Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

20" or 24"?

SnowLeopard2008

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
19
Silicon Valley
Hey, I'm in the market for an iMac. I really can't decide on whether to purchase the 20" or 24" model. I'm also a bit cautious about the graphics card. Are they able to play relatively new games (like 07-08 releases) and encode video at a fast pace? I'm also probably going to use Boot Camp and Vista with the iMac, and I would like at least a 5.0 rating on the Vista Experience Index. Would the 24" iMac refurb w/ ATI Radeon 2600 graphics and 256MB VRAM be sufficient to achieve this? I'm leaning towards the 24", but would like to know the difference of 20" vs. 24" size. Is it a lot? I currently run a MacBook hooked up to a 24" Samsung, and the desktop is very big... but I've grown used to it. So am I missing out on a lot if I go with the 20"? Thanks.
 
I have the Rev. A first 'edition' 24" iMac. Was trying to decide in the beginning between the 20" or 24", but the 24"'s screen was soooooooooooo much better, I went for the 24" iMac.

I have never looked back! Purchase and Enjoy the 24".....
 
We have both of them here in my IT office, and I do like the 24" better. Currently my Desktop is a PC I have connected to my HDTV through DVI, but I would replace it for the ease of use of an iMac 24".
 
another thing to consider is OpenCL which has been more compatible with Nvidia.

The Nvidia video cards are on the 24 iMac (512mb)

why is this important? OpenCL is one of the main technologies in Snow Leopard. It allows the very powerful GPU to shoulder some of the burden that the CPU has.

will ATI have OpenCL support? likely, but Nvidia is already ahead of the curve. (there's an article at macrumors or appleinsider about it)

this is another reason why apple is going with nvidia chipsets across the board now. the OpenCL advantage.
 
At first I thought the 24 was overkill...but I'm a performance whore so I went with the 24.

After 4 weeks of using the 24 I feel it's like a normal screen to me: not too big and not too small. Instead, I think I'd go for a 28inch if there ever is one :p

Go for the 24, you will never regret it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back