Comparing 24" iMac refurbs

Choice 1: 2.4 GHz; 320 HD; 1 GB RAM; Intel Core 2 Duo $1399

Choice 2: 2.8 GHz; 500 HD; 2 GB RAM; Intel Core 2 Extreme $1599

Is choice 2 worth the extra $200 in terms of performance and value?

It is personal preference, but in my opinion, yes.

Just the HD and RAM upgrade alone seem to be enough of a decent deal, but a 400ghz boost in processor is HUGE.

Even in my still PC bound mind, it's worth it to go for the higher spec'ed iMac.... to even just do the upgrades to make the lower end one comparable (save for the processor) it's worth it out of the box, got for it !

Yes and get more ram. I mean come one now.....there is only 2 choices. Pick one.

Blizare said:

Yes and get more ram. I mean come one now.....there is only 2 choices. Pick one.

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Not a question of being indecisive, but whether or not the difference in price is worth it.

For $200 more you get let's see, 1Gb more RAM, taking the two CPU cores into account, 800Mhz more speed (400Mhz + 400Mhz) and 180 more gigs of HD space, that's a bargain where I come from......

Thanks guys. Sorry for the seemingly extremely basic question (as evident from some of the replies ) but I am very tech ignorant, and just doing all my research before I make my first ever Mac purchase.

Thanks for the help!

I have Choice 1, very happy with it. If I were buying today, I'd go with Choice 2 hands down.

The extra $200 is almost a steal. For that, you get a faster processor, twice the RAM and a much roomier hard drive. I would go for option 2, and go quickly. It won't last long.

mac57 said:

The extra $200 is almost a steal. For that, you get a faster processor, twice the RAM and a much roomier hard drive. I would go for option 2, and go quickly. It won't last long.

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Just found that out; went to buy it and it was gone.

Darn! I am sorry to hear that soccerphysio. I guess all we can say is "better luck next time".

mac57 said:

Darn! I am sorry to hear that soccerphysio. I guess all we can say is "better luck next time".

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Actually, I was able to get it! It was strange; I went to the Apple store, and was talking with the sales guy about choosing between a new or refurb 2.8 GHz iMac. So he offered to check out the refurb specs online to help me decide, but it wasn't listed on the site. Several hours later, I checked again while at home, and it was available. Not sure what happened, but glad it worked out!

After my discussion with the sales guy, my respect for Apple soared. He told me he would have no problem recommending the 2.4 GHz refurb option in place of buying a 2.8 brand new; he said it would still be an excellent computer for my needs (he did say he would recommend the Apple Care on it for $169 as aprecaution). It was good to see he wasn't automatically recommending the more expensive option.

One question: The RAM in it is 2-1GB sticks @ 667MHz. Can I add 2 -1 GB sticks @ 800MHz to increase it to 4GB, or does it have to be 667? I know, it is probably a stupid question.

Now the waiting game; it may not arrive for a week!