

[53x12]

From the Intel spec:

i7-860

Maximum Intel® Turbo Boost Technology frequency per core -
4 core: 2.93 GHz, 3 core: 2.93 GHz, 2 core: 3.33 GHz; 1 core: 3.46 GHz

i5-750:

4 core: 2.80 GHz, 3 core: 2.80 GHz, 2 core: 3.20 GHz; 1 core: 3.20 GHz


Didn't realize it could also boost all cores if thermals allow.

Very nice. Do you mind sharing the link to that info?

[DoFoT9]

Yes but the price to upgrade to that chip and the video card makes it not worth it unfortunately.
you can get the 4850 in with C2D model.

I don't know because doesn't the i7 scale up to more than 3.33 when not using all the cores?
yes indeed but i wonder what percentage of games are still singular core, and which are multi-core.

From the Intel spec:


Didn't realize it could also boost all cores if thermals allow.

two main "steps" to TB. first is to kick up the multiplyer to 21x for all cores if thermals allow. if its a single threaded app then a single core gets kicked up to 22x.

[eelpout]

Very nice. Do you mind sharing the link to that info?
Via the Intel Processor Spec Finder (http://processorfinder.intel.com/Default.aspx).

[CoolHotCold]

For me I will get the i5.
Theres a price difference of £320 between the i5 and the i7 for me. (bout $520) and for 10% everyday tasks its not worth shelling out that much.

[fandangoguy]

Coming from years of editing DV and HDV on a late 2006 Mac book pro, my still new i5 (problem free so far!) is amazing...With just 4MB and an external Lacie drive I'm more productive for sure. Editing is a joy! It barely gets warm after hours of editing with FCP 7, but exporting a 90 minute movie and then launching DVD studio pro to make a DVD is something else...! it sure gets hotter than my Mac Book pro but I will not abuse it...! If what I read about heat issues is accurate, the i7 would get even hotter...not sure I would like that...
The only thing I'll do soon is get an extra Lacie drive and use CCC 3.3 to make a bootable clone..just in case.
Otherwise, my iMac and I will do lots of videos together.

let's enjoy our iMacs to the fullest!;)
cheers

[OasisNYK]

you can get the 4850 in with C2D model.

I think you missed my point - the price of the 4850 and the price of upgrading the processor make it not worth it - not that you can't get the videocard. At the price of upgrading both you can get the card plus a quad so it is not worth it.

[DoFoT9]

......! it sure gets hotter than my Mac Book pro but I will not abuse it...! If what I read about heat issues is accurate, the i7 would get even hotter...not sure I would like that...

let's enjoy our iMacs to the fullest!;)
cheers
great news to hear that your new mac is helping productivity! they are a powerful machine!

as for the heat, i seriously dont know what you are worrying about. there is no heat "issue". they run perfectly with-in spec. the GPU does get a bit hot but nothing to worry about at all unless you are going to game 24/7 for 3 years straight!

I think you missed my point - the price of the 4850 and the price of upgrading the processor make it not worth it - not that you can't get the videocard. At the price of upgrading both you can get the card plus a quad so it is not worth it.
i did miss that point yes :p

i agree with you there, i was looking at the top spec 3.33GHz 27". it was more expensive then the base quad-core! add another $280Aus for the i7 and it only ended up being another $400 or so more expensive then the C2D. it was a no-brainer for me really.