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RobNor

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 29, 2010
278
9
I'm thinking of getting the 21" model as I feel the 27" will be too big for my needs
 
Do you mean too big for your workspace? I was going to get a 21.5", but I fell in love with the 27" display. Super crisp, clean, bright and clear, and allows me to open up multiple documents at 200% resolution and look at them side by side. Going to set up two of my LCD's around it for the 'al gore' effect.
 
I have a 2010 21.5 inch iMac, it's still plenty big enough and the display is just as good as the 27 in regards to clarity.
 
Not doubting you at all....but the 21 looks tiny when it sets next to the 27" at the apple store, doesn't it? Diabolical. Electronic stores do the same thing when it comes to TV's.

I don't have a single regret when it comes to my 27". And assuming thunderbolt lives up to its potential, the extra port will probably come in handy.
 
I have the 21.5" and a friend has the 27". Compared with mine, he places his machine further away from himself whilst using it. Therefore the perceived screen sizes are pretty well the same!

Possibly, the main advantage of a larger screen is watching films (DVD player/TV is better!) or gaming.
 
I have the 21.5" and a friend has the 27". Compared with mine, he places his machine further away from himself whilst using it. Therefore the perceived screen sizes are pretty well the same!

Possibly, the main advantage of a larger screen is watching films (DVD player/TV is better!) or gaming.

OR reviewing multiple documents side by side, OR having a bunch of applications open at the same time. OR having the ability to put a display on either or both sides of it. (sigh)

<real reason> OR admitting that your eyes are going to :censored: due to age, and wanting a bigger screen to compensate.

I've got my three year old 22" samsung next to it, and the imac display just puts it to shame. Nothing wrong with the 21.5" display, it's just that the 27" serves my purposes better.
 
I bought the 21". I had the 24" cinema display with a Mini that the new iMac is replacing. I didn't think it would seem that different but the 21" seems a lot smaller. It would be a huge difference going from a 27". I think the 27" would really be too big for the space I have it in, though.
 
Hmm, I'm also going to be going from a 24" display. The 27 looks giant in the store and the 21 looks plenty big to put two documents side by side.
The 27 seems so gigantic. Sure one could put all the side by side programs on it. But most of the time I'm just working on one program or I use spaces to flip between them very quickly. That seems like a huge amount of screen to be running when usually I'm just doing something like reading a word processing page, an email, or looking at a website, all of which usually just mean about 6 to 8 inch wide space that I'm actually focused on. Like right now I'm focused on this text entry box which is five inches wide on my computer.
 
Hmm, I'm also going to be going from a 24" display. The 27 looks giant in the store and the 21 looks plenty big to put two documents side by side.
The 27 seems so gigantic. Sure one could put all the side by side programs on it. But most of the time I'm just working on one program or I use spaces to flip between them very quickly. That seems like a huge amount of screen to be running when usually I'm just doing something like reading a word processing page, an email, or looking at a website, all of which usually just mean about 6 to 8 inch wide space that I'm actually focused on. Like right now I'm focused on this text entry box which is five inches wide on my computer.

2 documents side by side at 200%. It's also the nerd equivalent of driving a corvette to work, maybe even a penile enhancement.:eek: But it really does make staring at a screen a bit easier to take.
 
I bought the 21" yesterday after viewing both in store for the first time (my first Mac).

While the 27" looked very impressive i decided it was just too big for my workspace and settled on the 21" which now sits very nicely on my desk.

The titchy keyboard is a little on the small side for me so i may upgrade that to the wired one at some stage.
 
I plan on getting the 21". The 27" is just too big to carry on the subway when I'll need a hard drive replacement. Or I might just wait for the mini. Really having a hard time with the options from Apple, but I need to replace my G5.
 
I tried the 27" twice, and it's to big. My desk isn't deep enough to get the display back far enough to be comfortable. It's all right up in my face.

I'm sure a wall mount would've helped.
 
OR reviewing multiple documents side by side, OR having a bunch of applications open at the same time. OR having the ability to put a display on either or both sides of it. (sigh)

<real reason> OR admitting that your eyes are going to :censored: due to age, and wanting a bigger screen to compensate.

I've got my three year old 22" samsung next to it, and the imac display just puts it to shame. Nothing wrong with the 21.5" display, it's just that the 27" serves my purposes better.

Well you can put another display on the side of it with the 21.5. Not on both though.

I am going to give another aspect or point of view so to speak. I have a 21.5 currently, and have on order a 21.5 with 2.8 i7 and SSD + 1 tb hd.

I use the 21.5 with a 27 cinema display. The Cinema display is superior in every respect. Less warm and no yellow hue to speak of. I own quite a few 27's and the majority of them have some type of yellowing issue.

How many threads on here with people with the same problem?
With using the 21.5 with another display and using the 21.5 as the extra display that is no longer a issue.

Plus you are free to use any display you want, new OLED? New PLS?
You have more options. With the 27 you can do the same, but is that even practical? More than likely you will use the 27 as your main display.

Your stuck with the 27 for the life of the iMac. With he 21.5 with a Cinema display, you get two good glossy IPS panels that match as opposed to a 27 paired with a inferior display.
 
Well you can put another display on the side of it with the 21.5. Not on both though.

I am going to give another aspect or point of view so to speak. I have a 21.5 currently, and have on order a 21.5 with 2.8 i7 and SSD + 1 tb hd.

I use the 21.5 with a 27 cinema display. The Cinema display is superior in every respect. Less warm and no yellow hue to speak of. I own quite a few 27's and the majority of them have some type of yellowing issue.

How many threads on here with people with the same problem?
With using the 21.5 with another display and using the 21.5 as the extra display that is no longer a issue.

Plus you are free to use any display you want, new OLED? New PLS?
You have more options. With the 27 you can do the same, but is that even practical? More than likely you will use the 27 as your main display.

Your stuck with the 27 for the life of the iMac. With he 21.5 with a Cinema display, you get two good glossy IPS panels that match as opposed to a 27 paired with a inferior display.

Do you mean that the Cinema Display is superior to the iMac 27" screen? I thought they were both the same model, no?
 
Do you mean that the Cinema Display is superior to the iMac 27" screen? I thought they were both the same model, no?

Thet are the same display, but In my opinion it is superior. I own quite a few 27's and the cinema display is colder, has has more accurate colors due to it being less warm. The whites are accurate with no yellow hue to speak of.

Why the difference I don't know, it is probably due to the iMac being a all in one and the extra heat. The all in form factor has to have a effect than a display without one.

There are a few pics on the forum comparing the two.

You also take advantage of the newest technologies such as PLS and OLED. Both which superior to IPS displays. Here is a samsung PLS screen which should cheaper than IPS screens.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkHRGVnDXwA
 
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I got the 21.5" 2011 iMac. Very happy with it and I work on it pretty much 10 hours a day non stop.

I wrote a review on my blog, you'll find the link in my signature.

To answer your question though, I think the 21.5" is really enough. The 27" is something, sure, we'd "like" but really don't need at all. That, and, on most home style desks, I find 27" is so close to my eyes that I feel lost with such a big screen.

If money were no object, of course I would go for the top top 27" iMac (the base 27" iMac doesn't score that much better than the standard 21" models).
 
After spending a lot of time of studying information, reading on this forum and using both the 21.5 & 27 at the store...I ended up buying the 21.5 in October 2010 for my switch from a PC to a Mac. A few months later I was wishing I had bought the 27". I had room on my desk, but didn't have the original box for the 21.5 to resell it. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to go through the process of selling it and shipping it. UPS is 30 miles away from me.

I knew my idea was different, so I asked here on the forum a few months ago and once day while in the city, found an Apple store and bought the 27" monitor, connected it into the 21.5 iMac, using my 21.5 as my 2nd screen, with it being on the right side of my 27" so I have access to the different drives.

Do I still wish I had bought the 27" iMac? I'm not sure because I really like having the dual monitors.
 
I got the 21.5" 2011 iMac. Very happy with it and I work on it pretty much 10 hours a day non stop.

I wrote a review on my blog, you'll find the link in my signature.

To answer your question though, I think the 21.5" is really enough. The 27" is something, sure, we'd "like" but really don't need at all. That, and, on most home style desks, I find 27" is so close to my eyes that I feel lost with such a big screen.

If money were no object, of course I would go for the top top 27" iMac (the base 27" iMac doesn't score that much better than the standard 21" models).

What do you think of the Trackpad ? Is it an easy replacement for the Mouse ?
Can you do Highlight/Drag/Copy/Paste easily ? e.g. copy 6 adjacent spreadsheet cells from place to place w/o dropping/losing any ?
 
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