iMac 2010 i5 vs 2011 i5 Refurbs - other iMac questions too

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Hi! I will be buying my first iMac soon (have had 4 macbook pros, a macbook air, ipad, and several ipod touches before, so not first mac). What I will do on this computer; mostly graphics editing in Illustrator/Photoshop. Some gaming (Portal 2 full res, etc. Any extreme gaming will be on my custom pc rig). Possibly some seldom video editing/ripping/encoding.

I want to buy a refurb 27" model. I am stuck between the 2010 2.8Ghz i5 quad and the 2011 2.7Ghz i5 quad.

2011 Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - Apple Store (U.S.)
2010 Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.8GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 processor - Apple Store (U.S.)

what are pros and cons of both? Which has the better GPU (benchmarks, please, not just speculation). I know that the 2011 sandy bridge is probably like 20% faster. I want to spend $1500 but can spend a bit more if the upgraded models are much faster. Also, are there any problems/issues with the 2011 iMacs, such as the modifed SATA cable?

Last but not least, I have heard that refurb systems sometimes randomly get better parts in them, such as more RAM. Does this happen more often with certain systems? What can I do to maximize my chances of getting upgraded specs?


THANKS!!!!!!!
 

chscag

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My choice would be the iMac 2011 model simply because it comes with Thunderbolt technology. And of course since it's newer. :)
 

pigoo3

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Similar prices...I would go with the 2011 iMac as well.

- Nick
 
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My choice would be the iMac 2011 model simply because it comes with Thunderbolt technology. And of course since it's newer. :)

I should have mentioned that Thunderbolt doesn't make too much of a difference for me. 27" is freaking huge and I won't be connecting more monitors. I've had a 2011 i7 macbook pro and I never used the Thunderbolt in that, seeing as no accessories have even come out yet.

What are some other major differences? I would appreciate it if someone could address the last part about random lucky upgrades.

Right now, I'm mostly set on the 2010 i7 Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Quad-Core i7 processor - Apple Store (U.S.). Its only arond $140 more but scores around 9100 in geekbench while the 2011 i5 2.7 gets 7800. Not only that, but I build custom computers (mostly with i7's that I overclock to 4.5Ghz+, with SSDs and 8-16GB RAM.) I pride on having better computers then the rest of my 15 year old peers so having an i7 is much better then an i5. Not only that, but resale value goes up as well.
 
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This is the original post

Hmm. Looks like my first post got removed (maybe because I added poll?)

I will be buying a refurb 27" imac. Here are my questions:

1. What are some differences between 2010 and 2011 27" iMacs (such as thunderbolt, the weird sata cable, etc)
2. How is the 5750 vs the 6770m gpu? Benchmarks? The 6770m seems much worse without any research
3. How can I maximize the chance of getting a random upgrade (such as to RAM or HDD) when ordering a refurb? (for example, ordering a higher end model etc)
4. Is there tax in apple refurbs? If there is, is it the standard state tax rate?
5. Is there a way I can get a refurb iMac with a magic trackpad instead of the magic mouse?

Thanks in advance!!!!!!
:Cool::Cool::Cool:
 

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