Testimonials of the iMac 20"

This thread might be helpful to me too, as I am planing to buy a 20" iMac or a PowerMac. The earliest I'm buying is the beginning July.

if money isnt an i$$ue
i would go for the 20' model.
the extra 3 inches gives you over 30% of a viewing area. it is worth the money.
the 17' is more compact, and lightweight.
BOTH ARE GOOD OPTIONS.

The 20" looks better proportioned. The white space underneath the display is the same size as on the 17" but it obviously appears smaller because of the display size. This alone is reason enough for me to choose the 20". Also, the 20" is much higher quality panel. Go to a local Fry's, Apple Store or CompUSA and see for yourself. The difference is quite apparent. The viewing angles are much better, the display is brighter and the colors are more vibrant. Lastly, and I have little hard information to back this up, the 20" should run cooler since there is more room for the heat to escape. Again, this may or may not be the case.

My friend just dumped a boatload of money on the 17"... he said that he didn't want to get the 20" because the refresh rate goes down.

I went to CompUSA to try both of them out to help me decide. (As much as I like the Apple Store, I usually go to CompUSA for my test runs --- you'll probably be approached by an employee once, but then they pretty much leave you alone...)

When I test ran each model, I approached it as if I was working on an actual project --- in my case, creating a birth announcement package (a print piece in "Pages", an album in "iPhoto", and short slideshow with "iMovie" and "iDVD"). This method really shows, not only how well the machine performs, but how well you interact with the machine. (For instance, the same test tun on a iBook and PowerBook started cramping my hand after continuous use of the trackpad.)

I decided to go with the 20" model. I really didn't notice any performance differences, but the additional screen real estate is amazing, especially when working with text.

I ordered my 20" iMac, which should be arriving in a few days, from Amazon. I'll be loading it up with the usual array of graphic arts software (Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc). I'll keep you posted on how it performs with those apps.

wala said:

My friend just dumped a boatload of money on the 17"... he said that he didn't want to get the 20" because the refresh rate goes down.

Click to expand...

LCD's dont' have refresh rates.

wala said:

My friend just dumped a boatload of money on the 17"... he said that he didn't want to get the 20" because the refresh rate goes down.

Click to expand...

There is no such thing as a refresh rate on a LCD screen, because the pixels are always on (they don't need refreshing like the spots on a CRT that are fired, fade, and have to be fired again 1/75th of a second later.)

If the friend is talking about the pixel response time (basically how fast a pixel can turn on and off when an image moves quickly across the screen), this is important on watching full motion video and action games. Apple doesn't provide those figures it seems.

wala said:

My friend just dumped a boatload of money on the 17"... he said that he didn't want to get the 20" because the refresh rate goes down.

Click to expand...

refresh rates on lcds.... COME ON NOW. lol