So I've finally decided to switch. I'm not sure whether I should go for the 17-inch iMac or the 20-inch. It's a bit hard to judge the size in the store, so could someone tell me if the 20-inch looks too big on a normal desk? 
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iMac G5: 17-inch vs. 20-inch
- Thread starter Alter Ego
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I myself don't own an iMac yet, but I'm about to buy a 17-inch iMac for two reasons - a) it is significantly cheaper, and b) I have gotten advice that the 20-inch is almost TOO big. I made a post similar to this one on a similar thread.
My math teacher is John Montroll, an eminent origami designer. He has published several books on origami and has always done the illustrations on FreeHand with a Mac. He was using a 17-inch iMac G4, but I told him about getting a discount and he bought a 17-inch iMac G5, after looking at both. He said that he can't imagine a 20-inch, because the 17-inch "fills up your scope." Unless you're working with images (which even I'm doing, but I have an additional monitor I can hook up to), the 17-inch is probably a better choice.
Also, is your desk in the room where you sleep? Because it could be hard to get to sleep with a 20-inch monstrosity on your desk. Its just big.
Calih
My math teacher is John Montroll, an eminent origami designer. He has published several books on origami and has always done the illustrations on FreeHand with a Mac. He was using a 17-inch iMac G4, but I told him about getting a discount and he bought a 17-inch iMac G5, after looking at both. He said that he can't imagine a 20-inch, because the 17-inch "fills up your scope." Unless you're working with images (which even I'm doing, but I have an additional monitor I can hook up to), the 17-inch is probably a better choice.
Also, is your desk in the room where you sleep? Because it could be hard to get to sleep with a 20-inch monstrosity on your desk. Its just big.
Calih
I've been thinking about replacing my current desktop (a Dell) with a new iMac. I'm going to PC world today to have a look and just compare the overall screen sizes. I don't know, i think the 20" is just a bit too big, I really like the 17" but I just need to check again.
Whatever you decided, you'll have a sweet computer.
Whatever you decided, you'll have a sweet computer.
EGT said:
dont buy it from pc world though. unless you buy bto from apple, i recommend you find yourself a john lewis cos they give an extra year warranty foc.
Well the 20 defintely has the better looking screen of the two, and 20 inches really isnt that big, and 17 is just small.
i disagree
with expose, i dont think a 20 inch screen is really neccesssary. Expose can make you feel like you have a 23 inch screen when you have a 15 inch powerbook in front of you, all your windows at once its great!! 17 incher has my vote, almost got one myself
Xtremehkr said:
with expose, i dont think a 20 inch screen is really neccesssary. Expose can make you feel like you have a 23 inch screen when you have a 15 inch powerbook in front of you, all your windows at once its great!! 17 incher has my vote, almost got one myself
I was also debating between the two.
I decided to go with the 17" so that I could spend the extra money on a bigger harddrive, more RAM, and BT Mouse and Keyboard.
I think it also depends what your going to do with it. If it's just basic web surfing, email, iLife apps, I think 17" should be sufficient. But if your going to be using programs that require a lot of pallets, I'd go with the 20".
I decided to go with the 17" so that I could spend the extra money on a bigger harddrive, more RAM, and BT Mouse and Keyboard.
I think it also depends what your going to do with it. If it's just basic web surfing, email, iLife apps, I think 17" should be sufficient. But if your going to be using programs that require a lot of pallets, I'd go with the 20".
Was in the EXACT same dilemma. I had gone back and forth between the 17" and the 20". Then I was all set to order the 20" on Amazon the other day, then when the time came they weren't available any more. I thought maybe it was a sign that I should save the $300 and go for the 17". But I had to make sure the 17" wasn't going to be too small. Went to CompUSA walked past the 20" thinking that can't be the iMac its HUGE. Saw the 17" and it was the perfect size, modest and refined. I'm not a big gadget freak (the 20" iMac is bigger than my own TV) so I don't need to get the biggest product just to say I have the biggest and the best. If you're looking to make a practical purchase while saving some $$ go for the 17". I ordered my 17" that night, hope to get it by the end of the week.
MacLuvR said:Was in the EXACT same dilemma. I had gone back and forth between the 17" and the 20". Then I was all set to order the 20" on Amazon the other day, then when the time came they weren't available any more. I thought maybe it was a sign that I should save the $300 and go for the 17". But I had to make sure the 17" wasn't going to be too small. Went to CompUSA walked past the 20" thinking that can't be the iMac its HUGE. Saw the 17" and it was the perfect size, modest and refined. I'm not a big gadget freak (the 20" iMac is bigger than my own TV) so I don't need to get the biggest product just to say I have the biggest and the best. If you're looking to make a practical purchase while saving some $$ go for the 17". I ordered my 17" that night, hope to get it by the end of the week.
Same thing happened to me - went to the Apple store with $2000 expecting to get a 20", but they were out, so I saved $450 and got the one below with BT. Definitely recommend going with 1.5 or 2 GB of RAM, though.
I got myself the 17" iMac a couple of weeks ago, and I'm selling it. I'm going to get the 20" iMac. Compared to a 17" CRT, the 17" iMac is slightly not at high as the CRT, and the rest of the measurements are only just marginally longer.
A little more screen real estate is good. Also, I don't have to squint everytime I look at my spreadsheet
A little more screen real estate is good. Also, I don't have to squint everytime I look at my spreadsheet
Don't forget that the 20" also has a higher quality display too - the viewing angles are much higher and it is also slightly brighter - is not just the increased size!
Get the 20", it took me all of 25 seconds to convince myself to get one, and i'm glad i did, make sure your desk is strong though cos they are damn heavy (my glass one makes creaking sounds since ive had the imac).
bye
bye
TheMasin9 said:
I like to have pages side to side sometimes. And you can do that on a 20", at full size.
Or have a page open and the DVD player going.
You can just do a lot more things with all of the available space.
I hope the next iMac I get has a 23" screen.
17"ers are fine though, they are still great computers and probably suit peoples needs just fine. I have a lot of space though and so it doesn't look that big on my desk. And I like having the space available.
You have to decide on what you need it for, or what you may need it for down the line.
I have a feeling that the 17" is going to go the way of the 15" eventually.
i'm some-what in the same predicament. i realize that imacs were just (significantly) bumped up with the processor, wireless, video, RAM, HD, and probably some other stuff as well, but i'm going to have enough for a 17" at the beginning of the summer and a 20" at the end. what are the odds of another speed/display bump at WWDC? I bet if anything it'll be the display... a powermac is not in the cards though, even though i wish it was.
Alter Ego said:So I've finally decided to switch. I'm not sure whether I should go for the 17-inch iMac or the 20-inch. It's a bit hard to judge the size in the store, so could someone tell me if the 20-inch looks too big on a normal desk?
I'm currently working on a 19" screen (4:3 aspect ratio--not an imac), at 1280x1024 (max) resolution. Personally, I can't wait until I get my 20" iMac because I'll be able to view more photos at once. I have separate folders/labels for all my pictures in iphoto, and I like being able to view a huge group of pictures at once while keeping the organizer pane to the left open. But the screen limits me to about 6 really small thumbnails (as small as I'm comfortable with). Plus with Photoshop elements, layer palletes won't hog as much space with a 20" screen.
It all depends on what you're going to do. If your into photography, definitely get the 20". If not, or if you don't like to have two webpages side by side (uneccessary imo with tabbed browsing), then the 17" is fine.
JM
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