Am I really missing out?

Sounds like you have a touch of iEnvy and are trying to reassure yourself that all is okay. Your Mac is a good one. Why covet thy neighbour's? Be happy.

 

Yeah...like when you buy one a month and change before a refresh/redesign.

I'd be new one or bust for me, yes you paid less upfront but you'd also make less if you sold it, as it's worth less.

With that said, many people bought new in 2010 and while a fair amount probably also wish they had the 2011 spec, what you have is still a very capable unit.

 

For you, an upgrade would be "diminishing returns". Are the new iMacs faster? Yes. Are they so much faster that you should sell your iMac and buy a 2011? Hell no.

 

You aren't missing anything. You've bought a good computer at a great price.

Thunderbolt is highly overrated. It's just a technology named Light Peak. Apple had a hand in it so they renamed it "Thunderbolt" to make it sound terrific.

The concept (which was patented) was to use fiber optic cable for faster data transfer. But then in typical cost cutting they removed the fiber and replaced it with old copper wire. It will take a long time before they correct that huge mistake.

Forget all the Apple Hype, cleverly designed to make you want it, and celebrate the one you have.

 

I have less an issue that it didn't live up to the original speed targets/design and more that there's STiLL hardly anything Thunderbolt ready.

Now with Intel supporting USB 3, I'm feeling it may be less of a focal point aside from certain niche brands.

 

The name "Thunderbolt" is owned by Intel, not Apple.

 

True, but Apple registered Thunderbolt first and subsequently transferred ownership of the name to Imtel. Thunderbolt was originally Apple's implementation of LightPeak using the mini Display Port.

 

I had considered the new one but after thinking about it and watching thing shake up for a couple months I too went with last years model. Sure there is a speed difference but not 2x the money speed difference and frankly i'm not convinced thunderbolt is going to amount to anything...i'm concerned that this is going to end up like firewire 800 part 2 only with even less support. Not sure who is to blame but many of the benefits were neutered after dropping the optical and usb 3.0 has more universal support.

 

First of all, you got the spec wrong on the 2010 i7 iMac. The 2010 CPU spec'd at 2.93Ghz, not 3.4Ghz. 3.4 is in the current offering.

Second, I'm just going to repeat what other posters have all ready said. If you're making this post and asking the question as it is then you are simply looking to justify the purchase you made and trying to live with your buyer's remorse. If you are truly happy then you wouldn't need the community to make you feel better about or to justify your purchase.

 

For me the transition between imac 2010 and 2011 is quite important leap, the key is Thunderbolt, it's a new port that would be there in future macs. While next upgrade may be ivy bridge n usb 3.0 on mac, but it's not as significant as having thunderbolt on your imac.

Well if op feels okay to miss out thunderbolt, u may still get it on next upgrade. Say 4 or 5 years?

 

I've got the iMac '10 since october 2010. 2.93 i7 12GB RAM HD + SSD (Intel X-25M)

Do I feel the need of upgrading? not at all. I feel that I will not notice a difference at all. I get the hassle of getting an SSD installed in the new iMac all over again. I don't see anything different when it's on my desk, right?

No way I would upgrade. It's an awesome computer. Very powerful.

.. Don't let consumerism or marketings strategies get hold of you. When there is something 'new' available, they always make you believe it's the must have upgrade you were looking for.

.. Stay with your senses. You didn't bought this model because you knew it was going to be a regretful decision, did you?

You get a very very capable Mac at an really sweet price point. And as benchmarking shows, the 2.93 i7 still outperforms the 2011 2.7 i5

 

I think the new sandy bridge chips, video cards and thunderbolt (and in the case of the 27", triple monitor option) make the 2011's a slightly larger than normal upgrade to the iMac line. It doesn't make your 2010 a PO*, however.

Thunderbolt is just out of the gate, and it's a bit soon to tell if everyone else is going to support the standard and let it live up to its potential. On the 27", I view it as an opportunity to maximize screen real estate and use a couple of decent LCD monitors that I already own; anything else is just gravy.

The new models fortuitously came when I decided to move my small office to mac, prior to that I was on a 20" white 2.16 c2d iMac. The white one will continue to soldier on at my office manager's desk. When I pulled the trigger, they didn't have squat on the refurbished site or at BB. A couple of hundred off for an i3 27"? Pass.

The other reason I'm glad I bought a new model is the 'one on one' option for unlimited training and tech support. Best additional $100 I've ever spent, and have gotten my use out of it already. Going back again this Thursday afternoon to see if Bento can provide comprehensive front and back ends for my office software wise, and how easily it can be implemented and customized. I fully expect my apple store to have placards in early 2012 at the registers featuring my face and a 'do not sell a new mac to this person' warning!

At the time, I would have bought the 2010 top end imac for the savings you realized. Nonetheless, I'll have to meet your iEnvy with an equal amount of iJustify.

 

Not missing out on anything although in 2 years, Thunderbolt will probably be mainstream.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1148859

The only reason why I opted for a 2011 high end model is because I needed that 6970M. This is pretty much the first time the iMac comes equipped with a real powerful gaming video card so I decided to pay"new iMac" prices.

 

According to Intel, Thunderbolt was always an Intel property. brightsideofnews.com reports that they contacted the company and got an answer from Dave Salvator, Senior Communications Manager at Intel.

"As part of our collaboration with Apple, they did some of the initial trademark filings. Intel has full rights to the Thunderbolt trademark now and into the future. The Thunderbolt name will be used going forward on all platforms, irrespective of operating system."

A wikipedia article discusses Thunderbolt history and technology in more detail and makes good reading.

 

If t-bolt is bootable and your hard drive crashes you f'd up.
if t-bolt is not bootable no worries.
if your hdd does not crash no worries. basically the rest of the differences are small.

having a raid1 external ssd bootdrive that can be instantly replaced and runs at sataIII speeds may be something you will be sorry you did not wait for. no one knows if you will ever need it.

 

You've got a sweet machine there bro. And at a great price. Enjoy.

 

I dont think that you're missing out on much , since you don't really need the power.

 

You paid a few hundred less. And the only real differences are:
slightly faster cpu performance on 2011
almost double GPU performance on 2011
easier to upgrade hard drive on 2010
Multiple (well more than 2) monitor setup for 2011

Honestly, you did a great job getting last year's refurb. You don't game or render so the 6970 would be a waste. You've already got a 27"+23". Do you honestly need 4 more displays? And you're planning on doing a SSD upgrade. While your computer is open you can throw in a 2TB drive for like 60 bucks (or even 3TB)

If it wasn't for the 6970 I wouldn't even consider the 2011 model.