imac 3.06 worth the extra $400?

[demarcopbl]

after some deliberation, i've decided an Imac is the way to go, for me. Just wondered what the general concensus was. Is the 3.06 worth the extra money over the 2.93 model? Will I notice significant differences in the speed/overall workflow with the 3.06, or is it just bragging rights? Is the upgraded graphics card signifcantly better? what differences would I notice?

thanks,

Mike

 

[miles01110]

Generally it's not "worth" it, but since you haven't told us anything about what you use your computer for we can't really say anything more than that. For email, internet, music it won't make any difference.

 

[Scottsdale]

after some deliberation, i've decided an Imac is the way to go, for me. Just wondered what the general concensus was. Is the 3.06 worth the extra money over the 2.93 model? Will I notice significant differences in the speed/overall workflow with the 3.06, or is it just bragging rights? Is the upgraded graphics card signifcantly better? what differences would I notice?

thanks,

Mike

I would go with the 2.93 and spend $200 for the ATI 4850 graphics card. The CPU clock speed differences are minor. In a year or two, you could upgrade the RAM to 8 GB for probably $200 or so; adding RAM down the road will probably add two years to the iMac's useful life.

On the other hand, at Apple.com the refurbished section already has the 2.93 for $250 off if you don't want the ATI 4850 graphics - $1549 is a great price for that iMac.

Best wishes whichever you go with.

 

[aaquib]

I agree with Scottsdale, go with the 2.93 w/ 4850.

The 3.06 will bring a very minor performance boost, only noticeable when doing processor intensive tasks. It may only be a bit better in terms of resale value, but won't be noticeable day-to-day.

 

[demarcopbl]

Generally it's not "worth" it, but since you haven't told us anything about what you use your computer for we can't really say anything more than that. For email, internet, music it won't make any difference.

thanks for the response. Im using it for 3D. Im learning rigging/skinning/texturing. Im very much a beginner, so it'll be mostly light stuff. Ill probably just have maya and zbrush on it, possibly photoshop and illustrator and a source files folder, but other than that, nothing else, including the bundled programs.

Im probably better off getting the better graphics card though?

 

[XLR8]

It took me a few weeks to make a decision between the 3.06 with the 130 or the 2.93 with the 120. The odd thing is that I an actually a Windows .NET software developer. However, I'm an old Mac head too.

Anyway, in the end I decided that I was getting two computers in 1 and I might as well go for the most hardware I could get. I passed on the 4850 because I didn't feel like dealing with the issues and I don't play games anyway.

I probably bought more than I needed but I think I have some hardware that should last for a while.