Core 2 duo or core i5, 27" iMac?

sequitursequitur
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
From time to time, one of my college colleagues will ask me a computer question.



As I've pointed out on this forum before, I know just enough about computer technology to know I just don't know enough about computer technology. Therefore, I pass the question on to AI members.



This question may have been asked before, but I'm not savvy enough to locate it - or maybe just too lazy. I may have asked it before. Bad memory.



Question:

How would someone know when to buy or to move from a 27" core 2 duo, 3.06 iMac to a core i5, 2.66 GHz iMac? What factor(s) has/have to taken into consideration?



Hark, I hear the hoofbeats of AI members riding to my rescue. The U.S. Seventh Cavalry has nothing on you guys.



Thanks, you make me seem like a guru to my fellow profs.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sequitur View Post


    From time to time, one of my college colleagues will ask me a computer question.



    As I've pointed out on this forum before, I know just enough about computer technology to know I just don't know enough about computer technology. Therefore, I pass the question on to AI members.



    This question may have been asked before, but I'm not savvy enough to locate it - or maybe just too lazy. I may have asked it before. Bad memory.



    Question:

    How would someone know when to buy or to move from a 27" core 2 duo, 3.06 iMac to a core i5, 2.66 GHz iMac? What factor(s) has/have to taken into consideration?



    Hark, I hear the hoofbeats of AI members riding to my rescue. The U.S. Seventh Cavalry has nothing on you guys.



    Thanks, you make me seem like a guru to my fellow profs.





    The Core i5 is great for people that want to be able to do things that will require multitasking. For instance if you want to edit any video you're going to end up having to encode the video at the end and that takes time so with more cores you're going to be able to handle larger tasks and keep the Mac more responsive.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    chapunguchapungu Posts: 1member
    To hijack this question to a degree ...

    I am looking to buy a new iMac 27" soon. Should I spend the money to upgrade to an i5 quad core, or would I be better off adding additional RAM?
  • Reply 3 of 7
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chapungu View Post


    To hijack this question to a degree ...

    I am looking to buy a new iMac 27" soon. Should I spend the money to upgrade to an i5 quad core, or would I be better off adding additional RAM?



    You can't change the processor after the purchase so I'd recommend the Core i5 over a Core2 Duo with more RAM.





    My eventual plans are to purchase a 27" iMac next year. Toss in at least 8GB of RAM and I'm targetting a premium 160GB SSD (which will go in later mosts likely).



    That will be a fast Mac and perfect for Audio and Video work.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    I have a Core i5 27" iMac. It's a great machine, and it will hold its resale much better than the Core2 Duo model, I would expect. Even in normal use, you'll get benefit from the 4-cores.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    rokcet scientistrokcet scientist Posts: 962member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    My eventual plans are to purchase a 27" iMac next year. Toss in at least 8GB of RAM and I'm targetting a premium 160GB SSD (which will go in later mosts likely).



    That will be a fast Mac and perfect for Audio and Video work.



    160GB isn't very much for audio and video work, imho.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rokcet Scientist View Post


    160GB isn't very much for audio and video work, imho.



    Sorry..incomplete post. I want a fast boot drive and then most of my external storage would handle the audio and video data.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    After more advice from AI members, another college colleague asked me to go with him to check out the 27" iMacs at a local Apple Store.



    Wow! The iMacs blew me away. I have been saying for years that I would NEVER buy an AIO, but I have to eat my words. I'm in awe of this monster. Vinea, don't say, "I told you so."



    For a few days, I daydreamed about having that bad boy, and then I KNEW I had to have that iMac.



    I checked out education prices and the AI Mac Pricing Guide. It turns out that buying the iMac i5 from MacConnection (no sales tax) gave me the best deal: total cost- $1949.00.



    I had heard of the iMac waiting period, but - will wonders never cease - the iMac will be delivered some time next week. Is this a great (Apple) country or what?



    I want to thank the academy (AI members) for this achievement.



    One sad note, the Mini gets shunted from desktop to elsewhere in the house.



    Error message: Edit above price-

    Ordering Information

    Price:$1,949.00

    Mail-In Rebate: -$100.00

    After Rebate: $1,849.00
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