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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
Question about the difference between iMac processors (Just Curious)
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<blockquote data-quote="lonewolf" data-source="post: 1231829" data-attributes="member: 191571"><p>The last generation build to order 3.6Ghz i5 is the i5-680. This is a dual core processor. In fact, it is probably the fastest dual core processor ever.</p><p></p><p>The primary difference between it and the i5 processors in the 2011 iMac, as well as the i7, is that the new machines all have *four* cores. The i7 also has *hyperthreading*. In a nutshell, those are the primary differences. More cores, or higher clock speed.</p><p></p><p>That said, it depends on what you are doing if the dual core is faster than the new i5-2400s / 2500s in the 2011 iMacs. This is the age old question of how much do you multitask, and what kind of applications do you use. Video and music editing / transcoding can use 4+ cores for the most part these days. This is the most common heavy cpu use multitasking scenario.</p><p></p><p>Games really use 2 cores, but if you are doing something in the background a lot while gaming then 4 cores will win out. This might even be the case with something as trivial as Time Machine running in the background, or acting as a file or print server, or running a handfull of torrents where it is keeping one cpu somewhat busy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lonewolf, post: 1231829, member: 191571"] The last generation build to order 3.6Ghz i5 is the i5-680. This is a dual core processor. In fact, it is probably the fastest dual core processor ever. The primary difference between it and the i5 processors in the 2011 iMac, as well as the i7, is that the new machines all have *four* cores. The i7 also has *hyperthreading*. In a nutshell, those are the primary differences. More cores, or higher clock speed. That said, it depends on what you are doing if the dual core is faster than the new i5-2400s / 2500s in the 2011 iMacs. This is the age old question of how much do you multitask, and what kind of applications do you use. Video and music editing / transcoding can use 4+ cores for the most part these days. This is the most common heavy cpu use multitasking scenario. Games really use 2 cores, but if you are doing something in the background a lot while gaming then 4 cores will win out. This might even be the case with something as trivial as Time Machine running in the background, or acting as a file or print server, or running a handfull of torrents where it is keeping one cpu somewhat busy. [/QUOTE]
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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Desktop Hardware
Question about the difference between iMac processors (Just Curious)
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