Is the 24" imac "too" big?

My PC (Sony Vaio notebook) has a 17" X-Black widescreen which I love. I looked at 17, 20 and 24" iMacs and found that the screen resolution decreased with size. I settled on a 20" iMac which is very good (I do a lot of photo processing) but think that a 24" is just TOO BIG. A lot depends on your eyesight (age!), desk ergonomics, etc. but I think that the 20" is a nice compromise.

Colin

pastle said:

Thats what I've been afraid of. I wear bifocals and I'm afraid looking up to see the top of the screen would be hard on the neck. Also, with arthritis my neck isn't what it used to be.
I keep looking at the 24" in Circuit City but haven't dared take the plunge. I haven't seen a 20" set up for comparison. There are no Apple stores in Maine. I wish there were.
Thanks everyone for your imput.

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Having owned almost every model in the range apart from a Macbook Pro I really would recommend a Mac Pro if you are from a PC building/tweaking background.

I started on a Mini, then Macbook, then iMac 24 and now a Pro.

Mac Pro lets you add RAM, disks and expansion boards easily.

Plus you can swap your monitor anytime you like, they are improving over time. I have a Samsung on the way with 2ms refresh and 3000:1 contrast.

Steve Jobs is to announce in july that the next generation 24inch imacs will include a dog for the blind that can type and send e-mails!

awrence

Cute! Then I won't have to do anything..........LOL

I couldn't be happier with mine. It's given me zero problems, its performance tops the G5 tower I have at work, and the screen is gorgeous. The screen is in no way too big, as you can always resize a window. But the extra screen real estate is great for running Corel Painter X and the Adobe programs. My previous 19-inch monitor just got too cluttered with all the palettes, but the 24-inch screen lets me see plenty. If you're going to be using it for any of those programs or for watching movies, you'll be glad you got the big one.

I have the iMac 24" and like it a lot. That said, I can see the question of bifocals causing neck pains. I use progressive lenses and haven't had a problem. It is important to get the monitor at the right height so you don't look up at the screen.

You can adjust any of the windows to any size you want, and the screen's rendition of text is terrific. Even in this forum which for some reason uses grey text and not black (at least on my machine). I like the ability to spread tool pallets to the sides of work in Photoshop and not obscure the work area.

It seems like the main reasons for going with the 24" are if you're going to be watching a whole lot of movies on your computer (as in it's basically your television) or if you're going to be doing a lot of film and photo editing. The incredible video resolution is the main benefit.

In my opinion, the 24" iMac isn't too big, but too tall. I have the 20" at work and would like to get the 24" for home, but will not consider buying it until they reduce the chin or find a way to lower the screen.

Bigger the better!

JayLenochiniMac

I think that is what I was concerned about JayLenochiniMac. Afraid it was too tall. I plan on getting a 24" in the next few months but keep hearing rumors of the iMac being upgraded and I would like to wait for that if it doesn't take too long. The chin is what bothers me, if it were shorter there would be no problem.
Or maybe the monitor itself could be placed lower on the stand.

pastle said:

I think that is what I was concerned about JayLenochiniMac. Afraid it was too tall. I plan on getting a 24" in the next few months but keep hearing rumors of the iMac being upgraded and I would like to wait for that if it doesn't take too long. The chin is what bothers me, if it were shorter there would be no problem.
Or maybe the monitor itself could be placed lower on the stand.

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I'm kinda of the same fence. I'm debating between a 20 or 24" iMac. Only thing that really draws me towards the 24" model is the 800 firewire port opposed to the 400 on the 20" model. The extra $500 is stopping me. I can get a good Wacom pad for that price. Plus the 24" model screen is freaking huge. I want to get into video editing so I'm not sure if the 20" will suffice or not.

I have the 24" and initially when I got it, it looked like a huge whopper sitting on my desk. But know about screen size envy and everything, I knew I'd be kicking myself later on, if I didn't have the biggest size that Apple offers in the iMac line. I came from a 20" monitor with a PC so it was natural for me to want to upgrade the screen size and not have to stick with the same size as I had with my PC. I do watch a lot of movies, and do photo editing and such on it, so that factored into my reasoning for getting the 24. Now if they come out with a 30" that would definitely be too big for me cuz of how close I'm sitting to my computer as it is...this should be as big as I want to go for a computer monitor.
Quite happy with it thats for sure!

I dont think 24" is too big, well I do spend my days staring at our 50" widescreen TV all day, I am getting a 24" rather soon, and it is true, it seems big at first but after a bit it doesnt seem it! -only problem when you go to a friends house their screen looks like a miniature toy version (but then you get used to that and and yours looks big again )

it is a bit daunting at first, especially if your switching over from PC, but believe me it rocks! Get some awesome speakers and you've got the best multi-media station around