Should I (get the 20" or 24" iMac)?

[iNeurox]

Hi everyone,

It's been a while that I hang around on this forum, but today, I decided to register on the forum. So I'm new.

I know lots of stuff about Apple and their products, but now, I really need help.

I have enough money to buy myself the computer of my dreams : an iMac.

First I would like to know :

Which iMac should I go with ?

1) iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 20", 2.16 or 2.33 Ghz (price doesn't matter here), 2 Gb of RAM memory, 250 Gb HD, ATI Radeon X1600/256 Mb VRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

OR

2) iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 24", 2.16 Ghz, 1 Gb or RAM memory, 250 Gb HD, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT/ 128 Mb SDRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

I have like 2500 $CAD to spend on my computer. The iMac 20" would fit my needs, but the HUGE screen on the 24" is awesome. I dunno. Should I go with a 20" iMac with more power (2 Gb of RAM) or with a 24" iMac with this HUGE screen ? Anyways. Help me !

Another question : Is it better to order my iMac on the online AppleStore, or should I just go to an AppleStore near my house to get one ?

And, my very last question : Should I buy my iMac this week, or wait for Mac OS X Leopard to come out ?

Thank you very much !

iNeurox

Apple All The Way !

 

[nazmac21]

Hi everyone,

It's been a while that I hang around on this forum, but today, I decided to register on the forum. So I'm new.

I know lots of stuff about Apple and their products, but now, I really need help.

I have enough money to buy myself the computer of my dreams : an iMac.

First I would like to know :

Which iMac should I go with ?

1) iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 20", 2.16 or 2.33 Ghz (price doesn't matter here), 2 Gb of RAM memory, 250 Gb HD, ATI Radeon X1600/256 Mb VRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

OR

2) iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 24", 2.16 Ghz, 1 Gb or RAM memory, 250 Gb HD, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT/ 128 Mb SDRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

I have like 2500 $CAD to spend on my computer. The iMac 20" would fit my needs, but the HUGE screen on the 24" is awesome. I dunno. Should I go with a 20" iMac with more power (2 Gb of RAM) or with a 24" iMac with this HUGE screen ? Anyways. Help me !

Another question : Is it better to order my iMac on the online AppleStore, or should I just go to an AppleStore near my house to get one ?

And, my very last question : Should I buy my iMac this week, or wait for Mac OS X Leopard to come out ?

Thank you very much !

iNeurox

Apple All The Way !

Get the first Mac as it has more RAM, buy the 2nd one if you do heavy gaming.
Buy from Apple Online and buy the Mac with Leopard. Leopard will be worth it.

 

[psycoswimmer]

Congrats on decided to buy an iMac! They're great machines. It seems like the 20" would suit you fine. The 24" is nice, and if you really want it, get it. At the Apple Online Store, you can customize your order exactly as you want. At the Retail Store, your choices are more limited but you can walk out with a brand new Mac. For your last question, it depends on wether you want to wait or not. It seems like you have quite a bit of money to spend, and that money is really not a question. If I were you, I'd buy the Mac as soon as possible and upgrade to Leopard when it is released. Leopard might not be released until June, and I would hate to have to wait that long to buy my iMac.

 

[iNeurox]

Thank you both for your replies !

I think I will go for the 20", because I'm not such an heavy gamer !

And for Leopard ! June ! I think it's going to be too long to wait for me ! But didn't Steve Jobs say at the WWDC '06 that Leopard would be out in early spring ? Anyways.

The Leopard upgrade would cost how much ? Something like 200$ ? If the upgrade for Leopard is not expansive, I think I'll buy my iMac with Tiger this week and then get Leopard when it comes out !

 

[psycoswimmer]

Thank you both for your replies !

I think I will go for the 20", because I'm not such an heavy gamer !

And for Leopard ! June ! I think it's going to be too long to wait for me ! But didn't Steve Jobs say at the WWDC '06 that Leopard would be out in early spring ? Anyways.

The Leopard upgrade would cost how much ? Something like 200$ ? If the upgrade for Leopard is not expansive, I think I'll buy my iMac with Tiger this week and then get Leopard when it comes out !

He said Spring. Spring, from mid-March to mid-June. I think you've made a good choice with the 20" and buying now. Also, Leopard will most probably be $129, like every other version of Max OS X.

 

[nateDEEZY]

I honestly would tell you to go with the 24" with 7600gt/256mb graphics card. The difference between 2.16ghz and 2.33ghz is really insignificant, Ram you could always upgrade in the future! The monitor your stuck with, not that it's a bad thing to get "stuck" with a 20"

Just my $.02

 

[Starflyer]

I agree. Get the 24" with the 7600gt 256mb card.

Its like I always say. Buy the best and cry once.

 

[sparkyms]

I'd say take the 24"
I was in your situation a couple months ago, then I just thought, screw it, thats a massively large screen. 1GB ram has been sufficient, and I am upgrading it soon anyway for not too much.

Like the above, the RAM can be upgraded... and I think a bigger than 20" screen to attach to an iMac will probably cost more than 2x1GB sticks.

 

[stekerrod]

I've got the 20" iMac as standard but with the bluetooth mouse and keyboard......id go for the 20" with the better spec.....its still a brilliant computer...... and wait until lepoard!

 

[iNeurox]

I'm all confused ! Some tell me to go for the 20", some for the 24". Some tell me to wait for OS X 10.5, some others tell me to go for Tiger now !

Anyways. Thank you for the replies !

My choice is kinda made ! I'll go for the 20" and buy it this week, or the next week.

And when Leopard comes out, I'll go for it. For 129$ ! Not that much expansive ! It's been five months that I wait, and wait before I get enough money ! I cannot wait anymore, I want my iMac now ! Plus, I've tried both the 24" and the 20" and they're both awesome computers ! 20" is big enough for me. 24" is amazing, but maybe too big. Anyways.

Thank you all. I will order my iMac as soon as I can !

PS : I will be a switcher ! When my iMac comes home and I will have transfered my data from PC-to-iPod-to-iMac, I will throw my PC to the trash, be sure of that ! My PC is 4 years old, it's been not such a good computer, I'm so excited about getting my Mac !

Apple All The Way !

 

[sparkyms]

You should be pleased with it.

There is no such thing as too big though

 

[gamerz]

wow... you are a mirror image of me, except im poorer... I'm still saving for my Imac but im almost there, now its a matter of convincing my parents, or waiting for 10.5 or leopard. Damn all the Mac upgrades!!!

 

[dbater]

Get the 24" iMac 2.66 you can always get more ram later when you have the bucks but you can't increase the screen size or processor.

 

[wizwaz3]

You can get the 24" model you want at Apple's online refurb store for $1699USD (Roughly $2000 CAD). I got this iMac and I love it. It has ample power and I can upgrade the RAM later if I want. The 24" screen was the selling point for me (from a 20" 2.33 w/ 2GB RAM). I don't regret it.

 

[TheFreshPrince]

Yeh man, get the 24", you can get RAM later. I have a 20" G5 but whenever I see a 24" I swear I cream my pants every time. You said this is your first Mac, trust me, once you start using Frontrow and the remote to watch movies and DVDs etc, you'll be lovin that monster screen.

 

[iNeurox]

Yeah, I know. The 24" is really, really sharp.

But, my father and I agreed on my iMac and I'll finally order it tomorrow on the Online AppleStore. It's been 5 months that I'm waiting for that !

It's going to be a :

20" iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 2.16 Ghz, 2Gb of RAM Memory, 250 Gb HD, ATI Radeon X1600/ 256 Mb of VRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

It's going to be awesome ! I can't wait 'till it get shipped to my house !

 

[kixsand]

All the cool kids are getting the 24".



Darren

 

[sparkyms]

I've got one, and I'm ice cold.

 

[Gambuchi]

20" v 24"

Congrats on decided to buy an iMac! They're great machines. It seems like the 20" would suit you fine. The 24" is nice, and if you really want it, get it. At the Apple Online Store, you can customize your order exactly as you want. At the Retail Store, your choices are more limited but you can walk out with a brand new Mac. For your last question, it depends on wether you want to wait or not. It seems like you have quite a bit of money to spend, and that money is really not a question. If I were you, I'd buy the Mac as soon as possible and upgrade to Leopard when it is released. Leopard might not be released until June, and I would hate to have to wait that long to buy my iMac.

If and only if you are doing CAD on it, the 24" would be my choice just for the additional real estate... I have a maxed out 20" dual core and LOVE it... have thought about an additional monitor though... cinema display would be frekin awesome... I'd probably go 20" and max out.

 

[jctang]

I will suggests u to go ahead to 24" iMac if u can spend $2500 right now. Just remember that u can always buy another ram everywhere but cant upgrade to a bigger screen in the future...

 

[siurpeeman]

You should be pleased with it.

There is no such thing as too big though

there is such a thing as too big. what if you had so many pixels and wanted to watch a standard def movie in full screen mode. the picture would look terrible! so much real estate isn't always a good thing, and it can even cause muscle cramping in the neck. 24" still seems a bit much for me. with spaces coming with leopard, i think my 20" will do just fine.

 

[stolfi1]

I dont think you should get either. Get the min spec mac pro and a 20' dell lcd. They come out close enough in price.

 

[nateDEEZY]

there is such a thing as too big. what if you had so many pixels and wanted to watch a standard def movie in full screen mode. the picture would look terrible! so much real estate isn't always a good thing, and it can even cause muscle cramping in the neck. 24" still seems a bit much for me. with spaces coming with leopard, i think my 20" will do just fine.

Umm you can turn off that feature so it doesn't stretch the pixels...

And also to the person who said you can't upgrade the processor, you can.

The iMac 24" by far is the most upgradedable intel iMac that apple has. Well thats pretty much because of the MXM graphics card. Just give it some time! ;p

 

[psycoswimmer]

Yeah, I know. The 24" is really, really sharp.

But, my father and I agreed on my iMac and I'll finally order it tomorrow on the Online AppleStore. It's been 5 months that I'm waiting for that !

It's going to be a :

20" iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 2.16 Ghz, 2Gb of RAM Memory, 250 Gb HD, ATI Radeon X1600/ 256 Mb of VRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

It's going to be awesome ! I can't wait 'till it get shipped to my house !

Congrats again! That is an amazing computer you've ordered.

 

[LordTurtle]

Wait !!!

Yeah, I know. The 24" is really, really sharp.

But, my father and I agreed on my iMac and I'll finally order it tomorrow on the Online AppleStore. It's been 5 months that I'm waiting for that !

It's going to be a :

20" iMac Intel Core2 Duo, 2.16 Ghz, 2Gb of RAM Memory, 250 Gb HD, ATI Radeon X1600/ 256 Mb of VRAM, iWork preinstalled, Wired Keyboard and MightyMouse and AppleCare protection.

It's going to be awesome ! I can't wait 'till it get shipped to my house !

I think you should wait abit longer ... at least until the next Apple hardware announcement (likely this month) ... if you have been waiting for 5 months ... especially since there is a good chance that the imac line will be updated.

Secondly, if you go and look at the 20" and 24" in an Apple store, the difference in display quality is huge ... the 24" display is so much crisper and brighter ... I think you would be mad to go with the 20"

Just wait a bit longer and use the time to save up the difference ... it's only $400

Thirdly, dont go buying extra 1 gig ram now (unless you really need it for photoshop etc), you are paying a premium for those ... wait for 8-12 mths and then buy when prices dive on those sticks ...

Finally dont buy AppleCare now, you have all the way up to the end of the 1st year to buy the extended AppleCare (to 3 yrs) ... infact that is almost the price difference to the 24" right there. Also, what is you decide to sell machine in the 1st year (maybe due to a new breakthru mac coming out).

So buy the 24" and then in a year shell out the extra $$$ for AppleCare.

PS. Also probably be able to get second hard iWork off ebay for cheap price ... although Pages has not exactly set the world on fire, though keynote is excellent.