[garymacc]

Hey all, this is my first post so please be gentle.

I'm thinking of entering the wonderful world of apple just after Xmas and I reckon I will have about £1,500 saved up by then but I need some advice as to which model and upgrades I should go for.

I've definitely decided on iMac because I like it's all inclusiveness and design.

First off I need to decide between the 17" 2.0GHz intel core 2 duo and the 20" 2.16GHz processors and screens.
I'm not too bothered about having a bigger screen but as a base to start upgrading from which model would people recommend?

Is there much difference between the 2.0GHz and the 2.16GHz processors?

I will probably upgrade to 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM (2x1GB) of memory
and a 250GB hard drive (for the 17" model).

I'm a student so the majority of usage will be on Microsoft Office, music storage, photo and video storage (possibly some editing), along with some DVD authoring.

Any help, suggestions, advice would be much appreciated.

[mduell]

Get the 20"; you'll really enjoy the additional screen area.
The difference between 2.0 and 2.16 or even 2.33Ghz is next to nothing.
Usually I'd say take the minimum amount of RAM from Apple and buy the rest from a 3rd party, but in this case I'd just buy it from Apple since the price is reasonable.
250G hard drive should be fine.

[Noakesy]

I would advise going for the 20" model. In addition to the benefit of more screen space, you also get a 250Gb Hard Drive, and the faster processor (2.16Ghz) as standard. If you were upgrading the 17" model to this spec on the Apple Store you would be looking at a difference of approx. £80 between the different models.

The 20" screen would be useful if you were say using Photoshop Elements. It is also slightly brighter, has more contrast ratio, and a bit better viewing angle. So effectively it's £80 for the larger screen.

As Mark suggested, go for the extra memory too.

As a student you should be entitled to a discount, and I think you can currently get the Microsoft Office 2004 Student and Teacher edition for £99.95.

One final thing, hope it doesn't cause you a dilemma, Leopard is due in Spring 2007, if you can wait beyond January.

[tomrock]

Another vote for the 20" (unless you decide to get a 24").

The 17" is basically a heavy laptop as far as screen real estate is concerned.

Get the 2 gig of ram.

[Mojo]

I wouldn't wait for Leopard... just figure another $100 USD to upgrade if it is released in the spring. (I have the impression that Leopard will debut soon after the first of the year.)

[Frugle]

so you guys don't think there will be a minor upgrade or price drop at macworld?

If it were me, you are already planning to wait till after christmas (I see your getting excited, christmas is 2 months away :-P ) I would go ahead and wait till after macworld... jan. 8-12... mainly for 10.5, but maybe there will be a price drop, or upgrade, or some type of accessory upgrade or something.. but I would strongly advise waiting.