NEED HELP CHOOSING A NEW iMAC! (all caps help, right?^^)

[nimbuscloud]

Hello guys!

Well, it seems that my IT boss is going to let me get an iMac to do webdesign! I work at a private college, btw.

Anyway, I wanted to know was the 24" iMac really worth it, or is the 20" enough? I thought that the 24" iMac might be overkill. I haven't seen a real one and in my town, there's no Apple Store so I can't.

So, should I be safe and go with the 20" iMac or is the 24" iMac really going to make a difference in my work? I don't know if it's worth the extra hundreds.

Any thoughts will help me out a lot! I need to give him a quote by the end of the week.

 

[nimbuscloud]

Any help?

 

[mojohanna]

definitely go with the high end 24". You will have more screen space to do your work, ie have multiple windows of each web browser open at the same time for testing etc. Plus you will somewhat future proof your machine.

 

[nimbuscloud]

Thanks Mo.

I just needed some info and opinions. 24" is very tempting, I just didn't know if it'd be worth an extra $300. But I guess I'd rather do that than try to have two monitors.

 

[Hello.there]

I had made up my mind to go for the 20" screen before I first came on this forum, I just didn't think I had any need for a 24" and couldn't justify the extra cost. Then a bunch of people urged me to go for the 24", for various reasons, so in the end I did...........and now I can't imagine life without it The 20" is superb too (my sister has one now) but the 24" is spectacular and a joy to work with, especially for photo/video editing, etc. Trust me, you won't regret it.

 

[HLdan]

It's not just the size difference, the 24" has a MUCH wider viewing angle, you certainly won't regret it especially if you saw both the 20 and 24" in person.

 

[nimbuscloud]

SWEET!

Thanks for all the help guys. I wish I could see one in person, but no Apple Store in my area.

 

[big.birdd]

20 in is fine for me

 

[MacinDoc]

In designing or editing just about everything, extra real estate never hurts. And the viewing angle/screen depth is a major advantage of the 24".

 

[djc6]

I had a 20" and ended up returning it for a 24" - the severely reduced viewing angles result in a perceived color shift when you move any applications around the display on the 20".

Aren't there any CompUSAs / Best Buys / Fry's / Micro Center's or any other electronic stores in your area to check out the iMac? Since this is a 'business' environment, do you have any overhead lighting? It could be a problem with the glare off these new glossy displays.

I too work in higher education, and at work we've had great success with the mac mini - you'll never notice the lack of proper 3D support in standard web design. This also allows you to get any display of your choice.

At least when I am involved with purchases at work, I tend to purchase a little on the higher end (I'm suggesting the 24" here). At an educational institution, equipment hangs around FOREVER. You may not be the one using it forever, but it'll certainly be handed down to someone else. Spending a little more now allows the equipment to stay useable longer for its 2nd, 3rd owner.

 

[Vocalvoodoo]

I'd also suggest the 24". I had the 20" first and traded it for a 24" and am so glad I did. To be honest, a 23" Cinema Display to go along with it would be optimal. IMO, the more screen real estate, the better. Especially for audio, video, photo and web work.

It is HUGE to be sure. I have it running dual screen now with a 19" wide screen, and the 19" looks like a Macbook next to the 24". I don't know how I ever worked with a 17" CRT in the past. lol

 

[Jonx]

go with the 24" if you have the means as 20" has problematic screen for many

 

[nimbuscloud]

I had a 20" and ended up returning it for a 24" - the severely reduced viewing angles result in a perceived color shift when you move any applications around the display on the 20".

Aren't there any CompUSAs / Best Buys / Fry's / Micro Center's or any other electronic stores in your area to check out the iMac? Since this is a 'business' environment, do you have any overhead lighting? It could be a problem with the glare off these new glossy displays.

I too work in higher education, and at work we've had great success with the mac mini - you'll never notice the lack of proper 3D support in standard web design. This also allows you to get any display of your choice.

At least when I am involved with purchases at work, I tend to purchase a little on the higher end (I'm suggesting the 24" here). At an educational institution, equipment hangs around FOREVER. You may not be the one using it forever, but it'll certainly be handed down to someone else. Spending a little more now allows the equipment to stay useable longer for its 2nd, 3rd owner.

Cool.

I was looking at your sig. You have the set up that I want: 24" iMac with 4GB of RAM.

There isn't any direct light over my cubicle.

The only thing I feared was the fact that I work in a TOTALLY all Dell/Windows workplace. I'm in an IT department and I was amazed that my boss said that he doesn't mind me working on a Mac if it helps. He was a bit nervous about getting one because he wanted to be sure that the other computers could communicate with mine, and vice-versa.

I'm currently using a Dell Precision 450 with 1GB of RAM. It's dead slow and I have to wait for it to make up its mind a lot lol. Very frustrating.

I hope the 24" iMac really helps like I think it will.

 

[themoonisdown09]

Cool.

I was looking at your sig. You have the set up that I want: 24" iMac with 4GB of RAM.

There isn't any direct light over my cubicle.

The only thing I feared was the fact that I work in a TOTALLY all Dell/Windows workplace. I'm in an IT department and I was amazed that my boss said that he doesn't mind me working on a Mac if it helps. He was a bit nervous about getting one because he wanted to be sure that the other computers could communicate with mine, and vice-versa.

I'm currently using a Dell Precision 450 with 1GB of RAM. It's dead slow and I have to wait for it to make up its mind a lot lol. Very frustrating.

I hope the 24" iMac really helps like I think it will.

I work in an office where everyone uses PCs and I connect my MacBook Pro to the network all the time. I also bring my MBP to my parents house where they have all PCs and I have no trouble connecting to it either.