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17" or 20" iMac :: Why not be the first...

E

ebook

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Okay, I'm buying the new iMac and I'm going to make it last 5 years. (The 333 did it, so why not this!!!)

So, my question is which screen size should I get. There is no practical upgrade between the two except for the fact that on the 20" the 160 gig hard drive is standard. But, I want the 20"!!! Can you give me any good reasons why I should spend the extra $310 ($400 -$90 because I was going to up the HD)? Please help me!!!
 
ebook said:
Okay, I'm buying the new iMac and I'm going to make it last 5 years. (The 333 did it, so why not this!!!)

So, my question is which screen size should I get. There is no practical upgrade between the two except for the fact that on the 20" the 160 gig hard drive is standard. But, I want the 20"!!! Can you give me any good reasons why I should spend the extra $310 ($400 -$90 because I was going to up the HD)? Please help me!!!
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I don't think an extra 2" of screen space is worth $400... even if the drive size is doubled.
 
I gotta say, I have the 20" ACD right now, and I love it. If you're trying to make it last 5 years, what's $310? not much... If you get the 17", I think you'll always wish you had gotten the 20", so why not just go for it.

Lee Tom
 
Much better viewing angles on the display (see tech specs). Brighter display. 36% more pixels. More interior room, meaning more possibility of 3rd party upgrades working in the future. $310 is not much to pay for a 17"->20" upgrade.
 
you guys are fast

Thanks for the info, I'll just disregard the one that said don't get it (just kidding!!!! 🙂 ). I hadn't realized about the specs. Keep the ideas coming...I think the wife might let it happen. I would have to hold off on a ram upgrade for about 2 months (until birthday), but I think I can live!
 
ebook said:
Thanks for the info, I'll just disregard the one that said don't get it (just kidding!!!! 🙂 ).
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-_-

Well I suppose if you plan on keeping it for many years, then yeah the $300-400 won't mean as much in the long run.
 
LeeTom said:
I gotta say, I have the 20" ACD right now, and I love it. If you're trying to make it last 5 years, what's $310? not much... If you get the 17", I think you'll always wish you had gotten the 20", so why not just go for it.

Lee Tom
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I totally agree. If you are going to dish out the money for a well made computer and have it last you for 5years, then what's an extra $310? It will totally pay for itself many times over. Go ahead and get the 20". I am. 😎
 
Plus, what would you rather tell your friends - "yeah, there's a 20 inch iMac, but I decided the 17 inch was good enough for me" or "look at those poor slobs with the lousy 17 inch iMac! Man, am I glad I went with the 20 inch!"?

Of course, when the 23" comes out in 6 months, you won't be quite as p-o'd either.
 
ebook said:
...I think the wife might let it happen.
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Hmmm. Wife approval....

You can wall-mount the iMac and use it as a TV (via EyeTV or something similar). Or just watch DVDs on it. The 17" won't look nearly as nice doing that. Pull up a little roller-desk to use the (Bluetooth, of course) keyboard and mouse, then roll it away when not using it. You can even cover it with a picture frame case. Wives seem to like clean looks, and both iMacs could be cleanly mounted like that - but only the 20" is all that usable as a TV - or, better, as a digital picture frame while not in use. Have kids? Like art? The 20" will make for much nicer presentation....
 
I wasn't trying to down on you vraxtus. You brought up a REALLY valid point, in fact that is my biggest sticking point. But, I do think 20" would be cool. I mean a 20" screen is as big as the only t.v. we have in our house (yes it is from 1992, and yes it has a fake wood case, and yes it works fine with our through the air antenna!). I might as well get that the eyetv or whatever it is called and watch t.v. on my computer!!

Edit: You beat me to the eyetv idea
 
jsw said:
Great minds... 😉
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Actually, for some reason, I feel like the wall mountability is the #1 best selling point for this machine. For that same price you could barely get a 20" ACD... and yet with this you could get an entire computer that you can wall mount... anywhere!
 
vraxtus said:
Actually, for some reason, I feel like the wall mountability is the #1 best selling point for this machine. For that same price you could barely get a 20" ACD... and yet with this you could get an entire computer that you can wall mount... anywhere!
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I completely agree. I'm going to try my darnedest to convince my wife to sell our 17" iMac and the computer desk and get one of these and a little roller-desk to stash elsewhere. Would save lots of room. Er, at least that's my relatively weak argument. 😉
 
20" would serve as a decent TV monitor as well, if you decide to use it as such using something like eyeTV...
 
AndiePandie said:
I totally agree. If you are going to dish out the money for a well made computer and have it last you for 5years, then what's an extra $310? It will totally pay for itself many times over. Go ahead and get the 20". I am. 😎
Click to expand...

Of course, if you get the 17", you can say a little bit sooner "we need a new computer, because last time I bought the cheaper version" in order to justify your purchase of the new $1099, 27" iMac G6 with 1TB drive
 
Get the faster 17" and use the money you saved from not buying that 20" monster for more RAM. I can't believe they put in 256MB RAM across the board. WTF?
 
I'm with others; since the 17" uses basically the old-style iMac 17" monitor panel, and the new one looks like it uses the panel from the new 20" Cinema Display, there is a HUGE difference in quality. The 20" will be brighter, far more visible from the sides (90° and 120° vs 170° both ways is very visible in real terms), and have more working area to boot. Unless budget is the most important concern, it's practically a no-brainer based on the quality of the display alone.

Oh, and by the way, if you think wall mounting is cool, check this Kensington monitor arm out. There's one installed where I work, and it's the coolest thing since the G4 iMac's arm--tilt up and down, move back and forth, lean from side to side, and even swivel 90 degrees. Even comes in grey. (Sadly, it only goes up to 20lbs in theory, so it'll only support the 17", but it'd still be wicked-cool to see a new iMac on one.)
 
Given that Apple decided to use the old 17" screen in the new iMac, I'd have to say get the 20" if you can afford the extra few hundred dollars. I really think the 17" would be enough for me, but the viewing angle is very disappointing. If I end up getting an iMac, I really think I'll have to save up for the 20" just because of that one thing alone. Of course, what do I do with that gorgeous 20" screen if my iMac dies (after 3 years of AppleCare, of course) or I want something new? Too bad there is no way to use that screen with another computer.
 
I think the extra incremental cost would be worth it to have the 20" LCD. I have a 20" LCD at home, and I love it. Think of it as only $60 per year divided over the five years you'll own the iMac.

You could also argue: the scariest thing about the new iMacs is all the heat-producing stuff they've jammed into a 2" thick case: G5 CPU, hard disk, optical drive, internal power supply, display backlight, yadda yadda yadda. With the 20" model, there is more internal volume, so all that heat is less concentrated . . . yeah, that's the ticket.

I was surprised that the 20" model isn't at least $2000.

I say, go for it!


Crikey
 
Crikey said:
I was surprised that the 20" model isn't at least $2000.
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True. Given that the 20" display alone sells for $1299, getting the 20" iMac for $1899 seems like a steal. You get all that G5 goodness for only an extra $600.
 
i plan on getting the 17 inch but its only gonna be used for mabey 1.5 years if that. so im going with the 17 inch super drive but 3 years is a while so i would get the 20 inch. im only getting it so i have a g5 until i get enough a g5 2.5 dp.
 
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