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upgrading from 3.06ghz imac to a core i7 920


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Hi all recently i have begun to invest hours into googeling wether or not its worth upgrading from a 3.06ghz imac to a core i7 920 9800gtx with probably 6gb ddr3 ram

 

My imac will still sell for a bit 2nd hand but building my hackintosh is troublesome. I need my mac mostly for digital painting (in photoshop and painter x) And the problem is this: if i sell my imac can cover the expenses of the hackintosh but i will have to invest in a high quality color accurate monitor.

The hackintosh is obviously faster but just how big is the gap in performance when using photoshop and painter since those are my primary tools(i know both don't support 6gb ram at this point).The main improvement im looking for is to lessen brushlagg when working in big documents, say 4000 X 3000 at 300 dpi

I love the idea of building my own pc since i'm in charge and if something breaks i can replace it myself. but i just don't know if i can justify the expenses.

 

i would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer

-daniel

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Hi all recently i have begun to invest hours into googeling wether or not its worth upgrading from a 3.06ghz imac to a core i7 920 9800gtx with probably 6gb ddr3 ram

 

My imac will still sell for a bit 2nd hand but building my hackintosh is troublesome. I need my mac mostly for digital painting (in photoshop and painter x) And the problem is this: if i sell my imac can cover the expenses of the hackintosh but i will have to invest in a high quality color accurate monitor.

The hackintosh is obviously faster but just how big is the gap in performance when using photoshop and painter since those are my primary tools(i know both don't support 6gb ram at this point).The main improvement im looking for is to lessen brushlagg when working in big documents, say 4000 X 3000 at 300 dpi

I love the idea of building my own pc since i'm in charge and if something breaks i can replace it myself. but i just don't know if i can justify the expenses.

 

i would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer

-daniel

:) I went from a hackintosh q6600 @ 3.6 to a i7 920 @ 4.2 + HT and let's just say It's almost as fast in benchmarks with 2 cores in vmware (have yet to try more vmware server). Of course, noo core image and quartz extreme of course, which is :censored2:

I can't even imagine native, but I have a Asus Rampage Extreme II so no great tutorials plus waiting for snow leopard.

 

24inch? has a great display which is all you will miss..

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:D I went from a hackintosh q6600 @ 3.6 to a i7 920 @ 4.2 + HT and let's just say It's almost as fast in benchmarks with 2 cores in vmware (have yet to try more vmware server). Of course, noo core image and quartz extreme of course, which is :D

I can't even imagine native, but I have a Asus Rampage Extreme II so no great tutorials plus waiting for snow leopard.

 

24inch? has a great display which is all you will miss..

 

Of course the system will be way faster but wether or not it will make a huge difference in both photoshop and painter is what im wondering. You can have all the power in the world but if your software isnt optimized it wont matter. especially video editing benefits from quad cores since it can edit more frames etc. but wether it works like that for brush strokes might be a different story, maby ill just have to take the plunge

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  • 4 weeks later...

Have you priced out your desired i7 rig?

 

I would consider possible (and practical) setup and remember the cost.

 

As a zero dollar upgrade, imo... It would be a no-brainer.

 

The graphics is the biggest difference as far as I am concerned; You won't notice that big of a difference in individual performance (I typically run CS4 Ps/Ai, Sketchup, maya, modo as well as ~10 additional apps. I've noticed a difference there.)

 

My upgrade was a larger contrast, but my iMac was a 2.0 Ghz core duo, and nowhere near the performance of your iMac.

 

Consider the cost difference, use that as your deciding factor. I wouldn't spend more than $500 for that upgrade.

 

Also, make sure you have at least two weeks where you can live without OSX.

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Have you priced out your desired i7 rig?

 

I would consider possible (and practical) setup and remember the cost.

 

As a zero dollar upgrade, imo... It would be a no-brainer.

 

The graphics is the biggest difference as far as I am concerned; You won't notice that big of a difference in individual performance (I typically run CS4 Ps/Ai, Sketchup, maya, modo as well as ~10 additional apps. I've noticed a difference there.)

 

My upgrade was a larger contrast, but my iMac was a 2.0 Ghz core duo, and nowhere near the performance of your iMac.

 

Consider the cost difference, use that as your deciding factor. I wouldn't spend more than $500 for that upgrade.

 

Also, make sure you have at least two weeks where you can live without OSX.

 

I reckon i wont cross the 500€ line, i've prettymuch decided on a:

core i7 920

ati 4870 hd saphire (or maby the 9800GTX gotta figure out witch one is more supported and easier to get running

Gigabite Ex58-ud5 mobo (this one seems pretty compatible right?)

6gb ddr3 ram

antec earthwatt 500V psu

and a antec p182 case

Ive got HDD's and ODD's lying around so im at or under the 1000€ (any advice on the hardware is appreciated ofc)

Deciding on a decent, cheap and color accurate monitor will be hard.

I also have a buncha macs lying around so i wont have to be without osx (to bad photoshop and painter dont run on linux ;) )

My 24" imac will probably sell for over a 1000 since i till have applecare and all.

Thank you for your imput :D

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