i5 or i7?

The difference in clock speed is about 5%.

According to the specs page

http://support.apple.com/kb/SP576

you also get "Hyper-Threading for up to eight virtual cores" on the i7 (but not the i5). I don't know what that does.

As far as I can tell, those are the differences. Whether that is worth an extra $200 is up to you. 🙂 For $200, you can buy a nice large external drive to use with Time Machine (for automated backups).

i5 is just a rebranded, a bit revamped CoreQuad.
i7, is a new, high-end line, with a new architecture that (to make it easy) allows the CPU to communicate with the GPU so it works faster.

As stated above, hyper-threading allows you to have up to 8 virtual cores working & CPU can overclock itself when some cores are free so it runs faster.

So for 200$ more, I'd recommend upgrading to i7, since it is REALLY worth the price.

+1 Kenichi

I doubt that you'd notice any difference between the i5 and the i7. Frankly speaking, I can't notice the difference in speed between my 2.66 GHz iMac, and my 2.13 GHz Macbook. Does anyone really sit in front of their computer with a stopwatch?

I kinda have the same question. I actually went ahead and ordered the i5 this morning but now I'm wondering if I made a mistake. From what I've read the i5 will run cooler and is less of a power hog but the i7 is obviously more powerful. I intend to use this imac primarily for doing art in photoshop and illustrator as well as some animation in toon boom...Would I notice any significant difference between the i5 and i7 or is this more something gamers might pay attention to? Would the i7 give me enough of an increase in computing power to justify the 200 bucks or will the i5 be plenty for what I'm doing?

For 2D work (and basic animation), I think even the Core 2 Duo option would be more than powerful enough. For apps that are more dependent on clock speed instead of multiple processing cores, the good ol' 3.06 GHz dual-core might even be faster.

I think taking one step back from the bleeding edge, and saving some money, is a fine move. You get the same GPU, which is almost as important as the CPU these days.

I've gone through all the data myself in trying to figure this out. I've gone back and forth and recently decided I'm definitely getting an i5. Then I spent a week thinking about it....

What I realized is that the i5 is more processor than I really need and that I'm upgrading simply for the desire to have that beautiful screen and more power just for the sake of having more power.

Ironically that decided the case in favor of the i7. If you are wasting money for the desire for excessive power and a gratuitous screen, why not go all the way? The i5 is an excellent processor, but it has been (arguably) crippled by the exclusion of hyperthreading, probably for marketing purposes. The i7 will have better resale value and it's always nice to have the warm and fuzzies about owning the latest and greatest. It's also pretty cool to have CPU power that is essentially superior to a base Mac Pro wedged into an all in one with a world class 27" monitor for less than $2300. In that context, it's an outstanding product.

I cancelled my i5 and placed the order for the i7. Go for it.

Message was edited by: robotkiller

Is any desktop/laptop ever really fast enough?? Just ordered my i7 and the experience has really brought back memories of my last mac purchase, a 1.83 core duo Mac Book Pro. This was back when the Mac Book Pro was just announced (what was that like 4 years ago?). I believe it was the first Intel notebook Apple offered. Everybody scrambled to put their order in at the apple store and then sat around and waited for a month for the **** things to ship. I waited a long with everybody else and visited this forum everyday to see if there was any news about the ship date. Anyway, long story short--it showed up at my door and it was wonderful. The first boot-up and I was thinking...wow look at how fast it is!! Fast forward four years and yes I still have that Mac Book Pro, only now all I can think about while opening photoshop is how slow this freakin' computer is!!

So ya to i7 or not to i7 that is the question. I figure what the heck it's only two hundred extra bucks for a computer I'll have for the next four years. And hopefully, just hopefully that 200 bones will stop me from singing the "PS takes too long to load" blues for just a little longer.

Thanks for the advice...I think I'm gonna stick with the i5 afterall. I'm kind of on a limited budget ( I know its hard to say that while buying a $2000 computer) so if I really won't notice a difference between the i5 and i7 I can't really justify spending double on the processor (from what I've read the i5 will? does? retail at about $200). It might not seem like a lot of money when spending so much already but like you said I probably went overboard with 4-core already so getting the i7 would probably be overkilling an overkill lol. I'm just an artist and not a gamer so maybe my logic here does not apply to others or their needs. I just hope in the end I've made a decision I'll be happy with and I look forward to some productive years with my imac....: )

Good job sticking to your guns. My weakness in buying electronics is mission creep -- I always find a reason to justify moving up the ladder. It's fun, but it does get expensive.

I suspect the i5 will be indistinguishable from the i7 in normal, day to day activities

yes it is not noticeable, but when you render video it would be noticeable, when you use final cut studio 3 and most hard core rendering programs.

I´d go with the i7, it would be noticeable when you use it for rendering video on HD format, and rendering audio if you produce music in logic, ableton live, etc.

I'm not an expert or anything but one of the things I was thinking about in my buying decision is the whole "future proofing" thing. Thats kinda the reason I went quad-core rather than 2-core. I kinda figure that by the time the i5 is "outdated" and can't handle new programs the i7 really won't be in much better of a position. Who knows what kind of crazy ** they will have out in 3-4 years time. I would think either way they should both fare pretty well a few years down the road though...maybe I'm mistaken...I'm not a tech expert lol.