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Apple Cinema 30" rev.1 - how's it holding up after these years?

Sharky II

Sharky II

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 6, 2004
986
361
United Kingdom
Hi guys,

A friend has a 2.7ghz powermac and a 30" ACD. He's going to be buying a 27" iMac to replace this setup. He offered me to sell me the 30" in a couple of months (exact price not discussed so far), and i would like to move up from my 24" if there's a good deal.

He says it's mint and has the box, but a) it's from 2005 i believe, so i think it's the dimmer rev 1 version and b) it's seen nearly daily use in a photography studio.

Does anyone have one of these, and if so, how's it holding up after all these years? Has it dimmed/yellowed considerably? Is the rev 1 much worse/dimmer than the rev 2?

I have a 2008 Mac Pro (DVI nVidia 8800GT) with a I have a Dell 2405 as my main display and a crappy 17inch LG off to the side. I use the mac pro just for audio so pure colour accuracy isn't too paramount, but at the same time i don't want a yellow/dim looking screen either. I've never bought a second hand screen before.

My Dell 2405 is of similar age and is holding up very well, but it hasn't seen nearly as much use. My brother has a 2008 30" cinema display, which again hasn't seen quite as much use, but it's still beautiful, bright, and white. But that's rev 2.

Obviously the answer would be to just go and look at the damn thing, but i was wondering if anyone could help me out first, before i make the trip.

Thanks!
 
How can you tell if it's a rev 1 or rev 2? We have three of them here on campus and they're probably four years old and have no problems, but they might be rev 2.
 
I'm not sure exactly, but the newer revs were released in march 2006, so the ones on your campus are near-definitely the later revision.

I guess the serial number would give it away? Perhaps someone else here could lend a hand!

I'm not sure of the exact real world differences between the rev1 and 2, again i'd appreciate input on that form anyone with experience of them both. Googling about it doesn't reveal much information. But either way, it's a 6 year old monitor now, going on 7 years!

So i am assuming it's probably yellowed considerably. I'll speak to him a bit more later.

Thanks!
 
30" rev 1

I use my 2004 30" hooked to my late 2010 27" iMac, both screens are gorgeous. Age doesn't mean badness necessarily.
 
I have a 30" ACD (2008?) that I generally like very much. But when I was searching for a second display I decided to expand the possibilities. Eventually, after lots of searching and comparing, I decided on a NEC PA27. Fabulous display, gorgeous color. Superior to the Apple in every way.

The 30" Apple seems to have faded a bit over time. Don't think I'd buy another.
 
I have one that I purchased in 2004 still, it's currently running on my MBP/2.8C2D...

The monitor is still great, the overpriced adapter to minidisplay is one of apple's crappier products. I've run it fairly hard for most of those 7 years too, daily use... lots of Adobe CS use.

I'm always worried about it, it's been around... but it hasn't given me any actual reason for alarm.
 
Thanks guys. Any more experiences would be great - i'm really loving the idea of a 30" screen now. I won't be able to check this out for another week or two though! I'll try to get him to send me a picture next to his 2010 MBP, for whatever good it might be worth.
 
Thanks for the link. I realise the 30" old Apple monitor will not be the best thing in the world compared to a new 30" Dell or NEC, but the idea is that i would be get it for a very bargain price from a buddy (otherwise i wouldn't consider it), it looks sexy, and fits with my mac pro. I'd get a lot of extra screen estate for pretty cheap - i was just wondering how much other owners have noticed degradation with their ACD's of similar age. Despite not using it for video/photo/graphics, no one wants to stare at a yellow screen!

As i work with music, it's hard to justify a lot of money on a 30" screen when i already have a relatively fair amount of real estate space for my 'needs'.

But thanks again for the link - i will spend some time reading some reviews now!

Cheers!

Eddie
 
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