Which iMac? 20" or 24"

[Relise]

I'm looking to replace my PC in the next 6 months or so and am seriously considering an iMac. After researching the pro's and con's etc I'm pretty settled on it but just need to decide whether I need the extra a 24" iMac (3.06 GHz) will provide or if a 20" (2.66 GHz) with 4Gig of RAM will be enough.

Photography is only a hobby for me (that needs lots more practice!!) so I'm not needing to process files day in day out.

I'm currently using a 350D but will be upgrading to a 50D in the very near future (my girlfriend wants a DSLR so I've generously offered her the 350D which means I'll have to get something new.. ) and I've just started shooting in RAW and plan to use Aperture 2 rather than CS (mostly due to cost!).

I'm off to the Apple store tonight to try out what they have and that might make my mind up but wondered if any body has been through the comparison before.

So, is the 24" worth the extra £400 it costs or is the 20" more than capable?

Thanks

Edited by Relise on Wednesday 19th November 13:18

[Steve Evil]

Don't know if this is of any interest to you, but spied it this morning on my regular sniff through hotukdeals:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/278650/apple-imac-2...

[Relise]

Ohh that is a good deal. Only 2Gig of memory but I could eaily upgrade that myself I think.

It's £100 cheaper than the apple store and that extra code for the £50 off sweetens it even more.

Thanks for the heads up.

I want to get the 50D first so I'll leave it for now (not enough pennies in the bank) but I hope there are more deals like this when I get round to getting it.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Check if this is still the case, but when the silver iMac was introduced the 20" models had an inferior type of screen - certainly the one I have at home isn't useable for critical Photoshop work. The 24" ones are better, or alternatively buy a used example of the previous (same shape, white case) 20" model.

If you buy new, get as little memory from Apple as possible and then buy and fit your own branded aftermarket memory - it's a 2 minute job and can save you hundreds.

[Relise]

Thanks for the tip. I'll ask the Apple staff later about the screens

[le gravy noire]

I've got a 24 as a work machine in the office. It's excellent and provides enough screen space when used in conjunction with Spaces and Expose for pretty much anything. That said I don't believe you can have enough screen space and am considering a 30"

Matt

[CVP]

Try and have a look at them side by side if you can. The 24 really seems to have a lot more screen acerage than the 20. If you can go for the 24 I would.

Chris

[Relise]

Thanks guys. Went to the Apple store in Regeants street last night and did a comparison. The 24" seems so much bigger so that basically made my mind up.

Will have to save for a couple more months extra but it'll be worth it.

[SlimJ]

We have 2x 20" iMac's here, with the reflective screen. If I was using one of these for Photoshop/Design work I would quickly return to Apple, the colours are terrible! Pretty poor showing for Apple when they are made for design work.

I'd go for the 24" if I was you especially as you are doing a bit of photography, you shouldn't be disappointed with the screen space.

[Mr Noble]

I got a 24 incher yesterday and initially thought it was too big!! Coming from a 17" screen on my MS XP PC it does seem massive but I love it.

Its taking ma ages to get to grips with the switch over but I think in a few weeks I won't look back.

Greg

PS. I went for the 2.8 GHz model as its super fast enough. The extra £200 for a milisecond faster didnt seem worth it. The 2.8 is faster that the G4's were originally a couple of years ago and they were a revelation at the time!!

I'd also recommend Applecare. It was £139, but you get full on tech support 24/7 from a trained apple dude. Its also a local number (Cambridge number for me living in Cambridge) I called last night and got straight through to a chap who helped me set up everything for 40 minutes!! Well worth it for 3 years cover IMO.

[Mr Noble]

...............did I mention that the 24 incher is MASSIVE!!

[Relise]

Good point Mr.N - I might go for the 2.8 Ghz and get the applecarewith the savings...

I was very impressed with the size of the 24".......

Now I have a nother problem... Which to buy first an iMac or a 50D. I hate life's tough choices

[sjg]

You can't have too much screen space, and I've heard of issues (colour gradients, etc) on the 20".

btw, you can buy Applecare at any point in the first year - ie before the standard one year warranty expires. If you're going for something current at full retail price, then go to John Lewis who'll chuck in a second year warranty free.

[V8LM]

Rumours are that the iMac will be substantially updated soon - it's been a while and is overdue. So, a good to wait a while or a good time to pick-up a bargain.

[RobDickinson]

New 20" iMacs use cheap TN LCD panels rather than an 8bit panel like the 24", I'd avoid for photo work.

[Relise]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I'll definitley go for the 24" and it'll be a couple of months before I can afford it so I'll wait till after Apple's January offerings to see if they release any new iMacs.

[Mr Noble]

The imac itself still has a good couple of years left in it. The have only just refreshed the macbook range to match the new imacs looks so they wont be changing it for a while yet!

They are however likely to update some of the insides, mainly the intel chip. I think they're looking at a new quad core. However, I doubt that any of us home users would ever push any chip to anywhere near its limits. Thats why I wasn't bothered about waiting. The current mac 24 is a wonderful bit of kit, and you definately get what you pay for.

I also looked into the John Lewis warranty. Imac is the same price, and yes, the JL one comes with a free 2 year warranty instead of the Applestores 1 yr. However, the applecare pack offers full on local call phone support whenever you need it for the full 3 years, and if you're lucky enough to live near one of the stores (nearly walking distance ) you can just pop in with your applecare card and go into a back office for full on sit down tutorials!!

Thats got to be worth £139, not to mention what would happen if the DVD drive breaks down after 2 yrs and 3 months!

HTH

Greg


ps. Get the mac first, there is nothing wrong with a 350D and your photo taking skills won't improve just by changing camersa, however your workflow and enjoyment of using the camers will improve a lot by getting a mac

Just my $0.02