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Faster CPU or iPod

phillipjfry

phillipjfry

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 12, 2006
847
1
Peace in Plainfield
I'm going to order my new iMac 24'' tomorrow (yay!) and I have two options within my limit.
I can either get a:
# 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM
# SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# Apple Wireless Keyboard & wireless Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
# 24-inch widescreen LCD
with a silver 4gb ipod nano (I won't think about getting vid ipod until touchscreen is out)

Or I can get the same config above, but with the 2.33GHz C2D for the same price.

I will use my iMac for light picture editing, moderate use for video conversions, typical dvd burning, WoW, music. So would it be worth having the 2.33GHz processor, or will the 2.16 do me just fine and I can get the nano as well?
Tomorrow is the big day that I can finally get rid of this senseless XP OS. Also, if I order it before a certain time (like noon PST) does it ship out sooner/faster? Also last question, I swear :), would anyone advise AGAINST having a BT keyboard/mouse?
 
Go for the 2.16 and the Nano. You'll notice more benefit from getting more RAM which you're going to do than having a slightly quicker CPU.

I'm not sure whether it makes any difference what time you order.

I have no experience of a BT keyboard or mouse so can't help you there.

Enjoy your purchase when it arrives anyway! :)
 
Sounds like a really nice setup.

I can't imagine the processor bump would make a real difference to you one way or another. I'd go for the iPod without a second thought.
 
If it were me I would definately get the additional processor speed over the ipod. Here is my reasoning...

You can always buy an ipod any time you like. The next time you get some extra cash, a raise or whatever. But you can't EVER upgrade your chip speed. You can always upgrade the ram and HD later too!

If you are that set on having an ipod, then why don't you just get the standard amount of Ram or a smaller HD and then later you can get those upgraded, and also have the best chip, and an ipod! I mean the 2.16 and the 2.33 probably don't have that big of a difference, but just remember you can never get bigger in that regaurd.

Just my opinion. Congrats on the purchase.
 
Definitly the iPod, I'd be inclined to say the noticable diff between the processors would be debatable/minimal, go for the iPod, i practically live with mine.
 
That brings me to another point, why is it that upgrading from default ram to 2gb is around 170, but adding another 1gb of ram is around 500+$? that sounds....not right to me heh.

In a sense, it makes sense to have the 2.33ghz cause when/if they upgrade the imac this year (probably not the 24'') the processor speed i get might end up being "low end". But then again, I might not even need it (seriously, its only 200mhz increase).
I just cant wait till the true video ipods come out. Until then, I guess I'll "settle" with my 4gb nano :p
Thank you so much. Hopefully a week from now I will have my new setup.
 
phillipjfry said:
That brings me to another point, why is it that upgrading from default ram to 2gb is around 170, but adding another 1gb of ram is around 500+$? that sounds....not right to me heh.
Click to expand...

A 2GB stick is more expensive than a 1GB stick. When you get 2GB of RAM they give you 2x1GB, when you get 3GB of RAM they give you 1x2GB 1x1GB.

I'm not sure how much a 2GB stick costs though, Apple's prices may be really expensive or they may be reasonable. I know a 1GB stick is maybe around $80-$100 depending, so if they charge $175 for 2x1GB it's not a bad deal.
 
iPod, 0.16GHz won't be noticeable now or ever, go for as much extra RAM whenever you can.

Don't put off buying extra RAM when you purchase, Apple's prices are surprisingly good.
 
phillipjfry said:
would anyone advise AGAINST having a BT keyboard/mouse?
Click to expand...
If you go that route you might still want to have a USB KB around, as some people have had trouble doing Boot Camp installs with BT keyboards only and there might be other occasions when a wired KB is just better.

What I did when I bought my iMac (pre BT mighty mouse) was got it with the wired KB/mouse and just bought the BT KB separately, it was still $10 cheaper that the full wireless KB/mouse upgrade and I have both wired and wireless KBs for regular use.

I'm also not a big fan of the current Apple mice (I don't like the scroll ball's lack of tactile feedback), so I'm using a Logitech wired mouse.

B
 
NewSc2 said:
ipod. waay more functionality than a small performance boost. you can't run and listen to your music with 0.16ghz ;)
Click to expand...

Yet we went to the moon with 0.00Ghz ;)

While thats not the point, I say go with what is more important to you. If you want a faster computer, get the proc upgrade. If you want the iPod, go for the iPod. It's that simple.
 
An extra 160Mhz isn't worth the price, however doubling the RAM will make a huge difference.

Go for the Nano, I got my 4G iPod Nano for Christmas and I love it :cool:
 
Ipod all the way!! Your computer will still be blazing without a cpu upgrade and be fast for many years IPODIPODIPOD
 
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