iMac G5, 20" vs 17"

Ehh.... Built in Superdrive? On one of the 17" models it's optional... And the added screen space will make everything easier to manage.

Well, first of all it is only an extra $300, not $400. When you go from the 17" iMac to the 20" iMac you get an upgrade from a 80GB to a 160GB hard drive. Apple charges $100 for that upgrade if you custom order it on the 17" iMac.

Also, the screen on the 20" iMac is nicer than the screen on the 17" iMac. Aside from the fact that the screen is bigger, it is higher quality. The viewing angles on the 20" screen are 170 degrees both vertically and horizontally. However, the 17" screen only has a 90 degree vertical viewing angle and a 120 degree horizontal viewing angle. The 20" screen is also brighter (230cd/m versus 200cd/m).

Considering that the 20" cinema display (which is a little better than the screen used in the iMac, the screen in the iMac is from the old plastic style cinema displays, not the new aluminum ones) sells for $1299 on its own (compared to $699 for the old 17" cinema display), I'd say that the $300 cost of upgrading to the 20" iMac G5 is well worth it.

It's easier...

Having a 20" iMac will be much easier on the eyes, and windows will be easier to manage. I know because I throw together a large amount of keynote presentations mostly using web images and omnioutliner data. Moving stuff together is a pain. There is "Expose", but still it's kinda of a pain. I would love a 17 inch screen compared to my 12" powerbook. Twenty inches, could replace my television set and give me lots on easy to work with space. Man, your dad is lucky! I would get the 20 inch machine.