Question from Ronald: I’m having trouble deciding which iMac I should get. I run Adobe Photoshop and will need everything to run smoothly. A colleague of mine said that Quad Core 2.93Ghz Core i7 will not run faster than the 3.60GHz Intel Core i5 on most programs. Something to do with “threading” I think. Is this true? Which iMac would you recommend to run the fastest possible?
Jason answers: Hi Ronald! The 2.93GHz i7 will run faster than the 3.60GHz Intel Core i5. The “threading” breaks out as follows:
3.6GHz i5: Dual core and supports hyperthreading for 4 virtual cores at 1.8GHz each.
2.93GHz i7: Quad core and will support hyperthreading for 8 virtual cores at 1.465GHz each.
So, you gain significant processing power with the i7. There is so much information on comparing the i5 to the i7. From what I have read, you will see between 10-40% increases in performance depending on the task. The i7 will definitely perform faster than the i5. If you want the fastest Mac and you consider yourself a power user, the i7 would be your choice. The difference in getting a 3.6GHz i5 compared to the 2.93GHz i7 is $300. I think the upgrade is worth it.
– Jason
