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Give me good reasons for not buying the 20" iMac

M

MaTiCeK

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 15, 2006
77
3
I am thinking of buying the 20" imac (base model) and adding 4gb of ram to it. I don't really need a better graphics card, as I own a PS3 and a Wii both having better games than mac or windows.
I mainly use my computer for listening to music, browsing the internet and doing some kind of school work.

The LCD I have right now is 3 years old and a TN pannel, so the screen quality should not really bother me as I am satisfied with my current screen.

Oh and before someone suggests me to go for the 24" model, I neither have enough money (it 1600 euros over here in the EU) nor space.

So why do you think should I buy the more powerfull 20" iMac?
 
The base model with extra RAM seems perfect for you, I don't think it would be worth getting the faster model.

Maybe the 2.66 will be more future-proof, but it looks like in 3 years we may have multi-touch, so in 5 years you'll be happy you're in need of a new computer if you get the 2.4Ghz model :)
 
I have the 20" base model iMac with 4 GB of RAM. With the kind of usage your describe, it will be perfect.

I use mine for not only internet and e-mail, but also Hi-Definition video editing. Works like a charm.

As far as screen quality, not bad and definitely not as bad as some say around here.
 
Well, I like iMac's design better and it has a dedicated graphics card.
 
As most people have already said, there is no reason NOT to buy one.

Thanks to the fantastic OS, you'll find it'll do a lot more than you're thinking of, should you need to, too :D
 
Here's a potential reason:

20" Aluminum iMac, $1,199.00
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory

24" White iMac, refurbished, $1,199.00
2.16GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory


For the same money you can a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH higher quality screen, get +30% screen area, +30% more resolution, an arguably better video card, and only sacrifice 10% on processor speed. Going with the white iMac, you'll probably save $10-$12 on the aftermarket ram too.
 
sfroom said:
For the same money you can a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH higher quality screen, get +30% screen area, +30% more resolution, an arguably better video card, and only sacrifice 10% on processor speed. Going with the white iMac, you'll probably save $10-$12 on the aftermarket ram too.
Click to expand...

You also get a much, much, much better looking computer too.
 
sfroom said:
Here's a potential reason:

20" Aluminum iMac, $1,199.00
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory

24" White iMac, refurbished, $1,199.00
2.16GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory


For the same money you can a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH higher quality screen, get +30% screen area, +30% more resolution, an arguably better video card, and only sacrifice 10% on processor speed. Going with the white iMac, you'll probably save $10-$12 on the aftermarket ram too.
Click to expand...

He clearly stated that he does not have enough space for a 24" iMac.

As to getting the iMac, I say why not. I have the previous gen aluminum iMac 20" 2.4ghz, and I have no problem with it, they are great computers.
 
Dmac77 said:
He clearly stated that he does not have enough space for a 24" iMac.

As to getting the iMac, I say why not. I have the previous gen aluminum iMac 20" 2.4ghz, and I have no problem with it, they are great computers.
Click to expand...

Whoops, didn't catch the "nor space" hiding after the parentheses, my apologies.

With that in mind, I would change my recommendation to the following:

20" Aluminum iMac, refurbished, $1,099.00
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
320GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory

More hard drive space and a much better video card, for $100 less. You'll also save the aforementioned $10-$12 on aftermarket ram.

Of course, this recommendation is really dependent on whether apple sells refurbished products in your region, and whether the refurbished discounts are proportional.
 
For your needs I would say the base model with maxed ram would be a great computer for you. It is for me :D
 
One reason is it is a 20" display. With Mac OS X using floating windows, I find the more screen real estate I have the better. My MacBook (now MacBook Pro) is connected to my old Dell 20" widescreen and I find it constrained compared to the 24" unit on my iMac.
 
CWallace said:
One reason is it is a 20" display. With Mac OS X using floating windows, I find the more screen real estate I have the better. My MacBook (now MacBook Pro) is connected to my old Dell 20" widescreen and I find it constrained compared to the 24" unit on my iMac.
Click to expand...

Wait are you saying 24" is bigger than 20". I'm not buying it.:rolleyes:

I've got a 20" imac and it's been great. No reasons NOT to buy it. As others have mentioned the screen quality is great and not nearly as bad as people want to try to make it sound.
 
I was thinking of buying the entry-level Mini when I decided to switch but then picked an iMac and here's why:

The entry Mini is only £400 BUT...

It doesn't come with a DVD-Burner. You need the £500 one for that.

Then my monitor decided to die so I had to factor in around £150 for a good 20" monitor.

Then I went to the Apple Store and liked the mouse and keyboard so that's a £64 upgrade.

THEN I wanted to do a RAM upgrade and didn't fancy the idea of prying open my first Mac with a knife to upgrade- plus you can only add 1GB.

Whereas the entry-level iMac has a DVD-burner, comes with the keyboard and mouse, can be easily upgraded to 4GB in 5 minutes (which I've done), has the display built in, looks great has better graphics than the Mini...

I have the pre-update 20", 2.0GHz iMac and it's a great machine. I use it for Internet, Email, rendering scenes in Vue, basic photo editing in Seashore, capturing, converting and editing movies using Handbrake, iMovie, VisualHub and MacTheRipper, listening to iTunes- you name it. It multi-tasks better than any PC I had, is whisper quiet, looks great, is rock-solid reliable and you won't regret it. It's the best computer I've ever owned by a long-chalk.

The Mac Mini's a good machine- there's a thread here worth reading: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/491846/

I'm considering a Mini as a new HTPC but for an out-and-out desktop, the iMac's worth the money. £800 might seem a lot of money for a desktop when you spec it out on paper- but what most people don't factor in is the build quality, silence, design, efficiency, software and OS included with an iMac. In my opinion the whole package is great value for money.

Hope this helps :)
 
killerrobot said:
Wait are you saying 24" is bigger than 20". I'm not buying it. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Well it is. No arguing with geometry, mate. :)

But in Windows, I just maximize everything and switch via the task bar.

In OS X, I keep all the windows up and position them around to get to them. So the larger the screen, the more windows I can position and I find it easier to do on the 24" that is part of my iMac then on the 20" connected to my MacBook Pro.

YMMV, but the OP did ask for some reasons and I provided one. You might not think it a "good" one, but I happen to. ;)
 
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