New iMac decisions

[MCIowaRulz]

I won't start the "Should I buy now" crap because I already know what I buy will be out of date

My issue is should I get the i7 2.8 with everything else standard? (I plan to put in 8 GB of RAM on my own) or should I get the 2.7 i5 with the 2TB hard drive?

My uses will be for general use and I would like the computer to last 6-7 years
Budget is around $1700 as i'm a student and I'm an iTunes junkie as well as iPhoto have about 10 GB worth of photo's and around 23,000 songs from various places (mostly CD's and a few iTunes + well... totaling around 90 GB

Is the i5 used in the iMac OK as I have a Dell XPS 15 L502X with the 2630QM i7 (used in the Macbook Pro i think as well) and is the lack of HT going to be that big of a deal? (Aside from the fact that 8 cores in Task Manager is cool to look at) Is it REALLY worth the $180 and get that as opposed to the 2 TB HD upgrade?

I'll be upgrading from a 2001 G4

Thanks (This a wonderful community for help)

 

[iLidz]

The i5 is probably just fine for what you say you're planning to use it for. That being said, since you're planning on keeping the machine for a long time, I would go for the i7 processor up front. A few years down the road you might end up upgrading the hard drive on your i7 machine and end up with the best of both worlds anyways . Upgrading the processor later isn't quite as "easy". Price wise I would rather pay the premium to upgrade the process, you can find pretty good deals on hard drives if you wanted to change it out later.

But in the end, for songs and photos, the i5 and 1 tb HDD should be just fine for a while.

 

[MCIowaRulz]

It won't be till October (Budget reasons) But I'm sure what ever I decide to do, It will be a HUGE step up from the following

PM Quicksilver
867 Mhz G4
1.25 GB RAM
60+120 GB HD
64 MB Ati 9000 Pro

I could always get an external thunderbolt drive when they drop in price or a TB to USB 3 adapter (if they ever come out with one)

 

[mac-ho]

You said that you have a 2001 Model. Counting on my fingers, I get 10 yrs. Well, Mr. "I hope i'm not spending too much on computers" I would get the i7. If I were you, I would get the i9!! (If they had one) I'll Bet that you will get your moneys worth. Hope to hear from you in 2021!!

 

[njean777]

Go with the i7 if you want it to last as long as you can make it last.

 

[malias4]

You said that you have a 2001 Model. Counting on my fingers, I get 10 yrs. Well, Mr. "I hope i'm not spending too much on computers" I would get the i7. If I were you, I would get the i9!! (If they had one) I'll Bet that you will get your moneys worth. Hope to hear from you in 2021!!

haha u made me laugh!!
see u in 2021

 

[MCIowaRulz]

Ha Ha I know 10 years is a VERY LONG TIME and the i5 will destroy the G4 in everything. I know I can't keep waiting forever, and I might as well just the current one with the i5 as it will generally be used for the following, Music, Photo's Email, Internet and Word and with the Apple gift cards that I have I can get it for $1269 instead of $1399 as I'm a student.

 

[Tech Elementz]

Ha Ha I know 10 years is a VERY LONG TIME and the i5 will destroy the G4 in everything. I know I can't keep waiting forever, and I might as well just the current one with the i5 as it will generally be used for the following, Music, Photo's Email, Internet and Word and with the Apple gift cards that I have I can get it for $1269 instead of $1399 as I'm a student.

By the way, if your planing on changing the HD, don't count on it.
Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs (2011)

 

[Michael383]

Since you would like to use the computer for 6-7 years I'd get the i7 2.8.