Worth $265 to bump up to 2.7 vs. 2.5 i5?

[Lactoes]

I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a 21.5" iMac. I found an open box deal for the two base iMac machines below. I'm not too concerned about the extra HDD space (we have externals), so I'm really trying to drill down on the processor speed and maybe the vid card difference.

This machine will replace our ancient PC desktop. I already have a mid-'08 Macbook that I love dearly. But it's obviously limited in the video world. I'm not producing anything fancy, but I want to be able to edit simple home videos without insane lag. (Render time is not that much of a worry.)

So... is it worth $265? Is there a noticeable difference in the 0.2GHz? Anything else I should know?


$1010
2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 6MB on-chip shared L3 cache
500GB Hard Drive
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM, DVD SuperDrive
21.5" LED-backlit display with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, AMD Radeon HD 6750M


$1275
2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 6MB on-chip shared L3 cache
1 TB Hard Drive
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM, DVD SuperDrive
21.5" LED-backlit display with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, 1920x1080 HD resolution AMD Radeon HD 6770M

(BTW, yes I know new machines are impending. They always will be. I'm biting the bullet.)

 

[GGJstudios]

You're not just paying for the faster processor, but double the hard drive space. You won't likely see any difference at all between the processors in normal use.

 

[Lactoes]

If the difference is indeed negligible, you're saying I'm essentially paying $265 for 500GB?

Hmm. Considering externals can be had for $100 for1TB, I feel like I'm missing something...

 

[RUGERMAN]

If the difference is indeed negligible, you're saying I'm essentially paying $265 for 500GB?

Hmm. Considering externals can be had for $100 for1TB, I feel like I'm missing something...

You also get a little better graphics chip.

 

[Lactoes]

Right... but is "a little bit" on the processor and a "little bit" on the GPU worth it?
(I'm getting the impression I'll be happy with the cheaper option.)

 

[dlimes13]

If it was $150 or less, yes.
$265 = no.

 

[GGJstudios]

Right... but is "a little bit" on the processor and a "little bit" on the GPU worth it?
(I'm getting the impression I'll be happy with the cheaper option.)

The only question is will it be worth it to you. I doubt in normal use that you'd see any difference in performance between the two systems at all. You can buy an external drive for additional storage, for less than the price difference.

 

[Lactoes]

Boom. Trigger pulled. Thanks for y'all's input!

 

[jvette]

If you are looking for more speed the processor won't make that much difference. If it were me I would look at a solid state drive first and have all the applications and operating system on there to speed things up. Then go to OWC or MAC Sales and buy the 16.0 gb upgrade for about $100 for 4-4gb kit. Then you would have a fast machine.

 

[leman]

--please delete--

 

[Lactoes]

Dang. 16GB for $100 sounds unbeatable! I haven't heard of OWC before, but I just pulled up their site. I'm guessing they are pretty respected around here? Should I be concerned about using non-Apple RAM?