Having 2nd thoughts about 20" iMac...

[danny_w]

I just sold my black 2006 Macbook (and got a very good price for it) in order to buy a 20" iMac (2.4GHz 2007 refurb), since I very rarely used it as a portable device, but used it as a desktop with a 24" Gateway monitor (beautiful monitor even if it is a TN panel). Now I have the iMac and have it all set up, but I am beginning to think that I should have spent the extra money for the 24". I have the 24" Alu iMac at work, but had come to the conclusion that a 24" screen is simply too big for my home use. Now I am not so sure. Tonight I hooked up the 24" Gateway as an extended desktop just to make sure that the iMac worked correctly, and the Gateway display looked so much better than the iMac that I felt kind of sick (brighter, more vivid colors, more saturated colors, better viewing from an angle, etc). And yes, I did try calibrating both displays.

If I called up Apple do you think they would make me pay a restock fee to exchange it, since it is a refurb to start with? Somebody at an Apple store once told me that restock fees do not apply to refurbs, since Apple already got the restock fee on the original return. I may have to wait until the 24" 2.4GHz comes back into stock, so there also might be a delay.

Sorry, I know nobody can make up my mind but myself, but I just needed to express myself.

 

[michaelsviews]

I just sold my black 2006 Macbook (and got a very good price for it) in order to buy a 20" iMac (2.4GHz 2007 refurb), since I very rarely used it as a portable device, but used it as a desktop with a 24" Gateway monitor (beautiful monitor even if it is a TN panel). Now I have the iMac and have it all set up, but I am beginning to think that I should have spent the extra money for the 24". I have the 24" Alu iMac at work, but had come to the conclusion that a 24" screen is simply too big for my home use. Now I am not so sure. Tonight I hooked up the 24" Gateway as an extended desktop just to make sure that the iMac worked correctly, and the Gateway display looked so much better than the iMac that I felt kind of sick (brighter, more vivid colors, more saturated colors, better viewing from an angle, etc). And yes, I did try calibrating both displays.

If I called up Apple do you think they would make me pay a restock fee to exchange it, since it is a refurb to start with? Somebody at an Apple store once told me that restock fees do not apply to refurbs, since Apple already got the restock fee on the original return. I may have to wait until the 24" 2.4GHz comes back into stock, so there also might be a delay.

Sorry, I know nobody can make up my mind but myself, but I just needed to express myself.

Been there gone through what your going through. If you order through online or the store I beieve you have the 14 days either way. If you have a local store I would go down with the Imac in the box and the receipt and see if the Manager or Assistant manager will take it back and trade/pay up to a 24". I have done it at my local store and even though I bought my MacPro else where I was told that I could bring it in and step down and buy something else.

In the end the money is still in Apples hands. Also the 24" iMac has a H-IPS panel, where the 20" has the PVA or TN. I had a MBP but my son now has it and I have the Mac Pro and the nice ACD which I am still thinking of returning.

Best of Luck too you

 

[danny_w]

Been there gone through what your going through. If you order through online or the store I beieve you have the 14 days either way. If you have a local store I would go down with the Imac in the box and the receipt and see if the Manager or Assistant manager will take it back and trade/pay up to a 24". I have done it at my local store and even though I bought my MacPro else where I was told that I could bring it in and step down and buy something else.

In the end the money is still in Apples hands. Also the 24" iMac has a H-IPS panel, where the 20" has the PVA or TN. I had a MBP but my son now has it and I have the Mac Pro and the nice ACD which I am still thinking of returning.

Best of Luck too you

Thanks. I just got it this week (ordered online from the Apple store) so I still have a few days. I will think it over. I know the 24" has a much better IPS display since I have one at work, but I thought the 20" would probably be OK for home use. However, it is not as good as my Gateway 24" TN monitor, so I'm thinking of stepping up to the 24" iMac.

 

[brop52]

Yeah the viewing angle is not so great on the 20" iMac but I still like mine. It's really not too bad if you are sitting in front of it at the right angle. (Though I never use the iMac anymore since I got my unibody MB). I left the iMac for my parents.

 

[és:]

Thanks. I just got it this week (ordered online from the Apple store) so I still have a few days.

Then you should be OK. I'd phone them straight away and tell them that you want to upgrade to a more expensive machine.

 

[danny_w]

I decided to return the 20" and order the 24" iMac. I called Apple and had a very pleasant experience; they agreed to waive the restock fee and even arranged for free shipping back to them. What service! Unfortunately the 24" 2.4GHz is not in stock right now (it was last night) so I will need to wait until it shows up again to order the replacement.

 

[brop52]

I decided to return the 20" and order the 24" iMac. I called Apple and had a very pleasant experience; they agreed to waive the restock fee and even arranged for free shipping back to them. What service! Unfortunately the 24" 2.4GHz is not in stock right now (it was last night) so I will need to wait until it shows up again to order the replacement.

You didn't want to see what kind of upgrades they make to the machines some time in the next couple months?

 

[danny_w]

You didn't want to see what kind of upgrades they make to the machines some time in the next couple months?

Since I'll be buying refurb regardless (I actually think they are better, plus a better buy) it really doesn't make any difference. It might get me a slightly lower price or allow me to get the early 2008 model, but that is about it. And the 2008 models are such a minor improvement over the mid 2007 models that it is not worth the wait, and certainly not worth the $250-$300 difference that theyw ant in the refurb store.

 

[danny_w]

UPDATE: I got my new (refurb) 24" iMac 2.4 today and already installed the 4GB of RAM that I had waiting for it. It is a beaut! I haven't really done much with it yet, but I'm so glad I returned the 20".

 

[longball11]

cognitive dissonance.

 

[jonnymorris]

UPDATE: I got my new (refurb) 24" iMac 2.4 today and already installed the 4GB of RAM that I had waiting for it. It is a beaut! I haven't really done much with it yet, but I'm so glad I returned the 20".

How would you say the display compares to the 17" iMac with 1.83GHz CoreDuo? This is what I currently have and it suits me fine, just wondering what I'm missing here. There's a bright window behind me so I wouldn't want to see that reflected all day, which I suspect a glossy screen would do; at the moment I can't see it in the screen at all, only on the shiny white surround.

 

[danny_w]

How would you say the display compares to the 17" iMac with 1.83GHz CoreDuo? This is what I currently have and it suits me fine, just wondering what I'm missing here. There's a bright window behind me so I wouldn't want to see that reflected all day, which I suspect a glossy screen would do; at the moment I can't see it in the screen at all, only on the shiny white surround.

I have had a 24" Aluminum at work for just over a year and I love it! My wife has the 17" 2GHz Intel, and I also have a 17" G5 that looks almost identical (I haven't noticed a dramatic difference between the 2 17" displays). The 24" is considerably brighter than either of them, and of course is an IPS panel instead of a TN panel, so the display itself is much crisper and far better from an angle. As for reflections, you can definitely see them in the 24", and with a window next to or behind you the reflections can be annoying, esp. when trying to watch a movie. However, I seldom do that, and when I am concentrating on my work I don't notice the reflections (even with a window directly behind me), which are most noticeable when a lot of the screen is dark; slightly tilting the screen can often alleviate this. I think the extra brightness and richer color is worth it. Don't judge the screen/reflections by the store displays; the lighting is not typical of what you would have at home.

BTW, I also have a Gateway 24" glossy display (FHD2400) that I have used at home for the past year with a Macbook, and I really like it. I find the new iMac to be much better about reflections than the Gateway so I am sure I will be quite happy with it. I did hook them both up as an extended desktop last night just to compare them and was somewhat disappointed in the iMac display at first because the colors seemed so much more "flat" than those on the Gateway, even after calibrating both displays; colors on the Gateway just "pop" out at you. I think for movies the Gateway may actually be better. However, the text on the iMac is so much crisper and easier to read.