Well, I've had the same dilemna for a few days. Going from a G5 iMac to the new redesigned Santa Rosa model, I know that speed is going to be fantastic (comparably), so I don't really care about 2.0 or 2.4Ghz; the low-end model is just fantastic value for money. I'm happy with the 20" LCD right now, I was impressed with the 24" in the store, except that the glare on a 24" will probably kill me, so I already feel that this aluminium generation isn't going to last as long as the white plastic G5 model, it's just a stop-gap until they really do change the whole look of the machine.
With Leopard's virtual screens coming soon, screen real-estate won't be as much of a problem as it has in the past (I did enjoy VirtueDesktops for a while, but my lack of memory and running multitask slowed my machine too much)
My money right now is on the low-end with 4GB and a 500GB HDD. Anyone else think similarly?
I went straight from a 19" CRT + smallish laptop LCD's to a 24" LCD. I used to think you can't have enough screen, but I have to say this feels enough for desktop. I wouldn't pay a lot to exchange this for a 30".
20":s are nice and big, and I wouldn't rush anyone currently with a 20" to upgrade to a larger one.
Looking at the specs and prices, either go with the 2.0GHz 20" or the 2.4GHz 24". The other two are bad value compared to these, no matter what use you have in mind for the computer.
My wife and I just went around on this one; she was always happy with her iMac G4 15" and resisted getting even the 17" iMacs and certainly didn't want to give up her machine for one of the white iMacs when they came out. The sunflower finally died, and I just got her an iMac 20"-- absolutely necessary since she's in the middle of a book-- thank God for backups-- and she couldn't be happier. In fact, she just said how happy she is that she can keep open all those dictionaries and ref materials and palettes on the desktop while working on her full page in MS Word.
So, 20" might be perfect if you do that kind of work.
I do a lot on the web, along with the writing, so I always want the biggest screen I can almost afford, so I sprang for a 22" cinema with my G4^3 and then a 23" even with a Mac Mini, but until the new iMac 24", the iMac G4 20" was heaven.
I know that cannot help much Ireland, but it was fun to reminisce.
My money right now is on the low-end with 4GB and a 500GB HDD. Anyone else think similarly?
4GB is probably more than you need unless you're dealing with some pretty intense stuff. I have 2.5GB in a G5 iMac, and it runs InDesign nicely even on top of an internet radio stream, some websites, and Illustrator. I mention this because InDesign has got to be the biggest RAM-hog available today.
I like the 24" myself. I've never felt that virtual desktops are a replacement for screen. Expose is already pretty close to virtual desktops, and even with it I value a big screen.
Comments
With Leopard's virtual screens coming soon, screen real-estate won't be as much of a problem as it has in the past (I did enjoy VirtueDesktops for a while, but my lack of memory and running multitask slowed my machine too much)
My money right now is on the low-end with 4GB and a 500GB HDD. Anyone else think similarly?
I went straight from a 19" CRT + smallish laptop LCD's to a 24" LCD. I used to think you can't have enough screen, but I have to say this feels enough for desktop. I wouldn't pay a lot to exchange this for a 30".
20":s are nice and big, and I wouldn't rush anyone currently with a 20" to upgrade to a larger one.
Looking at the specs and prices, either go with the 2.0GHz 20" or the 2.4GHz 24". The other two are bad value compared to these, no matter what use you have in mind for the computer.
My wife and I just went around on this one; she was always happy with her iMac G4 15" and resisted getting even the 17" iMacs and certainly didn't want to give up her machine for one of the white iMacs when they came out. The sunflower finally died, and I just got her an iMac 20"-- absolutely necessary since she's in the middle of a book-- thank God for backups-- and she couldn't be happier. In fact, she just said how happy she is that she can keep open all those dictionaries and ref materials and palettes on the desktop while working on her full page in MS Word.
So, 20" might be perfect if you do that kind of work.
I do a lot on the web, along with the writing, so I always want the biggest screen I can almost afford, so I sprang for a 22" cinema with my G4^3 and then a 23" even with a Mac Mini, but until the new iMac 24", the iMac G4 20" was heaven.
I know that cannot help much Ireland, but it was fun to reminisce.
My money right now is on the low-end with 4GB and a 500GB HDD. Anyone else think similarly?
4GB is probably more than you need unless you're dealing with some pretty intense stuff. I have 2.5GB in a G5 iMac, and it runs InDesign nicely even on top of an internet radio stream, some websites, and Illustrator. I mention this because InDesign has got to be the biggest RAM-hog available today.
I like the 24" myself. I've never felt that virtual desktops are a replacement for screen. Expose is already pretty close to virtual desktops, and even with it I value a big screen.