iMac i7 2.8 or i5 2.8 Refurbished

[Temmple]

I have been trying to decide between these two but not really sure which one would be best for my needs.

Usage will be pretty simple. Web browsing and some gaming.

The i7 has the newer video card with 1GB of memory but from what I have read the perf is not much more than the 4850.

I am kinda leaning towards the i7 but wanted to get some input here before I pull the trigger.

Thanks!

 

[Temmple]

Also...Is there improved speakers in the 2010 iMacs?

 

[Sixtafoua]

I don't know anything about gaming, but if you're just web browsing, I don't think you need a core i7 machine.

I do know that the late 2009 iMacs had improved audio from previous generations, but the mid 2010 iMacs should have the same audio as the late 2009 iMacs.

 

[Temmple]

After doing some more reading I see that the i5 will run cooler than the i7 and the video card will also run cooler. I might now be leaning in that direction. If anyone has anymore input that would be great.

 

[alphaod]

What are the prices on them?

 

[DoFoT9]

After doing some more reading I see that the i5 will run cooler than the i7 and the video card will also run cooler. I might now be leaning in that direction. If anyone has anymore input that would be great.

dont worry about the heat - it is a non issue.

the 5850M will give some significant benefits over the 4850M GPU, somewhere in the vacinity of 20%+ for the same resolutions. quite considerable for some people.

the main difference between those computer is (of course) the i7s ability to utilise HyperThreading technology, for some this is a critical feature.

what do you plan on doing with the machine?

 

[Temmple]

Main function is web browsing and a small amount of photo editing/gaming. I think the i5 with the newer video card might just be the way to go. Not sure I will see the perf gains with the hyperthreading from the i7 for what I do.

 

[Temmple]

What are the prices on them?

They are the same price on the apple website.

 

[DoFoT9]

Main function is web browsing and a small amount of photo editing/gaming. I think the i5 with the newer video card might just be the way to go. Not sure I will see the perf gains with the hyperthreading from the i7 for what I do.

most editing suites are minimally multithreaded as of yet - you would expect ~10% increase in speed, the potential is up to 50% faster though.

i5 sounds wonderful for your needs, 5850M would future proof it for an extra 2 years or so.

 

[mpshay]

They are the same price on the apple website.

If they are the same price, then why not get the i7?

 

[Temmple]

Main reason is I do not run much of anything that will benefit from the i7 and with the i5 I get a step up in the video card. The i7 is a 2009 model and the i5 is a 2010 model so there are a few other things that I will get with the 2010 model that the 2009 will not have.

 

[jazzer15]

For what it's worth, I went with the i7 (which I recently received and am still evaluating). I don't do gaming -- my uses include web browsing, some photo editing, some light audio recording and use of some music software, dvd conversions for use with iPod and a netbook, CD ripping and music playback, etc.

The i5 would have been fine for me, but the biggest difference between the two seemed to be the new video card, which I was told really wouldn't benefit me much. The i7 seemed to do a good bit better on performance tests generally and I figured it would be more "future proof" depending on what I might like to do down the road and as programs become more and more CPU demanding and are written to to take advantage of the quad core and hyper threading capability. If you are doing some 3D gaming or any movie editing/rendering (which you didn't mention) I suppose the better video card would be more valuable for your use.

Good luck.

 

[silby101]

I would go with a Refurbished i7 iMac. Which ever you choose, go refurbished (to save $$), you can use this applescript I developed to take the guess work out of finding it in the refurbished section.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=11219249

 

[Golfwolf]

I considered both of those iMacs too

Temmple, I was in your shoes less than 1 week ago, I looked at both of those units and was having a difficult time deciding which one to go with. Both of them are good options, I liked the idea of the i5 with the newer graphics card but the late 2009 i7 kept pulling me back. I thought about both for a few days and was almost felt like flipping a coin to decide.
This will be my first iMac, at $1799 in the Apple Canada store, this is a sizeable purchase for me given the fact that all of my previous computers were Windows machines which can be had for less. The all in one features of the iMac are very appealing, finally I decided to pay an extra $200 and ordered the Refurb i7 2.93 GHz with the 1GB video card. It is supposed to arrive today, so looking forward to it, good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Temmple]

The perf gain with the i7 for the apps I use was minimal and the video card on the i5 will serve as a better upgrade for the small amount of gaming I do. After doing a lot of research on the i5 2.8 vs i7 2.8 the numbers showed a very little bump in overall perf so the choice was pretty simple for me. Either machine would have been just fine for my needs though... Thanks for all of the input.