New Mac conundrum, help me think this through
June 9, 2008
Hello dear readers, help me think things through, would ya?
I’m going to be getting a new Mac soon, and now that the Stevenote is done and no new computer products were announced, I feel it’s a pretty good time to buy. Here are my two options.
Right now I have an early summer 2006 20 inch iMac. I have a 19″ Dell 1905FPS Monitor next to it providing extra screen real estate. Since the Dell monitor has two inputs, it also serves as a monitor for my Ubuntu server which is running some scripts for me in perpetuitity.
My dad will be getting a new machine so that means I’ll inherit another Dell monitor. Twins!
My thinking is that having two 19″ LCD Screens next to each other both hooked up to a brand new Mac Pro (2 processors) would be the ideal thing. It would fit nicely on my desk and I’d have room to spare.
However, the 3.06Ghz 24″ iMac is also tempting. That means I’d have to move the Dell monitor and make some space and maybe take the other Dell monitor to school.
So, which is it?
Option 1: Two 19″ LCD Screens with dual inputs side by side displaying 2 x 2.8Ghz Mac Pro goodness, or?
Option 2: a 24″ iMac clocking in at 3.06 Ghz with an awkwardly placed Dell monitor off to the side?
It seems the way I’ve written that that my decision is made, but I figure there’s some perspective I’m not seeing, any thoughts?
Chris
Posted in my life / my world
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June 9th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
The tower will probably be noisier and consume more power.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Chris: I’ve worked with dual monitor setups before, so I think this decision (if either one is financially doable for you) comes down to how you like to work in terms of computer monitors. It can be nice to have extra screen real estate, and the “cool factor” is certainly there, but is that needed or desired from your personal workflow perspective? A 24″ monitor is pretty huge. Even if you are using an app with lots of optional windows like Final Cut, I’m not sure you really NEED 2 monitors…. I guess I am also more jealous of deskspace and like the simplicity of thin screens now that take up less space. So personally, I would go with the single 24″ display. Those are gorgeous and have a very nice desktop footprint. But if you really want/need the extra screen real estate for your computing, then by all means go with that choice. That’s my 2 cents anyway.
June 10th, 2008 at 6:57 am
I have a Mac Pro at work with dual 23″ screens, and have a new 24″ iMac at home. For the way I work, I greatly prefer the two monitors, I find it so much more efficient. There is a lot of space on the 24″ but having the space spread out horizontally is so much better from my perspective.
But no matter what you do, you can’t lose. Both great solutions.