DIFFERENCES between Quad-Core i5 and i7

[maccape]

I'm looking to buy new 21" iMac. System would be used for photoshop and illustrator type work. Is there a big (noticeable) difference in processors between what comes with the "standard" set up (2.7 GHz Quad Core Intel i5) and the upgraded version (2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel i7). With either set up
I'd upgrade from the standard 4 gigs to 8gigs of ram.
Thanks for the help and insights.

 

[Zwhaler]

Definitely go with the 2.8GHz i7. It's more than a 0.1GHz bump, the i7 has hyperthreading which doubles the number of cores from 4 to 8 (not all software supports hyperthreading)

Based on this the upgrade boosts processing power by 29%

 

[tears2040]

Stick to the base model...... I bought imac 2010 model which uses 2 cores and 2 virtual cores and can eat up through anything I throw at it.

The new 2011 base model is a true quad core and would do things faster. Now the higher end models would be four cores and four virtual which is really insane.

If your not converting, processing huge raw files and video 1080p or higher 2k, 4k, 5k I would say you really do not need it. The bottle neck in these imac and current computers is not the cpu, it's the hard drive.


Get a base model with it's regular hard drive + an ssd and 8gbs ram and you will be able to run anything.

 

[Xikum]

Stick to the base model...... I bought imac 2010 model which uses 2 cores and 2 virtual cores and can eat up through anything I throw at it.

The new 2011 base model is a true quad core and would do things faster. Not the higher end models would be four cores and four virtual which is really insane.

If your not converting, processing huge raw files and video 1080p or higher 2k, 4k, 5k I would say you really do not need it. The bottle neck in these imac and current computers is not the cpu, it's the hard drive.


Get a base model with it's regular hard drive + an ssd and 8gbs ram and you will be able to run anything.

I agree with this. While you are using Photoshop and Illustrator, you have absolutely no need for a 4 core/4 virtual core CPU that the i7 gives you. The standard i5 will be perfectly acceptable for you. My girlfriend runs Photoshop/Illustrator perfectly well on her 2011 MacBook Pro, which has a slower clock speed and is only a dual core i5 than the iMac.

Spend that money to get a SSD. You will really feel that difference!