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Dell 2005FPW vs. 20" Apple Cinema.

Jiddick ExRex

Jiddick ExRex

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 14, 2006
1,469
0
Roskilde, DK
Tough decision: which monitor to buy?

Dell 2005FPW vs. 20" Apple Cinema?

Dell is by far the cheapest but what is the quality difference?
 
I agree: Dell. I love Apple products and own a lot of them, but the Dell monitors are hard to beat price-wise for a high-quality monitor.
 
I have a 20" Dell and think it is great.

I haven't had any issues. I am thinking about getting the Dell 30" because my 20" has performed perfectly.

The Apple monitors to me have a pinkish hue whereas the Dells lean more towards blue/white...if you can follow what I mean. It isn't blue but if you saw the Apple monitors you would understand what I mean.

The Dells to me seem to be more crystal clear, different connections (that are seperated) and also the price
 
Dell also has a longer warranty and is probably better at shipping replacements. For example, I have a 2405FPW (24" version) and after 6 months of use, it went dead. I contacted Dell's online customer chat support at 5:00 PM and they overnighted me a new one. It was literally at my door 9:00 AM the next morning. Total time: around 16 hours. Now that's support!
 
When i shop i dont tend to go with the the lower price because its cheaper, if a product is better i will buy it. I used the apple 23" and the dell 24", the apple looks better on your desk but the qualiy on the dell is much better. It comes with a memory card reader for all cards and 2 usb ports on the side which is a better placement the the back which apples has. In his case the better product is from dell and its cheaper.
 
Well

Dell-Good Price

Apple Good Looks, i plan to go for a Mac Mini and 20'' Apple Cinema, and later upgrade to a intel PowerMac. I just think i look of the Mac Mini/PowerMac and a Apple Screen is nice, so if you can afford it i would go for it
 
I also love my Dell 2005fpw. Not only is it about half the price of the Apple, but the screen looks just as good IMO and it also has many more inputs (DVI, VGA, S-Video, Composite) plus a very convenient USB hub, none of which are on the Apple product. True, the Apple looks much better stylistically, but to me that is the only thing superior about it. Get the Dell and be happy.
 
Jiddick ExRex said:
I just found a snapshot of uneven backlighting and it really bothered me. Look here : Scroll down to the middle to see the pics.

If I got a monitor with this backlighting, would I be able to send it back?

I was also thinking about the Samsung 215TW, which seems to me as a very sturdy product. However, it's a bit more expensive.
Click to expand...

See my post a couple of replies above. Dell is very good at shipping replacements if there is any issues. For a little more than the price of Apple's 20" ACD, you could get a Dell 2405FPW instead.
 
Last week I went through this decision process.
The dell was 30% off, so that tipped me (half price of apple).
I was expecting to be disappointed about the design and quality, but I am extremely happy with it. Surprisingly, its not ugly either!
Sorry to say it, but Dell is a better pick until apple drop their prices.
 
rob5 said:
See my post a couple of replies above. Dell is very good at shipping replacements if there is any issues. For a little more than the price of Apple's 20" ACD, you could get a Dell 2405FPW instead.
Click to expand...

I just thought I'd add another competitor... Viewsonic's VX2025WM has been getting pretty good reviews and it goes for about $440CDN.
 
I have the 2005FPW and its great. Not as "pretty" as the ACD, but the LCD is the same. The backlight on mine is very even and colours are crisp and bright, although I did play with the colour table a bit to get it how I liked it.

A definite recommend from me, you'll be happy and much less out of pocket. ACDs are way overpriced.
 
I am refraining from buying a 2405 Dell, as it seems way too bright to use as an office monitor (450cd contrary to 300cd on the 2005).

The reason why I wanted to get a widescreen with a 1680x 1050 was that it would be fitting to a future 17" MBP as an external display.
 
i heard some dell's have light bleeding but everyone on here seems to love them. My buddy is a graphic artist and swears by his Apple displays even though they cost a heap more than the dells.
 
For what usage?

If you are doing any image editing, the Apple display is much much better because the Dell is just far too bright.

In fact, the ACD is one of the best value for money if you care for high quality display. If you don´t need quality, just buy the display you like the best for the price.
 
Willy S said:
For what usage?

If you are doing any image editing, the Apple display is much much better because the Dell is just far too bright.

In fact, the ACD is one of the best value for money if you care for high quality display. If you don´t need quality, just buy the display you like the best for the price.
Click to expand...
What are you on about? Too bright? Care to explain how an LCD display can be too bright?

I think you're just trying to justify the extra $$$ you spent. The Dell has the same LCD panel as the ACD, the only difference is the backlight. Not only that but the most recent ACDs are similiar brightness to the Dells (I believe when the brightness was upped, it was considered an upgrade by most).

I've yet to see a convince argument, other than the looks, to buy an ACD over a Dell display.
 
http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2400

After reading this review, I am not going to buy an ACD over a Dell in my time as a student.

The Dell has way more ports, much better ergonomics and slightly brighter displays (not bright as scorching though).

Why is brighter always better? Does it not result in very lightgray blacks and scorched eyes? I know you can just turn down the brightness when working, but wouldn't that result in worse color rendering? If not, I am back to the 2407...

Also I spent 4 hours last night reading about viewsonics vx2025wm display and was pleasantly surprised:
http://reviews.cnet.com/ViewSonic_VX2025wm/4505-3174_7-31747549.html

The viewsonic's is quite cheaper than the Dell and more capable of gaming as it is. However it lacks ergonomics and has less ports (I know that 2 USB 2.0 ports shouldn't tip my favor but it's just so much more practical when having an external USB mouse and HD). I don't know how easy it is to have two computers connected to the same screen with the Dell and Viewsonics? It seems easier to control which port it reads from on the Dell? I was thinking about having my PC connected with the DVI and my iBook via. the VGA at the same time. Is that possible?
 
Yes, it is possible to connect your PC and iBook to the Dell at the same time and switch between them, but unless you have separate keyboards/mice you will still need to swap the USB manually. I have done that for short tests and it works fine. What I use the extra ports for most is for gaming consoles. And yes, the extra USB ports are very handy.
 
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