Which imac is the better value?

[kindablue09]

I am in the market for my first imac soon. Originally, I was planning on waiting until the "back to school" ipod promotion, but after taking a look at the refurbs, I am starting to reconsider. I am stuck between the

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo @ $1300
24-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
320GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
Built-in iSight Camera

and

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo @ $1600
24-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight Camera

I am a med student who will be using my computer for all of MS office, iwork, iphoto, endnote, watching movies, & online tv, and most importantly gaming. I would like to be able to play cod4, swtor (when it comes out ... eventually), maybe crysis, and any other games that strike my fancy. Something I am looking for is longevity, so I wont have to buy another gaming/media machine for ~3 years.

Is upgrading to the 3 GHz worth it for my wants? Are the old imacs good enough for what I want to do or should I start looking at the current imacs?

 

[flopticalcube]

The 8800GS is the better gaming card. You won't notice the CPU difference.

 

[robindahlia789]

go with the higher end imac my friend, it is at a good price for a refurb

 

[007bond]

The 8800GS is the better gaming card. You won't notice the CPU difference.

actually, when doing final cut the processor makes a difference. ive used them both at an apple store and i can say that final cut runs significantly faster on the 3.06. also, the graphics will help alot. if u want a future proof mac, go with the 3.06ghz

 

[flopticalcube]

actually, when doing final cut the processor makes a difference. ive used them both at an apple store and i can say that final cut runs significantly faster on the 3.06. also, the graphics will help alot. if u want a future proof mac, go with the 3.06ghz

Does the OP use Final Cut? No, he games. He won't notice an 8% speed up in the CPU. He should still get the faster one.

 

[eXan]

The 8800GS is a much better gaming card. You won't notice the CPU difference.

Fixed.