i5-750 vs. i7-860

[BreadMaster]

I'm going to be buying a new iMac, (well, new for me - discounted last-gen refurb), and I reeeeeally want to be running Wii and GC games at full speed at enhanced resolutions.

I had this in mind - http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB953?mco=MTM3NDgzNjY

But then there's this - http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GF0L...TcxNTM3Mzk

I would kill for an i7, but I simply don't have the cash - is it reeeeally worth it? What kind of performance boost would that give me, in terms of fps in Brawl at 720p? (Under a 64-bit Windows build of Dolphin, OS X revisions blow!)

$170 is a hefty chunk of dough - and I'd gladly spend that much to upgrade sometime down the road - but that's just not possible. Financing isn't an option, and I'm already going $100 in debt with it the i5 as it is.

And no, other PC's aren't an option. I don't terribly care for either OS, but once you buy a sleek, sexy, 2560x1440, slim vibrant moniputor (monitor/computer), you can't go back, that monitor alone is worth the money, not to mention there's a computer inside.

Plus! Hilarious bonus conversations I had with Apple Store Chat! (Just for kicks - he just told me stuff I already knew, but I'd hoped he might sway me one way or another)

[ninjin]

you can build an i7 rig for that kind of money...

[blackJade]

I think not worth it.

Dolphin:
Dolphin only support dual core.
i5-750 and i7-860 using the same socket 1156 and they both have SSE4.2.
The difference is that i7-860 has 2.8ghz higher than i5-750 2.66ghz a little.
Dolphin need higher ghz to run faster.
If you oc it, i5-750 is enough for most game.

Other consider:
The difference is that i7-860 has 8 threads more than i5-750 only has 4.
Which means that i7-860 can handle more muth-task at the same time than i5-750.
But don't forget i7-860 still has only 4 cores.
So, if you no need to handle more task at the same time, I think i5-750 is better.

[BreadMaster]

you can build an i7 rig for that kind of money...

Hahah, yeah... But you can't find a 2560x1440 monitor as vibrant as Apple's anywhere else - oh, and there's a computer in there!

I just need confirmation that this'll run Brawl at full speed in 720p. That's my sort of benchmark I want it to reach. Anyone know if it will?

[NaturalViolence]

Get the i5 750, although the 860 is a better cpu it's main advantage is hyperthreading and therefore dolphin won't benefit at all from it.

I just need confirmation that this'll run Brawl at full speed in 720p. That's my sort of benchmark I want it to reach. Anyone know if it will?

Depending on the revision and what video card you have it should.

But it's stupid to waste so much money on a mac. That's just my opinion.

[BreadMaster]

Get the i5 750, although the 860 is a better cpu it's main advantage is hyperthreading and therefore dolphin won't benefit at all from it.

I just need confirmation that this'll run Brawl at full speed in 720p. That's my sort of benchmark I want it to reach. Anyone know if it will?

Depending on the revision and what video card you have it should.

But it's stupid to waste so much money on a mac. That's just my opinion.

It's an ATI Radeon HD 4850.

I used to be a PC guy. I laughed at my friends when they would spend rediculous amounts of money on outdated computers because they don't have the brains to use a PC. One day, I bought a MacBook Pro. It looked sexy, had better specs than my HP DV5T, and I wanted a new laptop. And I had the money. The OS' are the same, really, they both crash, and give me headaches, but you really begin to appreciate the design the more you use it. It's the simplicity, the little things that count. You just can't go back. The PC you're looking at might be more powerful and cheaper, but you just feel better using a mac.

It isn't something you can understand unless you own one, really. Just understand that I know exactly where you're coming from.

[NaturalViolence]

It's an ATI Radeon HD 4850.

I used to be a PC guy. I laughed at my friends when they would spend rediculous amounts of money on outdated computers because they don't have the brains to use a PC. One day, I bought a MacBook Pro. It looked sexy, had better specs than my HP DV5T, and I wanted a new laptop. And I had the money. The OS' are the same, really, they both crash, and give me headaches, but you really begin to appreciate the design the more you use it. It's the simplicity, the little things that count. You just can't go back. The PC you're looking at might be more powerful and cheaper, but you just feel better using a mac.

It isn't something you can understand unless you own one, really. Just understand that I know exactly where you're coming from.

Just know that not all people are like that. I own both a macbook with excellent specs and several windows laptops and I greatly prefer a windows laptop, and I've been using my macbook for 4 years so it's not like I haven't gotten used to it. I agree that mac os has better simplicity, but that comes at a price, that price is the amount of control you have over your system. Not to mention because I'm not exactly a "typical pc user" about half the stuff I do on my desktop and windows laptops cannot be done on a mac without running windows (which defeats the point of owning a mac). I don't wish to start a flamewar, just informing you that I also have a mac but it didn't change me the way it apparently changed you, perhaps I like the lack of simplicity.