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Monitor Suggestions...

W

whyrichard

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 15, 2002
1,715
8
Hello Good Mac Peeps!

My monitors are biting the dust... need replacements soon...

Previously I was running 3 21" dell monitors circa 2005. All but one has slowly bit the dust.

PLEASE good mac peeps, a wise recommendation for me....

I would like a 27" monitor ( or larger, and perhaps two given the price) for my '09 mac pro. The mac pro is somewhat decked out, with 5 hd's, ssd's, etc. I would like it to last another... 3.5 years at least... so I would like this monitor to serve whatever is my next main computer as well (likely an imac or who the hell knows what).

I am not such in need for a bunch of monitor frills (such as a port for every technology under the bridge) just a good old connection for my mac pro's video cards. The temptation for an Apple 27" screen is there, but the one that would be compatible for my mac pro '09 would not be Lightning bolt, and therefor the benifit seems somewhat lost on me.

I mainly use my computer for 3d modeling, architectural rendering, some images but not of a super high degree of perfection...

Price is of an issue.

So... what are your suggestions for a large monitor for my '09 mac pro?

THANK YOU ALL GOOD MAC PEEPS!

r.
 
Apple ACD (non Thunderbolt)...OR the Dell 30" monitors. I've seen them around $649 here and there in the past few weeks.

I have a 30" ACD and have had different ones over the years. I do like the large single display...I've had 23" Alum ACD's before and I KIND of preferred that, but I don't mind the 30" again.
 
I have a 30" ACD and 20" ACD. I sold a u2412M to buy the 30" had the 30 not shown up I would have gotten a second u2412. 2x24" are the sweet spot IMHO and the Dells are 16:10 and reasonably high quality and about $300 a pop.
 
If price is important there are also two options worth looking at:

Monoprice Crystal Pro

Microcenter Auria

The Monoprice ones are backordered. I personally like the Microcenter ones as they have better connectivity options. Plus if you have a Microcenter near you you can return 30 days, no restocking fee if your not satisfied.
 
Dell's gonna be the cheapest probably for IPS (Closest to Apple Cinema) variants. Not the best. Samsung PLS 27" panels are doing well lately and not too expensive. Pick a manufacturer. But it sounds like you want real estate on the cheap. If you can go VA or TN you can get real big real cheap. Not sure what image quality you expect or are used to. 21" Dells sound like TN based matrix's. What models were they?
 
Arman said:
I personally like the Microcenter ones as they have better connectivity options. Plus if you have a Microcenter near you you can return 30 days, no restocking fee if your not satisfied.
Click to expand...

I have 2 of these connected to my Mac Pro at home. Love 'em. Warning: their factory color settings are pretty bad, but it's easy to clean them up with the OS X color profile tool.

The other two warnings:
  • They don't have a built-in USB hub, which is a bit unusual for most panels these days.
  • The stand they come with sucks. A lot. Fortunately their mount is standard VESA, so replacing it is easy.

jas
 
I'd recommend something from the Dell Ultrasharp range.

I also use my Mac Pro for architecture stuff, and wanted an IPS monitor for colour accuracy. The Dell ones are good, and are relatively cheap.
 
Arman said:
If price is important there are also two options worth looking at:

Monoprice Crystal Pro

Microcenter Auria

The Monoprice ones are backordered. I personally like the Microcenter ones as they have better connectivity options. Plus if you have a Microcenter near you you can return 30 days, no restocking fee if your not satisfied.
Click to expand...

The microcenter looks nice! If a 2-monitor setup I probably would go for the apple monitor now (to get the various bells and whistles) then get the microcenter later for a 2nd monitor.
 
I have a 30" Dell U3011 and am very happy with it. It's on the pricier side (over $1k), but I think all current 30" 2560x1600 are over $1k. Supposedly the HP ZR30w is comparable if you don't need various different inputs, but unless you are saving money, I think the U3011 is the better choice.

Just a note about Dell monitors: I heard that you are better off buying directly from Dell, because of warranty coverage is easier (or better?). I don't know the details of this, but you may want to look into that if you are considering buying from a reseller (e.g. I've seen lower prices on Amazon, but it may not be worth it).

I use an 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display at work. It's nice enough and I like the image quality, but not a lot of advantage to it without Thunderbolt (and even then, I'm disappointed with it's Thunderbolt capabilities). Note that the glossy screen is extremely reflective (more so than my previous glossy HP monitor). I have to keep my blinds closed if there is any sunlight coming into my office. Might not be a problem for you depending on your setup. I like the Dell U3011 better, and I appreciate the extra pixels (2560x1600 vs 2560x1440). However, the difference in size and pixel density does not make a difference to me. Even if you had Thunderbolt in a Mac Pro, the only Thunderbolt feature in the Apple display that would matter is the camera.
 
Before 10.8 I'd highly recommend tossing cash at an NEC pro display with Spectraview II but after having a useless monitor (Can't calibrate after 10.8 update) I'd say go with the higher end Dell or save up for an Eizo.
 
AppleDroid said:
Before 10.8 I'd highly recommend tossing cash at an NEC pro display with Spectraview II but after having a useless monitor (Can't calibrate after 10.8 update) I'd say go with the higher end Dell or save up for an Eizo.
Click to expand...

Useless monitor or useless upgrade? They'll update it to support eventually.
Why blame NEC which is in a different league than even the highest end Dell.
 
derbothaus said:
Useless monitor or useless upgrade? They'll update it to support eventually.
Why blame NEC which is in a different league than even the highest end Dell.
Click to expand...

Because I cannot calibrate it nor change the profile anymore. (I changed it often for video/photo/print). I emailed NEC and they told me to go buy a $50 5770 for $250 at the Apple store or use "another machine with 10.7" to calibrate it which I don't own. Not great customer service especially that I have 2yrs left on my NEC warranty. Also they've been "working on it" for 8 months now with no update.

Anyhow the point was if you need to worry about color management buy another brand that will allow you to actually calibrate it if you plan on running 10.8.
 
Dell Ultrasharp. Simply the best range of monitors I have seen (besides those incredible expensive ones that aren't really available in my town).
 
AppleDroid said:
Because I cannot calibrate it nor change the profile anymore. (I changed it often for video/photo/print). I emailed NEC and they told me to go buy a $50 5770 for $250 at the Apple store or use "another machine with 10.7" to calibrate it which I don't own. Not great customer service especially that I have 2yrs left on my NEC warranty. Also they've been "working on it" for 8 months now with no update.

Anyhow the point was if you need to worry about color management buy another brand that will allow you to actually calibrate it if you plan on running 10.8.
Click to expand...

If you need to worry about color management you research first and do not upgrade until everything is supported or you are stuck in the 'domino upgrade effect' that will cost you way more than that $29.00 OS seat.
 
AppleDroid said:
Because I cannot calibrate it nor change the profile anymore. (I changed it often for video/photo/print). I emailed NEC and they told me to go buy a $50 5770 for $250 at the Apple store or use "another machine with 10.7" to calibrate it which I don't own. Not great customer service especially that I have 2yrs left on my NEC warranty. Also they've been "working on it" for 8 months now with no update.

Anyhow the point was if you need to worry about color management buy another brand that will allow you to actually calibrate it if you plan on running 10.8.
Click to expand...

If you're using the machine in your work, you should research all updates prior to updating. I've used Apple, NEC, and Eizo displays. Prior to that it was a Sony crt. NEC can be slow on software updates, but no cheaper comparable options exist. Other fairly comparable options would be Eizo, HP Dreamcolor, or Quato. Quato barely has a US presence, and they're really aimed at publishing and not much else. Even without Spectraview, at similar pricing, I'd choose them over Apple 100% of the time. When the PA271w debuted, its cost was much higher than Apple's Cinema display at the time. It came out a bit before the thunderbolt display. I can't think of a single really great feature in Mountain Lion pertaining to any piece of software. If it was me, I'd just go back to Lion. Out of curiosity, was the problem with a 3,1 or 4,1?


derbothaus said:
If you need to worry about color management you research first and do not upgrade until everything is supported or you are stuck in the 'domino upgrade effect' that will cost you way more than that $29.00 OS seat.
Click to expand...

There are many things that can break with these updates. I keep the old version backed up so that I can restore it if a clean install will take too long. Snow Leopard remains my favorite to date, as it was a much leaner OS.
 
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