FYI - The ?Bone-Head? iMac choice? Watch Out! (Price changes, too)
Background:
As my wife?s G5 iMac has been showing signs of dyeing for a few months, this Saturday we placed an order for a BTO new i7 quad core iMac after seeing the fantastic 27? screen at an Apple Store.
I knew that as she needs to run a virtual Windows 7 and lots of graphics stuff only the best graphics chip would do (and that?s not all that hot ether ? only 512M and GDDR3 instead of GDDR5 like the rest of the civilized world ? but oh well).
Then came the cold feeling in the pit of my stomach as I attempted to digest the price!
Out of this near panic, I took another close look at the other options, and discovered a real price trap for the unwary.
Choice Number One (?Bone-Head? Choice?)
iMac 27-inch upgraded to 3.33GHz. Intel Core 2 Duo
Also upgraded to ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Price? $2.049
VS
Choice Number Two
iMac 27-inch with 2.66GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 (with VT enabled)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB standard
Price? $1,999 ($50 less than the Dual-Core!)
OK, everything?s fair and square ? the prices are posted for all to see ? but GEE WHIZ.
Just imagine buying the dual core (assuming it MUST cost less than the otherwise identical quad-core), and then you find out it was more.
Priceless. (OUCH!!!)
PS ? for those who might think the higher speed of the dual core might be worth the price, consider the i5 has ?Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology?, which when the quad-core only needs to use two of its cores (just like a dual-core) it will automatically speed-up to 3.20 GHz.
The i7 runs at 3.33 GHz when in ?dual-core? mode.
It also has Hyper-Threading Technology to enable 8 virtual cores (like the Xeon in the Mac Pros)
If it can help, links to Intel Processor Specs.
Core2Duo3.33
QuadCore i5
QuadCore i7
PPS - EDIT - NO PRICE CHANGE
My bad, I forgot my wife is a teacher, so the i5 to i7 was only $180.
For the rest of us mortals its always been $200 - still worth it.
As my wife?s G5 iMac has been showing signs of dyeing for a few months, this Saturday we placed an order for a BTO new i7 quad core iMac after seeing the fantastic 27? screen at an Apple Store.
I knew that as she needs to run a virtual Windows 7 and lots of graphics stuff only the best graphics chip would do (and that?s not all that hot ether ? only 512M and GDDR3 instead of GDDR5 like the rest of the civilized world ? but oh well).
Then came the cold feeling in the pit of my stomach as I attempted to digest the price!
Out of this near panic, I took another close look at the other options, and discovered a real price trap for the unwary.
Choice Number One (?Bone-Head? Choice?)
iMac 27-inch upgraded to 3.33GHz. Intel Core 2 Duo
Also upgraded to ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Price? $2.049
VS
Choice Number Two
iMac 27-inch with 2.66GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 (with VT enabled)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB standard
Price? $1,999 ($50 less than the Dual-Core!)
OK, everything?s fair and square ? the prices are posted for all to see ? but GEE WHIZ.
Just imagine buying the dual core (assuming it MUST cost less than the otherwise identical quad-core), and then you find out it was more.
Priceless. (OUCH!!!)
PS ? for those who might think the higher speed of the dual core might be worth the price, consider the i5 has ?Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology?, which when the quad-core only needs to use two of its cores (just like a dual-core) it will automatically speed-up to 3.20 GHz.
The i7 runs at 3.33 GHz when in ?dual-core? mode.
It also has Hyper-Threading Technology to enable 8 virtual cores (like the Xeon in the Mac Pros)
If it can help, links to Intel Processor Specs.
Core2Duo3.33
QuadCore i5
QuadCore i7
PPS - EDIT - NO PRICE CHANGE
My bad, I forgot my wife is a teacher, so the i5 to i7 was only $180.
For the rest of us mortals its always been $200 - still worth it.
Comments
that about sums it up.
Rather interesting point... I certainly hadn't noticed.
Mac Pro
2.66 GHz Xeon
3GB RAM
640 GB Hard drive
$2,499
iMac 27"
2.66 GHz Intel Core i5
4GB RAM
1TB hard drive
$1,999
Now like I said, I'm not an expert on this stuff and I realize the Xeon is a better processor than the i5, but to the layman just looking at clock speed you get the same performance, more RAM and more hard drive for about $500 LESS on an iMac.
I really want to update from my 2007 13" Macbook, but Apple just doesn't have what I want. I don't need a screen (especially a glossy one), but I don't want to pay $500 more for less computer. WTF?!
I'm not a hardware expert, but here's another interesting comparison -
Mac Pro
2.66 GHz Xeon
3GB RAM
640 GB Hard drive
$2,499
iMac 27"
2.66 GHz Intel Core i5
4GB RAM
1TB hard drive
$1,999
Now like I said, I'm not an expert on this stuff and I realize the Xeon is a better processor than the i5, but to the layman just looking at clock speed you get the same performance, more RAM and more hard drive for about $500 LESS on an iMac.
I really want to update from my 2007 13" Macbook, but Apple just doesn't have what I want. I don't need a screen (especially a glossy one), but I don't want to pay $500 more for less computer. WTF?!
Add the price of a 27" display to that Power Mac and the price difference doesn't get any better
Add the price of a 27" display to that Power Mac and the price difference doesn't get any better
Exactly! The thing is that I already have a matte 27" widescreen that I use with my Macbook. So what should I do, get the iMac and set it on the floor next to my desk?!
If you're going to talk about CPU features as if you know about them, try to get the details right.
I think the point of his post was that you can get an i5 iMac cheaper than a C2D iMac. (All other specs being equal.)
Rather interesting point... I certainly hadn't noticed.
Hm, for most people its about what you need, not what you can get.
Hm, for most people its about what you need, not what you can get.
Who the heck is ever going to want to pay MORE money to just get what they need, when they can pay less and get everything they need and then some? Your post makes no sense. I completely understand what this threads originator was pointing out and it is quite interesting. I basically don't see anyone ever ordering the 3.33ghz with the 4850 card, it will always be one or the other, otherwise they would just bump up to the quad.
Who the heck is ever going to want to pay MORE money to just get what they need, when they can pay less and get everything they need and then some? Your post makes no sense. I completely understand what this threads originator was pointing out and it is quite interesting. I basically don't see anyone ever ordering the 3.33ghz with the 4850 card, it will always be one or the other, otherwise they would just bump up to the quad.
For the 6 people who know the difference, the post wasn't needed. For the average customer, it will come down to price.
For the 6 people who know the difference, the post wasn't needed. For the average customer, it will come down to price.
Hey i was just trying to point out that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to bag on this persons post. If the information wasn't pertinent to you, doesn't mean that others didn't appreciate the post and find it informative. Lighten up, and welcome a new poster to the group.
and think the "rest of the world" is actually using GDDR5.
that about sums it up.
Wake up - they ARE!
They are also using the ATI 5xxx series video, too.
Heck even my old 3870 used GDDR 4!
I guess I just listened to too many people talking about Apple using the very best quality components, so reality is a bit of a let down.
The screen IS fantastic, though.
I think the point of his post was that you can get an i5 iMac cheaper than a C2D iMac. (All other specs being equal.)
Rather interesting point... I certainly hadn't noticed.
Yep, that's my point, and stated MUCH better, too.
Hey i was just trying to point out that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to bag on this persons post. If the information wasn't pertinent to you, doesn't mean that others didn't appreciate the post and find it informative. Lighten up, and welcome a new poster to the group.
Thank you.
I'm cooling off a bit now.
Apple makes some truly fantastic looking stuff, and has so often been in the forefront in introducing tomorrows tech and literally forced Intel and Microsoft to get on the bandwagon or look ridiculous.
As I recall USB and Firewire were two of these.
It's more than a little sad not to see this so much now, but I'm going astray from my own thread!
The main thing here was to prevent someone from making a boo-boo in the heat of getting a neet new computer.
Now like I said, I'm not an expert on this stuff and I realize the Xeon is a better processor than the i5,
Not necessarily. Core and Xeon are just branding. In fact, with the 900 series i7s and xeon 3500s, they are different packagings of the same Bloomfield CPUs (Xeons have ECC enabled) sold at the same price using the same tylersburg motherboards. In fact, the Gainestown (Xeon 5500) used in the 8-core MPs is simply these chips with a second quickpath link to communicate with a second CPU.
Not necessarily. Core and Xeon are just branding. In fact, with the 900 series i7s and xeon 3500s, they are different packagings of the same Bloomfield CPUs (Xeons have ECC enabled) sold at the same price using the same tylersburg motherboards. In fact, the Gainestown (Xeon 5500) used in the 8-core MPs is simply these chips with a second quickpath link to communicate with a second CPU.
Even more reason to go the iMac route with things as they currently stand. I was just reading the teardown thread and it looks fairly straightforward to go in there and change out the 7200 RPM hard drive for an SSD and since the glass is removable I bet we'll have some decent possibilities for matte alternatives in the not too distant future.