I know 300 dollars for a bump from C2D/4670 to a i5/4850 is easily one of the best upgrades Apple has offered in a long, long time.... but would I really need it?
I was primarily going to be using the iMac for everyday stuff (word/browsing/etc) and for games occasionally by others. I don't need everything running on ultra with AA on or anything, just visually comparable to PS3/X360. I will be doing a lot of Photoshop/illustrator things as well and might get into video editing.
I was thinking maybe I could hold out on going quad core for a couple years until Macbook Pro lines get it at a reasonable price then I can just use the iMac as a gorgeous led and media hub in the background as I do my work on the Macbook Pro.
I've seen the benchmarks, but how does it work out in real world situations?
What would having Quad cores do for me except help me handle files/render a few seconds faster here and there? I'm sure it's a tremendous boost in things like encoding but how would it help when it comes to image editing?
Is the 4850 a huge bump in specs compared to the 4670? Is the performance gap similar to going from 9400 to the 9600?
I just wanted to share what's been going on with my i7 which I received last Friday. Immediately I was curious about what sort of temps I was going to be running so I installed Temperature Monitor. At idle my graphics readings hover around 40C. However, when playing Warcraft 3 my Graphics Processor Temperature Diode reaches up to 84C.
I don't really know what temps are acceptable, I was just wondering what other i7 HD4850s out there are running. To deal with this seemingly high temperature I installed smcFanControl and boosted all fan speeds by 50%. Noise doesn't seem to be proportional to fan speed at these levels so no probs there. Now I run at 64C at load and I am at peace with that.
Shouldn't the OS be increasing fan speed on its own?
Would like to know what you guys think and observe in your i7 machines
So the older Mac Pro's from 2008 have 2 2.8ghz Quad Core Intel Xeon processors, without hyperthreading, for a total of 8 cores, and the top of the line iMac has a Quar Core i7 2,8ghz with hyperthreading for a total of 8 (virtual) cores.
With the ghz being the same but less "real" cores, but probably newer CPU architecture, which CPU will actually be faster?
I know other threads exist, but they don't have responses specific to me so what's the harm in one more?
So, I am going to be selling my late 2008 15" MacBook Pro this week to get a new 27" iMac and I just need some legitimate advice from those "in the know" on processors.
I plan on having this iMac for about 3 years to do the following tasks:
1.) Record and edit HD cable (1080i) from an Elgato EyeTV HD - will include some encoding of 2+ hour sports game recordings
2.) Some light editing of 720p iPhone 4 clips in iMovie
3.) Surf the web, iTunes, iPhoto, Mail, and all the other standard stuff
Assuming budget is an issue, would you recommend me spending the extra money for a Quad Core i5 iMac or would I be ok based on the info above just going with the base Dual Core i3 model?
Like, will there be a considerable difference in the two machines (factoring in processor and graphics card) that will really be worth the extra $300 - $400 for 3 years of use?
This will primarily be used for application development, primarily with Xcode.
I'll also use it for photography/video (GIMP, and stepping into Aperture and Final Cut Express).
I've ruled out an iMac because I want plenty of expansion options.
I know Xcode scales linearly depending on the number of cores but I am trying to look for a sweet spot in performance and budget. I want something I can grow with for a few years (i.e 3-4).
I ordered an I7 Imac, but can't get a definitive idea if the quad core will be utilized or not. If a software program like Final Cut Express is not "Quad Core Aware", is there no advantage over a Core Duo? Why would the encoding be twice as fast, but not the program?
I've decided to jump on the apple band wagon and purchase an iMac.
I'm planning on ordering the 27-inch quad core i5 but I'm wondering whether it's worth upgrading the processor or increasing the RAM - does anyone use FCS 3 and if so, would it be better to increase the RAM to 8GB+ to run more smoothly.. or does the 4GB RAM basic run fine with FCP 7 and the like?
Has anyone tried using their iMac as a monitor for a PC? I have a high-end PC that I use for work and I recently bought an iMac for video, audio, and pictures (in other words....personal use.)
Has anyone used their beautiful 27 inch imac as a monitor for another computer? Pros/cons?
Debating whether or not to get the core i5 for 1999 or i7 for 200 more.. Will I see a difference in gaming between the two processors? It seems like everyone is getting the i7 to future proof but is there really that big of a difference in the two CPUs ?
I just bought a new mid-2010 updated iMac with 2.8GHz Core i5. However, when I looked at the system profiler, it reports CPU speed at 2.66GHz.
At first, I thought I accidentally got the late-2009 version, but other aspects of the system seem to indicate that this is correct Mac.
The box has updated part number, but does list the CPU as 2.66GHz. It has the newer HD 5750 w/1GB RAM, it uses 1333GHz DDR3 memory. So everything seems to point that it's a new iMac, but the CPU is of the wrong version.
So I sprung for the quad core i5 a few weeks ago, and I want to know what I can do to really notice my investment. Too often I find myself just searching the web and checking my email which makes me feel like I would have been fine with the i3 for $300 less.
I was taken aback by a recent review of the new iMac that has the dual-core i5 upgrade. There were claims that the dual-core i5 (i5-680 @ 3.6GHz) is still faster in quite a few applications than the quad-core i5 (i5-760 @ 2.8GHz)... Isn't Turbo Boost supposed to take it up to 3.33GHz? (yes, I know, it will only kick in if the temps allow it and it's still slightly less than 3.6 but you get my point)
Then, there was another article which claimed that even the Core i3-550 @ 3.2GHz is supposedly faster than the quad-core i5 @ 2.8GHz in a few scenarios. I realize that the Core i3 does not have Turbo Boost, but it does have Hyper-Threading which OS X sees as 4 (virtual) cores. The Core i5 does not have Hyper-threading, but it has 4 "actual" cores, and it also has Turbo Boost. Hmmm...
I have to take my iMac in because of a hardware issue and I was planning on upgrading to the Quad-core i5 for $275 extra ($300 minus student discount). I'm even contemplating jumping all the way to the i7 for another $180. Should I do this or just get another one w/ Core i3 3.2GHz? Towards the end of the article, Macworld even suggests not getting the Quad, unless "...you can take advantage of the few programs that exist today that can take advantage of the extra cores."
Future-proofing is not that important in my case, as I switch computers too often. Otherwise, quad-core would be the obvious choice, although we've been hearing the whole "Well, maybe not today, but in a year or two from now, you'll appreciate the fact that you got a Quad...", etc. since...well, almost 2 years ago.
Those waiting for the quad core to roll out next month, any concern about the temperature buildup? I recently had some good fortune roll my way and will be getting the quad core iMac. After seeing some pictures of the inside, I am a little concerned about the heat buildup from the CPU, GPU, and the display. I know Apple does its homework, but is there too much in such a confined space without greheat circulation? Is this even worth worrying about?
I was looking on GeekBench and noticed there are quite a few quad core iMac that are running faster than the 2.66GHz of the i5 and the 2.8GHz of the i7. I can't make sense if people really are trying to overclock or just somehow are making Geekbench think they have a faster CPU/are editing their scores somehow. How in the world could one overclock the iMac when cooling is a serious concern?
I have an iMac 1st Gen i5 Quad-Core with two user accounts and since the 10.7.3 update I cannot get the computer to restart or shutdown properly. It seems to happen when both users have been signed on. I log out on both accounts, shutdown (or restart) and it still hangs up. If I use just one account, it's hit and miss. No applications are hanging in the force quit menu.
A recent post on Wired Site made me think that the 27" iMac could really be the ultimate computer for the graphic professional and offices in the graphics field. I don't know if this theory was discussed or if it is actually possible but according to Apple, the new iMac can be used as an external monitor for another device. If you bought the 27" iMac Core i7 version and hooked it up to a MacPro as a render server, that's a lot more computer for little to no more additional work space.
Also, if this is possible, you could buy an iMac now and once you outgrow it you can still use it as a monitor for a Mac Pro and utilize the quad core for networked tasks like background rendering. Futher, if everyone in your office used a 27" iMac as a monitor (as it really is only about $100 less than the 30" cinema screen) and had a Mac Pro. You'd potentially have quite a networked renderfarm without actually taking up any more physical space in your office. That is if you can make it function that way.
I gather there've been more than a few headaches getting working video drivers for the ATI 4850 in the iMac (windows side). A few posts have said that version 8.661 of the AMD driver (Catalyst 9.10) works, but other versions including newer ones, don't.
i am looking at ram upgrade options as i am about to dive in and purchase the 27" quad core imac.i know we need to install in pairs but do the 'pairs' need to match. can i leave the 2mb pair that comes with the computer AND add a pair of 4mb giving a total of 12mb?
Just curious as to how much of an improvement in performance I would see upgrading my system as it states above, since my 2006 machine is 3 years old and getting close to the end of my apple care, figured I would trade it in and upgrade.
is it even possible to upgrade an old dual core powermac g5 to a quad core or even an 8 core.
I have a dual core one and i really need to upgrade to a quad or even 8 but it is so expensive to buy a whole brand new one and i was wondering if there was a way to just get a new processor and more ram or what not.
I'm buying a new MacBookPro but can't decide, due to lack of knowledge, wich one to choose and if there's a noticeble difference between, 15.4" MacBook Pro Notebook Computer 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 Quad-Core4GB of DDR3 RAM500GB 5400rpm Hard DriveAMD Radeon HD 6750M 512MB Graphics15.4" LED-Backlit Glossy Display1400 x 900 Native ResolutionSlot-Loading SuperDrive802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDRFaceTime HD Camera, Built-in MicrophoneMac OS X 10.7 Lion (64-bit)
and the 13.3" MacBook Pro Notebook Computer 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 Dual-Core8GB of DDR3 RAM (2x4GB)750GB 5400rpm Hard DriveIntel HD 3000 Graphics13.3" Glossy Widescreen Display1280 x 800 Native ResolutionSuperDrive, Secure Digital Card SlotFaceTime HD Camera, Omnidirectional Mic802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDRMac OS X 10.7 Lion
Besides the screen size, one would be considerable faster?
I use Photoshop and beeing a photographer I deal with large files.
Info: MacBookPro 2.66GHz 4GB 1067MHz DDR3, Mac OS X (10.6.2)
