17" Large Enough?

[Phtosynthesis]

I'm still waiting for the new iMacs, but I was planning on getting the 17", but i'm really unsure if its big enough for what i'll be doing. Right now i'm going to school for advertising, and i'm looking into graphics design on the side to get an overall skill in the creative field of advertising.

I'll definitely be creating faux full-size ads and possibly working a lot with Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign CS3. I'm just unsure on whether 17" will be enough. I know there is always room for a second display, but i'd like to know ahead of time so I can either buy another monitor or get a larger iMac.

So, what do you guys think?

 

[nutmac]

For general web browsing, Office, and iLife, 17" is okay. But for graphics work, I would seriously consider getting 20" or even 24" iMac. Adding 2nd display will work, too, but at the expense of desk space.

 

[Phtosynthesis]

I guess i'll consider the 20" then. I just wish it didn't start out with 250GB HDD and just a tad cheaper. I'll just have to see what the next hardware update brings us. Thanks for the info.

 

[aricher]

I do professional graphics work all the time on my PowerBook 17" 1.33. 17" would be a good start if that's all you can afford but as nutmac said, go larger if you can.

 

[Phtosynthesis]

Well, with what's out right now, I could get either:

17" iMac, 2.16GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Wireless Keyboard + Mouse, AppleCare = $1,362.

or

20" iMac, 2.16GHz, 1GB RAM, 250 HDD, Wireless Keyboard + Mouse, Applecare = $1,572.

For just $200 more I get 90GB more HDD space and a 3" increase in screen.

I'm not sure, but I'll probably just end up getting the 20" if i'm going to be spending that much. I'm still waiting though for the hardware updates, so hopefully they'll have some deals.