Hi everyone. So I've decided it's time for a new computer. I've always wanted an iMac but always found the prize reason to go for a Windows pc. This time though, I plan to just go for it. But now I have to decide on a screen size. And I really don't know. Is the extra money worth the bigger screen? I've only had laptops since like forever so any desktop screen will be big. (Yes it's going to be a desktop this time). Tell me about your screen size. Why is it big? Or why is it not? Are there people with two screens even? What should I do?
My work laptop is a 15inch. When I go in to the office, I have dual monitors. I love that for visual things.... so we have dual monitors on the home desktop computer, too. Love it for Scrapping! My monitors are 23inch? I think? They are 21 inches by 13 inches (roughly) so they are measured diagonal I think.? Blah. Idk. I love having the space available for two monitors, and the space for my PSE on the right, with my organizer (or windows folders) on the left. The size of the monitors doesn't bother me too much, because I can zoom in or out as necessary, and because I have the practice switching between different screen sizes regularly.
I have a desktop and two screens. One is a 22 and the other is a 23? I don't know, they're around 20". I don't have a MAC but a PC . . . and I loved moving from a laptop back to a desktop. It's so powerful! I always sat at my desk anyway, rarely moving to other locations, so it was the best option anyway. Hope you find just the right set up for you!
I have two screens at work because I am usually working between the internet and a program. I don't mind them and yes it would be neat to have them at home. I have the 21 inch iMac. I was tempted to get the 27 inch, but decided to go for the 21 inch. Now, if I were to replace it, I might just go ahead and go with the 27 inch. That being said, the 21 inch is enough for what I do. Plus the graphics seem much smoother with a Mac than a PC, so it seems to make things easier.
(Windows here) My laptop screen is 17". My second screen is a tv screen a Samsung 23" screen. Currently, DH is using it for our computer monitor for the desktop, so I only have one. I miss the second screen. I loved having lightroom and kits open on one screen, and scrapping on the other.
I started with a 27" iMac, and when I upgraded my computer a few years ago and went to a Mac Pro (the one that looks like a trash can) that didn't come with a monitor, I bought a 27" anyway because I LOVE having a lot of real estate to play with. So much so that soon after I bought a second 27" inch, as well. Like @klee73010 I use one screen for my organizer and the other to scrap on. Here's a photo of my workspace: If it comes down to a choice between screen size and processor/memory in your computer, definitely err on the side of the faster processor. You won't feel like you need to replace the computer quite as soon if you go ahead and get those little upgrades, and you can always add a second monitor later to get more screen space. I know that with Apple sometimes the faster processors are only available on the larger models, so that may or may not be helpful advice.
I had a 19" lap top ,and loved it. But I didn't have enough ram after 5 years of use. So now I have a desktop ,with a 32 " screen more memory than you can shake a stick at and a graphic card. I am sooo happy. I can see everything in detail, and it doesn't ( well at least so far ) crash if there are a lot of effects, styles ect used at once. Mine is windows, but I am sure that even with a mac you can buy a different make screen to cut the cost a bit ( so you can spend that on memory. Go for as big as you have space and buget for.
I have a 27 inch screen with my Mac. I LOVE it! The computer parts are in the screen unit so all I have is that and a mouse and keyboard. Nothing big and bulky anymore. Would never go back to a PC unless that was all I could get. Love, love, love my Mac.
Same setup at home and work. Laptop and two screens. At work my laptop is light and small for travel, but I hiook it up to a 23 in second screen so it's very comfortable to work on. At home, although it's a laptop, I really think of it as a desktop. It's not too heavy to be portable if I want, but it's pretty big with a 17 inch touch screen. Then I have a second monitor hooked up to it, 23 inches. I really like having two screens. On vacation I just use my iPad.
I have my 15" laptop and a 24" monitor. I use them together. I love being able to have 2 programs open at once and being able to easily look at both. Once you have 2 screens you won't go back!
I used a laptop + medium sized separate screen for a couple of years up until 2011 and it was nice because I had the best of both worlds: the portability of a laptop plus a decent screen. However, in May 2011 I got this 27" iMac I've been using ever since and it has been awesome. I was going to get the 21" but my husband encouraged me to go for the bigger screen. I'm very grateful for it because I can fit so much on it, making it easy to navigate between multiple things I'm doing. When I'm scrapping I have Photoshop filling up most of the screen but with space leftover at the edges where I put Finder windows and maybe my web browser with a TLP challenge loaded up for reference, so it's easy to click back and forth between everything. It makes chatting and scrapping at the same time simple too. And I just like being able to see more at once no matter what I'm doing, such as scrolling through my digistash, working on a scrapbook page, editing photos, reading webpages, and shopping online. I don't remember the price difference between the 21" and 27" and I've never actually used the 21" so I really can't guess whether it's worth it, but I've definitely been making good use of my large screen and feeling very grateful for it.
So... I did it. I just bought myself an iMac. To be specific I bought the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K-display. Because of all the double screens I saw here and I figured I could have the multiple windows open thing on a big ass screen like that. I really wanted the big screen to begin with, and when it came down to it, the 27" wasn't that much more expensive from the 21.5" after all. But now I'm broke. Not really but pretty much. I just thought "Berniek, this is a BIG part of your life and you really need to upgrade your laptop and just go for it." And I did. Even my dad said "well, that car is not needed just right now and moving is not in the picture yet". After that he said "but then when the money is gone, it's gone" but I just decided to take his word as positive advice. I planned to buy myself new glasses but I guess that's out of the picture now too. It's fine though. How awesome is this. Oh and it also means I will be going to the CC side as my Windows CS5 discs are not going to work anymore on a Mac. (I went all out, also bought 2 EHDs, one for storage and one as a back-up system. I guessed if I was going to do it, I had to do it right, you know? My backup system sucked so this is a good thing) but yeah, I am locking that bank account now and will force myself to be really budgetty for a few months. Good thing I've also started the healthy eating again since that will be cheaper so it's an extra stimulant to do well in both areas. Thank you so much for all the advice. It helped me lots, including the "see, just do it already, look at all the awesomeness they have!". It will be delivered on thursday so plenty of time to be really productive and clean out my desk area.
@berniek Woo-Hoo! So delighted you went ahead and got what you wanted. You are SO right. If you are anything like me, this is such a huge part of your life that it's worth it to invest. It makes it much nicer if you are not fighting your technology, but it's helping you! LOL
