24" iMac?

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NYCaviator
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24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

Have a 27" 1440p screen hooked to a MacBook Pro. It doesn't allow native scaling like a retina screen, so I adjust the resolution to scale it up to 1080p so that everything is larger. I find myself only using about 1/2 of the screen. I'm thinking about ordering a 24" iMac, mainly because of the screen. I read that the Retina display is much crisper, even when you enlarge everything, since it can do that in a native resolution. For those with the new iMac, is the screen really as good as everyone says it is for someone with poor eyesight?
jpohio
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by jpohio »

I love the 24” iMac and find the screen resolution and clarity amazing. I suggest you go to your local Apple store or Best Buy and see it in person. I am very pleased with every aspect of the new iMac.
mortfree
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mortfree »

I’ve been eyeing this one for a while.

Recently:
8gb 512 ram was $1649 and then a $150 coupon on Amazon.

8gb 512 ram was $1615 this past weekend on Best Buy. Now it’s $1649.

Maybe there will be a dads and grad sale soon.

Still not sure what configuration to get (8/512; 16/512 or other).

Heard the keyboard is kind of on the small side but if you want the one with number pad that forces you to buy separate or order from Apple and then computer ships in July or something like that.

Think I’ve rambled enough

So there are discounts as noted above.
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8foot7
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by 8foot7 »

I have buyers remorse on the M1 Mac mini with only 8 GB of RAM. Easily should have gotten 16. Don’t believe the hype that 8 is sufficient.
mortfree
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mortfree »

8foot7 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 5:59 pm I have buyers remorse on the M1 Mac mini with only 8 GB of RAM. Easily should have gotten 16. Don’t believe the hype that 8 is sufficient.
I appreciate that feedback on 16gb.

What SSD size did you go with?
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by 8foot7 »

256 GB. I store most of my data on my network so local storage isn’t as important to me.
mortfree
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mortfree »

OP what about the 27” studio display from Apple?

Assuming you are happy with your current Mac and just want a display.

It will cost about the same as the 24” iMac
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xkcd4711
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by xkcd4711 »

Have a 27" 1440p screen hooked to a MacBook Pro. It doesn't allow native scaling like a retina screen, so I adjust the resolution to scale it up to 1080p so that everything is larger. I find myself only using about 1/2 of the screen.
Do I understand correctly that you're not using all the screen real estate? I wonder if you're familiar with the Display Menu App for macOS? It may give you additional resolutions to more fully use the 27" screen.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

mortfree wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 7:37 pm OP what about the 27” studio display from Apple?

Assuming you are happy with your current Mac and just want a display.

It will cost about the same as the 24” iMac
I looked at it, but the reviews I’ve read say that it’s not worth the money and isn’t a great display. It’d be easier to just get everything integrated in an iMac.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

xkcd4711 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 8:51 pm
Have a 27" 1440p screen hooked to a MacBook Pro. It doesn't allow native scaling like a retina screen, so I adjust the resolution to scale it up to 1080p so that everything is larger. I find myself only using about 1/2 of the screen.
Do I understand correctly that you're not using all the screen real estate? I wonder if you're familiar with the Display Menu App for macOS? It may give you additional resolutions to more fully use the 27" screen.
I’ll check this out! The problem is I want everything bigger, but since I have a dell display that isn’t native retina, the bigger things get, the grainer and less sharp. My understanding is apple retina displays are software integrated so you can make everything on the screen bigger but it remains just as sharp.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by 8foot7 »

NYCaviator wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:42 am
xkcd4711 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 8:51 pm
Have a 27" 1440p screen hooked to a MacBook Pro. It doesn't allow native scaling like a retina screen, so I adjust the resolution to scale it up to 1080p so that everything is larger. I find myself only using about 1/2 of the screen.
Do I understand correctly that you're not using all the screen real estate? I wonder if you're familiar with the Display Menu App for macOS? It may give you additional resolutions to more fully use the 27" screen.
I’ll check this out! The problem is I want everything bigger, but since I have a dell display that isn’t native retina, the bigger things get, the grainer and less sharp. My understanding is apple retina displays are software integrated so you can make everything on the screen bigger but it remains just as sharp.
I would recommend at least upgrading to a 4K display (UHD). While it's not as nice as a Retina display, IMO it's more than Good Enough, and the additional pixel density will let you scale up the size of everything on the screen without getting grainy. macOS does this superbly. Windows is a mixed bag. You can get a UHD display from Dell for $349 or so and it's well worth the money.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

I have still been shopping around for a new monitor that will be close to Retina quality without having to get an iMac or spend $1600+ on an Apple branded display. From what I understand at 27", even a 4k monitor isn't Retina quality, and most of those monitors only get up to 350 nits in brightness and look relatively washed out. To get retina quality, you have to go down to 4k at 24" or get a 5k display. Unfortunately, I can't find either. The LG Ultrafine monitors are very hard to find now, and they don't have integrated cameras and speakers.

Anyone find a monitor that looks as good as an Apple monitor?

I like the portability of a MacBook Pro, but when I can pick up a base model iMac for around $1100 on sale, it's hard to justify getting a new laptop.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mrb09 »

A 24" 4k monitor scales to evenly divided pixels at simulated 1080 resolution, which gives a really nice display. An iMac might be better, but there are a lot of 4k monitors that are pretty good.

A 27" at 1440 resolution monitor is trickier. A 27" 4k monitor can scale to 1440 resolution, but the pixels aren't evenly divided and the resolution isn't as crisp. A 27" iMac has 5k resolution, which makes the pixels evenly divided at 1440 resolution. There are not a lot of 5k monitors, and the ones that exist are really expensive.

I have a 28" 4k monitor that I shared between my work laptop and home computer (both Apple), I run my laptop at 1440 and my home computer at 1080 to give my eyes a rest when I don't need the screen real estate.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

mrb09 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 12:17 pm A 24" 4k monitor scales to evenly divided pixels at simulated 1080 resolution, which gives a really nice display. An iMac might be better, but there are a lot of 4k monitors that are pretty good.

A 27" at 1440 resolution monitor is trickier. A 27" 4k monitor can scale to 1440 resolution, but the pixels aren't evenly divided and the resolution isn't as crisp. A 27" iMac has 5k resolution, which makes the pixels evenly divided at 1440 resolution. There are not a lot of 5k monitors, and the ones that exist are really expensive.

I have a 28" 4k monitor that I shared between my work laptop and home computer (both Apple), I run my laptop at 1440 and my home computer at 1080 to give my eyes a rest when I don't need the screen real estate.
Does the 28" support DPI scaling? My 1440p doesn't on my Mac; it only allows you to change actual resolutions. So when I change to 1080, the size is great, but everything is blurry and not crisp. I don't like 1440p at 27". I still find it smaller than I'm comfortable with, because I work with lots of text. Screen real estate isn't an issue, but crispness and brightness is.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mrb09 »

NYCaviator wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 1:04 pm
mrb09 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 12:17 pm A 24" 4k monitor scales to evenly divided pixels at simulated 1080 resolution, which gives a really nice display. An iMac might be better, but there are a lot of 4k monitors that are pretty good.

A 27" at 1440 resolution monitor is trickier. A 27" 4k monitor can scale to 1440 resolution, but the pixels aren't evenly divided and the resolution isn't as crisp. A 27" iMac has 5k resolution, which makes the pixels evenly divided at 1440 resolution. There are not a lot of 5k monitors, and the ones that exist are really expensive.

I have a 28" 4k monitor that I shared between my work laptop and home computer (both Apple), I run my laptop at 1440 and my home computer at 1080 to give my eyes a rest when I don't need the screen real estate.
Does the 28" support DPI scaling? My 1440p doesn't on my Mac; it only allows you to change actual resolutions. So when I change to 1080, the size is great, but everything is blurry and not crisp. I don't like 1440p at 27". I still find it smaller than I'm comfortable with, because I work with lots of text. Screen real estate isn't an issue, but crispness and brightness is.
It does, but not an exact multiple at 1440. A 4k monitor is 3840 x 2160, that's exactly 4x more than 1920 x 1080 so you get an even 4 pixels for every one at scale. Scaled at 2560x1440, the 4k monitor is 2.25 more pixels, so you don't get that crisp exact 4:1 mapping.

I think a 24" 4k monitor scaled at 1080 is a sweet spot.

Trying to scale a 1440 monitor to 1080 would be pretty bad (as you say), because the pixels won't map well.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

mrb09 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 4:20 pm
NYCaviator wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 1:04 pm
mrb09 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 12:17 pm A 24" 4k monitor scales to evenly divided pixels at simulated 1080 resolution, which gives a really nice display. An iMac might be better, but there are a lot of 4k monitors that are pretty good.

A 27" at 1440 resolution monitor is trickier. A 27" 4k monitor can scale to 1440 resolution, but the pixels aren't evenly divided and the resolution isn't as crisp. A 27" iMac has 5k resolution, which makes the pixels evenly divided at 1440 resolution. There are not a lot of 5k monitors, and the ones that exist are really expensive.

I have a 28" 4k monitor that I shared between my work laptop and home computer (both Apple), I run my laptop at 1440 and my home computer at 1080 to give my eyes a rest when I don't need the screen real estate.
Does the 28" support DPI scaling? My 1440p doesn't on my Mac; it only allows you to change actual resolutions. So when I change to 1080, the size is great, but everything is blurry and not crisp. I don't like 1440p at 27". I still find it smaller than I'm comfortable with, because I work with lots of text. Screen real estate isn't an issue, but crispness and brightness is.
It does, but not an exact multiple at 1440. A 4k monitor is 3840 x 2160, that's exactly 4x more than 1920 x 1080 so you get an even 4 pixels for every one at scale. Scaled at 2560x1440, the 4k monitor is 2.25 more pixels, so you don't get that crisp exact 4:1 mapping.

I think a 24" 4k monitor scaled at 1080 is a sweet spot.

Trying to scale a 1440 monitor to 1080 would be pretty bad (as you say), because the pixels won't map well.
Makes sense, thanks! I think I'm going the iMac route. I went and looked at one in the store and the screen is amazing. It's lightyears ahead of what I have.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by mortfree »

NYCaviator wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:41 am
mortfree wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 7:37 pm OP what about the 27” studio display from Apple?

Assuming you are happy with your current Mac and just want a display.

It will cost about the same as the 24” iMac
I looked at it, but the reviews I’ve read say that it’s not worth the money and isn’t a great display. It’d be easier to just get everything integrated in an iMac.
I just ordered the 8/512 on Amazon. $1649-150.

I also had a $500 Amazon gift card and the Chase card is giving 5% for Amazon this quarter so that’s another -$50.

Hopefully the 8gb ram will suffice for a family computer.
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Re: 24" iMac?

Post by NYCaviator »

mortfree wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 7:00 pm
NYCaviator wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:41 am
mortfree wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 7:37 pm OP what about the 27” studio display from Apple?

Assuming you are happy with your current Mac and just want a display.

It will cost about the same as the 24” iMac
I looked at it, but the reviews I’ve read say that it’s not worth the money and isn’t a great display. It’d be easier to just get everything integrated in an iMac.
I just ordered the 8/512 on Amazon. $1649-150.

I also had a $500 Amazon gift card and the Chase card is giving 5% for Amazon this quarter so that’s another -$50.

Hopefully the 8gb ram will suffice for a family computer.
It absolutely will, unless you do video editing or real heavy computer work. There’s a reason the vast majority of Apple’s ready made models (except pro models) only have 8 GB of ram, and 16 is special order. MacOS is very efficient. Windows is a different story. I’d want 16 if I had a windows machine, as it seems to use more memory for system level stuff, even before you open applications.
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