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2010 27" i5 2.8 CPU upgrade worth it?

J

jezzy

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 12, 2012
85
1
Montreal, Quebec
Hi guys, recently acquired a mid 2010 iMac 27" i5 2.8, 5750 1gb video, ram.. and loving it.. although for gaming, it's a bit slower than my i7 quad 2011 mpb was.

I'm seeing i7 860 or i7 870 cpu's on eBay, saw the how to guide and feel comfortable tht I can do this. just wondering, in the end.. will I see an improvement on my gaming front? basically going from an i5 2.8 to an i7 2.8?

Ive also seen the video card 2gb upgrade on eBay, but for 600$? no tnx.

I use handbrake, photoshop, etc.. but mainly used for surfing and light gaming when the kids are a sleep!


thanks!
 
chevalier433

chevalier433

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2011
510
13
jezzy said:
Hi guys, recently acquired a mid 2010 iMac 27" i5 2.8, 5750 1gb video, ram.. and loving it.. although for gaming, it's a bit slower than my i7 quad 2011 mpb was.

I'm seeing i7 860 or i7 870 cpu's on eBay, saw the how to guide and feel comfortable tht I can do this. just wondering, in the end.. will I see an improvement on my gaming front? basically going from an i5 2.8 to an i7 2.8?

Ive also seen the video card 2gb upgrade on eBay, but for 600$? no tnx.

I use handbrake, photoshop, etc.. but mainly used for surfing and light gaming when the kids are a sleep!


thanks!
Click to expand...
Games dont benefit of i7 Hyperthreading.For light encoding,photoshop don't bother either change to i7.The graphic card upgrade worth you will see a lot of improvement in gaming but is a very expensive upgrade 1/3 the cost of your current Mac.
 
Last edited:
J

jezzy

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 12, 2012
85
1
Montreal, Quebec
chevalier433 said:
Games dont benefit of i7 Hyperthreading.For light encoding,photoshop don't bother either change to i7.The graphic card upgrade worth you will see a lot of improvement in gaming but is a very expensive upgrade 1/3 the cost of your current Mac.
Click to expand...

Thanks, guess as of now the i7 swap isnt worth it. Its just odd that skyrim for example ran much better on my i7 quad mbp 2011" with a 6750 1gb videocard than on this imac i5 5750 1gb video.. Assume if i upgrade just the video card ill be happy! But agreed 600! Is just nuts..!
 
chevalier433

chevalier433

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2011
510
13
jezzy said:
Thanks, guess as of now the i7 swap isnt worth it. Its just odd that skyrim for example ran much better on my i7 quad mbp 2011" with a 6750 1gb videocard than on this imac i5 5750 1gb video.. Assume if i upgrade just the video card ill be happy! But agreed 600! Is just nuts..!
Click to expand...
Runs better because of the lower resolution.Look for the 1gb 6970m is still a great card and more affordable.
 
B

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
jezzy said:
...
I'm seeing i7 860 or i7 870 cpu's on eBay, saw the how to guide and feel comfortable tht I can do this. just wondering, in the end.. will I see an improvement on my gaming front? basically going from an i5 2.8 to an i7 2.8?
...
Click to expand...
The difference between the 2 may not just be hyper threading. The on-board cache may be larger on the i7. This could help with performance.

However, have you considered the fact that your 2011 MBP has a better video gpu in it? (This is based on what you said the 2 systems have.) And this is probably where the performance difference for the game is.
 
J

jezzy

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 12, 2012
85
1
Montreal, Quebec
Bear said:
The difference between the 2 may not just be hyper threading. The on-board cache may be larger on the i7. This could help with performance.

However, have you considered the fact that your 2011 MBP has a better video gpu in it? (This is based on what you said the 2 systems have.) And this is probably where the performance difference for the game is.
Click to expand...

I may opt for the 6970 1gb and an i7 870 CPU upgrade..I'm keeping my eyes open and will document the process once it happens!
 
chevalier433

chevalier433

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2011
510
13
jezzy said:
I may opt for the 6970 1gb and an i7 870 CPU upgrade..I'm keeping my eyes open and will document the process once it happens!
Click to expand...
Order a ESD protection wrist strap if you don't have one very important before you do the upgrade
 
R

RayK

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2005
345
15
I've been looking and upgrading the Video Card in my 2009 iMac. To find the video card your best bet is finding a Service provider that will just sell you the part. Its very hard to come by the high end video cards for the iMacs in my experience.
 
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