Refurb 27" i5 or new 27" I3

S

spib

macrumors member

Original poster

• Jul 27, 2010

• #1

Hi,

I have a fixed budget of about £1400. I was all set to buy a refurb 27" i5 but I'm wondering if I would be better getting one of the new i3 processors instead?

My usage would be web, photos, music and programming (web and XCode)

Thanks

James

 

L

leman

macrumors Core

• Jul 27, 2010

• #2

Take the i5

 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus

• Jul 27, 2010

• #3

i5 is better

 

InlawBiker

macrumors 6502

• Jul 27, 2010

• #4

I'm trying to make the same choice. It seems like a toss-up to me. What is faster, 3.2gz i3, or 2.66 i5? I bet in real life it's pretty hard to tell the difference, unless you're encoding video all day. I'd probably get the refurb.

 

S

spib

macrumors member

Original poster

• Jul 27, 2010

• #5

Does the i5 on the refurb have turbo boost or is it fixed at 2.6?

 

D

dexthageek

macrumors 6502

• Jul 27, 2010

• #6

get the refurb!

spib said:

Does the i5 on the refurb have turbo boost or is it fixed at 2.6?

Click to expand...

Yes! Turbo is up to 3.2Ghz

 

B

burton212

macrumors newbie

• Jul 27, 2010

• #7

Apple refurb is basically new.

 

D

dexthageek

macrumors 6502

• Jul 27, 2010

• #8

burton212 said:

Apple refurb is basically new.

Click to expand...

Yup! I purchased an i7 refurb 3 weeks ago, except for some minor backlight bleed the machine is flawless.

 

S

spib

macrumors member

Original poster

• Jul 27, 2010

• #9

Thanks for all the help guys, I just ordered my refurb i5 which should be with me by Friday 🙂