HELP Decide 15" or 17" Imac?

[Dino679]

Hey folks..not sure what to do, I keep changing my mind..heres the situation...Just want a imac for basic internet browsing and widgets ....I dont need a superdrive, or to watch dvd at all on the Imac..any other advantage other than screen to consider?.....purchase will be tomorrow so I need opinions!!, Buy 15" or 17" ?? thanks..Dino

 

[rdowns]

Re: HELP Decide 15" or 17" Imac?

Originally posted by Dino679
Hey folks..not sure what to do, I keep changing my mind..heres the situation...Just want a imac for basic internet browsing and widgets ....I dont need a superdrive, or to watch dvd at all on the Imac..any other advantage other than screen to consider?.....purchase will be tomorrow so I need opinions!!, Buy 15" or 17" ?? thanks..Dino

The extra screen real estate is a huge feature, I'd go 17" (actually, I'm going 20" when they update the damn CPU).

Even if you decide to go 15", remember, it's not the size of your Mac, it's what you do with it.

 

[Kenny Pollock]

I'm happy with my 15", but I do wish I would've spent the extra cash for AT LEAST a 17"

 

[ionas]

the question is the resolution not the size

cause its a tft screen the pixels displayed are static and you will more or less be only able to display the static optimal resolution.

that again will display very sharp and clear, a real improvement over CRT monitors here.

so if the 15" has 1400*1050 pixles 15" is all you need.

17" is just more ergonomic.

having to use 1024*768 is a pain in ass in future cause many websites use 1024*768 as the optimal resolution.

further u cant just do "REAL WORK" with 1024. imho not even 1280*960 is suffient but well - i am used to 1600*1200 ;-]

i dont know the actual pixel amounts that is build into those displays, but that is what you should care about, not the size itself.

hope that helps

 

[JFreak]

widescreen. enough said?

 

[radhak]

the 17" also has a 1.25GHz processor compared to 1 GHz for the 15".

But if you are sure you don't need the Superdrive, i guess you will be okay with the 15", because these are the only two differences, the speed and the DVD writing. Note: you can still watch DVD on the 15", just cannot write a DVD.

the 15" is 1024x768 while the 17" is 1440x900 resolution. as ionas mentions, check what will work for you. i suggest you go the store and play with the machine just to check the resolution on screen, everything else is the same. i for one, would not have minded the lesser resolution, but i needed the superdrive. remember, these lcd screens don't do reduced resolutions (less than their optimal) nicely.

you could buy the 15", spend the spare cash to max out the RAM, and be happy for the next few years, then you could buy the G6 (?)

 

[sinisterdesign]

it's all about the real estate

go 17". not a question. i don't care if it's for just browsing or not. i rember in college when i bought my first Mac (7100 A/V, baby!), i got the 17" CRT with it. everyone in my class was SO envious & thought it was enormous. that thing looks like a big paperweight compared to my Cinema Display now.

point being, if you got the 15" right now, you'd be happy w/ it for a while simply b/c it's a new computer. after a few months when you have Safari, Word and iTunes all open, you'll be wondering where all your desktop space went. not only that, if you ever watch a movie on it, the 17" is widescreen.

suck it up & get the 17"...you'll be happier that you did...

 

[sigamy]

Check the online Apple Store for refurb iMacs. Right now you can get the previous generation 17" for $1299. That's the same price as the new 15" and you get the bigger LCD, SuperDrive, and 64mb GeForce4 instead of just 32mb.

The only thing the 15" has over this iMac is the PC2700 RAM, this 17" 1Ghz uses PC2100.

Refurbs come with a full one year warranty.

 

[Dino679]

Ok, 17" wins, Im picking it up tomorrow, got a 1ghz 17" superdrive, brand new at local microcenter for $1299.99!!
so I guess I made a good choice, thanks everyone..Dino.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Originally posted by Dino679
Ok, 17" wins, Im picking it up tomorrow, got a 1ghz 17" superdrive, brand new at local microcenter for $1299.99!!
so I guess I made a good choice, thanks everyone..Dino.

Congrats, thats the right choice ! You will enjoy it !

 

[flyfish29]

I love my 17" and am forced to work on a 15" and hate it when I have to. I never thought it would make that much difference, but it does.

About the superdrive, I have always regretted not going ahead and getting a digital video cam as I thought I would never want it, but now of course I do and don't have it. since ti comes on the 17, I say go ahead and get it, then you have it built in if you want it. Another thing to think about is DVD backup of pictures, documents, etc. I use it all the time and saves me from having an external hard drive and also is better in that I can backup to DVD then take them into my office and have copies there of everything incase of a fire.

I bought mine off the refurbished list on apple.com so I could afford the superdrive and the 17" also, the 17" usually has some additional benefits with more bells and whistles and HD space.