20" iMac vs. 17" iMac. ⇒
1 March 2006, early evening
If you have an opinion I'd love to hear it, preferably within the next hour or so. Update: I bought the 20" iMac.
This is a post from my link log: If you click the title of this post you will be taken the web page I am discussing.
I’m all about the 20” if you have the deskspace for it. (Fantasy-land!) I don’t think it’s worth the money, and the new iMacs have enabled support for monitor spanning, which I am a big fan of.
If we’re going on strict value basis my config looks like, 17” +20.1” widescreen Dell FP ($500 during promotion), +250GB upgrade +1G 3rd party RAM. I’d have to think hard whether I could stand putting the Dell monitor next to an iMac, though the screen itself is rather sick.
by bennymoto on March 1 2006, 6:49 pm #
I have a 20” iMac with a 400GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM. Now that I don’t work in IT, I am not constantly touching other computers. When I do so, it makes me sad. I can’t imagine having less screen space – and my machine takes up far less room than any other setup I’ve ever had. I am always of the opinion that if you are buying a computer, you should go all out – but that’s because I use my computers forever. And if I am going to use it forever, I am going to get my money’s worth in time. And I totally have. I love my machine. I highly recommend the 20”. Very highly. The screen space is worth it.
by Ben on March 1 2006, 6:52 pm #
If you’re going to get a computer that has a monitor integrated like that, then get the 20”. Not like you’ll be able to upgrade in the future without replacing the entire thing.
I find it kind of stupid though. It’s like getting one of those tvs with the vcr integrated into it. The vcr breaks but you can’t throw it out without losing the tv, so you end up with wasted space underneath the tv. Or you want to hook the vcr up to another tv but you can’t.
Monitors generally last a lot longer than a computer will so I’d rather get a system with no integrated monitor and get an external one. If it’s gotta be a mac, the iMac Mini looks more appealing to me.
by Iluvitar on March 1 2006, 6:55 pm #
I got my 20” a long while ago, I still love it :)
admittedly, everyone else’s comments above are much more helpful though.
by pketh on March 1 2006, 7:44 pm #
No I appreciate all comments equally. Chris’ was interesting in that I hadn’t thought about spanning a giant-ass monitor to the 17” iMac. (I need a bigger room and desk to do that. Plus more moneys than I have. Shame.) Ben’s and your comment are good because it is good to hear from people who like their machines. And Patrick points out how annoying it is that Apple doesn’t have a mid-range machine without a monitor. It’s a shame Powermacs are so much damn money. I’m thinking about getting the 20” iMac.
by ramanan on March 1 2006, 7:48 pm #
f all that. get a macbook.
by rooney on March 1 2006, 8:03 pm #
also, couldn’t you get a mac mini plus a $1000 lcd tv instead of an imac?
by rooney on March 1 2006, 8:06 pm #
LCD TVs never seem to do either thing very well: I wouldn’t want to watch television on one, nor sit in front of it reading text for extended periods of time.
Ixnay on the acbookmay. And also the pig Latin. Until there’s a hell of a beast of a 17” Intel PowerBook out there, there isn’t a laptop that will be a really solid desktop replacement around.
20” iMac. $5 or whatever those crazy kids at threadless say. It’s the best long term investment, with higher specifications than the mac mini. Like, for example, an actual video card.
by Ben on March 1 2006, 8:18 pm #
You should be debating on whether to buy me a 20” or 17” cubic zirconium ring or else I’ll drop kick you and dump you like yesterday’s garbage.
by Not Sh!ma on March 1 2006, 9:23 pm #
The best part about “Sh!ma’s” comment is the small detail of the email address. Nice.
by Ben on March 1 2006, 9:30 pm #
hahaha, take that Ram you bastard! Gooooooo Not Shima!
by ahilan on March 1 2006, 10:28 pm #
NO! Ram you get a 20” iMac! Then you can just throw your old ibook to your younger brother who needs a better computer. Do you know anyone who can get you a discount? My student discount is like $200 or something.
by Krishna on March 1 2006, 10:47 pm #
... sigh….
by sh!ma on March 1 2006, 11:17 pm #
I think displays are like memory + storage; you can never have enough. And putting another monitor next to an iMac will look ugly. Go for the 20” iMac.
by Sunny on March 1 2006, 11:36 pm #
To all the lame-asses making fun of Shima: who do you think drove me home from the Apple Store?
That’s right.
by ramanan on March 1 2006, 11:53 pm #