[SOLVED] IMac CPU Hierarchy?

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Salt-City_Slasher

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The current iMac that I plan on getting comes with a Intel Core 2 duo 3.06GHz. I was wondering what other chips are comparable to it like on the PC?? According to Toms Hierarchy Chart the Duo 2's are in the 3rd catergory down from the top! I just didn't know if this also counted for an Apple version?

I am pretty sure its multi thread cause most intel chips are, but, what I really want to know, is it any good??
Cause if not I was considering waiting for the next iMacs to come out. Hopefully with Quad-Cores or at least an i3 or i5!!

 
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There is one thing no one seems to be factoring in here. The Mac OS is well worth paying extra for and it will run windows virtually or natively.
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Well I searched and found that the the Intel Core 2 Duo in the iMac 21.5" is the "E7600".
Which on the the Chart shows that is in the section I predicted.

Even though the chart is for "gaming" chips, it's pretty accurate.
So if I am good at assuming, If I were to expect a new model or upgrade of the iMac, it would be late 2010!
 
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All macs, laptops and iMacs use the same CPU's that everyone else does. Apple just make sure to make it look like they are exclusive chips, where in fact they are not.
Well not for like 6-7 years now.
 
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They already make an imac quadcore i5 for $1999 What a waste of money, I just build a customer a mac/pc with i7 920 6G ddr3 2x 1 tb HDD for $2200 and it cost $1200 in parts.

Back in the day, when PCs sucked and apple made their own hardware, apple was better.

Now that Apple uses the exact same hardware as PCs and PCs dont suck no more, Apple is behind.

The Apple tax is ridiculous now.

For the price of a mac you can have a 2 to 4x better PC.
 
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So my intentions were to get a mac like all my personal favoite artists besides one(pro-tools guy), the rest mainly my favorites
all use Logic! Logic and Ableton are what I plan on installing all together, and I can't do that on a PC.
I have considered bailing and becoming a pro tools "guy", but guitar center, musicians friends and mac workers all say that
pro tools is out and Logic is in. That was like 8/2 opinions on random days, for Logic.

Well I kinda figured out the hierarchy on toms "gaming" list, which is pretty accurate. It would put the
iMac 21.5" that I want below any AMD 900 and at the same level as a Thuban 1055t.
Well I am not after superior video, I am after superior sound and super multitasking!

So Intel will definitely be the winner, then since I am buying external interfaces that are at a high sampling rate and
so forth, the need for a sound card is obsolete. Since I can install my windows vista ultimate on the mac, I would
still have access to all things windows plus any window application but I couldn't do that the other way around(non-hackintosh),
so on Mac I would be able to utilize both OS's for different things.

I can see a pc built for a nice recording studio, it's pretty much a draw, one thing out weighs the other, I get a little bit faster
cpu with pc, but I get a machine that was comletely built by apple even the OS so everything is intergrated including recording software.
Then on pc I can pick and choose performance parts with several different warr. but on apple, I have superior customer sevice that could go inside a store and get help.

I could go on, but I would say 50/50, then with price/performance, well you don't buy a Mac for video gaming, so its pretty much like comparing Mars and Venus, there totally two different worlds-
The first world is Mac Fan boys and the other world of PC Snobs! Either way there both picked on equally to:

http://www.spike.com/blog/top-10-worst-types/74309
 
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well to answer the question, the Core2Duo is equivalent to a Core2Duo (as it's the same chip), though if i would venture into a guess, the closest you might find is the Core i3, though the only Core i series they have is the i5 quad code (which is NOT worth the $800 more they are asking)

and looking at the specs the best one to grab is the baseline (in comparison) imac that starts at $1200

though if you weren't so dead set against a Hackintosh, you could save quite a bit of money (as a similar PC built by you with the i5 wouldn't be $2000, it would be under $1000 depending on parts chosen)
 
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Well I had computer parts mapped out for a build, but I couldn't really get a good setup that came with
21" screen, Wiindows and so Forth. On the mac the 1200$ one is kind of weak as far as cpu goes, and the cpu can't be upgraded. I can't justify spending another 800$ for a 27" screen, Radeon 4850, a quad core i5(or additional 180$ for an i7), and another 500gb!

Actually the 1899$(edu. discount) is the ideal iMac I want but my budget was suppose to be 1500$ max, but whatever I could save could be used for extra music equipment. Plus for 1900$ I could make a pretty sick PC, I just couldn't make as sick of PC for 1150$.

I will have to investigate some more, before I decide because if the iMac gets upgraded at the end of the year I would rather wait.
 
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well this is what i got for the i5 system:
CPU: Intel Core i5-750
MOBO: ASUS P7P55 LX
MEM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB DDR3-1333
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 512MB
CASE+PSU: Antec Three Hundred + Antec NeoPower 550w
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
ODD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X
Monitor: ASUS Black 21.5" 1080P
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Total: ~$950
then you would have to buy a retail disk from apple so it might put you into the range of the lowest end iMac (~$1200), but has much better hardware
 
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Well, a quad is nice because it will last longer in the game as a dual core, but right now, technology barely uses quad let alone any of the new Thubans.
I am not trying to keep up with ongong technology that comes out every year and month, I just want a completely stable machine, that runs my applications and I don't think I need a 5970 and a Intel i7 930, to do this. If I wanted to play BF2 or WoW or Counter Strike, then I would of never considered a Mac.

I understand the technology isn't the new tech out at the moment, I really just need to match up applications with what it needs and try and shoot a little higher so by the time Logic 10, or pro tools 9 and CS6 come out I should still be able to run it, which for me is usually a 3-5 year cycle(depends on application tech speed)

Well short of building a PC, there is no company that sells PC's that match up to Mac's besides AlienWare, and they are just another Monopoly to. So if Mac just built tons of parts so I could go through thousands of pieces than maybe things would be the same price. Comparing a built PC to a store bought PC, obviously the store bought your going to pay a little more for the parts. Well thats going to be the same with a store bought Mac.

I might look back into Pro Tools, cause the Mbox 2 is 350 w/ pro tools LE, while I would need to buy
logic 200$ and my apogee interface 250$.

Honestly I really think it comes down to preference! You either enjoy using windows 7 or enjoy using Snow Leopard, I really think the Snow Leopard is a lot better by choice of what I am doing.
 
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1) yes quad's aren't used that much now, but in a year or two they could be, and being stuck on a dual core would suck

2) Alienware plain and simple sucks, they charge a lot more than what is needed as well (and remember, it's really a dell since they own alienware)

3) i would cost a lot more to buy parts from apple, their upgrade parts are ludicrous

4) the build above would be mostly compatible with OSX, you might have to do some work around (look up the OSX86 project, you might be able to get Snow Leopard as well as Windows 7, just buy the retail disk from apple)

though in my opinion, i don't see the point of getting any of the better iMac's (the base $1200 looks the best) as they all have the same cpu (unless you go to the $2k one) and you really don't need that much of a gpu
 
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Well, from what I can gather the rumor is that the new Imac update is to incorporate the
iOS touch interface. With this new update whenever it is, according to history there should be definitley be
an update by the end of the year probably by the end of Q3.

So I am thinking that if there going to adapt that feature they are probably going to update the
cpu's up to at least to a decent quad core for all. Because quad core seems to be the norm now.
 
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Thorough analysis and I am going to build a computer instead of getting an Apple iMac.

There are two things that just don't add up right, that being why their technology is so behind
for being so great. and Mainly they did benchmarks using an apple imac, they first ran the test
with snow leopard and then with vista, and everytime vista beat it as far as performance.

So i can't justify myself for buying an apple just because of Logic. I can actually get a M-Box 2
that comes with the full Pro Tools Le for 350$ education discount

Besides for apples great CS, having a store to go to, there OS, and realiabilty, it's actually a
computer for little kids who don't know how to manage a computer!

Ok, now I have that settled, what processor would suite me best for
what I want to do??
I always liked i7 930, I guess I will go back to newegg and finish my cart.
 
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There is one thing no one seems to be factoring in here. The Mac OS is well worth paying extra for and it will run windows virtually or natively.
 
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Thats one of the best reasons. OS X Snow Leopard's interface is specifically designed for the stuff that I
am going to use it for. Not to mention the entire machine was built specifically for the programs that are
used from CS5 to Logic.
Windows 7 on the other hand is meant for Windows Media Player and is user friendly but doesn't have
the same potential as OS X, thats why every last person in the music industry uses on. Even people who
use Pro Tools uses Mac.

Building a system with several pieces that only go together because they fit( Am3 cpu, then AM3 mobo)
These pieces were only designed to sell as cheaply as possible with some functionality. The mobos
are about the only thing that are worth building especially an Asus board.
As far as Windows 7 and the rest of a build, well you can get fast parts that are a little faster than mac, but
your still losing by using windows 7.

The iMac's i7 is faster than any 920/930 or any AMD. I am surprised that hard core gamers don't use
the Macs LED screen! It is the best money can buy and it alone is worth getting an iMac!!!

The myth that building is cheaper is nonsense, you can buy a PC for cheaper you just won't be able to choose your mobo and psu. I checked and Macs are the exact price as any PC built or bought. The only thing they charge a little extra on is there upgrades. Even then there are a lot that are the same price as bought individually.

The iMac's now are better than the Mac Pro. The i5 27" Quad is faster and better than the quad core Mac Pro. The i7 is extremely faster than it, just check the benchs on google.
So yeah maybe Mac was taxing and wasn't the best, but now and today Mac is the only company I
see buying a computer from! HP, Dell and Alien are for first time computers and the average consumer, while the alien is for super rich kids who a ultra gamers.

So Mac is back, and building is fun and all, but I personally rather have a Mac. I stopped playing online games a year or two ago, so there is no need for a 5870/5970 to play BF2 or Diablo 2 super fast.
Plus Mac offers that any way if I did lol
 
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ok, lets talk about this wall of text



Interface has nothing to do with it as well as media player (hell i don't even use it, it sucks), i use VLC for any video media and i use FooBar2000 for music, it all comes down to the fact that people don't like change (actually i find KDE's interface easier to use, but i am a linux guy)



actually the mobos i have seen that Apple uses are Foxconn, ie second rate mtherboard manufacturing company, and most boards from Asus or Gigabyte have more functionality than any of the board i have seen apple, and TBH if you wanted to do Hackintosh you don't use AMD (very bad compatibility since Apple uses Intel)






nope, this is nonsense, if you use the same parts (like Foxconn motherboards and shitty PSU's), though typically we tend to use higher quality parts in builds (like Corsair/Antec/Seasonic for PSU and Asus/Gigabyte for motherboards)



nope, its a different market, the Mac Pro is the Server/Workstation market where you can get single or dual processors, and the i7's arent any faster (clock for clock) as they are basically the same, just the Xeon's are 1) binned differently and 2) the ones for dual socket boards have 2 QPI links (instead of 1)



well have fun over spending on a computer with 2nd rate parts 😉
 
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no offense bro but i think you are a little behind when it comes to gaming...you can max out BF2 with a sub<$100 dollar graphics card and a dual core cpu no problem.

Building a PC doesnt automatically mean you will have to buy the best and most expensive components. Because regardless you will have a better performing computer than a mac for a hell of a lot cheaper.

Buying mac is stupid, plain and simple.
 
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i think he meant BF:BC2, i have been seeing this a lot recently on the forums
 
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Well I know there isn't a right answer for everyone cause you either build PC or get Mac.
The I should of said new BF2, I use to call the battlefield 2 that, but I really meant to right was BC2!

Well when I configured a computer adding a 27" LED screen which is 1000$ I always hit around the same
price. Not to mention, the magic mouse and wireless keyboard plus the web cam.
I did it at newegg, and I actually used a 1156 foxconn, 120$ PSU, Intel i7 870, 1333 4gb memory for 110$, and stuck as close as I could. This is when I wanted to build a computer and leaned the building way.

I ended up like 100$ cheaper building a PC. I might have oversaid things but I didn't think people were going to read it. I will say that there is no PC company that sells PC's that is better than Mac.

Building a PC is fun and cool, especially if your a video gamer. When you not its not such a landslide.
When using the phrase interface, i was meaning that using music programs and such just seem to
flow better using OS X. Logic is damn there worth getting a mac in the first place, not to mention
all the programs that come in iLife(which I didn't add into my build)

I will admit that the Mac Pro isn't worth the money, u could build a sweet server/workstation for far less.
The iMac is different, it can actually beat higher costing computers and from what I have read
Mac can run Vista Better!

I think I covered everything, but I do a lot of cross system work from music to school stuff, so having the
mac will keep me up to date in both worlds. I am actually going for a Computer Engineering Degree, but I am in Pre-Engineering at the community college, so I won't be getting into any of the engineering classes
until I get past calculus which is next fall when I start the Computer Science and Engineering classes.


Thats why I have decided to start a build next year after I see what comes out with the better gpu's and cpu's.
From what I have gathered the regular GPU's are going to be leaning towards handling like workstation cards. Then we got the multi-threaded AMD's I think? But probably around the end of school I will do my build just for fun.

 
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Why do you need an LED backlit screen for audio work, i can see if you are doing photo/video but not audio, so for your uses it is kind of pointless (as a regular IPS screen would be just fine)



idk about music programs so much so much, i was just matching performance on the hardware level (got to love thinking like a builder)
though +1 on the building is better for gaming computers, though i think this way on all builds except the lowest of the lowest (as OEMs will kill since they get cheap prices from buying bulk)



Mac Pro kind of sucks for the price, though about the vista running better, it's bullocks since it was tested against a pre-built system, probably from the days when all of the OEM's loaded computers with running software (another reason to build)



honestly if you are going into CS, i would just get a PC install Linux/Windows dual boot and use OSX in a VM, though calculus isn't too problematic (i am a CS/Math major) though if you have problems i bet your campus has some tutors on campus that are free if not there are students (usually grad or in a math program) the won't charge much for tutoring



ATI should be launching the 6xxx series which is an inbetween step from Evergreen to Northern Islands, the core logic will be from Evergreen (i would hope more shader processors) and the uncore (everything that isn't the shaders, including the tessellation unit/units) will be from Northern Islands, NVidia will be releasing there low end Fermi cards (G106 and G108 cores) but nothing else new, on the CPU side we have Bulldozer which on the desktop space will be Zambezi which will be up to 4 modules where each module has 2 integer cores and 2 128 bit FP cores (that can combine into 1 256 bit FP core when needed) though this is speculation as AMD hasn't released the specs yet and intel plans on releasing the LGA1155 early in the year for mainstream and then LGA2011 for late 2011 with neither of the new sockets being backward compatible
 
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I am super excited about the next gen of computer parts. Right now I could build a sweet computer, but I know when the stuff comes out next year I am going to want to build.
Well I have read into what courses I will be taking in the future and from what I have read there is
a mix of pc and mac programs, but it is going to be mainly windows.
So I figure I get me my little mac for music and threw the rest of my pre-engineering and by this time next
year I will have a lot more cash than I have right now, and thats when I will build a monster.

Right now I have a lot of the AutoCad programs from Maya to 3ds Max, I get it for free for the time being.
Then I own all of CS4 now including photoshop extended.

Music wise, I have Reason 4.0, Ableton Live 8, Fruity Loops Express 2, and an old version of pro tools(which I don't like)

This is all my Dell XPS Studio which I have backed up on my 1tb WD "Black Box". So this was kinda a big turn for mac being I have a great portable PC.
This is what I have learned from this and that is there is no "better" way to go. It is all hear say, you might have the biggest decked out Mac Pro and want to build a PC. So there are a lot of factors to include for what you need. It wouldn't really matter if I did build one instead. I have chosen that a iMac would suite me
for the time being. It would give access to mac programs and the mac world.
This also sets me up for when I finish pre-engineering I can build me a super computer for celebrating for my transfer to the U.
 
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Fair enough, i wish i had money for a monster PC (i don't think a Phenom II X4 and 2 x 4870's is a monster anyways)

though i will tell you, taking out ~$18k in loans every year for my college is no fun at all (Rochester Institute of Technology)

though good luck and hope to see you on here when you need/want a monster PC
 
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