PLEASE HELP ME WITH THE BUY i5 2.8ghz or i7 2.8

[josephil74]

i am looking to buy an imac 27. i came across 2 models. i am not sure which one to go for. i really appreciate if anyone this forum can help. i am new to mac

1 imac 27 i5 processor 2.8 ghz with hd 5750 graphics card priced at 169refurb


2 imac 27 i7 processor 2.8ghz with hd 4850 graphics card price at 1699 refurb

i am a basic computer user. i dont do much of photo editing. i should say once in a blue moon even if i do

please help me with the purchase..

another thing is i sawonline that bhphoto video selling appple care for 120 dollars vs 160 by apple. is it ok to purchase the computer from apple and buy the apple care later from a reseller

if there is any promotion codes please let me know too. i just wanna upgrade myself to a mac. i never used a mac before honestly

hope u guys can help. if any one wanna contact me please email me
josephil74@yahoo.com

 

[Makosuke]

They're both very good computers.

Faced with exactly that decision at work, I chose to buy two of the i7 models, because what we do is CPU heavy, so the i7 gives it a bit of an advantage. It helped, though, when I found this deal at Expercom:

https://www.expercom.com/product_detail.html?p=718529

(It's the same i7 iMac, but new rather than refurb--old stock, I assume--and includes Applecare for a little less than the Apple refurb. Great deal.)

Were I you AND choosing between those two Apple refurbs, leaving the abovelinked Expercom deal out of the picture, I'd get the i5 model--you're unlikely to notice the CPU speed difference, the graphics card is somewhat faster and has twice the VRAM, and in the event you want to upgrade the computer at some point in the future, it has an extra SATA connector available inside for a second SSD hard drive. I believe the SD card slot is SDXC compatible rather than just SDHC on the older model, which could come in handy in a few years once those start becoming more common on cameras.

Now, you may only ever care about the moderately improved graphics (or none of the above), but even if you only take that into account, it's still probably the better choice for you.

As for Applecare, yes--so long as it's the correct type for your computer (iMac, Mini, etc), and you register it before the 1-year factory warranty expires, it doesn't matter one bit where you buy Applecare. And you can usually find very good deals shopping around.

 

[tgurske]

I have the newest top-of-the-line imac 27" and the only time I ever see the processor maxed out is what converting videos.The only other times that I end up waiting on the computer is when I am waiting on the hard drive or the internet. (You can download a free program called menumeters that will show you what the computer is doing.)

That being said. The video card is going to be most important if you play video games on your computer. You're only going to notice a processor difference if you are doing something very intensive like converting video or 3-D work. So if you play games than get the one with the better video card. If you are going to do 3-D work or convert alot of videos then consider the one with the faster processor.

I also agree that you should probably get whatever model is newer. You can also call b&h and see if they will budge on the price. If it's been sitting in their warehouse for a while they might.

The Core2Duo models are nice too. Core2 is a great chip. Any of those 27" models are going to be great computers.

Also, I bought a computer through b&h years back and they were great. Applecare is a good idea and they have a discount on it which is great too.