iMac Quad i5 vs i7
Is anyone finding some goods links to performance testing that shows which processor is more valuable for the money? I half to say, at $200, I am on the fence for this one and I can not decide which way I should be leaning. Please help!
I do plan on doing a lot of video editing, if that means I should just jump at the i7. Thanks.
I do plan on doing a lot of video editing, if that means I should just jump at the i7. Thanks.
Comments
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-10.html
Jump straight to the conclusion here: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-22.html
I think the advanced i7 will be worth the extra $ in the next 1-2 years, as software starts to catch up to snow leopard. Snow Leopard already supports hyperthreading according to apple, so you will get the 10-15% boost from the i7 via the OS - but most programs (games especially) won't get a boost unless they are made to support multiple processors.
For video editing, the i7 is worth the money - decoding, encoding, editing etc will all be faster on the i7 - and 10-20% adds up over time!
Check the article out though - even though it is PC, almost all of it will apply to Mac performance too.
-M
Try this one - I found this article the most useful with all the benchmarks and explanations.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-10.html
Jump straight to the conclusion here: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-22.html
I think the advanced i7 will be worth the extra $ in the next 1-2 years, as software starts to catch up to snow leopard. Snow Leopard already supports hyperthreading according to apple, so you will get the 10-15% boost from the i7 via the OS - but most programs (games especially) won't get a boost unless they are made to support multiple processors.
For video editing, the i7 is worth the money - decoding, encoding, editing etc will all be faster on the i7 - and 10-20% adds up over time!
Check the article out though - even though it is PC, almost all of it will apply to Mac performance too.
-M
Actually, the new iMac 27" mount the i7 860, not 870...
I think that the gap in performances between i5 and i7 is very little...
A good element in choise, would be temperatures... Do anyone know which one is warmer, and how much?
(P.s: I don't believe Hyper Threading will be a great deal... Many years ago I have had a Pentium 4 with HT... It's not a new technology... ).
Why? The CPU fan is waaaay too loud. I'm just not sure if all i7 iMacs are this loud or if mine is worse than usual. It is _much_ louder than the 24" aluminum iMac in the other room and louder than the white 24" iMac which it is replacing.
As for hyperthreading... last night I saw handbrake consume 738% of the processing power.
I recently got an i7 27incher. It's great but I may be returning it for an i5.
Why? The CPU fan is waaaay too loud. I'm just not sure if all i7 iMacs are this loud or if mine is worse than usual. :
I have the i7, and it is very quiet. I have a white intel iMac and the previous glass iMac and it is as quiet or quieter. It should not be loud at all.
About the i7 vs i5 - you get about at least 13% up to 30% more performance for 10% more cost over the i5. It is worth it if you need speed.
Mac benchmarks: http://barefeats.com/imi7.html
jb
I have the i7, and it is very quiet. I have a white intel iMac and the previous glass iMac and it is as quiet or quieter. It should not be loud at all.
About the i7 vs i5 - you get about at least 13% up to 30% more performance for 10% more cost over the i5. It is worth it if you need speed.
Mac benchmarks: http://barefeats.com/imi7.html
jb
It's good to hear another report of the i7 iMac being quite. I hope your anecdote is representative of typical noise levels. Unfortunately, i've heard contradictory reports, with a non-insignificant number of people having loud i7s.
Either way, i'll exercise my applecare contract and see if the next one is any quieter.