A big yes. The speed increase is significant for so many things.
The i5 also has hyperthreading.Please expound upon this as the major difference between the i5 and i7 is hyper-threading and most apps and people's usage habit are such that they never really tap the full power of the i7.
Really?
In my late 27-2012 i've ordered an i5 ,will i be able to swap it in the future with an i7?
A Fusion drive will increase the speed of opening/closing applications, opening/saving files, booting, copying files, everything that requires reading or writing to the disc, which is quite a bit more than people realize.
The OP's question is:Why are you talking the Fusion Drive when OP was wondering if he should get the i5 or the i7 -processor?? This thread wasn't about Fusion Drive.
With the low end 21" model now able to add the Fusion drive, is it worth the extra $400 to upgrade to the i7?
The i5 also has hyperthreading.
Hyper-Threading (Intel Core i7 only) a technology that allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. So a quad-core iMac has eight virtual cores, all of which are recognized by OS X. This enables the processor to deliver faster performance by spreading tasks more evenly across a greater number of cores.
It's a legitimate point that the Fusion drive will make a more noticeable contribution to speed than the i7.
Not even of passing interest?So no, sorry, it's not a legitimate point since it's completely irrelevant.
Not even of passing interest?
Well, I read his question as "Now that I can get the base model with a Fusion drive, do I need the extra power of an i7." To me, that suggests that the Fusion drive is a major consideration in his purchase -- indeed more so than an i7.
I still think it's a valid point to make, and providing the OP with as much useful information for his decision is why we're all trying to be helpful to him.
Best wishes
The i5 also has hyperthreading.
There are 3 differences and depending on what the system is used for, the other differences may be noticeable.Please expound upon this as the major difference between the i5 and i7 is hyper-threading and most apps and people's usage habit are such that they never really tap the full power of the i7.
To me, it sounded like he was going to get the high-end 21.5" since that was the only one that had Fusion Drive as an option. Now that the 21.5" has Fusion Drive option, he will opt for that one instead but is still unsure whether or not to get the i5 or i7.
E.g. "Now that I can get the base model with a Fusion drive, I will get that, should I also add an i7 or is the base model CPU good enough?"
Not easily, it's not a user serviceable part. I double the cost would be worth the bother anyway
A lot of the video editing apps will make use of the hyperthreading. Also you would be going from a 2.7 GHz i5 to a 3.1GHz i7. And finally there is a difference between the graphics on the 2 models. The extra model for the higher end base model with or without the i7 seems like it could well be worth it for you. And with the video editing, the i7 probably makes sense as well....
As far as usage goes, I do some gaming and I've recently gotten more into photo and video editing. My main concern in lifespan. I know that that i5 is great for running Photoshop, Word, Diablo, etc now. But in 3 years with updated versions/games, I don't want to look back and kick myself for not spending the extra $400.
Thanks again everyone!
Well, if you have the $400 then spend it. Deep down the i7 is what you really want so why not go for it? I have the i7 in my 21.5" iMac and it runs great. Might futureproof your purchase as well so you can keep the iMac longer.First, thanks everyone for the responses.
Second, I suppose I should have given more info as opposed to having people guess based on my grammar and sentence structure haha. Tanax got it most right. I was already sold on the Fusion Drive from other threads and intend on getting it, and since it was only available on high end 21.5", that was my choice. And I was going to add the i7 because it was only an extra $200. Now that Fusion is available on low end, i7 becomes an extra $400.
As far as usage goes, I do some gaming and I've recently gotten more into photo and video editing. My main concern in lifespan. I know that that i5 is great for running Photoshop, Word, Diablo, etc now. But in 3 years with updated versions/games, I don't want to look back and kick myself for not spending the extra $400.
Thanks again everyone!
Don't forget that the memory in that unit is not designed to be user upgradeable, so you may need to consider the 16GB option as well.
If you plan to do high end work and games, and still have the machine doing it in 3 years, you'll want the best machine you can get.
If you plan to do high end work and games, and still have the machine doing it in 3 years, you'll want the best machine you can get.