I don't use photoshop or a gammer. I do however use some 3rd party trading software and programs. would the I7 be beneficial for me? I usually keep my Mac for ~5 years and wouldn't mind future proofing. BTW I'm getting a 512k SSD. thanks
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Is I7 overkill for me?
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You can't upgrade it later , so if you can afford it go for it
The SSD will arguably have more effect on the whole system than a cpu upgrade though - that things a beast , lol
The SSD will arguably have more effect on the whole system than a cpu upgrade though - that things a beast , lol
Future-proofing involves getting the fastest machine you can get, given your budget - because the OS is always evolving.
For most users, terms like "i5" and "i7" are just product names, but the latter is notably faster, and makes better use of the newer Mac features. That said, SSD speed is even more impressive. Getting both will keep your machine current for years.
For most users, terms like "i5" and "i7" are just product names, but the latter is notably faster, and makes better use of the newer Mac features. That said, SSD speed is even more impressive. Getting both will keep your machine current for years.
I don't know if it's still the same, but a couple of years back I was building a gaming pc, and all the cool kids advised to go for an i5 as that was better for gaming at that time. Back then they said the i7 was more for people who did a lot of 3D and video stuff. The most expensive option is not always the best for every use case 
For future proofing I would always prefer more RAM over a faster processor.
For future proofing I would always prefer more RAM over a faster processor.
A computer is a system where it's as strong as its weakest part. It's all about balance in that regards. Get a good balanced setup rather than boosting up one part (CPU) while making a bad choice else where. Of course, the price tag is part of the game, too.
To directly answer your question, unless you need to handle CPU intensive tasks, graphics effects, gaming, compiling a large sourcecode, any I5 will last for quite some time. It's not like CPUs are getting twice faster every 2-3 years any more.
To directly answer your question, unless you need to handle CPU intensive tasks, graphics effects, gaming, compiling a large sourcecode, any I5 will last for quite some time. It's not like CPUs are getting twice faster every 2-3 years any more.
The i5 will do you nicely my friend. Most of the programs that can really use the hyperthreading of the i7 are around video and photo editing. If you're checking your stocks and doing things like typing up documents then you're more than fine with even the entry level cpu and gpu options.
You also will be fine with getting the 8 gigs of ram. If you DO ever need more, you can get it super cheap off amazon and it takes about 30 seconds to install (no joke), you literally pop open a panel in back, slide it in, then pop the pannel back on).
The SSD option is likely overkill for you too, the fusion drive will do almost everything the exact same way.
This forum is of course going to be filled with a lot of "enablers", guys who have bought apple gear and thus want you too as well. I own a business, and have a stake in another company so I understand though that there IS such thing as overkill and spending money with little gain. If you wanted to share a bit more on what your needs are (perhaps specific programs) we can help a bit more. Otherwise suffice to say that the standard entry level models are more than suited to 80% of computer users, this just happens to be a place that is dominated by the 20% of enthusiasts.
You also will be fine with getting the 8 gigs of ram. If you DO ever need more, you can get it super cheap off amazon and it takes about 30 seconds to install (no joke), you literally pop open a panel in back, slide it in, then pop the pannel back on).
The SSD option is likely overkill for you too, the fusion drive will do almost everything the exact same way.
This forum is of course going to be filled with a lot of "enablers", guys who have bought apple gear and thus want you too as well. I own a business, and have a stake in another company so I understand though that there IS such thing as overkill and spending money with little gain. If you wanted to share a bit more on what your needs are (perhaps specific programs) we can help a bit more. Otherwise suffice to say that the standard entry level models are more than suited to 80% of computer users, this just happens to be a place that is dominated by the 20% of enthusiasts.
Well what programs you use and wether they leverage hyperthreading is the place to start that is the main difference with the i7 over the i5.
So far you have stated you use programs. Well, everybody does that, so you are giving us zero information.
Can you explain what Mac features notably benefit from an i7? I used to have an i5 and an i7 2014 model at work, and unless I knew in front of which machine I was sitting, I couldn't have told the difference. Under normal usage, there might have been a measurable but by no means a notable difference.
Unless he/she editet the post, I think the requirements were quite clear:
- trading software and programs
- no Photoshop
- no games
So to answer the question "would the I7 be beneficial for me?" I'd go with a strong "no", not even for future proofing (unless "future proofing" means keeping the option open to do more multithreaded things).
The i5 will do you nicely my friend. Most of the programs that can really use the hyperthreading of the i7 are around video and photo editing. If you're checking your stocks and doing things like typing up documents then you're more than fine with even the entry level cpu and gpu options.
You also will be fine with getting the 8 gigs of ram. If you DO ever need more, you can get it super cheap off amazon and it takes about 30 seconds to install (no joke), you literally pop open a panel in back, slide it in, then pop the pannel back on).
The SSD option is likely overkill for you too, the fusion drive will do almost everything the exact same way.
This forum is of course going to be filled with a lot of "enablers", guys who have bought apple gear and thus want you too as well. I own a business, and have a stake in another company so I understand though that there IS such thing as overkill and spending money with little gain. If you wanted to share a bit more on what your needs are (perhaps specific programs) we can help a bit more. Otherwise suffice to say that the standard entry level models are more than suited to 80% of computer users, this just happens to be a place that is dominated by the 20% of enthusiasts.
Thanks! Most of the programs I'm using currently are web based. Fidelity active trader pro, Money. net and Bloomberg.
I generally have ~8-10 tabs opened on safari and use Firefox as well.
Speed is top priority.
I'm specking out a 27'Retina 512 SSD 16gb memory and deciding on a I5 or I7.
The most intensive use of my current iMac are (according to EtreCheck)
Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)
28% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(15)
10% com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64
2% WindowServer
2% PluginProcess
1% com.apple.WebKit.Networking
Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)
2.86 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(15)
735 MB kernel_task
319 MB PluginProcess
303 MB com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64
139 MB Mail
Any 27"/2015 iMac should be plenty for that. Even an SSD or a FD wouldn't give you a real benefit once your programs have started, but I would get either of these 2 none the less (which you are planning to anyway). And consider buying with 8 GB and upgrade to 16 yourself, saves you a lot of money and has no real downside. If this is all you're doing, you could likely even get away without upgrading RAM.
If you care a tiny bit about versatility, get at least a model with a M390 GPU, the M380 will really hold you back if you ever want to do anything GPU intense. But if you are confident that this won't happen anyway, even the M380 would be enough.
I think the jump from M380 to M390 is the largest. M390 to M395 is about a 20% gain in performance and M395 to M395x is about a 12% gain.
Unless you are into gaming it definitely isn't. But I guess in your comparison you'll get more upgrades for those $200 than just the GPU, don't you?
If you pick a higher tier, some upgrades (like the 512 GB SSD you mentioned) cost less since you start from a more expensive storage module. In some cases, it can even be cheaper to get a better GPU with otherwise identical hardware, since starting from a higher tier gives you more of an upgrade bundle bonus.
Compared to the tier with the M390, the tier with the M395 comes with a 2 TB instead of the 1 TB FD and has a faster CPU. The M390 can't be upgraded to the same CPU, but both tiers can be upgraded to the same i7 CPU (while the upgrade costs less for the M395's tier). You can upgrade the M390 tier to a 2 TB FD and you can upgrade both tiers to a 512 GB SSD.
I can't configure a m380 machine with an i7. With an i5, and a 512 GB SSD, it's 2300. 2300 with i5
I can configure a m390 machine with an i7, and a 512 GB SSD. It's 2700. 2400 with i5
I can configure an m395 machine with an i7. It's 2750. 2500 with i5
50 bucks for a faster video card? SIGN ME UP.
I can configure a m390 machine with an i7, and a 512 GB SSD. It's 2700. 2400 with i5
I can configure an m395 machine with an i7. It's 2750. 2500 with i5
50 bucks for a faster video card? SIGN ME UP.
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Or $100 for a faster video card and an i5 CPU that's faster, especially during turbo boost). But either is a pretty good deal (well, given that Apple isn't exactly into bargain pricing in general).
If you use the education store, the i7/512gbSSD/M390 is actually MORE expensive than the i7/512gbSSD/M395 (by something like 25$). No idea who designed the formula for these configurations
It's pretty much standard throughout the whole car industry (among others). If you buy a higher tier or upgrade packages, it's much cheaper than buying the upgrades individually.
http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac?product=MK482LL/A&step=config# click CPU and SSD, shows $2749 to me.
I think it's a bit saner than some of Apple's previous schemes, which involved paying a lot more money for the upgradeable models, and then paying still more money to buy the actual upgrade.