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Having Second Thoughts about 27" iMac Purchase

S

SirLollipopMan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2011
6
0
So I bought a 27" iMac today. I went in with intentions of buying a 21", but I needed the 1 TB hard drive, and would need the $1500 model. But then I got to thinking about how the base 27 is only $200 more. And look at all that screen real estate!

But then I got it home. I've been using it for several hours now, and I've begun to have some serious second thoughts. I don't think I like how I have to look around to do anything, and I ESPECIALLY don't like how the file bar seems so far off into no-man's land. Also, the fonts seem too small to me. If I'm not right up on the screen, I have to strain to read. But if I'm right up on the screen, I have to move my eyes and head a ridiculous amount.

I dunno guys, I feel like I might have made a mistake...
 
in my opinion, 27 inch is too small now that iv used it for a few weeks lol
 
I thought my 24" iMac was too big and I hated having to look around for things on it. Now, I want the 27"! Give it time, you'll be glad you stuck with it.
 
Thanks for such quick replies, everyone!

So, I noticed that the screen was much easier to look at when standing up, and resolved to get a barstool and stack a bunch of pillows on it. Wow, what a difference! I still haven't made up my mind, but I'm definitely liking it a lot more now than I was an hour ago. With my eyes lined up with the file bar (is that what it's called, haha?), Everything seems to be adequately accessible. Before I was groveling at the feet of almightily Lord Macintosh, now I'm looking down upon my Apple Kingdom.

If I do decide to keep it, there's another big question: Where can I find an office chair that's as absurdly tall as a barstool? Does anyone have suggestions?
 
if you dont have a yellow tinted screen or other screen issues, you should keep it.
 
I run a vertical workstation at home and find it makes a huge difference.

I can actually get my display at a good height to look straight into it (just a smidge down really) plus I find it better on my back and shoulders.

I do keep a barstool around to rest the legs now and again but not so frequently these days.
 
I've been using a 32" monitor for a long time now. One thing I finally had to do was turn the resolution down. you get used to the size of the screen (hint: move it away from you until you can see the whole screen in peripheral vision)

That said, I am running my 32 at 1080p. You don't have to turn it down that far if you don't want, but there's no need to run at native. Not on a screen this large.

As always, Your Mileage May Vary
 
Took me a while to get used to my 27 as well. I was coming from a 24" 1920x1200. I finally got most of my websites dialed in with a good font size. Firefox remembers the size, not sure about Safari.

It was like on day 11 of 14 that I decided I was going to keep it.
 
In January of 2005 I bought a 23" Apple HD Cinema Display, which was 1920x1200. At the time it was replacing a 21" Sony Trinitron 520GS (Graphics/Scientific model) which mostly did 1600x1200@75Hz. At the time I thought the 23" would satisfy me, but it would become apparent at the end of the first day that I wanted more space.

In November of 2010 I bought a 27" Apple Cinema Display, which is 2560x1440 just like your iMac. I had been considering dual-displays, but I figured going from 2.3MP to 3.7MP would be all I need. I mean, it was 60% more pixels, so it had to be enough, right? No. At the end of the second day, I realized I really did need dual displays.

So I have a decked out 27" iMac on order. Now I'll have 5120x1440. I think that finally this will be enough space.

-----

My usual layout for personal use? Top left is Adium contacts. Middle left is Adium chat. Bottom left is Twitter. Middle is Safari. Right is Mail. Something might be running underneath where I have Mail. None overlap, all are big enough so I don't need to scroll excessively in anything. It's quite nice.

When doing development it gets cluttered almost instantly.
 
I bought the 27" and returned it on day 11 because of 2 things: the small font and the glossy screen, which I just couldn't adapt to. (believe me, I wanted to love this computer...I waited so long to upgrade and really tried to make it work. ) I bought a nice 24 inch IPS monitor to use for my photo editing and hooked it up to my old iMac 20 inch and I'm loving the dual monitor setup and all the real estate ( without the tiny fonts.) I still need a new computer, though, and want to stay Mac. Probably will still buy the iMac 21 inch and use it as 2nd monitor, for photoshop tools, etc. And hopefully won't be bothered too much by the difference in screen coating. May wait for Mac pro upgrade though....
 
OP, don't let people talk you in to the 27" if it's not what you want. I went with the 21.5 after comparing them in the store, and I'm sure I made the right choice. the 27" would be overpoweringly large on my desk, and honestly, I don't need all that space. The 21" fits perfectly. Get what works for you, not what works for someone else.
 
There is a trade-off to be made between buying products that match your habits, and adjusting your habits to match the products you buy. If you can get used to a 27" screen, there will be certain benefits associated with that, which a 21.5" lacks.
 
real world case

My sister is an architect, she uses VectorWorks. She first bought into the 24" iMac and loved the screen size for having a whole A3 drawing at a readable size. So last week she bought the 27"...first comments were all about how she could see her drawings better on the 27" screen. When I saw it, I had to agree. Simply nothing like being able to display A3 1:1.
 
SirLollipopMan said:
...groveling at the feet of almightily Lord Macintosh...
Click to expand...

LOL, I know exactly what you mean -- that's the best way I've seen it put.

I guess I need a taller chair, because after more than a year I'm still not really comfortable with my 27". (Don't worry though, almost everyone gets used to it and then starts loving it. I'm just some kind of Luddite retard who only uses about the left 2/3rds of his screen.)
 
I'm still getting used to the big screen, but I'm sure I will. The 27" screen replaces a 20".

It's like moving from a small house to a much bigger house. At first, everything seems so spread out and hard to find, but soon enough, you'll have it filled up with junk and yet still know where everything is, just like before. :D
 
I'm having second thoughts about NOT buying mine yet....was waiting for the SSD situation to be resolved/shipped but now I'm debating an SSD at all.

27" seems huge compared to the laptop and iPad screens that I'm use to, but thats part of the fun.
 
TheUndertow said:
I'm having second thoughts about NOT buying mine yet....was waiting for the SSD situation to be resolved/shipped but now I'm debating an SSD at all.

27" seems huge compared to the laptop and iPad screens that I'm use to, but thats part of the fun.
Click to expand...

27" may seem large but its really not. An analogy would be people watching TV on 20" or 27" years ago and now on 46" 50" or 60". Its all about getting used to it. As for the SSD, this is the tech of the forthcoming Macs & PCs. At this point it seems like no machine can fully take advantage of an SSD's capabilities and the price is not releastic for the benefits derived.
 
SirLollipopMan said:
...

So, I noticed that the screen was much easier to look at when standing up, and resolved to get a barstool and stack a bunch of pillows on it. Wow, what a difference! I still haven't made up my mind, but I'm definitely liking it a lot more now than I was an hour ago. With my eyes lined up with the file bar (is that what it's called, haha?), Everything seems to be adequately accessible. Before I was groveling at the feet of almightily Lord Macintosh, now I'm looking down upon my Apple Kingdom.
Click to expand...

Yeah, ergonomics really makes a difference. However, I generally have the reverse problem where the "monitor" is usually too low - and at 5'6" I'm not exactly tall. Is your desk abnormally high?

I had to use a small riser stand so the ACD 30" was at the right height. The iMac 27" seems about right for me, though I wish there was a way to adjust heights on the ACD/iMac just in case (without buying a whole new stand)

EDIT: Actually, its probably just me. I use one of these keyboards on top of my desk (http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage.htm), so my desk is likely a few inches lower to accommodate the extra keyboard thickness.
 
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SirLollipopMan said:
Also, the fonts seem too small to me. If I'm not right up on the screen, I have to strain to read. But if I'm right up on the screen, I have to move my eyes and head a ridiculous amount.

I dunno guys, I feel like I might have made a mistake...
Click to expand...

You do know you can make the font larger so you don't have to squint. I can't believe no one mentioned that to you. For the dock, you can make it bigger by going into system preferences and go to dock and make it bigger. Each program you can enlarge the font, including internet and word type documents. What fonts do you need to make bigger?
 
I have the 21.5" iMac and have always thought it just a touch to small. However, I have tried a 27" and don't agree with others that you always get used to it after a few days. On my desk (which is a full sized office desk) the 27" looked out of all proportion. I have also never got used to the mirror (sorry monitor).

For me the optimum size is 24". I have a 24" matter monitor which I love and if Apple upgrade the Mini then I may well move over to a Mini with the 24" screen.

CNET has just done a review of the latest 27" iMac and said they could only recommend it for a pro-user not the average home consumer.
 
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