New mac user: Which iMac?

[Jester0723]

Hey everyone,

I'm soon to be a mac user. Until today, I had planned on purchasing a refurbished imac. The one I planned on getting was the 2.8ghz 24" model from 2008 for $1200.

I was pretty much sold on it until I saw this years 2.66ghz iMac 24" going for $1299 at the refurb store.

I don't know which to choose. Here are the basic differences between the 2 machines:

2.8ghz intel dual core
2 gb ddr2 ram
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
apple remote
320gb hard drive
iLife 08
$1199

2.66ghz intel dual core
4gb ddr3 ram
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB memory
640 gb hard drive
iLife 09
no apple remote
one additional USB 2.0 port
$1299

I intend to use this computer for mild audio editing and recording, mild photo editing, and mild gaming (booting windows 7 thru boot camp). Which of these machines is better for my needs?

The newer mac already has iLife 09, and also has more ram that's faster and more expandable. However, it lacks he processing speed of the older iMac. It also has a better graphics card.

Which do you think is more important, ram speed and amount of ram, or processing power? Is the newer mac worth the extra $100?

Sorry if this post doesn't make much sense; it's late, and I'll answer any questions you have tomorrow morning.

Thanks, everyone

 

[chscag]

I would buy the newer machine. Although the CPU is a bit slower you won't notice the difference. The newer machine has faster and more memory, a larger hard drive, and the latest version of iLife included. Some folks prefer the ATI Radeon Pro graphics over the nVidia GeForce, however, in my opinion both will do well for games.

Regards.

 

[Jester0723]

Thank you for the reply. At this point, I'm still pretty undecided.

Also, after looking into a project done by a forum member of the game I'll be using the iMac to play, I'm leaning even more towards the 2.8ghz model.

According to his experiment, RAM has little or no effect on framerates:

While CPU speeds have a much larger effect:

I'll probably be spending a decent amount of time playing the game, so those stats put the 2.8 model at a slight advantage.

Also, the 2.8ghz model compares better in terms of price. When I get the iMac, I want to have iLife '09, iWork '09, and a 1 TB hard drive. The price of the 2.8 model ($1199), iLife '09 ($61.99), iWork '09 ($38.98), and a 1TB Firewire 400 hard drive ($90) is $1,389.97. The price of the 2.66ghz model ($1299), iWork '09 ($38.98), 1TB USB 2.0 hard drive ($90) is $1,427.98. Add the Apple Remote (the 2.8 comes with it), and its $1,445.97, $56 more expensive than the 2.8. As the iMac purchase itself is already stretching my budget, advantage 2.8ghz.

However, the 2.66ghz iMac has 4GB of DDR3 RAM, instead of the 2.8ghz's 2GB of DDR2. This gives the 2.66 a slight advantage IMO, because DDR3 memory often has high timing, making it about the same as or slower than DDR2.

The 2.8ghz iMac has 320gb of hard drive space, while the 2.66 has 640gb. For me, this doesn't mean much, as my collection of data is somewhat small at only 100gb. So while the 2.66 gets a slight advantage, it's not much, as I'll never fill the 320gb one anyway.

The 2.66ghz iMac also has an additional USB 2.0 port, but it lacks a FireWire 400 port. The external hard drive I am purchasing connects with both USB 2.0 and Firewire 400, so this is a draw.

So, if you have any suggestions or information that could help me make a decision in either direction, that would be greatly appreciated, although keep in mind that I am leaning towards the older iMac. They both come with 1 year warranties, anyway.

Thanks in advance for your replies

 

[Alexis]

If you're gaming, I'd go for the Radeon.

The GeForce 9400M is comparible to the the Radeon 2400, not the 2600.

Apple took us all for a ride when they decided to put up prices in May.

 

[Jester0723]

Wow, thanks a ton! I think that's all I needed to hear on that front - 2.8ghz is sold for me.

I'll hopefully order by the end of the weekend.

Thanks everyone for your help!