Height / Stand on 27" iMac

[smacks]

I'm planning on buying an iMac this friday when they finally go on sale. I would really like to get a 27" but I have a question....

The listed height on a 27" iMac is 20.3 inches.

I have a desk/planning area that has doors/cupboards above for bills/mail papers etc... The trim piece on this is at about 20.2" clearance. I would prefer not to remove the trim piece and the desk height can not be changed.

1. I could keep the iMac in front of the trim piece, but that would be about a 17.5" viewing distance and I think this may be a bit too close?

2. Is the stand on the iMac adjustable in height at all?

3. I could slide the iMac under the trim piece. Right behind the trim it goes up to about 22" of clearance (plenty of width too 30"). However, I'm concerned that I may cut off the viewing for the top part of the screen.

As a last resort, I could opt for the 21.5", or go for a Mac Mini with a Dell U2713HM display that is adjustable, but I think the iMac 27 will give me the biggest bang for my buck.

Can anyone offer some input... ie: your viewing distance for a 27", thoughts about viewing/sliding it under trim?

Thanks

 

[Fresh28]

I'm planning on buying an iMac this friday when they finally go on sale. I would really like to get a 27" but I have a question....

The listed height on a 27" iMac is 20.3 inches.

I have a desk/planning area that has doors/cupboards above for bills/mail papers etc... The trim piece on this is at about 20.2" clearance. I would prefer not to remove the trim piece and the desk height can not be changed.

1. I could keep the iMac in front of the trim piece, but that would be about a 17.5" viewing distance and I think this may be a bit too close?

2. Is the stand on the iMac adjustable in height at all?

3. I could slide the iMac under the trim piece. Right behind the trim it goes up to about 22" of clearance (plenty of width too 30"). However, I'm concerned that I may cut off the viewing for the top part of the screen.

As a last resort, I could opt for the 21.5", or go for a Mac Mini with a Dell U2713HM display that is adjustable, but I think the iMac 27 will give me the biggest bang for my buck.

Can anyone offer some input... ie: your viewing distance for a 27", thoughts about viewing/sliding it under trim?

Thanks

I feel you, exact same dilemma. But I will not settle for a 21.5" under any circumstances, due to the fact that I will 100% regret it later. I am going to try to raise the top part of my desk with some makeshift spacers or I will have to bring the screen in front of the trim until I figure out how to accomodate the space for the screen. All in all, do not settle for less unless you MUST.

 

[experimenthouse]

I'm planning on buying an iMac this friday when they finally go on sale. I would really like to get a 27" but I have a question....

The listed height on a 27" iMac is 20.3 inches.

I have a desk/planning area that has doors/cupboards above for bills/mail papers etc... The trim piece on this is at about 20.2" clearance. I would prefer not to remove the trim piece and the desk height can not be changed.

1. I could keep the iMac in front of the trim piece, but that would be about a 17.5" viewing distance and I think this may be a bit too close?

2. Is the stand on the iMac adjustable in height at all?

3. I could slide the iMac under the trim piece. Right behind the trim it goes up to about 22" of clearance (plenty of width too 30"). However, I'm concerned that I may cut off the viewing for the top part of the screen.

As a last resort, I could opt for the 21.5", or go for a Mac Mini with a Dell U2713HM display that is adjustable, but I think the iMac 27 will give me the biggest bang for my buck.

Can anyone offer some input... ie: your viewing distance for a 27", thoughts about viewing/sliding it under trim?

Thanks

I've found, working with 27" iMacs at uni, that the further away the better almost. I prefer being about 15–20" away from my 22" monitor, and that sitting close to a 27" makes it kind of overwhelming.

However, I would say that if you put it further back, behind that trimming, you'd at worst not be able to use the built-in camera too often. A difference of 1/10th of an inch is miniscule.

The stand is not adjustable, unfortunately, except for a small amount of tilt.

 

[mchoffa]

the camera is not even half an inch from the top of the iMac, so you might block that, but you won't block the screen. You've got nearly an inch from top of iMac to top of screen.

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and if I didn't need any GPU power (and ability to run a thunderbolt + another display), I would have just ordered a mini myself (in fact I did order one and then cancelled it the next day). You can max out the i7 mini and get a dell or even refurb thunderbolt (which is an inch shorter than the imac) for less than the 27" iMac. You just don't have the GPU option.

 

[smacks]

the camera is not even half an inch from the top of the iMac, so you might block that, but you won't block the screen. You've got nearly an inch from top of iMac to top of screen.

Having never used a Mac before, I assume I could just plug in an external cam w/ a stand for facetime etc...

I'm sold on the 27" so tucking it under the trim looks like the route I'm going to take at this point.

I would have considered the Mac Mini, but I did not want to buy the TBD that I assume is going to be updated soon. I also didn't want to wait much past the first of the year for the TBD refresh and it doesn't look like that is going to happen, so iMac it is.

 

[skyenet]

Remember that you should leave space around the computer, including the top of it for ventilation and cooling. The top of my iMac has air outputs which can sometimes get very hot. Not sure if there are any guidelines for minimum distances, I can't find any after a quick Google search.