iMac i5 vs. i7

[westla]

So I'm planning on getting an iMac to update my studio, and I was wondering what the advantages of the i7 would be over the i5. I know the i7 is "better", both faster and also supports hyper-threading, but my question is, in a real world scenario, for what I do, will it make a big difference to justify the price?

Most of my work is composing concert music, so I use Finale for that - which is nothing for the iMac.

I will also do the occasional film, but where all my sample libraries are on PC's, and I don't use a exorbitant amount of plug-ins.

I also will sometimes mix recording of my music that is recorded at concerts, but that is never more the 5-8 tracks of audio.

So with all that being said, would the price of upgrading to the i7 be worth it?

Anything else I'm not considering?

Thanks so much!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I think hyper threading should improve VI handling for one. The new Finale will only run on Lion or better so take that into consideration. In general, I'd try to go with the most recent machine that can run the latest and at least near future software.

[bayswater]

Those who have used both sometimes note a significant difference in DP performance. Recent example here.
http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 12#p465812

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I don't think that reference has been completely validated as machine v. hard drive (or project) specific yet. Could be, but I certainly wouldn't make a decision based on such anecdotal evidence.

[westla]

II'd try to go with the most recent machine that can run the latest and at least near future software.

I am going to get a current iMac. I'm just trying to decide that if for me the i5 will work, or if I need to upgrade to the i7 - it ends up being $400 more.

[bayswater]

II'd try to go with the most recent machine that can run the latest and at least near future software.

I am going to get a current iMac. I'm just trying to decide that if for me the i5 will work, or if I need to upgrade to the i7 - it ends up being $400 more.

Pennies a day over the life of the machine. Well worth it

[Phil O]

II'd try to go with the most recent machine that can run the latest and at least near future software.

I am going to get a current iMac. I'm just trying to decide that if for me the i5 will work, or if I need to upgrade to the i7 - it ends up being $400 more.

I just helped a friend shop for a Mac. I think on the current iMacs, the step up to the i7 is $200. See here: http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MD094LL/A
He ended up getting a used MacPro for $710 (added airport card): https://www.usedmac.com/products/apple- ... xeon-28ghz
Not a bad deal. Don't know if you're interested in used, but this is a nice machine.

Phil

[mikehalloran]

I have run many tests on the two having one of each, a 2010 i7 2.93 (Geekbench combined 10685) and a 2011 i5 2.70 (Geekbench Combined 8739). "Everyone knows" the difference is 30% but the fact is that many tasks are no faster while others are blazing by comparison. The i7 is never slower than the i5 - ever. For the $200 price difference, it is worth every penny.

Disk access - no real difference. Likewise tracking where you are writing audio to disk in real time, no difference.

Opening large DP 7 and 8 files - 5 to 8 times faster. 20 minute stereo file the first time <minute i7; 5-7 minutes i5. Subsequent times, near instantaneous on i7, 2 minutes i5.

Bounce to disk - It depends on the size of the file - always faster - sometimes not much faster.

Normalize Audio - for kicks, I decided to normalize a 90 minute stereo file - something you would never do in life. i7 took 8 minutes; i5 took over an hour.

With many tasks, there is no noticeable difference but, when there is, you notice it big time. Nothing like having people waiting around my buddy's i5 asking, "are you ready?", knowing that on my i7, it would be done. His i5 is identical to my wife's - this is what made me investigate the performance differences.