What monitor to get?

[Ijustfarted]

Thinking I may get the base 11" macbook air after the refresh. Was also planning on getting an iMac 27" but that may be way more power than I need. What iMac quality monitors can I get in 24"-27"? Yes I know about the cinema display but if I'm paying a grand I might as well pay a bit more for an iMac so that doesn't make sense for me.

Do iMac level quality monitors even exist?

 

[Sounds Good]

The U2410 is very good.

 

[Cynicalone]

The Dell U2711 is comparable but by the time you buy the display and adaptor for Mini-DisplayPort (<-sp?) you might as well buy the Apple LED Display.

 

[KnightWRX]

The Dell U2711 is comparable but by the time you buy the display and adaptor for Mini-DisplayPort (<-sp?) you might as well buy the Apple LED Display.

The Dell U2711 is often on sale, Dell had the offer just yesterday on the Canadian site to buy it for around 750$. The MDP to DP cable is about 10$ : http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6008&seq=1&format=2

All in all, it's much cheaper than the ACD if you know what to look for.

So, 760$ instead of 1k$. Might as well buy the Apple ? No thanks, at least the Dell has a few inputs on it (it can be used as more than an overpriced laptop dock).

 

[Cheffy Dave]

The Dell U2711 is often on sale, Dell had the offer just yesterday on the Canadian site to buy it for around 750$. The MDP to DP cable is about 10$ : http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6008&seq=1&format=2

All in all, it's much cheaper than the ACD if you know what to look for.

So, 760$ instead of 1k$. Might as well buy the Apple ? No thanks, at least the Dell has a few inputs on it (it can be used as more than an overpriced laptop dock).

I am saving for 3 ACD's, I have a 21" Dell Ultimate, and it has been bullet proof, nice tip! Still available and shippable to the US????

 

[truciet]

i'm loving my setup of a Dell 2408 with my macbook pro hooked up to it.

 

[iBookG4user]

I love the Samsung 2333T monitor, it has a c-PVA panel in it, so the color is very nice and it only costs $150 at jr. I'm running 3 of those monitors with my Mac Pro and they're fantastic.

 

[KnightWRX]

I am saving for 3 ACD's, I have a 21" Dell Ultimate, and it has been bullet proof, nice tip! Still available and shippable to the US????

Nope, it was a 1 day thing. Have to watch for the Days of Deals gig, the U2711 is often reduced for 1 day during those events, they happen like 3 times a year.

 

[Ijustfarted]

Are any of the monitors mentioned as good as the iMac screen?

 

[KnightWRX]

Are any of the monitors mentioned as good as the iMac screen?

Define "as good as" ? What are you looking for exactly ?

The Dell U2711 uses the same panel, so it has the same resolution and viewing angles. It uses a CCFL backlight instead of LEDs though, but it comes with a much wider input selection and it is matte instead of glossy.

 

[Sounds Good]

Are you sure you want a 27" monitor?

 

[s.hasan546]

Are you sure you want a 27" monitor?

agreed. have you used a imac 27"? For me it's too big and i am more productive with me 3 23" monitor setup

 

[drewyboy]

Anyone got a recommendation for a good 23-24" within about $300? I saw the samsung, but I had one for work for about year and half and... I don't know.. I just didn't like all the gloss and bezel. Preferably a display port.

 

[Brenzo]

I just purchased the Dell P2411H and actually got it for $70 cheaper than currently listed ($319) during a recent sale. It's arriving Monday and I am also planning on replacing my 2007 15" MBP with an 11.6" MBA.

The U series is one step above and probably the closest in terms of quality to the ACD, albeit without the glossy finish I believe. It uses IPS technology and has slightly higher brightness rating, but also will set you back an additional $250-300+.

 

[Ijustfarted]

Define "as good as" ? What are you looking for exactly ?

The Dell U2711 uses the same panel, so it has the same resolution and viewing angles. It uses a CCFL backlight instead of LEDs though, but it comes with a much wider input selection and it is matte instead of glossy.

good as in I want the screen to look exactly the same as the imac lol. don't know what else to say.

 

[KnightWRX]

good as in I want the screen to look exactly the same as the imac lol. don't know what else to say.

Well, when shopping for a screen, usually someone looks at the following :

- Panel technology type : TN (cheap, poor viewing angles, poor color reproduction), PVA (a compromise, better color reproduction, better viewing angles), IPS (expensive, best viewing angles, best color reproduction).

(parenthesis : color reproduction means you can calibrate the screen so that your printer output and the screen colors are the same. That usually means less vibrant colors than what you see on screens in stores. If you want color "pop", the TN panels are good as hell to do that, but that's not really accurate).

- Resolution. The iMac is 2560x1440. Do you want such high resolution ? The higher the native resolution, the pricier the monitor usually. And running a monitor at anything but the native resolution will make the image blurry.

- Input types/add-ons (USB hubs, displayport/dvi/vga/hdmi, sound, webcams).

Anyone got a recommendation for a good 23-24" within about $300? I saw the samsung, but I had one for work for about year and half and... I don't know.. I just didn't like all the gloss and bezel. Preferably a display port.

I have a Samsung 2343BW. It's a 23", matte, small bezel display and it has a nice rare native resolution of 2048x1156 that's just much better for viewing text and working than all the 1920x1080 monitors.

 

[Brenzo]

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Quick not about the P series I purchased. It only has DVI and VGA inputs, but a mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter will give you a similar quality picture as mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort (many have full, not mini, inputs.) I beliee that DisplayPort can transfer audio as well, similar to HDMI, but that's not a big deal if you're using external speakers anyways.

Also, I read that the newer mini-DisplayPort/Thunderbolt ports on the Macs will require an adapter anyways to convert to full size DisplayPort found on some of the higher end monitors like the Dell U series (and not a single cable with different sized ends that you can find on Monoprice or elsewhere online.)

 

[2IS]

When using DP>DVI adaptors, it's also important to keep in mind that you will need a DP>DUAL LINK DVI to support the resolutions you're talking about here. IIRC single link DVI only supports up to 1920x1080 or 1920x1200.

The dual link's I've seen are also quite a bit more expensive than single link. Typically close to $100 vs ~$30.