First iMac Core i7 and Core i5 benchmarks are available!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
The first Core i7 and Core i5 benchmarks are available. Quite amazing to see how much faster the Core i7 is even compared to the Core i5. (via digg)



I'll definitely go for the Core i7 now that I've seen these results.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    Can't wait to get home. Now to start saving for a SSD.
  • Reply 2 of 20
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacGeek09 View Post


    The first Core i7 and Core i5 benchmarks are available. Quite amazing to see how much faster the Core i7 is even compared to the Core i5. (via digg)



    I'll definitely go for the Core i7 now that I've seen these results.



    I'm getting three of the 3.0 ghz 27" iMacs tomorrow for my business. The faster cpu would be nice but what I really need is the large screen.
  • Reply 3 of 20
    Guys, always check what the benchmark is doing...



    Geekbench is biased toward heavy computing, and even to some extent single-thread performance. You won't notice that big of a difference between i5 and i7 unless you do a lot of video work, 3D rendering, or stuff like that where the cache doesn't get flushed too often. They both have the same amount of cache, so in a typical multiprocess, multithreaded workflow, their performance will be much closer.



    That said, if you do a lot of video work, simulations, or compile a lot of big software projects, the i7 definitely seems worth it. For games, both models are GPU-limited.
  • Reply 4 of 20
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Guys, always check what the benchmark is doing...



    You're right, the benchmark is only measuring what the CPU is capable off. But in the end it always depends on how you make use of your CPUs even a Core 2 Duo can idle all day if you only do word processing.



    The Core i7 also has the advantage of hyper-threading and a higher turbo-boost. So with multi-threaded applications it should perform quite a bit better than the Core i5.
  • Reply 5 of 20
    Anyone who buys/bought the Core 2 Duo version of this model will feel really silly in 1.5 - 2 years.
  • Reply 6 of 20
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacGeek09 View Post


    The Core i7 also has the advantage of hyper-threading and a higher turbo-boost. So with multi-threaded applications it should perform quite a bit better than the Core i5.



    The Core i7 is a better chip for sure, but its main advantage is faster memory access, although I'm not sure how this pans out on the iMac.



    Hyperthreading is kind of silly. It means is that the i7 can hold 8 threads in cache instead of 4. But it doesn't have double the cache as the i5 -- it has the same cache, and the same number of cores. So it's not the most useful thing in the world.



    The i7's higher clock and "turbo clock" should make a bigger difference than Hyperthreading will.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    The i7 is the only modern chipset of the 3 options. The core 2 is now outdated, and the new architecture is only fully implemented in the i7. Unfortunately the i5 is "fine" - but the reality is that it is simply an i7 with hyper-threading removed - hence a crippled chip. It reminds me of the G4 days, when Apple would ship consumer G4s with the level 3 cache stripped out, and/ or with half or a quarter of the level 2 cache. It was painful to use a G4 that was crippled.



    Don't get me wrong - the i5 is awesome. It is just that the i7 is better - and by a fairly wide margin - and that margin will grow as more apps modernize.



    Once the rest of the computer gets onto the current generation (RAM is running at 1333mhz, current generation ATI/ NVIDIA chips) and i5/ i7 chips are standard - watch out! It is easy to see where apple is going with the iMacs - affordable power! They realize that the towers are just for the pros and true power users - the rest of us want the power of a tower in an affordable package. This is the first iMac capable of matching the low end towers.



    There's a good thread here on i7 performance: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=818833



    If you can afford to wait until the next revision next year - I am betting the i5 will be standard, and it will have a modern graphics chipset too - probably with the same panels.



    As for me... I probably won't wait and will blow $2,400 on the i7 with 8gigs of RAM!



    -M
  • Reply 8 of 20
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macless View Post


    Anyone who buys/bought the Core 2 Duo version of this model will feel really silly in 1.5 - 2 years.



    And the Core i7 & i5 users... what 6 to 10 months after that?
  • Reply 9 of 20
    Well let's not forget Apple isn't using QPI (QuickPath Interconnect) nor DDR3-1333 RAM in the Core i5 and i7 iMac models. They have DMI (Direct Media Interface) and only DDR3-1066 RAM.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macless View Post


    Anyone who buys/bought the Core 2 Duo version of this model will feel really silly in 1.5 - 2 years.



    I wish I could afford three of the 27" i7s but I cannot.



    I'm posting this from one of the new 27" iMacs and the screen is stunning. Hard to describe the awesomeness. I haven't done much yet, mostly just setting the first one up, but so far I'm very impressed.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    Anybody know if you can buy the Quad-core models in store, or are those only available online?
  • Reply 12 of 20
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacGeek09 View Post


    Well let's not forget Apple isn't using QPI (QuickPath Interconnect) nor DDR3-1333 RAM in the Core i5 and i7 iMac models. They have DMI (Direct Media Interface) and only DDR3-1066 RAM.



    Maybe because those Lynnfield CPUs are not capable of using QPI? There are other advantages like on die memory controllers and a 16 lane PCI express controller.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    Maybe because those Lynnfield CPUs are not capable of using QPI? There are other advantages like on die memory controllers and a 16 lane PCI express controller.



    The Lynnfield CPUs aren't capable of QPI so they aren't directly comparable to the Mac Pro Core i7 but what is interesting that they are able to support DDR3-1333 memory. So I'm not sure why Apple isn't supporting this in the iMacs.
  • Reply 14 of 20
    Quote:

    If you can afford to wait until the next revision next year - I am betting the i5 will be standard, and it will have a modern graphics chipset too - probably with the same panels.



    Hmm. Probably.



    Considering how cheap the i5 chips are, I was very disappointed that they weren't standard...with the i7 standard on the top two models. You have to pay for the i7 as an optional extra.



    I think that's pretty poor considering the lame 'side grade' Apple issued earlier in the year for the iMac.



    Making a profit is one thing. But Apple are charging four times higher for the entry to quad core power...which has been pretty much mainstream in PC land for ages.



    Not only that...while the Ati 4850 is a decent low end card, I wouldn't fancy it pushing that high resolution on the 27 incher. Why not the 4870? AND with a gig of video ram for pushing that resolution? Which again...is pretty much standard amongst PC vendors. They're pushing the high end iMac into workstation territory (and they claim 'workstation' class performance in their 'new iMac intro' video...') So why not at least offer the option of a better gpu? The 4850 was offered as an iMac option half a year ago. Why no progress..? At least offer it as standard in the low end models and offer the 4870 in the high end models. Once again, Apple penny pinching in gpus. It's old tech'. Big surprise. Offer something more current, Apple.



    I'd wait for the 'bump' in march/april and you may save several hundred or more. They're still charging a premium for quad power and and an old gpu.



    Lemon Bon Bon.
  • Reply 15 of 20
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Munch View Post


    The i7 is the only modern chipset of the 3 options. The core 2 is now outdated, and the new architecture is only fully implemented in the i7. Unfortunately the i5 is "fine" - but the reality is that it is simply an i7 with hyper-threading removed - hence a crippled chip. It reminds me of the G4 days, when Apple would ship consumer G4s with the level 3 cache stripped out, and/ or with half or a quarter of the level 2 cache. It was painful to use a G4 that was crippled.



    Don't get me wrong - the i5 is awesome. It is just that the i7 is better - and by a fairly wide margin - and that margin will grow as more apps modernize.



    Once the rest of the computer gets onto the current generation (RAM is running at 1333mhz, current generation ATI/ NVIDIA chips) and i5/ i7 chips are standard - watch out! It is easy to see where apple is going with the iMacs - affordable power! They realize that the towers are just for the pros and true power users - the rest of us want the power of a tower in an affordable package. This is the first iMac capable of matching the low end towers.



    There's a good thread here on i7 performance: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=818833



    If you can afford to wait until the next revision next year - I am betting the i5 will be standard, and it will have a modern graphics chipset too - probably with the same panels.



    As for me... I probably won't wait and will blow $2,400 on the i7 with 8gigs of RAM!



    -M



    Hmmm, its pretty hard to say what's outdated when every single Mac ships with Core 2 Duo....



    However, my 7,1 iMac is almost 1/3 as fast as the i7...



    sign me up! :-)
  • Reply 16 of 20
    New Core i7 results including some real world stuff. Bottom line, they absolutely cream the former top of the line iMacs based on the obsolete Core 2 chips and are very close to the Mac Pro in terms of performance.



    http://barefeats.com/imi7.html
  • Reply 17 of 20
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macless View Post


    Anyone who buys/bought the Core 2 Duo version of this model will feel really silly in 1.5 - 2 years.



    No, we'll feel extremely smart. Those of us buying the Core 2 Duo model understand that next year's model will have USB3 and LightPeak. Once the bugs are ironed out, 2011 will be a great time to upgrade and pass the Core2 down to a receptionist.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iPhone91 View Post


    Anybody know if you can buy the Quad-core models in store, or are those only available online?



    I don't know if they are available yet, but they will definitely be sold in-store.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    I'm posting this from one of the new 27" iMacs and the screen is stunning. Hard to describe the awesomeness. I haven't done much yet, mostly just setting the first one up, but so far I'm very impressed.



    The screen is my one complaint. The size is awesome but the glossiness hurts my eyes. And I'm not anyone who's every dissed glossy screens here before.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Munch View Post


    If you can afford to wait until the next revision next year - I am betting the i5 will be standard, and it will have a modern graphics chipset too - probably with the same panels.



    Waiting is one option, but the price of the 27" essentially means the computer's free.



    I chose to dive in - knowing I'll move to i7 eventually. Besides, Aperture, Final Cut and CS4 can't really take full advantage of the i7 model yet anyway.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post


    No, we'll feel extremely smart. Those of us buying the Core 2 Duo model understand that next year's model will have USB3 and LightPeak. Once the bugs are ironed out, 2011 will be a great time to upgrade and pass the Core2 down to a receptionist.



    Heh. Everyone calculates resale for cars, but the fact is that resale is very relevant in mac pricing as well. Within one year, i'm sure the C2D iMacs will still have fine resale. This is also the major reason why I think the i5 is the best option. If you trade-in every year or so, you're wasting your money buying the top-of-the-line.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    cubitcubit Posts: 846member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Heh. Everyone calculates resale for cars, but the fact is that resale is very relevant in mac pricing as well. Within one year, i'm sure the C2D iMacs will still have fine resale. This is also the major reason why I think the i5 is the best option. If you trade-in every year or so, you're wasting your money buying the top-of-the-line.



    I've always wondered about the"resale" market for Macs-- my closet and desktops at home and office tell me I've never been able to really find buyers, leaving me with iMac G4 15", iMac G4 20", G3 Pismo PowerBook, a G4 Powerbook, to say nothing of two G4 Cubes all wishing they could have been turned into capital as the rush to the new moved on. I'm using an iMac Aluminum 24" now and a 17" Powerbook aluminum early iteration.
  • Reply 20 of 20
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubit View Post


    I've always wondered about the"resale" market for Macs-- my closet and desktops at home and office tell me I've never been able to really find buyers, leaving me with iMac G4 15", iMac G4 20", G3 Pismo PowerBook, a G4 Powerbook, to say nothing of two G4 Cubes all wishing they could have been turned into capital as the rush to the new moved on. I'm using an iMac Aluminum 24" now and a 17" Powerbook aluminum early iteration.



    It all depends on the market you are in. I lived in Victoria BC for example, where I was always able to sell my used macs from my business very fast and for a very good price - in fact, there was usually bidding for used mac desktops and iBooks.



    I moved 3 years ago and were I live now I can't sell a used Mac for the life of me and basically I trade them away for in-kind services to suppliers who are curious about macs - which works well, but most people would prefer the cash.



    Compared to PCs though, used Mac values are amazing and weather you sell or trade or whatever, they hold their value well. The other positive is that i have some "old" dual and quad G5s that as of 10.6 are "obsolete"/ unsupported, but they work so well and are still fast and I can't justify selling them. We also have a first gen intel iMac that is cheerful and performs well, so I see no reason to upgrade it...
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