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Buying a Mac Pro again, which monitor to go with it? Any recommendations?

J

jjahshik32

macrumors 603
Original poster
Ok, so I know I made a thread a while back about selling my mbp because of the nvidia gpu issues and I dont want to run into any problems in the near future and hassle so might as well sell it for the near price of the mac pro 2.8ghz 8 core model again.

Anyway since that's covered soon, now I'm wondering which monitor to buy. I know I loved the apple cinema display 23" to death but I'm trying for a new and different approach this time.

Can anyone here recommend me a good monitor around the $600 range with 1920x1200?

So far I've looked at the samsung 245bw that I can buy brand new for $400.
 
I have a Dell 2407 with mine and am very happy. I think the latest model in their high end 24" series is the 2408.
 
I bought a Doublesight DS-263N new for $800, which, as a color-accurate H-IPS monitor, was totally worth it to me. If color is at all important, I'd recommend picking up a refurb from doublesight's website ($600 for a 26" H-IPS monitor...). I know it seems like a no-name monitor, but I've found it to be a very good buy. The Samsung you're talking about is a TN panel, which are to be avoided if possible (dithering, low viewing angles, etc.). If you're interested, you can now buy it direct from doublesight:

http://www.doublesight.com/shop/product.asp?idx=24

If you need accurate color, a TN panel's not going to cut it - you'll want a PVA panel at the very least. If you don't, feel free to cheap out. Generally speaking, I wouldn't shell out $2500+ for a computer and stick a cheap display in front of it - kind of like buying a $1000 DSLR and putting $100 glass in front of it. But that's just me...most people aren't necessarily doing photo or video work - if you're a programmer, a TN panel will do you just fine, and some of those 24" occasionally drop as cheap as $300.
 
Thanks for that, I never even heard of that company doublesite but I'll look into it.

I dont do any color work but for a bad ass machine like the mac pro, I'd want a really nice monitor and I do appreciate good color and an all around look.

Wow you say they use an h-ips screen?
 
Hi CWallace:

I've been looking into the Dell 2408WFP. I don't do graphics design/video editing. Mostly CAD/CAM type stuff. Any issues you think for this?

It seems to have a lot of bang for the buck. 😀

Thanks,
David.
 
The 23" ACD is still what I'd get.

As was said before why spend $3,000 on a computer to put a crappy screen in front of it?
 
m1stake said:
The 23" ACD is still what I'd get.

As was said before why spend $3,000 on a computer to put a crappy screen in front of it?
Click to expand...

Kind of like buying a canon EOS-1 and buying a made in china somyounguy brand 75 dollar 18-300 plastic zoom lens in front of it.
 
nanofrog said:
Hi CWallace:

I've been looking into the Dell 2408WFP. I don't do graphics design/video editing. Mostly CAD/CAM type stuff. Any issues you think for this?

It seems to have a lot of bang for the buck. 😀

Thanks,
David.
Click to expand...

It should be fine for that work.
 
jjahshik32 said:
I dont do any color work but for a bad ass machine like the mac pro, I'd want a really nice monitor and I do appreciate good color and an all around look.
Click to expand...

It would help a lot if you'd say what you are going to do with your new Mac Pro. We have to assume it's something that requires a "ton" of compute power. The way I see it is that if you have a fixed budget like $600 or $1200 then you can spend tha money to buy either (1) physical size, or (2) color accuracy, or (3) extra features like USB ports and sound or (4) whatever.

My point is that it's a fixed sum game you only gain one desirable attribute by getting less of another. This is true no matter what the budget.

What y should do is tell everyone which applications you run and which are most important to you. For example if you are a musician and use "Logic" or Pro Tools you are going to want a lot of screen space and not much else is important. Much different if you run Photoshop 6 ours a day.

Every time some one asks the "What should I buy" question everyone replies to simply by what they have but are your and their needs to same?
 
I've been rendering and encoding some hd content and using the mac pro to store alot of movies and music with the help of the hdd bays.

I watch some movies on it or what not but 1920x1200 isnt really necessary for the mac pro. It would be nice to have it though.
 
22" LCDs are pointless. Lower pixel density than 20" LCDs, usually use TN panels. The dell 2408 uses a PVA panel and it's all right, but I like the Doublesight better. By the same token, Doublesight also sells a 24" PVA panel (also 1920x1200) which is apparently pretty good and a bit cheaper than the dell. Few on this forum have heard of the Doublesight displays; over on [H]ardForum they rave about them. It's better bang-for-buck than an ACD, and pretty much the cheapest you can get an H-IPS panel, and its extra options (1:1 pixel mapping, sRGB preset, 4 USB ports, 2 DVI ports) are pretty worth it. ACDs are certainly nice, but I think this monitor represents much better value for money at this point. And if you feel like waiting, they're about to refresh the display line and release the 265W, which has a better stand and HDMI. Another notable attribute of the monitor that I forgot to mention is a much better response time than ACDs (I don't feel like it's terribly important, as I'm not a hardcore gamer or anything, but nice for watching movies and video editing).

ACDs are great. Consensus seems to be that of all monitors, they match SWOP and print standards the best. But if you're not working towards print, the advantage isn't going to be that great. Personally, I was hoping apple would release LED backlit ACDs soon, but that doesn't seem likely.
 
That Doublesight 26" is a really good buy on a really good panel. I have a Planar PX2611W, which is pretty much the same displays as the Doublesight 26". The only differences are that Planar is a more well-established company with a solid reputation for supporting their products and a good warranty, and the Planars cost $150-200 more than the Doublesights.
 
I'm using a HP w2408. Looks good, does everything you'd want, has an ambient light sensor (If you read a lot of text/code, you'll come to appreciate this. At least your eyes will), and the price is right.

Snagged mine at a best buy for $300. Just wish I had the desk room for two😉
 
$300 for HP's 24" (reputedly a decent monitor) seems pretty darn good. Sure it wasn't their other, cheaper 24"? $300 actually seems ludicrously cheap for a decent 24" PVA. As I understand it, some of the 2407s (panel lottery...) were IPS, while all of the 2408s are PVA. Not totally certain, though - if anybody could confirm this, that'd be swell. And while we're on the subject, that $300 for the 2408 isn't still going on, is it?
 
TheStrudel said:
$300 for HP's 24" (reputedly a decent monitor) seems pretty darn good. Sure it wasn't their other, cheaper 24"? $300 actually seems ludicrously cheap for a decent 24" PVA. As I understand it, some of the 2407s (panel lottery...) were IPS, while all of the 2408s are PVA. Not totally certain, though - if anybody could confirm this, that'd be swell. And while we're on the subject, that $300 for the 2408 isn't still going on, is it?
Click to expand...


I havent seen 300$ for either of the models and BestBuy usually only sells the TFT based displays. so he might have got the w2408h (though it has HDMI but is a TFT cheaper display possibly not PVA or IPS) unless it was a return or floor model? they usually discount steeply on that.

the lowest ive seen the for is around $400 and thats not bad compared to 800$ 23" ACD lol


Ive been looking at a decent display for my macpro aswell.
I was thinking of getting the 2207 but since its a not native resolution and is generally stretch id looking for a good 24" that isnt too hugely priced.
 
It's not a 2408h, I've got it connected via DVI to my mac.

the monitor was returned, then turned into a floor model, which had just gone EOL in their systems.

With Best Buy, after a certain amount of time, they can't return products to the vendor. With other producs, they can never be returned (as if often the case with HP, Gateway, and Dell monitors), so it comes down to the retailer making a choice between selling an outdated monitor deeply discounted, or sending it to be disposed of based on a dollar😛ound ratio. I'll admit I paid $340+tax, as I added a 4 year warranty (I don't trust floor models or returns, this was both), but it's been rock solid so far.

If your store hasn't marked monitors like these down, try asking about it. They'll often lower the price further to move old open item products, as they depreciate in value rapidly once they hit EOL. In their systems, EOL products are tracked as lost money, so recouping some of that by selling it below cost is still a victory to them
 
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