Quad-Core on an iMac

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PracticeecitcarP	Quad-Core on an iMac	Lead	[-]
(12/03/09 9:17 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None The new iMacs are available with the i5 (2.66GHz) or i7 (2.88GHz) quad-core processors, as well as duo-core. The i5 costs about $200 less than the i7. Do you think the i7 option is worth the $ over the i5? Yes, the i7 has Hyper-Threading. Even doing video editing, having to wait a tiny bit longer is not a big deal to me. On my PC w/3.2 GHz duo-core, the speed is fine. I just wish they had kept the 24" screen size as an option. The 21" iMac is now so limited in processor & graphics choices compared to the 27". Richard
Dave Baird		#1	[-]
(12/03/09 9:23 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Richard - my brain just broke... Dave Ain't it funny...how time slips away (Willie Nelson)
BucksCountyBob		#2	[-]
(12/03/09 10:07 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Richard, if you're going to buy the 27" screen, try to do so locally. I have read countless threads over in Apple discussions where they are showing up in the mail with cracked glass. I think the 27" is just too big and fragile to withstand shipping. There are literally hundreds of posts reporting this problem. Also reading that certain programs (CS4 for example) are not yet compatible with Snow Leopard. You may want to wait a bit if you rely heavily on that. Although I am very happy with my 20" iMac, I have to admit that the i7 27" has me drooling. I'll have to play a lot of gigs before I can afford it though... BucksCountyBob Total Guitar Fraud Club Friends of Dave Chapter 2003 Martin HD-28,1999 Fender MiM Stratocaster,Martin LXM
Jason Verlinde		#3	[-]
(12/03/09 10:20 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bob, thanks for the tip about shipping. I was just about to order one of these next month! Jason Verlinde The Fretboard Journal
PracticeecitcarP		#4	[-]
(12/03/09 10:45 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BCBob - I've read about the problems with the 27" cracked glass. Even though we don't have an Apple Store near here, I would buy from a local small shop. I think the 24" is ideal but it isn't an option if you want the quad-core, sigh. And it isn't even offered now unless you want old stock. I would go with the 20" iMac but you're limited in the graphics processor, i.e., you cannot get the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and you cannot get the quad-core processor. Bummer. Bootcamp in Snow Leopard doesn't support Windows 7 but the update is expected next month (?). But the question I asked - is the i7 worth the extra $200 - what do you think? Richard
Mac Mechanic		#5	[-]
(12/03/09 11:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I would say yes, it's worth it. You want to get the most computer you can afford, and the extra $200, while it doesn't get you a huge bump in speed, does get you the latest technology. Also get as much RAM as you can afford. You probably don't need 16GB, but it ships with 4GB, which isn't bad, but I'd go up to 8GB anyway. Of course, you can always buy it from a 3rd party for much less and install it yourself later. And FWIW, I'm using CS4 with Snow Leopard on a Mac Pro 2.66 Quad-core with no problems whatsoever. Paul I may be wrong, but I'm not far from it...
Peter Cree		#6	[-]
(12/03/09 11:33 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Arrrgh.........this has me drooling............... Cree Studios Amazing Stuff creestudios.com my music When I speak, inanimate objects listen.
BucksCountyBob		#7	[-]
(12/03/09 11:36 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sorry Richard, I was intentionally staying away from actually answering your question because I wanted to do a little research first. I think the answer is dependent upon the software you will be running. If the software does multi-threading well, then definitely yes. In every benchmark test over at Tom's Hardware (my goto site for this sort of information) it runs a fair bit faster than the i5. Having said that, most of the benchmark software that they use is designed to take advantage of multiple threads. The perception on the street, however, is that the speed difference is not as perceptible to the average user because most software that isn't designed for benchmark purposes doesn't multi-thread. I do expect that to change though, so over time it may be a good choice. edited to remove incorrect triple channel memory statement so I don't provide bad info. By the way, there are also chipset differences that have video card compatibility implications, although that is probably not a concern with the iMac as opposed to these chips in a PC based environment. For all the details, see this article at Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5,2410.html BucksCountyBob Total Guitar Fraud Club Friends of Dave Chapter 2003 Martin HD-28,1999 Fender MiM Stratocaster,Martin LXM Last Edited By: BucksCountyBob 12/03/09 12:17 PM. Edited 2 times.
Mac Mechanic		#8	[-]
(12/03/09 12:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hmm... the iMac i7 comes with 2 RAM chips. It doesn't support triple channel memory, as it is the entry-level version of Intel's i7 processor. Or maybe triple-channel memory simply isn't implemented in the iMac (it is in the Mac Pro with the i7 chip). At any rate, chips can be added singly or in pairs; it doesn't affect the performance. Paul I may be wrong, but I'm not far from it...
BucksCountyBob		#9	[-]
(12/03/09 12:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Paul, is triple channel the same thing as DDR3? In the Mac store it lists all the memory upgrades as DDR3, which I took to mean triple channel. As I said previously, I didn't really understand the statement in the article I read, which is why I posted the link to the article where I read about this in my edit above. Edit to add: Perhaps I should stay out of this. I'm working and my original intention was to just try to warn about the shipping issues. Since I'm not in the market (and I have my own work to do) I'll just stay out of this and let the experts discuss, as I don't want to confuse or provide misinformation. BucksCountyBob Total Guitar Fraud Club Friends of Dave Chapter 2003 Martin HD-28,1999 Fender MiM Stratocaster,Martin LXM Last Edited By: BucksCountyBob 12/03/09 12:12 PM. Edited 1 times.
Lefty00042		#10	[-]
(12/03/09 12:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For what it's worth, Photoshop CS3 works fine in Snow Leopard. I use it routinely. ~ Herb -- Martin D-15 \|Martin HD-28V \| Martin 00-18VS UMGF Custom, #15 \| Martin 000-42 1935 Sunburst \| Martin 000-18 Golden Era 1935 Sunburst Martin LXBlack \| National Reso-Phonic Delphi \| Fender Standard Telecaster \| Epiphone Dot 335 \| Agile Al2800 LP-clone Martin 3 Cherry Ukulele \| Glyph Custom Ukulele \| KoAloha Soprano Ukulele www.angryherb.net
PracticeecitcarP		#11	[-]
(12/03/09 12:39 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Paul - thanks for the "is it worth it" reply. I think you're on target there. And 8 GB is how I would spec the iMac (4 x 2GB - which is considerably cheaper than 2 x 4GB). BCBob - "triple channel" implementation is not the same thing as DDR3. Please feel free to join in this discussion and don't worry about it. It will become clear. You can look at this thread in the Apple Support Discussions for good info on the triple channel issue. Like Mac said, the present iMac i7 does not support triple channel memory (which is not a deal-breaker for me). Thanks. Richard

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