I'm glad you found a monitor that fits your needs within your budget range, and I wish you all the best with your new monitor!
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Best monitor for Mac Pro?
- Thread starter strausd
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I'm glad you found a monitor that fits your needs within your budget range, and I wish you all the best with your new monitor!
I just bought a U2311H and hate it. Very good color after profiling with ColorEyes and i1, bad performance with pixel lag though (at least compared to the NEC 20WMGX2 it was supposed to replace). The Anitglare coating is balls. Can't use it without getting a headache, text is really really bad. I am keeping it as backup until I find a better alternative but Dell really needs to get LG to stop with the thick antiglare it is killing the quality.
Wow, came into this thread to ask how to get a Macbook connected to a U2311H and then read the above post! 
Okay. So I need to look into this further, but assuming I buy a standard PC monitor (can't get an Apple Cinema Display anyway since Macbooks don't have Thunderbolt!) what is the best and easiest way to connect the latest (and last) model of Macbook up to a regular display?
Displayport to HDMI adapter?
Thanks
Okay. So I need to look into this further, but assuming I buy a standard PC monitor (can't get an Apple Cinema Display anyway since Macbooks don't have Thunderbolt!) what is the best and easiest way to connect the latest (and last) model of Macbook up to a regular display?
Displayport to HDMI adapter?
Thanks
I would not recommend a Dell monitor or any 3rd party monitors. I know back in the day that Sony made some good displays (the CRT displays), but they were the same essential tube displays Apple was using (MultipleScan). I have heard Sharp makes good displays on the high end, and they are very pricey.
I would recommend finding a 23" or 30" Apple Cinema Display on eBay. They are very good, accurate color, matte, and very crisp and nice. I have never had difficulty with any of Apple's displays. I don't think I could look and work on one of the newer LED glossy panels for any extended period of time. I really wish Apple still made their matte Cinema Displays, they were great. I have a 23" right now and love it. They can be had right now for ~ $300 on eBay if you look.
I would recommend finding a 23" or 30" Apple Cinema Display on eBay. They are very good, accurate color, matte, and very crisp and nice. I have never had difficulty with any of Apple's displays. I don't think I could look and work on one of the newer LED glossy panels for any extended period of time. I really wish Apple still made their matte Cinema Displays, they were great. I have a 23" right now and love it. They can be had right now for ~ $300 on eBay if you look.
I would be careful buying a used display especially one as old as a 23" or 30" Apple Cinema Display. I did just that and the display was dark, fuzzy and had magenta colors on the edges. Sold it for a big loss and got a new Dell IPS display with a 3 year warranty could not be happier.
Yes, and looking at the price it would be insane to buy such an old display.
You see 30" displays with asking prices of $1000 on Craigslist.
Craig must be mad.
I love my Dell u2311h, I have had no problems with it at all. Great quality for the price. And considering they just updated their models, the u2412 and u2312 are definitely looking at IMO. Also, the u2312 is a bit cheaper than the older version (u2311).
This was pretty common among a number of Apple display models, but it wasn't only Apple that exhibited such an issue. I saw this in many older designs. One of Apple's weak points is displays. i'd never trust them.
It's a bit anecdotal. Every older display I've seen by Apple has exhibited problems within a couple years of use. They're also quite inconsistent and lack good uniformity. Apple used the same technology as sony (no idea if they were using sony parts) during the crt era, but that was a long time ago.
There aren't many 30" displays on the market. Those that are available are very expensive. This does not increase the reliability or longevity of the Apple version. They're not usually retired because of backlight aging. Something else always seems to break first.
Just got a BenQ 24" for my G5PM (yes I know not a Mac Pro).
It's the GW2450 which is LED, Full HD (of course) has DVI and VGA (comes with both leads) along with HDMI and even has built in speakers for those who just need sound for basic functions. Also unlike many LCDs today it has the power supply built in, not an external brick.
Got it here in Australia for $188 at Officeworks with 3 years warranty.
Only had it running a few hours but I like it. Would probably go great with a 2nd one to make full use of the duel display option on my G5 and even better on a Mac Pro.
http://www.benq.com.au/product/monitor/GW2450HM
It's the GW2450 which is LED, Full HD (of course) has DVI and VGA (comes with both leads) along with HDMI and even has built in speakers for those who just need sound for basic functions. Also unlike many LCDs today it has the power supply built in, not an external brick.
Got it here in Australia for $188 at Officeworks with 3 years warranty.
Only had it running a few hours but I like it. Would probably go great with a 2nd one to make full use of the duel display option on my G5 and even better on a Mac Pro.
http://www.benq.com.au/product/monitor/GW2450HM
Monitor expert I spoke to, said the newer the Mac monitor, the worse they've become. Although he just sells NEC and Eizo.
My iMac white iMac 24" 2006 machine, had its monitor start to break up and get lines in it. Turns out the thermocouple on the hard drive failed (I think) and so I had to manually set the cooling fans. Fixed the monitor completely. IMO its been a great monitor, with a lovely anti glare coating.
Keep in mind I haven't seen as many newer Apple displays. With the old ones they were all over the place. Now if shops had the money they migrated to Eizo or sometimes NEC. If they were broke they're sitting on older stuff. A few individuals do pick up the 27" cinema displays, but I don't see them as highly popular. I'm glad yours has still served you well. I've just seen too many aging problems in Apple displays to really suggest them. As for NEC/Eizo, NEC is close enough in price here to Apple that if someone asks and they're budget conscious, I can safely say NEC. They have nice 24" displays down to $700 or so.
Locals here say the Australian and European supplied PA NEC monitors are a higherer quality than the US supplied PA NEC monitors. They say the Europe and Australia get the top displays. However Europe doesn't get the best software from NEC, while Australia and the USA get the better software solution.
Our PA monitors cost almost $1500 I think for a 24" - close enough to double the US price. The 30" are not much more than the USA price. I presume there is no difference between the 30" in any country ... the owner of a significant retailer here told me that, and he also has a close relationship with the head developer at NEC.
For me any PA or SC / SX NEC / Eizo would be terrific. I've now settled on getting a 24".
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very happy with my 27" LED cinema display.
I've got one of the atlona HD620 hdmi/mini display port switchers so I can hook my 360 and ps3 up to the display as well. the scaling on the 1080p HDMi input isn't perfect, but it's definitely good enough, and I'm pretty picky about image quality. It also does audio passthrough from the HDMI input, so I can use the display's speakers if I want to.
I've got one of the atlona HD620 hdmi/mini display port switchers so I can hook my 360 and ps3 up to the display as well. the scaling on the 1080p HDMi input isn't perfect, but it's definitely good enough, and I'm pretty picky about image quality. It also does audio passthrough from the HDMI input, so I can use the display's speakers if I want to.