Mid 2010 Core i3

[Dr. McKay]

I found a good deal on a used Mid 2010 Core i3 iMac (21.5 inch, 3.2Ghz, 4Gb RAM, Radeon 5670 512Mb, 1Tb HD) to replace my early 2008 Core2duo (24 inch, 2.8Ghz, 4Gb RAM, Radeon HD2600 Pro 256Mb, 320 Gb HD).

I'd be adding more RAM for a total of 8Gb.

I was looking for a Mid2011 Corei5, but now this deal came up. Is this Core i3 gonna smoke my Core2duo speed wise, or should I wait until a better deal comes along (the i3 is in mint condition, btw) ?

Edit : actually, it's brand new, box never been opened (yes, it's trustworthy) : price is 999 euros but I'll be offering 900 (about $1150 - I believe it cost about $1850 new at the time).

Edit 2 : wow, 319 views and no replies...

 

[bmcgrath]

Smoke the Core 2 I'm not sure. It will definitely be an improvement. Better graphics and the ability to add more ram. However my main concern here is the step down in screen size. Yes the res is around the same but I reckon the downsize will be noticeable...

But if I'm being brutally honest... Unless your current setup is failing you I'd wait for a better deal to pop up!

Hope this helps.

 

[Dr. McKay]

Thx for the reply.
The screen size will do fine (same res as my 24) and I don't have the space to fit in the 27 anyway.
What's more, it's got a big HD (will come in handy for bootcamp) and I'm not too keen on performing surgery on mine to upgrade the HD...

Dunno, maybe I can persuade the guy to lower the price a bit more...

 

[bmcgrath]

I think maybe hold out...

Or have a look at the refurb section on the Apple store online. You can find some great deals on there!

I just think €999 is on the pricey side for an i3...

 

[Dr. McKay]

I think maybe hold out...

Or have a look at the refurb section on the Apple store online. You can find some great deals on there!

I just think €999 is on the pricey side for an i3...

There's no refurb section in the Belgian Apple store. Well, there is, but it's not even comparable to the US.

As for the price, I agree, but maybe I can persuade him to lower the price. Officially, though, the 'official' value of that particular i3 is still rated at 950 euros (used, that is, this is brand new)

 

[Spike88]

Smoke, blow away, 0-60 under 5 seconds????

It all depends what one uses their iMac for.

If wondering, my iMac i3 / 3.2 works great for typical home user tasks. re: File, print, surfing, email, word processing, iTunes. And, its only got 4 GB of ram with often under 40% processing load. Some may view the i3 as a little 4 cylinder engine but if doing typical home user tasks, the i3 engine works great. IMO, using a V6 (i5) or V8 (i7) CPU engines for typical home user tasks is a waste of power... Especially since the MacOS isn't loaded down with bloatware and anti-virus add-ons.

Remember the i3/i5/i7 benchmark testing is when CPU is loaded down 100% of the time. For home user tasks (and running 2 apps - like Safari and Email) don't get above 40% of the time.

For Gaming, do get the much faster i5 CPUs. Or, get a dedicated gaming console box - like in my family.

Hope this helps in your research...

.

 

[Dr. McKay]

My Core2duo is also great for everyday tasks. It's just that the videocard isn't that great, not even for Wow and I believe for games, the video card is more important than the processor (and I don't believe an i3 wouldn't be able to keep up with newer games)...