21.5" vs 27" iMac

Hey Mac-Forums,

I'm brand new to this forum and I would first like to say, hello! You all seem like a great group of people that I would like to get to know a little better

Now to me question:
I'm looking in the market for a mac (I'm tired of Windows being crap!) and the iMac just looks like a very appeasing computer for me. I will be going to college next year (I'll be getting a macbook pro then) so I decided that I would like to learn the mac OS with an iMac. I do have a budget of about $1500 which kind of puts a damper on some things but money is money. I'm either interested in the upgraded model of the 21.5" imac (1300 refurb) or the base line 27" imac (1449 refurb). I've read rather good reviews on these machines and I was wondering your intake. I would like to do a little gaming (Valve mostly) and the basics otherwise. I didn't know if the ati graphics card could support the 27" display fully? I apologize if I'm all jumbled! Also, being that 27" is rather large, would the 21.5" be a better solution?

Overall, I was just hoping someone would put out their insight on either of these fine pieces of work and possibly steer me in the right direction.
Thanks

First, welcome to the forum..we rock..now onto to your question..

At your budget you're essentially considering the Core2Duo CPU's and the big difference is going to be the screen size. Getting the upgraded 3.33 Ghz C2D as opposed to the 3.06 Ghz will give you a slight boost..

Unless I'm mistaken, the 21.5" and 27" C2D machines share the same GPU..the quad-cores get a different (upgraded) GPU..

So if you're going to be content with the 21.5" screen size, that would seem like the best option for you..

Regards

Thanks Raz0rEdge!
Do you know if the Radeon 4760 (i believe thats what it is) can handel the massive screen cleanly? Or will I see a large amount of lag compared to the 21.5"

I can't speak specifically to the abilities of the lower Radeon chip..I've got the i7 27" iMac with the upgraded chip and the screen is brilliant..but I don't play games on my iMac..I have my XBOX360 for that..

Perhaps some gamers could comment on the performance..

Regards

The only situations where you'd see a difference between the mobility 4670 and mobility 4850 is for gaming and real intensive live editing/filtering for movies/vids.

Thank you trademark. But for games like sims 3 and the valve games (TF2, Portal, ect) and wow should just run fine on the 27" with the 4760?
Thanks!

Perhaps you should just spend the money now on a really nice MBP since your getting one in a year

I can't speak for the valve games, as I have no experience or readily available benchmarks for them, but you can use notebook check to see other benchmarks for those two cards.

I've got the base model 27" iMac (refurb) and it is awesome. No display issues at all. I would go with the 27" over the 21.5". The extra screen real-estate is great. Mine runs my windows games under bootcamp with out any problems. Don't have many Mac games.

Thanks jetmech1 and everyone else?
What games are you running jetmech1 via bootcamp/other software?

27 inch is way to big i have the 21 and its way to big

I have the 27, and it's just right.

jshulman10 said:

27 inch is way to big i have the 21 and its way to big

Click to expand...

Mine IS NOT TOO BIG. It is just right. I love the extra room on the display.

39946 said:

Thanks jetmech1 and everyone else?
What games are you running jetmech1 via bootcamp/other software?

Click to expand...

Tomb Raider Under World and X-Planes. I'm not a serious gamer, I just play around a little bit. The graphics look amazing from Tomb Raider. They look as good or better than my Dell XPS with a iNvidia 8800GTS 512 MB video card.

Thank you so much to everyone who has put a comment in. I'm still in the "iffy" stage of 21.5 and 27, but i now know that the graphics card will still keep up with the 27" display. Anyone try the wall mount?

I suggest going to the Apple Store or Best Buy and play with each to see which one works best for you.

Thank you! I just got my wisdom teeth removed so once all the pain and blood and yuck goes away, I think I'll be making my way to the apple store Do you recommend getting a refurbished one? They are much cheaper!

My iMac is refurbished. Runs perfect. I have purchased several refurbished Dells in the past without any issues. That is the route I would go. They have the same warranty.

Okay, thank you soo much!!

dont get refurbished. trust me you get 200 dollars off, but really you just not going get a free ipod touch or printer