Considering iMac, questions about current CPU comparison

Considering purchasing the lowest end iMac and curious how much of a difference in hardware I'll be getting. Any input on the below would be greatly appreciated.
Current:
Dell XPS 410, Windows 7 64 bit
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU @ 2.4 GHz
4GB RAM/ 300 GB Memory
Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT
How would the Intel Core i3 @3.06 Ghz compare?
I'd be getting the same RAM, more memory.
What about my graphic card above compared to the ATI Radeon HD 4600? ATI's website states 320 Steam Processing Units while my Nvidia claims 32. Same thing?
Thanks!

It's difficult to compare the two because you don't mention how you will using the machine. You're comparing apples and oranges, if you were specific about the applications you use or the type of applications then we would have a better starting point. But comparing strictly hardware is not a fair comparison. For example if you are only a gamer stay with a PC and upgrade to an i7 machine. If you are an occasional gamer but primarily focus on music, photography, MS Office applications or surfing the web, there is not doubt you will be thrilled with a iMac.
If you have an Apple Store close enough to drive to then go and sit down on the i3 and make the decision yourself.
An finally and probably most importantly is the OS, one HUGE benefit an iMac has is it can run OS X and MS Windows where a Windows machine cannot run OS X.

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what about dual core CPUs or CPUs with hyperthreading enabled? Is the 1 CPU limitation on a per socket basis like the other Oracle products, or is it limited to one physical CPU core? thanks.
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im wondering how this is acheived though? It is via cpu_count because I change it (up to a value of 3)
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cpu_count integer 1
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Hello,
Sorry if this has been covered before, but I didn't recieve an installation CD with my Audigy 2 card when I got it years ago, and I have used the current, most recent Audigy 2 drivers on this website which say they are an improvement over the ones on the disk, to install the Audigy 2 on my PC for the first time (after a reformat). Do these have the same function as the ones from the installation disk?
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Looking at buying a new iMac - questions about a new one or refurb??

I am eyeballing the newest quad core iMac 27inch configuration with the i5 CPU and standard ati 5750 video card for $1999. I want something for gaming that will last me a while. I also saw a refurb quadcore 27inch, with i7 cpu. but with the 4850 video card..for only $1700 much more affordable to me. I am thinking the CPU is much quicker in the refurb...but is the video card lacking? it is worth the $300 extra for the better video card but slow i5 setup? :\ Any other recommendations? It also looks like I can also get a non quadcore refurb setup, but the video cards seem mediocre and I think I will be looking at something new in another 1.5 year or so.. most of them are coming with a 256mb video card..

More data here: http://www.barefeats.com/imac10g.html
Assuming Apple releases updated drivers in a future update, the 4850 is not much slower than the 5750. It's still slower though, so for games the new model will be faster. Also, if gaming is indeed your primary use, the graphics are more likely to be a bottleneck than the CPU, so you could get a built-to-order 27" with the 3.2 GHz i3 processor and the 5750 graphics for $1849 instead of $1999.
Example for the Late 2009 model:
http://www.barefeats.com/imi7g2.html
Almost no difference between the Core 2 Duo, Core i5 and Core i7 processors for games.
Finally, if gaming really is what you do with your computer most of the time, a PC would be a better choice (easier and/or cheaper to get a configuration ideal for games - the iMac is more of an all-around compromise).

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Hi jljonathan,
Since you will be purchasing a creative cloud subscription, hence in future the Adobe upgrade of the product will be done simultaneuosly for the whole of Creative Cloud,
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[SOLVED] Question about CPU temperature

Hi everybody,
I just want to ask a question about "standard" CPU temperatures because my laptop (a Dell Vostro 3700) is permanently hot with the fans on even when I am not doing anything special.
I have CPU freq scaling active with the conservative governor, and I use Gnome Shell 3.2 with an nVidia using the nouveau driver.
Here are "stable" temperatures while writing this post:
# sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +72.5°C (crit = +103.0°C)
nouveau-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1: +78.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +73.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2: +73.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
And this is the output of mpstat
# mpstat -P ALL
Linux 3.1.6-1-ARCH (fm) 01/04/2012 _x86_64_ (4 CPU)
10:16:50 PM CPU %usr %nice %sys %iowait %irq %soft %steal %guest %idle
10:16:50 PM all 1.59 0.18 0.54 0.02 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 97.65
10:16:50 PM 0 1.88 0.15 0.72 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 97.22
10:16:50 PM 1 1.64 0.21 0.40 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 97.73
10:16:50 PM 2 1.47 0.15 0.67 0.02 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 97.64
10:16:50 PM 3 1.36 0.20 0.39 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 98.01
The fan, of course, is full speed (very annoying)
I think that these temperatures are quite high, but I don't know what's really causing all this heating because my laptop is basically idle.
Any suggestion?
Thanks.
P.S.: Running Linux fm 3.1.6-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Dec 22 09:11:48 CET 2011 x86_64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 430 @ 2.27GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
Last edited by fm (2012-01-06 09:32:01)

samuvuo wrote:
fm wrote:Just to wrap up this topic, I "solved" the issue by adding these parameters to the kernel:
Just curious: what are the temperatures now? Sensors output after the "fix" would be nice.
It's in the previous posts:
Before (idle)
# sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +72.5°C (crit = +103.0°C)
nouveau-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1: +78.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +73.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2: +73.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
After (idle)
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +63.5°C (crit = +103.0°C)
nouveau-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1: +68.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +62.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2: +64.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
After (after playing 8 min youtube video)
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +74.5°C (crit = +103.0°C)
nouveau-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1: +78.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +110.0°C)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +73.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2: +75.0°C (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Fan spinning is better (less noisy) after specifying the kernel parameters.
Thanks
Last edited by fm (2012-01-06 13:43:05)

Question about CPU temperature

Hi, I have just built a new system with the following,
Motherboard - MSI 760GM-P23 (FX)
CPU FX 6300
and as this is my first venture over to the AMD side of PC's I have some questions about the CPU temp.
The image below is from my system under load, I'm told that the temp readings from AMD CPU's are not accurate below 40c?
The FX 6300 'package temp' cant be accurate with a low of 13c it's simply not possible in a room that's almost 20c.
What is TMPIN1? I hope that's not my actual CPU temp as 69c is way to high. and a Google search for TMPIN1 brings up lots of forum posts regarding MSI boards, Hence my post here.
TMPIN0 looks like the most likely sensor for CPU temp but I'm just not sure, so which one is it? and where is TMPIN1 reading it's info from?
Regards and many thanks, Dave

What you see with HWINFO is the readings from two different sources. One is the reported temp by the AMD sensor, the other is the same temp but as reported and translated by the Fintek chip that MSI generally uses on their boards.
The differences in readings boils down to the digital signal to analog conversion by the two data suppliers, .i.e AMD sensor/Fintek chip.
If in doubt, always use the higher reported temp as the acceptable one. Quite frankly, I would think what the Fintek reports is probably close to what the real temps are. Common sense will dictate that what you see from the AMD sensor is virtually impossible unless you use liquid cooling.
Also remember that the software in use may differ in readings slightly.
The Fintek chip is reporting 2 CPU temps. I summise the higher as being the CPU core and the lower value as being a sensor in the vicinity of the CPU that MSI has added.
Comparing the info with your HW Monitor, I further believe that TMPIN1 is the same as the Fintek CPU higher temp. TMPIN2 is the one for the lower CPU value in HWINFO and TMPIN0 is probably your southbridge.
If you wish, run both these software packages at the same time and stress your machine in Prime95, Then you can monitor and figure out which ones are going up or down in unison. You may also find that the temps will be a lot closer then.

Ok, so i bought a imac 27 about 4 months ago, and now they release a new one! ****... So my question is, should I sell this one (which by the way is the i5 2.8 with 1 gb 5750 and 4gb ram) and buy the new imac 27 i5,or keep the one i have and buy more ram

ok, so i bought a imac 27 about 4 months ago, and now they release a new one! ****... So my question is, should I sell this one (which by the way is the i5 2.8 with 1 gb 5750 and 4gb ram) and buy the new imac 27 i5,or keep the one i have and buy more ram. I mostly use my computer for photoshop cs5 and illustrator cs5 for graphics out put as well as surfing the web and music.
Please give me you thoughts on what I should do!! Thanks lot!

The new iMac is about 25% or so faster than your current iMac(comparable model would be the 3.1ghz version). There are a couple of things that you will benefit from such as the dual Thunderbolt/Mini Display ports/ which may help with multitasking. The video card in the new iMac again the comparable model being the 3.1ghz is a lotttttttt better than the current one that you have. So thinking of the long run those few things may be beneficial for you to upgrade(but it depends on what is important to you).
I had the 2.93ghz i7 version that I just bought in March this year and I turned around and sold it about a week before the new iMac's were announced. I got about $1600 for it, yeah I took a loss but to me it was worth it because my new iMac performs that much better. Now keep in mind I went from i7 to i7...3.4ghz i7 with the 2gb video card. Now I have dual thuderbolt/mini display ports. I have noticed significant gains in my video editing and also in my gaming. So to me it was definitely worth the upgrade!
One last thing, I would not have sold my 2.93 i7 and then bought the 3.1ghz i5, the big reason is because HT(hyper threading), it's only on the i7 model(3.4ghz)... If you take a look at some of the bench marks on engadget, maclife, macrumors, macworld, ****Barefeats.com(they really get into benchmarking)*** you will see charts that will help you make a better decision.
In closing I would say look into it, if you can get a good price out of your current iMac to put toward a new iMac then do it. Like others have mentioned to you, tech changes and Apple will change the tech in these machines next year or do a speed bump later this year or so. One last thing if you go from the 2.8 i5 up to the 3.4 i7, you would definitely see the difference (HT is a must especially for programs that utilize it. You can go to my youtube channel(mob1278) and take a look at my geekbench results.... my 2.93 i7 scored around 10500-11000(8gb ram)...my 3.4 i7 scores from 12700-13000 with 4gb ram....so yeah as you can see big difference. Basically the 3.4 i7 would perform similar or just under a 2.4ghz 8core 2010 Mac Pro which runs you about $3500 with no monitor.... it's your money spend it how you want....and Lion is only going to push it even more when it is released!

Need help ASAP, have a tough question about CPU and BIOS...

Alrighty guys... I'm not super smart when it comes to BIOS and the nitty gritty computer stuff, but I know my way around. Here's the thing...
This is the desktop I have:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=120&prodSeriesId=...
It's sorta old, but it gets the job done quickly. I had an issue with it some time ago and I thought it was the power supply, so I replaced it. While I was waiting for the power supply to arrive, I took the CPU out, just to be nosey. I accidentally bent a couple of the prongs, so I had to get a new one.
First, I bought a Black Edition AMD quad core, but the 125W was too high for my 95W chip. I had to sell it. I sold that and I just bought a new one:
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Phenom%20X4%209850%20-%20HD9850XAJ4BGH%20(HD9850XAGHBOX).html
I put it in the computer, boot it up and it goes to the HP boot screen and then goes to a black screen stating that the CPU is not compatible and that it's going to shut down. When I reset it and try to press F10 or any of the keys it states that it's going to go to that screen, but then just goes to the black CPU shutdown screen again. There is one thing that the computer will do though. When I press F2 when it's in the black shutdown screen, it will SOMETIMES load the two HDD's that I have. It's just really weird. One time I got it to go to a HP diagnosis page. It showed the CPU and had a big green check next to it. It checked the memory too, and it got a check. Then it just froze and I had to shut it down. I can't seem to get it to that screen again.
My real question is why won't it recognize that my CPU is compatible? Do I need to update my BIOS? Can I do that without a CPU and a running OS? I really don't feel like selling this processor. I know that I should have just gotten the exact same processor model that came out of it.
Any info will be nice! Thanks so much!!

Here are the specs for your HP Pavilion a6720y Desktop Computer and it's M2N78-LA (Violet) motherboard. According to the specs, your computer supports the following CPUs;
Socket type: AM2/AM2+
TDP: 95 watts
AMD Athlon X2 (Bt)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 up to 6000+ (W)
AMD Phenom Triple-Core up to 8xxx (AM2+) (Toliman)
AMD Phenom Quad-Core 9xxx series (AM2+) up to 9850 (Agena)
Based on the CPU part number supplied, you purchased another 125 watt CPU. The AMD Phenom X4 9850 (HD9850XAGHBOX) isn't going to work because it is rated at 125 watts and therefore is not compatible with your motherboard. Please consider returning (as Dave suggests) or selling your current CPU and getting one of these 95 watt AMD Phenom X4 CPUs.
Please send KUDOs
Frank
{------------ Please click the "White Kudos" Thumbs Up to say THANKS for helping.
Please click the "Accept As Solution" on my post, if my assistance has solved your issue. ------------V
This is a user supported forum. I am a volunteer and I don't work for HP.
HP 15t-j100 (on loan from HP)
HP 13 Split x2 (on loan from HP)
HP Slate8 Pro (on loan from HP)
HP a1632x - Windows 7, 4GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
HP p6130y - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
HP p6320y - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GT 240
HP p7-1026 - Windows 7, 6GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6450
HP p6787c - Windows 7, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GT 240

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Set up iCloud on both devices
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Question about using iMac 2011 as a monitor

hi ,, i have imac 2011 21'5
can i use as a monitor to play xbox 360 on it using mini displayport to hdmi cable ??
if no then is there way else i can play xbox on my imac screen

Frank:
Thanks so much for responding! One question about your post. When you say that the Mac Mini cannot boot in OS 9, does that mean that if I wanted it to hold Filemaker Pro 4 files (which runs on OS 9), that it cannot do this? We would not be running Filemaker on the Mini, just storing the files. We would run Filemaker off of our desktop computers. Sorry, I don't know a ton about computers, so sometimes I need clarification about the terms that people use.-Rob

24" iMac summer 2008. CPU fan runs at highest speed, some times goes to "sleep" mode. t' is about 35'- 42'C. Run hardware test: 4sns/1/40000000:tlop-130.000, next time 4sns/1/40000000:tlop-128.000 errors. Reinstalled all softwere. Nothing changed.

24" iMac summer 2008. CPU fan runs at highest speed, some times goes to "sleep" mode. CPU t' is about 35'- 42'C. Run hardware test: 4sns/1/40000000:tlop-130.000, next time 4sns/1/40000000:tlop-128.000 errors. Tried SMC, NVRAM, PRAM. Reinstalled all softwere. Nothing changed.

I suspect you have hardware problem with a fan sensor. Doing a software install will not help the machine needs to be taken in for service. If you run Apple Hardware Test in Extended Mode it should reveal the error code. If it does not then run AHT an additional 2-3 times to be sure in Extended Mode. Each pass will take about 30-60 minutes.

Hi. Good morning, I intend to purchase the Photography Photoshop program. The Rs 499/month one. I currently use an Mac Air. But intend to buy a iMac in about 2 months time. Will I be able to transfer this program or continue using this on my new machine?

Hi. Good morning, I intend to purchase the Photography Photoshop program. The Rs 499/month one. I currently use an Mac Air. But intend to buy a iMac in about 2 months time. Will I be able to transfer this program or continue using this on my new machine?

My eyes just glazed over...Please in the future break down each of your issues with paragraphs separated by two carriage returns. It would be much easier when trying to address your issues.
Go to Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Mouse
And edit your mouse settings to do what you want it to do.
Secondly, this is not the place to vent. If you have a complaint, there is:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/
or http://www.apple.com/contact/
We are just end users here helping other end users.
Third, from my understanding, it would appear you are concerned about the noise the hard drive makes when it falls asleep? Why not put your machine in screen saver mode instead? Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Energy Saver turn off all Energy Saver settings, or set them to run Never.
Fourth, if your machine was purchased just a few days ago, you may still be able to get an exchange from the store, quicker than you can get a repair done. You may want to look into that possibility.
Fifth, it does appear you found the Logic forum. I would persist in asking there how to solve your technical issue with Logic regarding the audio. It may be you don't have to do anything special to the hard drive. Remember audio can be transmitted by wire, avoiding ambient sounds.
Good luck!

Questions about TDM mode on an iMac

Hi!
I'm thinking about buying 2009-2010 27" iMac, it should replace my home server, display and audio system.
Primarily, I will use it in TDM mode, and have some questions about it.
Firstly, what about sound? iMac receives it over Mini DP, right? And if I'll connect HDMI device to iMac (PS3, looking forward to Xbox One, and MacBook Air over hdmi adapter), sound will be played over desktop's speakers, as it should?
Second, and most interesting part: if connection scheme is MacBook Air->Mini DP to HDMI adapter->HDMI cable->HDMI splitter->HDMI to Mini DP cable->iMac in TDM, everything will work fine?
Also interested about cables. For example, this cable http://dx.com/p/cy-dp-021-mini-displayport-to-hdmi-audio-extender-cable-white-1- 8m-177527 supports up to 1920x1200, but basically, both DP 1.2 and HDMI 1.3b supports 2560x1600. Should I look for another cable or this one will support 2560x1440 resolution?)

Beta software is always a risk. Some beta releases are close to finished status and quite polished and bug-free, while others have significant and often crippling bugs. Not that software in official release may not also have problems, but the entire point of beta releases is to identify bugs prior to an official release, so bugs are much more likely. Sometimes you won't encounter any problems, but other beta software may take your machine down completely; it all depends on what the software is intended to do, how skilled the programmers are, and where in the beta cycle the software may be. A "public preview" release from a major developer such as Microsoft, Apple, or Mozilla is less likely to have major problems, but it's no guarantee.
It's always wise to be very cautious about using any beta software, and to take extra precautions, particularly making backups much more often and preferably not using your main computer, when running any beta software. I would recommend never, repeat never, running beta software on any computer on which you depend on a daily basis for work or critical schoolwork. If you must, make a clone of your entire hard drive to another volume before installing any beta, so you can recover your system in case of major problems.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Considering iMac, questions about current CPU comparison

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