I'm going to the Apple store tomorrow to buy a new iMac for when I go off to college in the fall. Should I buy the 17 or 20 inch? Either is in my price range and the screen space on the 20 is tempting for movie watching, etc. I also do some film and audio work in my free time which obviously would be easier on the larger screen. My main concern about getting the 20 is whether or not it will be too big for a dorm room desk? Thoughts? Feelings? ...
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17" or 20" iMac for Dorm Room?
- Thread starter SeenAndNotSeen
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Go for the 20''. I don't think the dimensions are so far off that one would be comfortable and the other uncomfortable.
I highly doubt that that would ever ever be possible.SeenAndNotSeen said:
My first year, I was in a triple (meaning three women) in one tiny-ass room in what is notoriously known to be a tiny roomed dorm at UC Berkeley. You'll be fine w/ a 20" iMac. *drool* Wish I had such a beast when I was in the dorms. Hehe.
Go for the 20
Just be sure to get a wireless keyboard/mouse set cause when you actually want to get down to work it'll be much easier to stick out of the way without wires....and as far as that goes...try to be as wireless as possible. You have so many freakin wires in your dorm room especially around your computer it'll drive you crazy...especially if you're doing video work like you said. You did say that didn't you?
Just be sure to get a wireless keyboard/mouse set cause when you actually want to get down to work it'll be much easier to stick out of the way without wires....and as far as that goes...try to be as wireless as possible. You have so many freakin wires in your dorm room especially around your computer it'll drive you crazy...especially if you're doing video work like you said. You did say that didn't you?
I personally live in a dormitory and I'm going to buy a 17" iMac in the next week for when I go back to school for my second year. Mind you, I also have a ThinkPad occupying the other empty spot on my desk (CS program here prefers windows and I didn't want to compile my programs via VirtualPC). I'd say if you're only going to have one computer, no external monitor, etc... go with the 20".
Before I got my 20" iMac, I thought there was no way in heck, I'd ever get used to such a monstrously huge display (coming from a 12" PowerBook), but lo and behold, after three days, I couldn't bear to use any display other than my big beautiful 20". It really doesn't seem that big after a bit 
When I was in a dorm room I had a 19" CRT. We found a way to wedge it in there, you'll find a way to fit in a 20" iMac.
Definitely go with the 20". I was also in a triple my freshman year and could have fit the 20" on my desk. You'll be fine as far as desk space goes, but I'd agree with the post saying to go with the wireless keyboard and mouse. I think you'll appreciate the screen space, and you shouldn't worry about the desk space. At one point in my dorm room this year I had my Dell 20" monitor, a 15" PowerBook, keyboard and mouse, and an old school Macintosh Plus with keyboard and mouse on my desk. I'd imagine an iMac will fit just fine.
If you can afford it right now, do it. You'll never regret buying the bigger size and it's not like it's something you can upgrade down the road...
So the question is whether to get the 20 or 17 inch and price doesn't matter? With desktop screens size does matter, and bigger is better.
Get 2 gigs of ram while you're at it.
Get 2 gigs of ram while you're at it.
ugh... all this talk about getting a 20" instead of a 17" iMac has me rethinking my decision on what to go with. *reexamines bank account*
SeenAndNotSeen said:
It's not as big as you might think it to be. I've had a 17" iMac for a long time and now that Im using a 20" iMac it feels just right. Not too big at all. In fact, the 17" seems tiny to me.
If u can afford it go for the 20in. It has a faster proc, and larger HD. Those are nice to have in college, especially if u bootcamp it and play games.
Another vote for the 20" coz you can afford it. Also you`ll have the option of a better GPU with the 20" in case you are interested. And as some other posters have already said, get bluetooth keyb,mouse and get atleast 1GB RAM.
andrewag said:may as well get a 20". The screen realestate is much better. I have no idea what a dorm room size is (aussie here
well minus the fact that the PC most people PC eat up is not deskspace and are going to be in a location that really matter for it he has a point.
You learn really quick how imporant desk space is. And where things are located. the iMac it self is pretty thin and so you still have the room to work at your desk. Just move the keyboard out of the way. Wireless for that is nice because you can just put it in to a draw or out of the way. but even wired it mostly just going to be putting it on end next to the monitor to get that room back.
I would say go with the 20 in because the amount of extra very viable desk space it eats up is very small and it going to mostly be at the back of it so you will not notic the lose.
Be more worried about all the extra stuff you are going to bring. Bring as little as possible the first year. There is a thread that list a lot of good thing I made a few months ago. I been meaning to bump it back up for a while now. But really freshman bring to much stuff to school.
Plus you will like the extra screen space more and the trade off is a good trade.
I was debating the same thing a couple weeks ago. I had planned to get the 17" model, but I got to thinking about it, and I decided to save a little extra money and spring for the 20". I'm planning to buy it at the Apple Store tomorrow. Having used a 12" PowerBook as my main machine for a couple years now, I know I can get by with the smaller screen. However, I can't put a bigger screen in the 17" model, and it'll be nice to have all the screen space I can get for web design, programming, video editing, etc. If you have the money, go for the 20".
Thanks
Thanks everyone. I opted for the 20" and I'm not sorry. I really like the size and have a feeling that it'll be excellent in my dorm come fall.
Thanks everyone. I opted for the 20" and I'm not sorry. I really like the size and have a feeling that it'll be excellent in my dorm come fall.