Is the 24" imac "too" big?

[pastle]

I have been considering purchasing the 24" imac and have seen a few comments online saying it is too big. I have been worrying about that myself. I keep looking at it at Circuit City but fear that when sitting in front of it it will be too high and I will have to keep looking up because the screen is high off the desk to start with, and it would have to be pushed way back making it hard to read the text.
It is a big investment to make and then be sorry after.
Could I please hear from other 24" users out there and see how you like yours?

 

[Jammers]

Absolutely love mine.

 

[yogi]

I would love more screen estate. Though I think that 24" will only bring marginal benefits over a 20" screen compared to having two seperate monitors.

But it's definitely worth it for watching movies. It's not too overwhelming or "hug", I saw one at the Apple Store, they're quite nice and easy to read on.

OS X provides enough tools handy to enlarge any text - so that's really not a problem.

 

[narf1899]

i have no problem reading text on the 24", and the screen size is just big enough...i have a 20" but i always run straight to the 24's when i go in the apple store

 

[gilesjuk]

I have been considering purchasing the 24" imac and have seen a few comments online saying it is too big. I have been worrying about that myself. I keep looking at it at Circuit City but fear that when sitting in front of it it will be too high and I will have to keep looking up because the screen is high off the desk to start with, and it would have to be pushed way back making it hard to read the text.
It is a big investment to make and then be sorry after.
Could I please hear from other 24" users out there and see how you like yours?

If the 24 was the same resolution as the 20 then it would be better IMHO. But it's higher resolution and some fonts in OS X can't be changed currently. So I found some fonts to be hard to read.

It is a little higher than a normal monitor, so you do need to consider what desk to put it on.

If you do get one, make sure you test it out as soon as you get it, dim the backlight on the screen and listen for a humming sound from the bottom left of the unit. The backlights in these screens have this problem. Also check the left and right sides of the screen to see if the brightness is even.

 

[Dean786]

OUCH!

Thats tooo big, thats llke looking at a TV screen.

 

[Carol247]

Love my 20" and it fits perfect with my desk set-up.
Sometimes the 20" seems large to me even though I had a 19" crt for years. I guess it depends on how you're going to be using your computer.
For me, I'm really happy I chose the 20 for my purposes.
Good luck!

 

[mac57]

I have been asking the same question - is 24" too big to be usable. You would have to sit back from it to take in the whole thing. I have come to the very individual decision (not everyone has to agree with this) that 21" is just about right. Happily, I have a 21" monitor now!

 

[pastle]

Thanks everyone

I would love to be able to buy a power mac but it would be too costly to buy that and a monitor to go with it.

 

[Darker Times]

I have a 24" iMac and when I first put it on my desk it looked massive. Now however, it just doesn't look that big and I now think that if I had gone for the 20" screen, I would now be a little disappointed.
My considerations for buying it were: (a) I needed a new computer and (b) I also wanted a reasonable sized tv for the bedroom. When I considered the cost of both, it was cheaper to go with the iMac. And I'm glad that I did. I use mine mainly for video editing and it means that I can have all the screens open at once which is great for me, instead of having screens hiding behind each other and clicking about trying to bring the one you want to the front. And as for watching DVD's on...its fab....the only let down is the slightly tinny speaker sound, but when you consider where they are situated and how thick the monitor is that houses them, then they are good for the size and really no worse than a lot of PC's with external speakers.

Cheers

Philip

 

[[email protected]]

no offense, but you ask a dumb question! lol
The 24 inch is awesome.
How in the world could it be too big?

 

[the8thark]

Easy. If you have to move your eyes around the screen to take everything in, then in my opinion the screen's a little too big. For me I like to keep my eyes and head focused and not moving and able to get everything of the screen in and not have to use my peripherals too much. And for me the 17" is great. Maybe cause I'm used to that size as my old CRT imac was that.

A 20" would be nice though. But a 24, way to big for my liking. I have to move my eyes way to much around it to see everything. And I'm not a fan of it's resolution.

But I agree with all of the above, it's a personal choice to which size is best for you.

 

[pastle]

24"

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.

 

[Mantronix]

T I haven't seen a 20" set up for comparison. There are no Apple stores in Maine. I wish there were.

Have you tried CompUSA? They sell Apple products and the one near me has all three models on display.

 

[pastle]

Mantronix

We don't have CompUSA in Maine either. It's either Circuit City with only the 24" to look at or order online, sight unseen.

 

[awrence]

Pastle I have a 24inch and my wife a 17inch. Whenever I use my wifes mac everything seems too small. As regards height the 24inc sits quite low on the desk and you can adjust your chair height to compensate. When I sit up straight my eyes are level with the top of the screen so maybe mine is too low? I use mine to edit photographs and watch films; an excellent machine for both uses. Also if you are proof reading documents it is handy to be able to open two A4 pages next to each other without any size reduction. I overcome the bifocal problem with a pair of cheap reading glasses.
In this case size does matter!

 

[pastle]

awrence

How does your wife like your 24"? I have a Dell with a 19" screen and the top of the screen is about level with my eyes. I am not very tall, about 5'3". And my chair is as high as it goes.
I have considered getting computer glasses. That would help some.

 

[narf1899]

Easy. If you have to move your eyes around the screen to take everything in, then in my opinion the screen's a little too big. For me I like to keep my eyes and head focused and not moving and able to get everything of the screen in and not have to use my peripherals too much. And for me the 17" is great. Maybe cause I'm used to that size as my old CRT imac was that.

A 20" would be nice though. But a 24, way to big for my liking. I have to move my eyes way to much around it to see everything. And I'm not a fan of it's resolution.

But I agree with all of the above, it's a personal choice to which size is best for you.

I didn't know they made 17" CRT iMacs...;D

 

[christm]

obviously i would love the 24" but it wouldnt look right on my desk

its personal taste.

 

[MacHeadCase]

I have been considering purchasing the 24" imac and have seen a few comments online saying it is too big. I have been worrying about that myself. I keep looking at it at Circuit City but fear that when sitting in front of it it will be too high and I will have to keep looking up because the screen is high off the desk to start with, and it would have to be pushed way back making it hard to read the text.
It is a big investment to make and then be sorry after.
Could I please hear from other 24" users out there and see how you like yours?

I would say that it depends on the desk you'll put it on and I can tell you that if you do lots of apps that have plenty of palettes, you get used to the bigger screen in a jiffy. I bought the 20" G5 iMac coming from a 17" iMac G4 and at first I was like "Wow! So much more screen real estate!" and then you realize "Aww man! I could do with an extra inch or two!" LOL

You obviously do not have an adjustable (in height) desk. That would be ideal. If you have an adjustable computer chair, you might try playing with the height settings instead? I've got an IKEA desk and can adjust the height.