iMac 27in Duo Core or Quad Core?

[Nyaree1]

I'm heading to the Apple Store tomorrow and they have both the Quad Core and Duo Core in the 27 in model now. I'm a student...not a video editor, gamer, or musician, so using it for those purposes would be completely foreign. I'm purchasing it specifically for web and iWork use. It would be nice to save hundreds of dollars, negate the fact that I can afford the Quad; however, one of my friends made a good point. Future Proofing the iMac! Meaning to get the Quad core since it is now available and not having to worry about getting a Quad later when every other iMac will come standard with it. This will be my second mac...but I would still like to know...Does Quad matter when using it for regular web base surfing? Or should I settle for the duo? I need some advice and facts...I'm still pretty new to Mac.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I say get the Duo. You don't really have a need for the Quad now and unless you see your needs changing it seems like a waste of money. Futureproofing gets discussed a lot, I'm a big fan of saving the money and upgrading earlier. A high-end iMac from three years ago will get outperformed by a stock iMac from the present.

 

[Nyaree1]

Is there really a difference in speed? I don't know anything about i5 or i7?

 

[Hellhammer]

Future proofing is lame word nowadays. After two or three years, there will be several times faster components available, so the current high-end is gonna be the low-end or not even available anymore.

I would get the Duo because none of your tasks require or even can use the power of quad. Those tasks won't be any faster with quad

 

[iWoz]

I'm heading to the Apple Store tomorrow and they have both the Quad Core and Duo Core in the 27 in model now. I'm a student...not a video editor, gamer, or musician, so using it for those purposes would be completely foreign. I'm purchasing it specifically for web and iWork use. It would be nice to save hundreds of dollars, negate the fact that I can afford the Quad; however, one of my friends made a good point. Future Proofing the iMac! Meaning to get the Quad core since it is now available and not having to worry about getting a Quad later when every other iMac will come standard with it. This will be my second mac...but I would still like to know...Does Quad matter when using it for regular web base surfing? Or should I settle for the duo? I need some advice and facts...I'm still pretty new to Mac.

Im pretty sure the Quad Core(s) aren't out yet, People are going crazy waiting for these in a different thread on the forum!

 

[Jiten]

All the guys here make a lot of sense. Future proofing is a lot of huey, especially in a matter of a year, the former high end ends up becoming the cheapest and lowest end. Its always better to just buy what you need now, save your cash and get a computer that is not only twice as fast but cheaper when it comes out the following year.

 

[MaximumDVD]

I agree with all here. There realy is no way to "Future proof," a machine since a lot of times the newer components require newer motherboards or specs to run them. Right now I need to buy a new videocard just to be able to use a new Cinema display. If you were doing intensive video editing, I'd always lean toward more cores, but since that is not your case, You will not notice a difference while surfing web, so I'd say save the green, and go duo.

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

the word futureproof doesnt work anymore, there is always something better coming out... however, i suggest getting the duo for the simple tasks you do... it will still be able to do those tasks in 3years say.... On the other hand, if you were a mad video encoder, editor guy, then maybe the quad would last a little longer.... so my answer is the duo