Hi,
I will be purchasing a new iMac 27", and I have to decide among 3 possible models. Memory-heavy software I will be using are Aperture, Photoshop CS5, and will likely get into video editing. I do multi-task quite a bit, and I am not a gamer. I have narrowed it down to these 3, and I am going the refurb route:
1) Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Originally released late 2009
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera
2) Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.8GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 processor
Originally released July 2010
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics with 1GB memory
Built-in iSight camera
3) Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
Originally released May 2011
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics with 512MB memory
Built-in FaceTime HD camera
Any advice on the performance differences and longevity of these 3 (e.g., 3-5 years before replacing)? Looking at the iMac benchmarks, the 2009 i7 quad-core performed the best, followed by the 2011 and 2010 i5's.
http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2011/05/imac-benchmarks-mid-2011/ However, the 2010 model has a 1 GB video card, which may be an advantage for some applications. OR I better off going with the latest 2011 model?
Thanks in advance.