Is $200 extra for the i7 versus the i5 iMac worth it?

[-FlyAuburn-]

Hi all. First post on Mac Rumors! Woot! Anyway, I am waiting until WWDC and if there is no mention of iMac updates then I am going to finally pull the trigger on a 27" iMac.

I have already decided that I want to upgrade to a 2 TB HD and 8 gigs of RAM, but I can't decide if it would really be worth it to also upgrade to an i7 from an i5.

It's already going to be 2450 and I am wondering if there is a significant enough performance increase for the extra 200 bucks (now we are talking 2650 :eek:) that Apple is charging to upgrade to the i7.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this or a link to some benchmarks/comparisons of the two?

Thanks!

[miles01110]

As usual, zero helpful information. What do you use your machine for? Odds are, since you're asking, that the i7 upgrade won't matter. The 8 GB of RAM probably won't matter either, unless you'd like to be a bit more specific.

[Hellhammer]

i7 has Hyper-Threading which will make difference in some apps. As miles said, it's impossible to help if you provide zero information about your usage

[zmttoxics]

If you are 90% there, might as well go all out!! :p

Core i7 + 8GB makes for a fancy VMWare setup. But what are you planning to use the machine for? Safari?

[bigbren47]

I had the same dilemma. Opinions generally stated you will see very little difference so my hunch would be-save the money for something else!

ps I went for the i5 Mac:)

[nj-mac-user]

If I understand what you're asking, it sounds like you just want to know if there will be a noticible performance difference between the two. Well, to be honest, it would depend on what you're going to use it for. For HD video editing for instance, there should be a noticable difference. For web browsing and office applications, not so much.

http://www.geek.com/articles/news/geekbench-27-inch-core-i7-imac-is-the-fastest-best-valued-imac-20091116/

[Irishman]

As usual, zero helpful information. What do you use your machine for? Odds are, since you're asking, that the i7 upgrade won't matter. The 8 GB of RAM probably won't matter either, unless you'd like to be a bit more specific.

"As usual?" For a first-time poster? Wow, you're rude without reason.

FlyAuburn, ignore this person. Some one peed in his/her cornflakes this morning and he/she is taking it out on you.

I've gone through the same shopping/questioning experience myself, and I can say that - long term - or if you're gaming much, the answer is yes. If you're running RAM-intensive apps at the same time, then yes it will make a difference.

[Ravich]

i7 has Hyper-Threading which will make difference in some apps.

Will it make a different for Logic?

[Hellhammer]

Will it make a different for Logic?

According to this (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11596253), Logic supports HT but it's no use for it, so shouldn't make difference, at least not big

[Irishman]

Will it make a different for Logic?

I did a quick Google search and noone seems to say anything about Logic making a difference with hyperthreading.

So the answer from me is - I dunno.

[IndustrialSpace]

Go through the Apple education store and purchase the i7. This way, you'll be able to get the i7 for a slightly lower price, offsetting the $200 difference.

Technically, you should be enrolled in a school, but perhaps you can get away with it. YMMV.


EDIT:

Are you the FlyAuburn from flightinfo.com?

[-FlyAuburn-]

As usual, zero helpful information. What do you use your machine for? Odds are, since you're asking, that the i7 upgrade won't matter. The 8 GB of RAM probably won't matter either, unless you'd like to be a bit more specific.

I will be using it for HD video editing, music creation and editing, photo editing, some gaming and flight sim stuff (on a windows partition), and then the usual stuff like MS office (i have the Mac 2008 version),surfing the internet, and plans for world domination.

I was actually interested in whether or not there was a significant and/or noticeable performance difference on both ends of the spectrum, which is why I didn't include how I was going to use the computer.

If I understand what you're asking, it sounds like you just want to know if there will be a noticible performance difference between the two. Well, to be honest, it would depend on what you're going to use it for. For HD video editing for instance, there should be a noticable difference. For web browsing and office applications, not so much.

http://www.geek.com/articles/news/geekbench-27-inch-core-i7-imac-is-the-fastest-best-valued-imac-20091116/

Thank you. Exactly what I was looking for!

"As usual?" For a first-time poster? Wow, you're rude without reason.

FlyAuburn, ignore this person. Some one peed in his/her cornflakes this morning and he/she is taking it out on you.



Thanks Irishman. Tough crowd!



Are you the FlyAuburn from flightinfo.com?

Yes. The same. Who are you on FI?

[im that guy]

It's probably not worth it in terms of bang for the buck but the thing is that the CPU isn't replaceable later. RAM and hard drive are both things you can upgrade yourself.

[Omnigray]

SSD is the only upgrade that would show significant speed increase for professionals and everyday users alike but unfortunately the chances of the next imac coming with SSD are low.

[hardhatmac]

RAM and hard drive are both things you can upgrade yourself.

Can you upgrade the hard drive yourself? This must be new with the new iMac's because I know on the old Al iMacs you could only upgrade the RAM...not the HDD.

[flopticalcube]

Can you upgrade the hard drive yourself? This must be new with the new iMac's because I know on the old Al iMacs you could only upgrade the RAM...not the HDD.
You can but you have to pull off the glass and disassemble part of the machine to do it, just like the previous models.

[hardhatmac]

You can but you have to pull off the glass and disassemble part of the machine to do it, just like the previous models.

That's what I thought...count me out for that.

[IndustrialSpace]

Yes. The same. Who are you on FI?

Another anonymous poster with 2K in posts! :o

havent been on there in a while, though. Got tired of the AS, TMMT, BS, CD, et al. chatter...


I will be using it for HD video editing, music creation and editing, photo editing, some gaming and flight sim stuff (on a windows partition), and then the usual stuff like MS office (i have the Mac 2008 version),surfing the internet, and plans for world domination.

I was actually interested in whether or not there was a significant and/or noticeable performance difference on both ends of the spectrum, which is why I didn't include how I was going to use the computer.

Anyway, sounds like the i7 would be most suitable, especially for the next few years.

The Apple store doesn't require any verification (honor system) for the student discount. To access it , you need to enter the Ed Store which displays the discounted pricing for the array of products.

[lasuther]

Hi all. First post on Mac Rumors! Woot! Anyway, I am waiting until WWDC and if there is no mention of iMac updates then I am going to finally pull the trigger on a 27" iMac.

I have already decided that I want to upgrade to a 2 TB HD and 8 gigs of RAM, but I can't decide if it would really be worth it to also upgrade to an i7 from an i5.

It's already going to be 2450 and I am wondering if there is a significant enough performance increase for the extra 200 bucks (now we are talking 2650 :eek:) that Apple is charging to upgrade to the i7.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this or a link to some benchmarks/comparisons of the two?

Thanks!

www.barefeets.com for benchmarks

Don't buy 8Gigs of RAM, get the processor instead. You can always add RAM at a later time.

[OGDaniel]

Instead of an iMac, get a Mac Mini and 4 iPads.

[Hellhammer]

You can but you have to pull off the glass and disassemble part of the machine to do it, just like the previous models.

For the same effort you can upgrade the CPU as well... Both may void your warranty though

[JoeMac22]

It's worth the $200 then down the line you won't have to wonder what you're missing. Add aftermarket RAM later. My I7 works great in my 27". I plan to add 4G's more of RAM soon. Do I need more RAM at the moment. Maybe not. But for @ $100 I'm happy to double the speed.

[Ravich]

For the same effort you can upgrade the CPU as well... Both may void your warranty though

Swapping the HDD voids the warranty? Does this mean you need to put in the original HDD before you send it in like with the MBP, or that there is no point whatsoever in getting apple care if you plan on putting an SSD in your iMac?

[Hellhammer]

Swapping the HDD voids the warranty? Does this mean you need to put in the original HDD before you send it in like with the MBP, or that there is no point whatsoever in getting apple care if you plan on putting an SSD in your iMac?

Upgrading HD in iMac is not easy task to do. It involves steps that will likely leave marks but the general opinion still is that unless you break something, you are covered. Depends on rep, that's why I can't promise that you'll be fine, or doomed ;)

[DarkStarr]

Get the i7 if you can afford.

I was told to always buy the fastest you can afford as it lasts longer. I don't think there will be any major iMac updates at wwdc but it's worth waiting a few days just to see.

[santaliqueur]

I just picked up the i7. I am coming from a quad 2.66 Mac Pro with 6 GB ram.

I knew the iMac i7 would be faster, but I wasn't prepared for how much faster. This thing screws. It absolutely SCREWS. I could get about 40fps on Handbrake encodes with the Mac Pro, and the i7 was hitting about 185fps peak. Everything runs smoothly, and all the Steam games run at native resolution without any stuttering.

Get the i7.

[pilot1226]

Thanks for posting on the outcome! I get a little disappointed when people ask a million questions then never respond again to the forum about how it worked out.

I was also going back and forth too, and as a pretty active gamer, I'm looking forward to the i7 chip when I buy my new iMac. But that won't be until they update the video card, so I'm prepared to stick it out on my iBook G4 (lol) until they launch it.

Disclaimer: Expecting someone to say that Macs suck for games, the games I play are generally universal, from Blizzard and now Valve.

[TMRaven]

Universal games still don't take away the fact that osx has more out-of-date drivers compared to windows, and one usually experiences higher gaming performance in windows.

[dccorona]

if you edit your HD video with a program that allows for hardware encoding, you will notice better encoding speeds, but this is still mostly done by the GPU, so the processor won't really have a significant effect on it.

That being said, I built a PC last summer with an i7 920 in in, and have used it for some HD video editing, and it's been a dream so far.

In my opinion, if you can comfortably afford the extra $200, go for it. Buying the best of the best now means less slow down later, allowing you to be able to go longer before upgrading.

But if you are balancing the expense of the extra processor with other purchasing/saving decisions that you would have to sacrifice for it, then the i5 will more than suffice for what you have said you are doing.