Replacement For Mid-2011 Quad Core i7 Imac

[garysauctions]

So thanks to lightning I am in a situation where I must replace my mid-2011 Quad Core i7 iMac.

I was told that today's i5 quad core CPU's may perform better than 2011 i7's.

How much truth is there to this?

Though I may not need or even use the horsepower, I do not want to leave myself short on the new unit.

Recommendations? ( it looks like the i7 iMacs are not on the shelves yet so I am looking at the i5.

 

[trsblader]

It would depend which i7 vs which i5 you compare, but you are likely even with the best i7 in the mid 2011's to the worst i5's in the 2017's, to still see a very good performance increase. I did some benchmarks and saw anywhere from 50% to over 100% performance boost under those specific conditions.

As for i7's not being on the shelf yet - they are a BTO option, so you are unlikely to see them on the shelf at all. Maybe a 3rd party will get them in from time to time, but Apple doesn't stock BTO options.

 

[garysauctions]

As for i7's not being on the shelf yet - they are a BTO option, so you are unlikely to see them on the shelf at all. Maybe a 3rd party will get them in from time to time, but Apple doesn't stock BTO options.

BTO optioned united always make it into t he Apple Stores ... just takes time.

My 2011 I& 27" iMac was a " BTO " unit that I walked into the Apple Store and walked out with it the same day.

Apple says he i7's will be in store by August 10/11 ...... so maybe I'll just take a weeks vacation!
[doublepost=1501711798][/doublepost]

It would depend which i7 vs which i5 you compare, but you are likely even with the best i7 in the mid 2011's to the worst i5's in the 2017's, to still see a very good performance increase. I did some benchmarks and saw anywhere from 50% to over 100% performance boost under those specific conditions.

From what I just read on a couple of benchmark sites .... it's a tossup. There is a task or two the old i7's can do that the new i5 can't.

Maybe it's time I step up to a Mac Pro .... or just wait it out a week and go on vacation.

 

[trsblader]

Apple says he i7's will be in store by August 10/11 ...... so maybe I'll just take a weeks vacation!

That time is if you do a ship to store, not when they'll be fully stocked on the shelves. They may have a base model i7 in stock from time to time, but BTO are not reguarly stocked (there's just too many combo's). You'd probably have to call your store directly.

 

[jlseattle]

So thanks to lightning I am in a situation where I must replace my mid-2011 Quad Core i7 iMac.

I was told that today's i5 quad core CPU's may perform better than 2011 i7's.

How much truth is there to this?

Though I may not need or even use the horsepower, I do not want to leave myself short on the new unit.

Recommendations? ( it looks like the i7 iMacs are not on the shelves yet so I am looking at the i5.

SO....... The 2011 i7 benchmark on multiprocessor is 9,506 on GeekBench. The 2017 i5 processors are 13,828 up to 15,118. So the performance of the new 2017 i5 processor is much faster.

The biggest stopping point on the current iMacs isn't the processor though. (yes I'm still harping on this) It is the hard drive. If you get a fusion drive you will severely inhibit the performance of the system every time anything is saved or read from the spinning hard drive. My recommendation is to put money into an internal SSD (256,512 or 1gb) but do not get the fusion drive or you will not get the full performance of the processor out of the machine.
[doublepost=1501715162][/doublepost]I'll add to this as well. Even if you waste your money on an i7 processor with a fusion drive, there will be many times if not very often the computer won't perform any better than the lowest speed i5 offering. If you want to cheap it and do an external ssd drive, you still compromise speed of the processor to the hard drive speed (ability to read and write).

 

[garysauctions]

Mid-2011 iMac is dead ( at least to me ) now. Too many things going flaky with it.

I need something online buy July 8, so all questions are moot.

Looks like it will be a stock unit, 27", i5 iMac ...... I will take the highest end unit and pray that it works out for me.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Mid-2011 iMac is dead ( at least to me ) now. Too many things going flaky with it.

I need something online buy July 8, so all questions are moot.

Looks like it will be a stock unit, 27", i5 iMac ...... I will take the highest end unit and pray that it works out for me.

Have you looked at adorama.com? They seem to have a few options with i5 3.8/Radeon 580 and SSD that are available. Their 2 day shipping option seems to be about $50. That would get you the machine by August 8th. That is if you are in the USA.