24 " or not!

[photomel]

Is the 24" screen necessary for graphics work? I will be doing SOME graphics work woold you recommend the 24" as a necessary thing?

[djejrejk]

No, you can do graphics work on any size screen, the important thing is that the screen is good quality. I think that you will find a 20' cinema display more than adequate unless you really edit photos 10 hours a day every day at work.

[thats nice]

It's not something you critically need unless you're going to be working with large files and don't like scrolling left and, right, up and down all the time. Personally I went from a 17" to a 24" and i usually have free real estate, although i've used virtual desktops (spaces in Leopard) ever since I knew about it, and that has made life a lot easier!

[tobefirst]

I'd actually encourage someone new to design (not sure if that is you or not) to start on a smaller display. With less real estate, it means less palettes can be open...which puts a premium on learning keyboard short cuts. When everything isn't "right there," you tend to learn them pretty fast.

[pianodude123]

I'd actually encourage someone new to design (not sure if that is you or not) to start on a smaller display. With less real estate, it means less palettes can be open...which puts a premium on learning keyboard short cuts. When everything isn't "right there," you tend to learn them pretty fast.

Good idea... but it is a significant investment. Plopping down $200 for a 17in when you could put down $150 more for a 24" seems illogical.

[MacinDoc]

Doesn't the 24" screen have better color depth (not dithered) than the 20"?

[carlgo]

Isn't the 24" screen high resolution? Wouldn't that be nicer to work with for graphic or photo work? Or am I thinking about the wrong display here.

[JasonElise1983]

nicer to work on and critical are two different things. I did 80% of my design work for a while on a 15inch MacBook Pro, before i bought a 20" external monitor. Bug i've used everything from a 15" CRT to 22" CRT and 15" LCD to 24" LCD. The only critical thing there is in Design work, is that you have a good quality monitor. In this case, Size actually doesn't matter.

-JE

[Blue Velvet]

If you're doing page layouts, then the ability to see an A4 spread at full-size is invaluable. Get a good quality 24" monitor and you'll work faster, instead of constantly scrolling and zooming in and out.

[koobcamuk]

A hi-res 17" MBP has the same resolution as the 24".

I would get that.

[bluetooth]

If you're doing page layouts, then the ability to see an A4 spread at full-size is invaluable. Get a good quality 24" monitor and you'll work faster, instead of constantly scrolling and zooming in and out.

I agree. I have a 20" and am constantly zooming in and out all the time.

[jimbo110]

I own a 24" iMac, 15" mini mac and a 15" MacBook Pro. I have to say I made some great stuff on both 15". The 24" iMac is a real dream to work on. I would have to say the advantage with the MacBook Pro is the portability and working on different place can give some inspiration. Even to work on a different places in the house. To have a 24" can improve the productivity since you can have more windows open at the same time. Good luck with whatever you choose. 24" would never be a bad choice infact a good choice if you need a :apple: desktop.

[wongulous]

Honestly, that extra money can be spent on necessary software or new fonts. You pay such a high price premium... wait a few months and see if you want more real estate, and buy an external monitor if need be, after a few more client deals. 20" is really great.