24in iMac - white or ali?

The alumminum iMac offers a better graphics chip, faster processor and more options. Supports a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme.

The alumminum iMac has a much better looking glossy screen with really rich colors and it's a lot better than the LCD on the white iMac.

They're pretty similar, so if any of those key features are something you need then you should get the alumminum iMac.

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-benny

I opted for the "white" rather than the "alu", a) because I have more faith in a last generation unit than in a brand new one, and b) because I the "obituary" black border surrounding the screen offended my aesthetic perception. :-/

You may feel differently.

It is absolutely essential that you go to the store and look at the new alu iMacs because of the glossy screens. Some people hate them, some love them, make sure you don't hate it before buying.

I went for a new white iMac because I think the matte is better and the display itself seems to be a much better quality than the glossy screens. I almost feel like Apple slapped the gloss on there to distract people from the fact that the screens aren't as good as older models.

...i am really hoping for future available iMacs in late October/November/December to be available with OPTIONAL matte OR glossy screens (and with the latest operating system leopard) ... i hope this may be a reality in terms of choosing between the two types of screens.....
..................ONE question,....if anybody can comment on this ....if one turns down the brightness of the new iMac (aluminum lcd screen screen model) does this help with eyestrain????...because i really like my current white bezel matte screen iMac that i am using this very second....

You should definetely see the alum iMac. The screen blew me away. Colors were really saturated and the screen was very bright. It's supposed to be good for video productions and graphics.

-benny

Good Morning Phil,

I have one of each of the machines you're looking at here in my R&D Lab so I figure I'll give you my personal perspective on them both.

White -

+ Screen (Not made by LG which is prone to failure and doesn't suffer from overgloss)
+ Uniform White Finish
= Processor is not the newest but more than capable
- Graphics Chip is getting old

Alumi -

+ Updated Graphics Chip
= Supports new C2D processors
- Cheap LG Screen that are more prone to failure
- Glossy Finish Hurts Usability in Bright Environments
- Non-Uniform Surface, a mix of Metal and Black (Though might fit better for some people it can be distracting)

Just a quick list of my observations while using each of the machines.

Hope this helps! 

David

I've had a few bad screens from the new iMacs out of the units we've tested or purchased, this goes in line with the horrid quality and QA we've seen from LG in the past...

My company purchased a batch of 1600 LG 20" LCD screens and, to date (6 to 8 months later), have had issues or been forced to replace over 1000 of them so far due to quality defects. Though it's been under warranty it's a pain to keep doing, when we heard the new iMacs were using LG screens it's given us pause when considering deploying those to the campuses for that reason alone.

Glossy screens made no sense to me, I hate seeing my reflection in a screen while I am using it, it distracts from what I'm doing. One might think Apple realized their new LG screens were not up to spec so a bit of distraction would keep people from looking to close... (No, not really but the glossy is really bad.)

As for the graphics chip, if you are not going to be playing games you will see no real difference. The only change is the new Alumimacs have the updated chip for game playing, 2D is virtually identical from either chip.

Again, hope this helps! 

David

"You should definetely see the alum iMac. The screen blew me away. Colors were really saturated and the screen was very bright. It's supposed to be good for video productions and graphics."

I've seen them, that's why I bought the last generation white iMac with the matte screens. Glossy screens interfere with the color because where glare hits the color looks different. While it's true that we get used to it and forget to notice the glare it still causes eye strain.

I spent about 5 minutes working with a new 24" glossy iMac in the store then moved over to the white, matte iMac and I could feel my eyes relax and instantly feel better.

The only advantage is the WOW factor. When people first see it they go "Wow, that looks great!" This helps sell computers even though there is no real, practical benefit.

And it works, too, although Apple didn't do a good job of it. I saw an HP all-in-one unit, competing with an iMac, with a high gloss screen that looked so good I wanted to buy it even though I would never buy a Windows machine.

Apple's high gloss didn't look nearly as good but it's still eye candy and the response I've seen from lots of people is they did go "Wow" over it.

The graphics card in the aluminum iMac is actually less powerful for games than the one in the white iMacs or even in the current Macbook Pros. It's supposedly better for HD video editing, but that's about it. And until they get the driver issues fixed, you're not going to be able to play very many games (many don't run or have screwed up graphics), and the ones that will play act funky sometimes. At least on mine, the few games I can get it to play either freeze up occasionally or jerk around every second or so, although the framerate between the jerks is pretty smooth most of the time.

Other than that it's a great computer though, and the only problems I'm having are the graphics driver issue and an only somewhat noticeable (now that I'm used to it, at least) gradient from bluer on the left to whiter and dimmer on the right end of the screen. Once they fix the drivers, the gfx card in the aluminum iMac should run games fairly well (according to Bare Feats, under Windows XP, which has better drivers for this card, it performs well, so it's almost definitely just OSX's immature graphics drivers causing the problems, and not some other issue).

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If you really want perfect color go by the numbers and color correct that way. I love the screen and i do heavy graphics work. This screen works fine and even better than most I have worked with. Regardless in the end I check the numbers, they don't lie. Matte or Glossy and further more you will never beat a CRT no matter what LCD you get.

Is the new screen really a problem?

Yes, the new 24" iMac screens have problems. I've personally examined nine samples (my own, plus eight showroom samples in two Apple retail stores), and they all had an intense 'hotspot' covering the left 1/4 of the screen. I measured five of the units with a light meter: four of them (mine included) had L:R brightness (luminance) ratios of about 2.5:1 -- the fifth measured a horrid 3.7:1 (almost 2 f-stops)! For photos of my disappointing experiences with ALU iMacs see:

http://www.picasaweb.google.com/TheLooby

Numerous other owners have reported exactly the same problem (documented with photos) on several web forums, including this one. This is not a gloss vs. matte issue; it appears to be a hardware (design?) defect somewhere in the 24" iMac's backlight/inverter/diffuser components. (Google: iMac display gradient)

Dave in AZ's comments regarding LG quality assurance are very interesting, and might be a clue to the ALU iMac's widespread display problems. However, all 24" iMacs (white and aluminum) use LCD panels supplied by LG.Philips -- as do the majority of recent Apple products. According to my best information (from extensive googling), the product/panel breakdown is as follows:

Mid_2007 24" iMac: LG.Philips LM240WU2-SLB1, S-IPS, 8-bit

Late_2006 24" iMac: LG.Philips LM240WU2-SLA1, S-IPS, 8-bit

Mid_2007 20" iMac: LG.Philips LM201WE3-????, TN Film, 6-bit

Late_2006 20" iMac: Samsung LTM201M1-????, S-PVA, 8-bit

20" Cinema Display: LG.Philips LM201W01-SLA3, S-IPS, 8-bit (also used in 20" G5 iMac)

23" Cinema Display: LG.Philips LM230W02-????, S-IPS, 8-bit

30" Cinema Display: LG.Philips LM300W01-????, S-IPS, 8-bit

http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1&messageID=5513861

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk

My 24" iMac will be returned to the Apple Store this weekend (I returned the 20" last month). Nice try, Mr. Steve, but on my planet "aluminum + glass + hype" don't trump display quality...

...with or without the gloss.

Looby

Do not hesitate for a moment, or else the remaining white iMacs will be gone. They are the last iMacs designed by the Apple Computer Company. The aluminum iMacs are designed by what today amounts to the Apple iPhone Company, and it shows. Get yourself a real computer, not a shiny iMirror!