Buy an Apple Cinema 20" A1081

[Francesco Orazzini]

Hello Everyone.
I own a MacBook Pro Retina 15" 2015 with Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

I'm an illustrator-animator and I really need a bigger diplay to get some works done...but I can't-don't want to buy an expensive Thunderbolt or recent Cinema Displays....

Here in Mexico I can get those old Cinema A1081 for around 120 dollars (the lower I'm finding

But I honestly don't understand if it's woth to buy for quality and, most of all, compatibilty with my machine.

Any help on that?

P.S. Any other reccomendable-cheap solution welcome

 

[kohlson]

A little difficult for me to comment on the pricing, because I am in the USA. But the Cinema Display you noted is anywhere from 8-13 years old. So consider that that backlight, which I believe is CCFL, is well on its way to being worn out. CCFL lights lose lumens (brightness) as they wear out. The video interface is DVI. So you would need an adapter to make it work with your MBP (such as a TB to DVI). They aren't expensive in the USA, but it adds to the price. My feeling is you could get an more modern, larger (size and resolution) display, with HDMI, for about the same money.

 

[Francesco Orazzini]

Many thanks. Looking around, I've found this, actually the same price....

Dell Ultrasharp 2408wfp 24 1080p Con Hdmi....it should be more than fine for me, right?

 

[drewsof07]

The Dell 2408 was a fabulous display for its day. The trouble with most displays from 2005-2008 including the cinema displays is that they lack LED backlights. For this alone, I would recommend buying a newer display. How about this Acer from Newegg? Not the highest PPI, but a 25" IPS panel, 1080p resolution, and right at $120 USD after discount code. If you're dead-set on having an Apple branded display, have you priced any of the LED Cinema Displays circa 2010? They can be had fairly reasonably, I see them selling for around $200 on Craigslist.