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And now, the next can of worms...........

post #1 of 8
9/25/10 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
A new iMac is in my future (maybe). There are some choices to evaluate when it comes to the exact model. It will be a 27", so there's no argument over that. It will also be an i7 or one of the two i5 offerings. Just so there is no misunderstanding, I LOVE the glossy screen, and have been using one for over 2 years, so that 's another argument that we can avoid. There's only $327 separating the dual core i5 from the top of the line quad core i7, and over the life of the machine price seems not to be a deciding factor, while performance certainly could be. We shouldn't ignore future proofing if we can avoid it.

Having said all of that, I've not used one of the new releases, so I'm here to pick the brains of those that have. I'm not a gamer, nor do I do enough video to amount to anything. I do use Photoshop, Lightroom, etc, as still photography is a hobby of mine. I'm not an Aperture fan, perhaps my loss, but, I'll get over it!
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post #2 of 8
9/27/10 at 12:32am
I have not used one of the core i5-i7 models, but the core 2 duo 27" (previous generation I think) I have seen and used a little in a shop was fabulous to say the least. With this display, a quad core-i7 chip, 8GB RAM at least and SSD+HD combination it would be a dream machine for me. And for you I suppose. I usually buy the (near the) top model each time to last me many years.
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post #3 of 8
9/27/10 at 6:53am
Your only dilemma seems to be i5 or i7.
Get the i7 if you have the cash. You'll probably not notice any difference today... But 2 years from now, when the software takes better advantage of what the i7 can do, you'll be glad you did.
If you have LOTS of cash, I'd also get the SSD as a second drive.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #4 of 8
9/27/10 at 7:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post

Your only dilemma seems to be i5 or i7.
Get the i7 if you have the cash. You'll probably not notice any difference today... But 2 years from now, when the software takes better advantage of what the i7 can do, you'll be glad you did.
If you have LOTS of cash, I'd also get the SSD as a second drive.

Well, there's two i5 versions, the duo and the quad. Turbo Boost gives the duo model a speed advantage for most uses, but as you said, it won't keep that advantage once more apps become multi processor friendly.

I haven't seen any comparisons between the new models using PS CS 5, or LR 3. Perhaps that's because there are a lot of PS plugins that aren't 64 bit ready yet, so a lot of pros are not going beyond CS 4 in their every day use. It could be, although it calls for some gazing into the crystal ball, that the i5 duo will be a good choice for the next 3-4 years, as we wait for more apps that will use 8 cores. Plus, I'm not a pro photographer, so I don't have the needs of one.

A lot of conjecture, and all over the tidy sum of $327!

There is absolutely no way that I would pay Apple's asking price for their SSD offer. That puts things into the Mac Pro price range, and there are WAY better buys for SSDs available from third parties. Yeah, I know about OWC's services for iMacs along these lines, but the extra bucks involved still put one into the Mac Pro price range. The i7 is already close the the Mac Pro at the checkout counter.
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post #5 of 8
9/27/10 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

I haven't seen any comparisons between the new models using PS CS 5, or LR 3.

You can see several benchmarks on barefeats; not sure if this is what you are looking for though.
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post #6 of 8
9/27/10 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PB View Post

You can see several benchmarks on barefeats; not sure if this is what you are looking for though.


Yep, BF has some results, but not what I'm looking for. I did a bit of testing for Rob at BF with my 2008 iMac, so he could compare different iMac models, but he hasn't posted the results, and that was back last month when the new models hit. Even Macworld only used PS CS 4, not CS 5 to test the new iMacs.
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post #7 of 8
9/27/10 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

Well, there's two i5 versions, the duo and the quad. Turbo Boost gives the duo model a speed advantage for most uses, but as you said, it won't keep that advantage once more apps become multi processor friendly.

The Quad core i5 also has turbo boost as well. In fact its a more important feature on the quad core i5 than the dual core i5 IMO. The dual core i5 is likely to always be using 2 cores so its not likely to kick into turbo boost mode. The quad core on the other hand may have instances when only two or three cores are being used and TB kicks in. It will not boost up to the baseline speed of the dual core i5 but it minimizes the speed advantage of the dual core i5 in lightly threaded work loads.

That said, the dual core i5 is a nice machine. I don't think you can go wrong either way but if it were my money, I'd get a quad core i5 or i7.
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post #8 of 8
9/28/10 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

The Quad core i5 also has turbo boost as well. In fact its a more important feature on the quad core i5 than the dual core i5 IMO. The dual core i5 is likely to always be using 2 cores so its not likely to kick into turbo boost mode. The quad core on the other hand may have instances when only two or three cores are being used and TB kicks in. It will not boost up to the baseline speed of the dual core i5 but it minimizes the speed advantage of the dual core i5 in lightly threaded work loads.

That said, the dual core i5 is a nice machine. I don't think you can go wrong either way but if it were my money, I'd get a quad core i5 or i7.

Going by what info I can find, I agree with your remarks. No decision here yet, but I'm not in a hurry, and it's possible that I'll hold off on buying for awhile.
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