Hi, I'm starting to think about switching to mac. I will probably wait until june just to make sure there aren't any updates but I'm thinking about either getting a mac mini with a cinema display or a macbook with a cinema display. Granted, I have PC now (about 5 yrs old) and am wondering which combination would be better. Obviously with the laptop I can take it anywhere. I accept any advice as I am new to macs and anything helps. Hope this doesn't sound TOO stupid. Thanks !!!!!!!!!
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Mac Mini and Cinema Display or Macbook and Display.... Help
- Thread starter ipodtouchy333
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not a stupid question at all. welcome! i think it depends if you would use the laptop portability function. if its just going to sit on the desk all the time then get a mini. if your going to use it as a laptop and take it around where ever then your second option might be your better one! hope that helps a little
Waiting 'til June won't make sure there aren't any updates. There could be a July update. Hope that helps. Best regards.
Do you need the portability or not is the sole question? But if you get a refurbed macbook, it would only cost a hundred or so more than a new mini.
I'd really skip on the cinema display, get a nice dell or samsung on sale and skip on the ACD. Apple's displays look cool, but they're really too expensive and don't really offer anything more for the extra money.
Just make sure the display is an lcd and uses DVI and not just VGA.
I'd really skip on the cinema display, get a nice dell or samsung on sale and skip on the ACD. Apple's displays look cool, but they're really too expensive and don't really offer anything more for the extra money.
Just make sure the display is an lcd and uses DVI and not just VGA.
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for what its worth, i have a 20" cinema display and am about to replace my MacBook with a mini. I an using the MacBook more as a desktop, and my iPod touch for mobile Internet useage, figure it makes sense to just stick a desktop there instead. That said the MacBook works really well hitched to the display.
for what its worth, i have a 20" cinema display and am about to replace my MacBook with a mini. I an using the MacBook more as a desktop, and my iPod touch for mobile Internet useage, figure it makes sense to just stick a desktop there instead. That said the MacBook works really well hitched to the display.
Best use of a Mac Mini
[QUOTE=I have just joined this forum and would like to know whether one can use the Mac Mini with the iPod Touch as a monitor. It may sound stupid but while travelling I need a small unit to use internet connections at Hotels and I figure that the combo of a mini and the ipod may be a great solution. Can it be done?
[QUOTE=I have just joined this forum and would like to know whether one can use the Mac Mini with the iPod Touch as a monitor. It may sound stupid but while travelling I need a small unit to use internet connections at Hotels and I figure that the combo of a mini and the ipod may be a great solution. Can it be done?
I agree. ACDs are a terrible value. Only one video input and one year
warranty -- for the same LCD panels used by many competitors with
3-5 video inputs, 4-5 year warranties, and substantially lower prices.
LK
ACD's are limited on features and warranty length, but they are built with superior IPS panels which you will not find in any other monitors at comparable or lesser price. Nearly every competing monitor on price uses PVA panels, which are of lesser quality and cost. If you want to understand the differences, do some online research.
As for using a MacBook with a separate display, I drive an HP 2465 24" widescreen (S-PVA panel) monitor with my MacBook and I love the set-up. When I tire of working at my desk, I simply pull the plugs and move to other, usually more comfortable, places. Wonderful versatility! I have also used my MacBook to drive a 61" Samsung 1080p DLP display for client presentations - breath-taking display quality on that gorgeous, massive screen! Straight out of the MacBook's DVI connector.
New MacMinis are soon to be made available.. they should offer equivalent processing capability as today's current MacBook's do... 2.4 GHz C2D, 800 MHz bus, X3100 graphics processor, 4 GB ram capacity, DVI output at full 1080p (1920x1200). If you don't need the MacBook's versatility/portable useability, the upcoming Macmini will make a great desktop brain for a nice wide screen external display. Expect the new Macmini in the next month or so.
As for using a MacBook with a separate display, I drive an HP 2465 24" widescreen (S-PVA panel) monitor with my MacBook and I love the set-up. When I tire of working at my desk, I simply pull the plugs and move to other, usually more comfortable, places. Wonderful versatility! I have also used my MacBook to drive a 61" Samsung 1080p DLP display for client presentations - breath-taking display quality on that gorgeous, massive screen! Straight out of the MacBook's DVI connector.
New MacMinis are soon to be made available.. they should offer equivalent processing capability as today's current MacBook's do... 2.4 GHz C2D, 800 MHz bus, X3100 graphics processor, 4 GB ram capacity, DVI output at full 1080p (1920x1200). If you don't need the MacBook's versatility/portable useability, the upcoming Macmini will make a great desktop brain for a nice wide screen external display. Expect the new Macmini in the next month or so.
MacBook is quite a bit more advanced than the mini at this point in time, larger HDDs, more RAM, faster and newer processor, somewhat better graphics processor and you'll get two screens instead of one if you get an external display. Plus you can take your machine with you, have 802.11n networking, the iSight, all sorts of cooler stuff than what the mini provides.
Mind you the mini is a fair whack cheaper...
I'd still go the MacBook with a nice screen of some description.
Mind you the mini is a fair whack cheaper...
I'd still go the MacBook with a nice screen of some description.
20" ACD ........... LG.Philips LM201W01, 1 yr warranty, 1 video input, $599
Dell 2007FWP .... LG.Philips LM201W01, 3 yr warranty, 4 video inputs, $399
Plus a half dozen more from Philips, Acer, LG -- all with exactly the same
LM201W01 panel -- with better warranties, and multiple video inputs, and
features like picture-in-picture, and significantly less expensive than ACDs:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk > Panel Search > LM201W01 > Panel
Run the same search on 23" and 30" ACDs, and you'll find the same results.
Sony, LG, BenQ, ViewSonic, HP, Philips, and others all offer monitors with
exactly the same LG.Philips panels (i.e., same part numbers) as the ACDs.
There's nothing "exclusive" about ACDs -- except high prices, zero features,
and crappy warranties.
I guess that's why ultra-premium professional monitors from the likes of
Eizo use predominantly S-PVA panels, huh? Try some online research at
slightly more depth than "all about LCDs in 1000 words or less" and you
might discover that S-IPS is not inherently superior to S-PVA. Both have
their advantages and disadvantages -- and many of the best (and most
expensive) professional monitors use S-PVA panels.
LK
"Nothing is harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example."
-- Mark Twain
.
Leon... nice to know about the Dell 20" IPS monitor for $400. Among some mixed reviews, it seems to have gotten generally good reviews. Seems like it would be an excellent choice for the money.
My comments come from the perspective and monitor needs of a graphics pro, which are different than those of a gamer or consumer user.
Lately, I'm spoiled by the 24" wide screen size. I love HP's 2465 (Samsung S-PVA panel) which I use with my MacBook. For more money, NEC's 24" S-IPS monitor (which gets great reviews) is $1050... and that looks to be a superb monitor.... superior, in my view, to S-PVA monitors, including Eizo's CE series which are priced higher.
Eizo's best "graphics" monitors (the CG series) use S-IPS panels. And for that, the consumer pays quite dearly. Their 19" CG is priced at about $1450 and the 24" CG S-IPS is $2400. No doubt it's a good monitor, but absurdly priced in my view. Eizos less expensive CE models (still very pricey) use S-PVA panels - for the 21" I think the price is about $1150! It's a good monitor, but really falls down on color accuracy at any viewing angle but dead-on, not so great for $1150. Eizo also makes some monitors using TN panels, which no graphics person would want anything to do with.
An associate of mine (professional photographer) recently bought an Eizo CE (S-PVA panel) which he found had very limited viewing angle
While color on S-PVA's can be excellent and priced well (that's why I bought the HP 2465!), viewing angle is inferior to S-IPS... at off-axis viewing angles on S-PVA monitors, you will see more shifts in color, saturation, and brightness than you will with S-IPS monitors. That's why S-IPS IS the chosen panel technology on the very best graphics-use monitors.
No question that Apple's monitors have fewer features and shorter warranty than some competing monitors. As for price, of course, Apple products typically are priced high, which some will accept and others will not.
I am among those graphics professionals who prefer S-IPS panels to PVA, but there are some S-PVA panels which I do like - witness my purchase of the HP2465 which at $575 is an awesome choice for a 24" widescreen. Not long on features (no problem me), but it's very good on image quality, which matters most to me. Of course as with all things in life... nothing is perfect, there's no free lunch, and there is a price to every choice you might make!
TN panels...? not bad for e-mail, I suppose. ;-)
Here are some informative links...
http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitor...y-23/4505-3174_7-30964608.html?tag=prod.txt.1
http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php
My comments come from the perspective and monitor needs of a graphics pro, which are different than those of a gamer or consumer user.
Lately, I'm spoiled by the 24" wide screen size. I love HP's 2465 (Samsung S-PVA panel) which I use with my MacBook. For more money, NEC's 24" S-IPS monitor (which gets great reviews) is $1050... and that looks to be a superb monitor.... superior, in my view, to S-PVA monitors, including Eizo's CE series which are priced higher.
Eizo's best "graphics" monitors (the CG series) use S-IPS panels. And for that, the consumer pays quite dearly. Their 19" CG is priced at about $1450 and the 24" CG S-IPS is $2400. No doubt it's a good monitor, but absurdly priced in my view. Eizos less expensive CE models (still very pricey) use S-PVA panels - for the 21" I think the price is about $1150! It's a good monitor, but really falls down on color accuracy at any viewing angle but dead-on, not so great for $1150. Eizo also makes some monitors using TN panels, which no graphics person would want anything to do with.
An associate of mine (professional photographer) recently bought an Eizo CE (S-PVA panel) which he found had very limited viewing angle
While color on S-PVA's can be excellent and priced well (that's why I bought the HP 2465!), viewing angle is inferior to S-IPS... at off-axis viewing angles on S-PVA monitors, you will see more shifts in color, saturation, and brightness than you will with S-IPS monitors. That's why S-IPS IS the chosen panel technology on the very best graphics-use monitors.
No question that Apple's monitors have fewer features and shorter warranty than some competing monitors. As for price, of course, Apple products typically are priced high, which some will accept and others will not.
I am among those graphics professionals who prefer S-IPS panels to PVA, but there are some S-PVA panels which I do like - witness my purchase of the HP2465 which at $575 is an awesome choice for a 24" widescreen. Not long on features (no problem me), but it's very good on image quality, which matters most to me. Of course as with all things in life... nothing is perfect, there's no free lunch, and there is a price to every choice you might make!
TN panels...? not bad for e-mail, I suppose. ;-)
Here are some informative links...
http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitor...y-23/4505-3174_7-30964608.html?tag=prod.txt.1
http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php
What's the significance of $795 price point? A 23" ACD costs $998 (with
AppleCare) -- and it doesn't begin to compare with the technology built
into the $1050 NEC. For example, individually calibrated pixel-by-pixel
compensation for backlight variations and panel mura. There's far more
to a top-quality monitor than just the LCD matrix.
24" Eizo CG241W -- Samsung S-PVA -- $2300
30" Eizo SX3031W -- Samsung S-PVA -- $3300
Yep, but S-PVA has better black levels, better contrast, and less
backlight bleed. It's a gross oversimplification to claim that S-IPS
is "better" than S-PVA. Engineering is all a matter of trade-offs,
and other factors in monitor design can easily swamp relatively
minor differences in panel technology.
As Apple has nicely demonstrated with the 24" ALU iMacs, it's quite
possible to build a shamefully poor quality display -- based on an
extremely high quality S-IPS matrix.
LK
Leon... you're right on those Eizos using S-PVA panels, they must have just changed that on the "new" models because previously they were S-IPS. Probably done to lower their costs/increase profits! ;-)
As for the $795 price range... that's what Apple's 23" sells for. Would I prefer the new NEC 24" S-IPS for $1050? You bet I would!
As to taking a perfectly good S-IPS panel and making mistakes in implementation (witness the problems many have had with the 24" iMac screens) I couldn't agree more. Could it be related to trying to make the case as slim as possible? Whatever the cause, sad. Who cares if the case gets slimmer if the cost is reduction in display quality? The screens on the white iMacs were absolutely magnificent. I wish Apple would revisit that change!
As for the $795 price range... that's what Apple's 23" sells for. Would I prefer the new NEC 24" S-IPS for $1050? You bet I would!
As to taking a perfectly good S-IPS panel and making mistakes in implementation (witness the problems many have had with the 24" iMac screens) I couldn't agree more. Could it be related to trying to make the case as slim as possible? Whatever the cause, sad. Who cares if the case gets slimmer if the cost is reduction in display quality? The screens on the white iMacs were absolutely magnificent. I wish Apple would revisit that change!
Would you have any use for iSight? That might be a factor. I think they ought to update the ACD with iSight. Until then, ACD seems like a bad value right now.
Go to a best buy and see if you can compare the ACD next to a dell or a samsung. Maybe it's just my untrained eye, but I can scarcely tell the difference between my samsung 22" lcd and the 20" white imac next to it.