Compair Intel i5 to core 2 duo

[iLog.Genius]

So I was going to pick up a current c2d 15" mbp but with the event in a couple of weeks I thought I would wait and see what comes out, worst case I will get a c2d for a bit cheaper.

But the waiting was getting to me, so I thought well while in class it is a big distraction having a notebook, so maybe that 27" iMac with the sexy screen is a smart choice, I can have it now and it costs about the same with all things considered. But with the screen woes and the quality concerns, I am back to waiting, again

So my question to you all is all things being equal and this being my first mac (to be used for programming, school work, some gaming, and mostly dorking around on the net) will I be better served waiting for the i5 (assuming it is indeed nearly here) or the c2d being a cheaper find (are refurbs pretty good from Apple)?

Thanks

I'd wait it out. The only thing that can happen is that you save money. Even if Apple releases the i5, maybe you feel that the performance upgrade isn't worth it based on what you're doing, you could of course get the C2D for cheaper.

 

[Spiral21x]

At home I have a 2.5ghz C2D MBP with 4gb ram and at work I have the iMac 21.5 inch C2D 3.33ghz 8gb ram. I am an interactive designer and developer and I push my computers pretty hard. On a daily basis I am switching back between Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Safari, Entourage, Itunes, Transmit, Parallels, plus the various smaller apps like Adium, Xpad, Dropbox etc. Yes 99% of the time I am running all these apps. I can say now comparing these 2 machines, the Ram increase is way more valuable than the CPU jump. I feel a speed difference of about 10-20% but it doesn't really effect my workflow. I don't think I get any more work done because of the processor. The ram on the other hand makes a HUGE difference. I can run more programs, keep open more tabs, keep open more files, all that good stuff. I say unless you are rendering video or huge digital files, you won't really appreciate that 20% speed bump. It is nice to have but not the most cost efficient as far as upgrades. You would probably see a lot more out of a SSD.