I am trying to decide between the two cpu models of iMac for my wife. Se does not need the extra power, so I wanted to save the $300. The core2duo is more than fast enough for her. But- I don't want the machine to get left behind in the next OS upgrade, r even possibly 10.8. I remember there was a clear line between the core duo processors and the core2duos in terms of being able to handle 64 bit stuff. Does anyone have thoughts on whether there will be some significant level of functionality that the i5 would bring, based on Apple's likely direction with its next OS? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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27" iMac core2duo vs. i5- for future OS, 10.7 and beyond
- Thread starter iansilv
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If everything she does is email, browsing and iTunes, it won't be any faster no matter what OS it is. Save the 300$ and buy something nice for her
If you were deciding between the core i5 vs. core i7, I would tell you to save the money and go with the core i5.
But the performance difference (in terms of "future proofing"); you are better off with the core i5 over the core 2 duo. The reason is simple: The core 2's have been around for over 3 years. The core i5/i7 is a much newer line of intel processors.
It's like car analogy. The current 5 series BMW has been around since 2004. 2010 is the last model year of the current 5 series. So if you had the option to get the all new 2011 BMW 5 series vs. a new 2010 (based on 2004 technology). What would you get (if you want to future proof yourself). Obviously I would go for the 2011 BMW 5 when it's release.
That's the same with the core 2 vs. the core i processors. Get the core i5 if you can afford it.
I do a lot of photo editing also. Though I think I don't strictly need the i5 for this, I choose it for the following reasons:
- future versions of photo editing software will support quad core (quite a few do already)
- to be more 'future proof' for new software (this might be a bit subjective though)
- ability to open multiple programs without degrading performance much
- is it nice to have extra processing power to speed up things
I work most with Lightroom now (version 3 beta) and it uses the four cores.
- future versions of photo editing software will support quad core (quite a few do already)
- to be more 'future proof' for new software (this might be a bit subjective though)
- ability to open multiple programs without degrading performance much
- is it nice to have extra processing power to speed up things
I work most with Lightroom now (version 3 beta) and it uses the four cores.
For photo editing I would get the i5 as you want it to bee "future-proof". It'll be faster in rendering and exporting/importing something so it would somehow be worth it. Quad cores will also keep their value better and for longer time