Where does the iMac go next?

Specs bump, slight change in exterior design, that's probably about it. The sizing is deliberate because the 21.5" is big enough to be nice to use but leaves you with the upgrade bug, the 27" is plenty big enough to look imposing without being too big for most desks. I could live with 16:9 at the 2K res. Won't be upgrading for a few years though, the Mac Mini and IPS monitor I got are fine for what I use them for.
 
Somnambulist said:
Specs bump, slight change in exterior design, that's probably about it. The sizing is deliberate because the 21.5" is big enough to be nice to use but leaves you with the upgrade bug, the 27" is plenty big enough to look imposing without being too big for most desks. I could live with 16:9 at the 2K res. Won't be upgrading for a few years though, the Mac Mini and IPS monitor I got are fine for what I use them for.
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I'd have to differ with you on the monitor size. I find my 21.5" iMac totally inadequate. A friend of mine brought his 27" round to mine, and bear in mind I have a purpose built office and a large desk (think of doctors type, inlaid green leather) yet the 27" looked far to large for it's situation.

I have my 21.5" on another desk and a 24" on my main desk and that one is as baby bear said - just right.

Your Mac Mini with IPS is a costly set up then? I like the Mini and am hoping they put an SSD in that with Sandybridge. The HD size lets down the Mini though at least unlike the iMac if it all goes **** up you don't lose everything.

However, nothing is going to happen on any front until Intel have sorted out the design flaw with the Sandybridge chipset.
 
Faustus said:
I'd have to differ with you on the monitor size. I find my 21.5" iMac totally inadequate. A friend of mine brought his 27" round to mine, and bear in mind I have a purpose built office and a large desk (think of doctors type, inlaid green leather) yet the 27" looked far to large for it's situation.

I have my 21.5" on another desk and a 24" on my main desk and that one is as baby bear said - just right.

Your Mac Mini with IPS is a costly set up then? I like the Mini and am hoping they put an SSD in that with Sandybridge. The HD size lets down the Mini though at least unlike the iMac if it all goes **** up you don't lose everything.

However, nothing is going to happen on any front until Intel have sorted out the design flaw with the Sandybridge chipset.
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MM (refurb) and monitor were just a little bit more than a refurb base model 21.5" iMac, including an 8GB RAM upgrade I did myself. Deliberate on my part since for roughly the same money I got a bigger screen @1920x1200 and it's matte which I wanted as my computer cupboard gets a load of direct sunlight shining on it. Just a general use machine so it's not like it needs to be uber-powerful, it's small, quiet and I'm going to probably get a Drobo or something to put all my music/backup/archive stuff on anyway so the HD size isn't that important.

The smaller iMac is too small for me too, but I've found most people I know are happy with it, or just couldn't afford the 27" but still wanted an iMac.
 
Somnambulist said:
MM (refurb) and monitor were just a little bit more than a refurb base model 21.5" iMac, including an 8GB RAM upgrade I did myself. Deliberate on my part since for roughly the same money I got a bigger screen @1920x1200 and it's matte which I wanted as my computer cupboard gets a load of direct sunlight shining on it. Just a general use machine so it's not like it needs to be uber-powerful, it's small, quiet and I'm going to probably get a Drobo or something to put all my music/backup/archive stuff on anyway so the HD size isn't that important.

The smaller iMac is too small for me too, but I've found most people I know are happy with it, or just couldn't afford the 27" but still wanted an iMac.
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The 320gig HD is just not large enough for today's needs. For a start I need to use boot camp for a W7 install and 320gig when split is just too small. I know I could configure the Mini with a 500gig HD but Apples upgrade costs are just to steep. I have looked at that YouTube video of how to replace the HD yourself but to be honest it's a bit of a fiddle and a faff and it also invalidates the warranty. The Mini should start with a 500gig drive. I'd buy one this afternoon with the right HD and the latest Sandybridge chipset.
 
Well given the new range of MacBooks are going to include Sandybridge (so the say) and the Mini is based on the mid-range MacBook then one can only hope, though it would be a logical progression for the brand.
 
I know the earlier argument has kind of died, but just to clarify - if you went from a 21.5 inch monitor to a 24 inch monitor both of which were 1920x1080 then the text on screen would get BIGGER. This is because the actual pixel size would have to increase to fill the space since both monitors have the same number of pixels.

In terms of the iMac upgrade, I think they have a lot to do. £1000+ for a basic i3 is too steep. i5 needs to be an option on 21.5" iMac, they need to be at least on Sandybridge, HDD's need to be bigger (1TB minimum), RAM needs to be faster (1333? Really?), Graphics cards need an upgrade and SSD needs to be a cheaper option or standard.
 
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I use a 27" at work, it is a lovely screen.

I imagine part of the reason they only offer 21 and 27 is to encourage people to pay more and get the 27. If they offered a 24 far fewer people would go for the 27.
 
EdwardTeach said:
I use a 27" at work, it is a lovely screen.

I imagine part of the reason they only offer 21 and 27 is to encourage people to pay more and get the 27. If they offered a 24 far fewer people would go for the 27.
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I don't doubt there's an element of truth in that statement. However, they really should offer the customer more choice. Many people don't really have the situation for a 27" screen, it may look great in an office at work but I would think the room size is somewhat larger than a domestic situation. Anyway all we can do is hope for a mid-range 24" iMac.
 
I reckon slimmer and faster (obviously) but it would be great if they'd stick an 128GB SSD alongside a 1TB HDD - this would be genius and I'd get one in a heartbeat ;)
 
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