Imac 20" or 24"

[ohkanada]

I am close to purchasing an IMAC after being a PC user for many years. My original plan was to buy the 24 inch 2.8 ghz model. After looking at it again, I am thinking of dropping down to the 20 inch 2.4 ghz model . In both cases I will be upgrading to 4 gb of memory. I found it online for $125.

Will I notice the processor speed (2.4 vs 2.8) difference and will it cause any issues?

The one thing that is the same is the video card (ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory). I suspect the video performance would be better on the smaller screen but I am not really sure. I didn't notice any upgrade options for the video cards. Is this true?

I am also thinking of buying a refurbished model (from apple) instead of a new model.

Other than typical web browsing and email, my main use for it will be playing World of Warcraft.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[AppleWoW]

Im looking at the same model for WoW and i'd say save yourself the extra cash and go with the 20" screen. Unless you NEED the extra .4 GHz its not really noticable. I myself will be hooking up another screen to my iMac so there is no reason to get the 24" model. Good luck!

And there is no upgrade for videocards, sorry.

[SaSaSushi]

Im looking at the same model for WoW and i'd say save yourself the extra cash and go with the 20" screen. Unless you NEED the extra .4 GHz its not really noticable. I myself will be hooking up another screen to my iMac so there is no reason to get the 24" model. Good luck!

And there is no upgrade for videocards, sorry.

The 24" model is available with either 2.4GHz or 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo CPUs.

I had a 20" Core Duo iMac (white) before upgrading to the 24" and I really love the extra screen real estate. In fact, now this just looks normal to me and 20" seems tiny.

The viewing angle on the new 24" models is also better than the 20". Its a better LCD panel. For my money it was the 24" all the way and well worth the extra $300.

[whynot83706]

Im looking at the same model for WoW and i'd say save yourself the extra cash and go with the 20" screen. Unless you NEED the extra .4 GHz its not really noticable. I myself will be hooking up another screen to my iMac so there is no reason to get the 24" model. Good luck!

And there is no upgrade for videocards, sorry.

WOW is the only game I play, and I have to say it runs perfectly on my 20" 2.4Ghz Mac, i am getting 45+ fps.

[Queso]

Depends on what you'll use the machine for primarily. If work related you'd be better off going for the 20" and buying a second 20" monitor to sit beside it. If media and/or games, go for the 24".

[she's krissy]

the 20inch is small compared to my 24inch.

i went over to my friends house with a 20 inch....yeah, the 24inch has much more a "display" and I edit all day on my 24inch baby =) easy to open up many windows if working on different thingys

[Dimwhit]

I really don't think you'll regret getting the 24", if it can fit within your budget. Doesn't even seem all that big to me anymore. But man is it beautiful.

[AppleWoW]

For me im on a 17" 1.25 dual core G4 ATI 9000 PRO, so the 20" in my opinion is a big enough upgrade for me as is. The 24" is nice but I dont want to spend the extra cash for some room I may never use. Plus I will throw my 17" monitor onto my 20" for some extra screen space so I see no need to upgrade to a 24". The argument basically comes down to is how much speed, space, and desktop room you want/need.

[AlexisV]

For games, throwing less pixels around will mean a higher frame rate.

The 20" is plenty big enough for me.