Which refurb iMac to buy?

[1question]

As the user name suggests, I have but one question to ask here. I'm getting an iMac from the apple refurb store and I need help deciding between two.

There's a 20" 2.4 GHz with the 2400XT graphics for $999, or for $50 more I can get a 20" 2.4 GHz with 2600 PRO graphics card and a bigger HDD (although the 250 gb that the first one has is more than enough for me, so that's not really a selling point). But that's also a previous generation, so it has a Merom chip with the first one has Penryn. And considering that the iMacs out right now are on the verge of becoming previous generations themselves, it's more like two generations old.

I'll use the computer for word processing, internet, watching youtube or DVDs, and photo processing (nothing too graphic-heavy like photoshop, though, and probably not very often). I don't play any games and probably won't in the future. Should I go for a newer machine with a lesser graphics card, or should I go for the better graphics card but a less powerful machine? Will there really be much of a difference to someone like me who doesn't play games or use Final Cut or Photoshop?

 

[iisarenotnobody]

Pay the extra $50 and go with the Pro, it will be well worth it down the line

 

[zer0tails]

i second that. That's more bang for your buck. My time tested buying rule has always been buy the best you can afford

 

[mgridgaway]

A little info under the hood: The 2.4 with 2400XT has a faster chipset and was released almost a year later. Still, the one with the better video card has, well, a better video card, and you'll definitely notice that more than the marginal bump in speed.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

i second that. That's more bang for your buck. My time tested buying rule has always been buy the best you can afford

Not all of us share your budget.

 

[1question]

But is a better graphics card worth the extra $50 and less CPU for someone who doesn't play games? I guess when Snow Leopard comes out, it'll come in handy? I don't mean to sound stupid, I just don't know much about this stuff and want to get something that'll serve me as well as possible for as long as possible, and I'm a little wary about getting a machine with an older and less powerful CPU. But maybe a more powerful CPU doesn't really do anything if it doesn't have a decent GPU to go with it.