The 27-inch quad-core iMacs continue to gain praises. Last week, I posted a review from Electronista where it wassaid:
The 27-inch iMac is already a milestone for Apple through its inclusion of a truly greater-than-HD display, but the addition of Core i5 and Core i7 processors transforms it into a near powerhouse. This is the first iMac in recent memory to come close enough to Apple’s workstations (i.e., Mac Pros) that it could replace one of them.
Today, Macworld echoes the same sentiment. James Galbraith, Macworld’s lab editor, reviewed the 27-inch Core i5 iMac and gave it a score of 4.5 out of 5.
What I missed
Before going into the tasty bits, I’ll first tell you about the things I missed about the new iMacs.
First, I missed the fact that the configuration before the Core i5 model (3.06GHz Core 2 Duo) costs $1699 (₱92,990) but for an additional $300 (or (₱16,000*), the Core i5 features a quad-core Intel processor (2.66GHz) plus 8MB shared L3 cache plus an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. Pretty sweet upgrades.
But hold on. What about the processor? Isn’t 2.66GHz a step down from 3.06GHz? That’s the second thing I missed.
There’s a piece of technology included in the Core i5 and Core i7 processors called Turbo Boost. If an application that’s running isn’t using all available cores, the inactive cores will shut off and the remaining active cores will speed up. That’s what Turbo Boost is all about. Apple said that this allows the processor to run 20% faster when under heavy workload. That means under the condition stated above, the 2.66GHz Core i5 processor can bump up to 3.2GHz and the 2.8GHz Core i7 can bump up to 3.46GHz.
It’s fast
Before I continue, I’m going to list down what the reviewer considered as the cons of the Core i5 iMac to get it out of the way. There’s the glossy screen (they’ve been complaining about that since time immemorial), the need of FireWire 400 devices for adaptors, and no free Apple Remote (there’s the wireless keyboard and Magic mouse though).
So, how did the Core i5 and i7 do in the lab? Except for the less than 5% Speedmark 6 test boost over the quad-core and 8-core Mac Pros, the new quad-core iMacs are fast.
Here’s a quick list of Core i5 performance improvements when compared to the 21.5-inch 3.06GHz iMac with ATI Radeon graphics card:
- 27% faster on Speedmark 6
- 25% improvement on Compressor
- 26% increase on Call of Duty frame rates
- 71% improvement on Handbrake
- 88% faster in Cinebench multiple CPU test
- performed 2.2 times better on MathematicaMark
(If you’re wondering why the 21.5-inch 3.06GHz iMac was used as comparison instead of the 27-inch 3.06GHz model, Macworld’s review showed the former performing slightly better than the latter in benchmark tests.)
There’s a nice set of improvements right there, and only for $300 (or ₱16,000) more compared to the 27-inch 3.06GHz model. As for the 21.5-inch 3.06GHz iMac with the ATI Radeon graphics card, remember that the $500 (or ₱27,000) price difference does not only give you the quad-core processor and 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card, it also gives you the gorgeous 27-inch display.
The review ends by saying that the new Core i5 and Core i7 iMacs almost erases the distinction between consumer and professional systems and has this for an advice:
The 2.66GHz Core i5 iMac offers faster performance at most tasks than the 2.66GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro. The Core i5 iMac also has more memory and more storage space than the 2.66GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro, while being $500 less (plus you get a 27-inch screen with the iMac). Unless you absolutely require additional PCI cards, multiple internal hard drives, or a lot of RAM, the Core i5 iMac makes a strong case for the being the go-to system for most Mac professionals.
* Price difference in pesos are taken from prices in the online Apple Store Philippines, not from the result of converting dollars into pesos. The discrepancy might possibly be due to the inclusion of local fees and taxes.
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#1 by jon joaquin on 11/20/2009 - 3:31 PM
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turbo boost — like KITT in the old knight rider series starring david hasselhoft
drool-worthy, the new imac is!
#2 by Jim on 11/21/2009 - 9:24 AM
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You’re right. I just realized that now hehehe The new iMacs are really nice. Might replace the TV for a few users who prefer getting their content online than through cable.