I'm So Confused!! 20" or 24"?

[davekarn]

I've recently seen both at Best Buy and loved them both. The only thing that really bothered me was the eye strain (literally) of being so close to the 24", but then I thought to myself that I obviously wouldn't be so close to it at home, but also still kept the 20" in mind. However, I wondered if I would truly be happy with a 20" and always wonder if I should have gone for the bigger size.

Now I'm getting an extra $2500 from school and I could either use it for a 24" iMac (w/ 1TB HDD, 4GB RAM (OWC), & 2.8 GHZ, realizing that I would be spending a few hundred over $2500) or I could get my wife and I two new iPods tomorrow, and get the 20" iMac (w/ 2.4 GHZ, 750GB HDD, & 4GB RAM (OWC)).

This would be my first iMac so I really want to make the right choice. Any input would be appreciated and thanks in advance!

~Dave

 

[Timster87]

Well, let me tell you that I am very happy I went with the 24" (1GB of RAM, 320 GB hard drive, 2.4 GHZ processor). Although the 24" screen may seem ridiculously large at first, when you get used to it, it doesn't seem as large as it did when you first got it. I absolutely love it. I personally don't think the upgrade to the 2.8 GHZ is quite necessary, especially since you are loading it with ram. And do you really need 1 TB of hard drive space? You could always purchase an external hard drive afterwards if 320 GHZ is not enough. That would save you some money for ipods now. But I'd definitely go with the 24" no matter what, you get used to the size very quickly. And you also said you are getting money from school? Are you a teacher? Whatever the case may be, you might be eligible for the student discount and the free ipod offer.....Good Luck!

 

[davekarn]

Well, let me tell you that I am very happy I went with the 24" (1GB of RAM, 320 GB hard drive, 2.4 GHZ processor). Although the 24" screen may seem ridiculously large at first, when you get used to it, it doesn't seem as large as it did when you first got it. I absolutely love it. I personally don't think the upgrade to the 2.8 GHZ is quite necessary, especially since you are loading it with ram. And do you really need 1 TB of hard drive space? You could always purchase an external hard drive afterwards if 320 GHZ is not enough. That would save you some money for ipods now. But I'd definitely go with the 24" no matter what, you get used to the size very quickly. And you also said you are getting money from school? Are you a teacher? Whatever the case may be, you might be eligible for the student discount and the free ipod offer.....Good Luck!

No, I'm a student and I would be getting the discount, but the wife and I are looking to get the new iPods coming out tomorrow, and I highly doubt they will include those in the free iPod deal, I may be wrong however. I would like a TB of storage just to have it and not have to worry about it really. I want to "future proof" this iMac as much as I can, as this is not only my first iMac but also my first desktop. Thanks for the input!

 

[Timster87]

okay, sounds good, no problem! You'll love it!

 

[gazelleintense]

just got a 20" two weeks ago, i'm loving it.

I could not afford the bigger one.... and the apple store was sold out of those anyway. Did not matter, the 20" is just what I wanted.

if you can afford the 24", go for it. I think you'll be happy with it.

 

[aristobrat]

I've recently seen both at Best Buy and loved them both. The only thing that really bothered me was the eye strain (literally) of being so close to the 24", but then I thought to myself that I obviously wouldn't be so close to it at home, but also still kept the 20" in mind.

I had the same debate and ended up with the 24".

If I pull my head back a bit and try to focus on the entire 24" screen at once, it does strain my eyes, but in reality, my eyes just focus on whichever application I'm running at the time (with no strain).

I find it in incredibly sweet to be able to have several iChat windows, Firefox, and EyeTV (watching a local TV station in HD) all open at the same and not having to juggle windows under other windows like I do on my 15" MBP.

 

[imac/cheese]

Go for the 20" with the iPods. You will still get to have a great computer that meets your needs and have two new iPods as well.

 

[joebells]

I say baseline 24" not the over priced "suped up" 24" you'll probably be happy in the long run with the 24" we decided on the 24" ourselves(partly for the larger size and partly for the better screen quality)