Alexey one thought, Ebay

We have Apple flat panel displays, Samsung flat panels and 2 Dell flat panels here and having tried them all, I have to say the Apple screen is hands down the best I’ve ever used. (Sony Trinitron CRTs look blurry by comparison). Samsung and Dell’s are both bright and good quality (I prefer Samsung over Dell), but you don’t get the same crispness as the Apple display, especially with on screen reading, where it matters most. The Dell 21” has an LG screen inside, just like Apple’s 20” product and it’s funny how the picture is just not as clean as it is on the Apple display. The Dell form factor is pretty ugly, by comparison.

I am using an Apple 23” LCD and it is the sharpest monitor I have ever used. Great for type on screen! This is a major upgrade from my La Cie CRT.

ChrisL

joe—
i’m actually in the process of getting a new monitor, and i’m leaning toward the dell 21” widescreen. even though it uses the same technology as apple, how much better is the apple cinema display? is it worth the extra $300?

thanks.

jason

Jason,

> it uses the same technology as apple

ROTFL. Who told you that?

> how much better is the apple cinema display

ROTFL. Apple Cinema Display better?

The marketing people from Apple surely are convincing, a pity that the technology doesn’t support that.

The 24-inch Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW LCD comes with 500 cd/m2 brightness, 1000:1 contrast, 12 ms response time, and a 3-year warranty at $900 (5-year warranty at $940).

The 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display M9178LL/A LCD comes with 270 cd/m2 brightness, 400:1 contrast, 16 ms response time, and a 1-year warranty at $1,300.

Both have the same 1920 x 1200 native resolution, the same viewing angle. The Apple monitor is thinner and lighter (but it’s also 1” smaller), and it comes with Firewire that Dell doesn’t.

The Dell is 30% faster, 85% brighter, has 150% more contrast and is 30% cheaper than the Apple monitor. But it doesn’t come with a picture of Steve Jobs in the box. If you only work at nights or with completely closed curtains, get the Apple, otherwise get the Dell, because that actually is up-to-date technology.

Of course, instead of the Dell, you can also choose the 24-inch Samsung 244T, which offers 500 cd/m2 brightness, 1000:1 contrast and an unbelievable 8 ms response time (that’s twice as fast as grandpa Apple), and costs about the same as the Apple. But it also doesn’t come with a picture of Steve Jobs in the box.

Pick a monitor from one of the companies that understand how to manufacture LCD panels: Samsung, Dell or Eizo. Forget cheap knockoffs like BenQ or Iiyama. And forget Apple Cinema Display, which represents the state of LCD technology from three years ago.

A.

The perceived lack of display quality may come from an analog drive. Don’t. If you need to buy a new video card to get DVI, spend the money you save on choosing the Dell for that.

I’d probably go for the Dell if I were jumping in right now.

Twardoch:

I couldn’t agree more. Excellent post.

Yup, the Dell 24-inch LCD (2405FPW) is an amazing monitor. It’s what I’d get if I were buying a monitor now - in fact, it’s almost tempting to buy it as a second screen for home. But then again, I can’t spare the cash right now.

T

You still haven’t explained why the pixels don’t appear the same to my eyes... Is it because it’s not DVI?

We selected the Apple and Samsung displays because we can lease Mac and PC gear from one source without creating a separate lease agreement with Dell. That said, I still don’t see the difference you’re talking about with the Dell 21” vs. the Apple 23”. The specs I read at time of purchase suggested the Apple 23” and Dell 21” had the same LG hardware inside. But I’m not going to dig up the specs now... I’ll leave that for Adam. =)

Maybe the Dell 24” is special, but I can’t get past the crappy black plastic hardware and wonky (big) foot piece. Honestly, talk about being years behind in the industrial design department.

Good morning,

23” Apple vs 24” Dell is, naturally, a nice discussion. It makes me think of “Lexus vs BMW” or “Ducati vs Yamaha” comparisons. Any of those options, though, are a bit out of my budget. Neither 23” Apple nor 24” Dell are coming my way this time. It’s 19” up to 350 (okay, okay... 375) euros. Thus all >20 LCDs are being left out.
Dell is good? I’ve never had an impression Dell was something quality-like. Hm. NEC, maybe?

Thanks for the input(signal).

ps. And why is iiyama so bad?..

I use two crt iiyama monitors (Vision Master 451) and can’t say anything bad about it. The service in Germany is also very well. Of course you can always have the luck of a “monday” item.

—astype.de—

Get a 19” Samsung Syncmaster. They’re nice (bright, crisp) and they’re handsome looking. And they rotate 90º.

See: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joepemberton/62200786/

”...But it doesn’t come with a picture of Steve Jobs in the box...”

Now there is a sound piece of technical specification that has nothing to do with your argument or should be part of a meaningful dialogue. Twardoch should have stopped with his technical reasoning instead of advancing the start of another PC vs Mac flame war.

ChrisL

Uh. I think that was a joke.

I don’t think so Tiff. See all the ROFL comments Adam starts his post with?

Adam makes good and fair points later on when he gives solid information comparing different monitors. This was useful stuff that would help someone make a purchase decision. The snide comments Adam made has the effect of making him look biased and lessoning the value of the fair and responsive parts of his post.
Adam is perfectly within his rights to choose whatever equipment he wants and to give whatever buying advice he will for others. Too bad he had to cheapen it with immature comments.

ChrisL

All hail the deep, mature comments of Chris Lozos.

Sorry Sergej, you are right. I apologize.

ChrisL

Iiyama: back in the Amiga days that was the best - I used
to love those things. It’s nice to hear they’re still around.

Chris, I think Adam made a valuable tangential reference
to the sort of “logic” too many people use in choosing Apple,
and if that causes Alexey -and others- to potentially “snap
out of it” and not make a mistake, then that’s a good thing.

hhp