2 24" ACD vs 1 27" ACD

[freeman727]

I want to know the pros and cons of these types of setups. I have a 2009 MP with a 5770 card.

I do mostly office productivity work. I occasionally dabble in iMovie.

My wife does quite a bit of Photoshop.

 

[MacSignal]

Nice options to consider. If you want Apple Care, it probably has to be the 27.

If AC doesn't matter, a pair of 24's collectively provides a larger canvas at the expense of more desktop space and another electrical outlet.

For the past 14 months, I have used a single ACD 27 in combination with either a MBP or an iMac. Before that, I used a ACD 24 in combination with a MBP.

Subjectively, I think images looked a little better on my ACD 27 compared to my ACD 24, but I thought both were very good. FWIW, I haven't done any calibration other than what Apple offers and I don't consider myself to have a critical eye for this kind of comparison. YMMV.

Good luck!

 

[666sheep]

If you prefer to have palettes separated from document you're working on, 2 displays are always better than one. I do mostly PS, AI and ID and I feel more comfortable with 2 displays on my MP than 1 on my mini. Only drawback (aside of cost and space on desk) I could imagine is fact, that with 2 displays video memory is divided between them. With one, you have all for one. But it was noticeable mainly when I had 7300 in my MP. After upgrading card do 512MB one I see no difference at all.

 

[jenzjen]

Another idea, start with 1 27" and buy another later when possible. Dual typically is always better for the reasons stated above, but this way, you've got the dual setup on the new(er) ACD monitors with more real estate to boot.

 

[Fastball32]

One 27" ACD as your main monitor, and one 24" ACD as your secondary monitor.
If you do anything like Eyefinity on Windows, then having the same resolution across multiple screens would be preferable, but on Mac OSX, there's no such advantage.
A 27" due to it's 16x9 ratio is much better for movie production, watching HD movies, and slightly increased productivity due to having more real estate.