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Does anyone who owns the 27 inch machines find the screen is *too* big?

Whackintosh

Whackintosh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 8, 2009
435
14
Montreal, Quebec
I took delivery of my 21.5 ATI Imac two days ago and while I love it, part of me is tempted to swap it for a 27 inch i5 while I'm still within my two-weeks that allows for returns. I initially opted for the 21.5 because I was sure that it would be murder working on a large 27 inch screen, but now that I'm playing with my Imac, I'm feeling that I could easily go larger - just not sure about going THAT much larger. Also really want the better specs.

For those of you who own 27 inch machines, do you find it too large for simple things like writing Word documents etc? Also, do web sites look soft of badly-defined when enlarged so big? I'm sure the machines are incredible for photo and video editing, which I do, but I want to make sure they're appropriate for everything from mild to wild. Feedback?
 
I remember when I got my first 24 inch iMac out of the box I thought it was too big and that I had made a bad decision getting the 24 inch model but a few hours later it was perfect.

Anyway i've got a 27 inch on order and expect to go through the same motions again :)

So what am I rambling on about :confused: well I recon if your thinking that you could have gone bigger than I recommend you do while you can because if you have concerns already, then they are only going to grow in time.
 
I think you'll adapt. Every time I upgraded to a laptop with a larger screen the new screen seemed huge. When I got my 17" MBP it just seemed enormous, now it is just comfortable.
 
You adapt :) My 24 is now too small as a result of having the 27 around for a week....
 
I thought the 27" was a little big for the first day or so after I received it. Now I think it is great. I think I could go a little bigger without any issue. :D
 
my brother owns one and it's too big, he has to increase the font sizes on everything to fill the empty space, but it is great for photoshop.
 
It's a bit of a shock at first, and there is a certain amount of zooming websites (partly because you can, partly because people use pointlessly small fonts) and, obviously, a full screen safari window is both insane and a waste of space.

However, being able to put a big safari window on one side of the screen and a big textmate window on the other is great. Things like Scrivener or Storymill work great and obviously it's lovely for photo editing - lots of space for Aperture - and things like that.

If you don't need the screen real estate you're wasting your money on one though.
 
Where my 20" sat a lot closer to me on the desk, robbing me of precious desk real estate, my 27" sits way at the back of the desk. The extra room is awesome.

What takes some getting used to is the amount of light produced by the screen. It is very bright.
 
No WAY!!! I LOVE the size. It actually seemed small to me the other day:)
I only ever use 1/2 the screen so it doesn't seem big. One half the screen is one web page, and the other half the screen another web page. Not too big at all. Surprised me too.
 
I absolutely love my i5 27-inch iMac. Beyond doubt, so far, it's functionally and aesthetically the best computer I've ever owned. The display is not at all too big in anyway (form or function). Since I live in a small apartment, my iMac sits on a small 42-inch by 24-inch writing table and there is still plenty of desk surface left for my needs. If your questioning your purchase so soon after buying, it might be wise to go ahead and exchange for the larger 27-inch. I doubt you would ever regret making the change but you might always regret keeping the one you have.
 
Moving the Cursor across all that Real Estate

The only downside I see to a very large screen is moving the cursor across the screen. On Really Big screens I need to move my hand twice to get to the other side! :eek:

I sometimes use my HDTV as a computer monitor and it seems like my cursor is always on the wrong side of the screen.

The other downside on a really large screen, is being able to visually take in the whole screen. The larger the screen the more I find myself "not seeing" everything because my eyes need to scan more than is comfortable.

The key to enjoying a large screen is the distance you sit from the screen. I also have a 10" netbook and enjoy using it but I generally have the screen close to me so that the screen appears large enough.:cool:

If you move any size screen close enough to your eyes they ALL appear the same, except for differences in resolution, number of pixels. :D
 
I was wondering the same thing. I have a 17" white imac and an external 22" extra monitor. I love the real estate I get with both. Just ordered a new 21.5 from Amazon yesterday (150 off) and plan to use it with the additional monitor as well.

Had I not had such a positive experience using the 2nd monitor, I'd have been tempted to get the 27.
 
Nope. :D

I've gone from the 1440x900 15.4" MacBook Pro screen to this no problem. Think it helps that the ppi on both is the same, so there's no higher or lower resolution issue, and it's positioned in the exact same spot.

Oh wait... one thing... all of my desktop wallpapers are 1920x1200 so they're not as crisp and awesome as they usually are. That kinda sucks. :p
 
ScottFitz said:
I was wondering the same thing. I have a 17" white imac and an external 22" extra monitor. I love the real estate I get with both. Just ordered a new 21.5 from Amazon yesterday (150 off) and plan to use it with the additional monitor as well.

Had I not had such a positive experience using the 2nd monitor, I'd have been tempted to get the 27.
Click to expand...

Me too. I just got a 22" Acer monitor and love the big screen. Way better for Photoshop than the 13.3" I was working with!
 
having used multiple 30" ACD's at work and home, just seems like a standard of workflow for me, space to get everything accomplished; as multiple monitors would take up more space for me and having only a portable i liket he all in on realestate.

only thing that idhave to adjust to is the vertical resolution, the 2560 is great and the vertical is 1440 and only slightly smaller but overall seems very fitting.
 
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