What's better? i5 or i7?

This might be a dumb question but it’s late here and looking to buy a new iMac 27”. In a nut shell, which i better? i5 or i7 and why?

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/48391.aspx

If you do video then i7 if not save some cash and go for i5 – I use an imac 27” i7 and the thing is blazing

i use imac 27” i5, the performance not impressed though. Crash a few times when doing photoshop. Doesn’t feel smooth with the navigation. Not sure why

@kailoon what version of photoshop? How much ram? and are you up to date with software update? Sounds like you have an issue – I would take to an apple store – don’t forget you have 12 months and can walk right in to the store to get it fixed.

CS4 , 4 GB RAM , you mean the OSX update? or photoshop update?

Are there a way for me to test the performance of this toy? So to make sure it is ‘normal’?

CS4 , 4 GB RAM , you mean the OSX update? or photoshop update? Are there a way for me to test the performance of this toy? So to make sure it is ‘normal’?

Both your CS4 app and OSX they should both be up to date – when snow leopard first came out CS4 had to be updated – you need to check.

I run mine with 8gb but 4 gb is fine – take it to an apple store and get them to run diagnostics on it – it’s completely free anytime within 12 months of purchase – regardless to where you purchased it – as long as it’s an apple product you are good.

An often overlooked performance upgrade is the hard drive. As most people learned with SSDs coming out, the hard drive in a computer is a major bottleneck. I dropped a WD VelociRaptor 10K RPM HDD in my old 2007 iMac (2.4Ghz C2D ) and it was significantly faster. Bootup was cut by more than half and apps launch around twice as fast.

If I was going to drop the money on a new computer, I wouldn’t settle for anything less than an i7 quad core. Software needs to catch up in order to really utilize them but 1) they’re already screaming fast but will perform better with software capable of taking advantage of their power and 2) they’ll be “future-proof” much longer.

well of course the old argument of buy the biggest baddest thing you can is always prominent – I was purely stating that the difference in speeds in the processors are not that great for everyday use – video however will use the i7’s extra capabilities if required – if not then you CAN save some money and go for the i5.

And absolutely, the faster the hard drive the faster the information can be read and served up.

well of course the old argument of buy the biggest baddest thing you can is always prominent – I was purely stating that the difference in speeds in the processors are not that great for everyday use – video however will use the i7’s extra capabilities if required – if not then you CAN save some money and go for the i5. And absolutely, the faster the hard drive the faster the information can be read and served up.

Oh, absolutely! I didn’t mean to come off being harsh or rude towards your recommendation, I was just stating what I would do. But then again I’m a nerd that runs a billion things at once and wants the best of the best, lol.

Either chips are going to be great performers for sure.