Apple monitors vs Samsung monitors

I hadn't seen that Samsung monitor before. Yeah, it does look pretty similar to the new Apple LCDs. It's got the same resolution as the 23" Cinema display.

According to the specs, the Samsung is brighter (300cd/m2 vs. 270cd/m2), has a higher contrast ratio (500:1 vs. 400:1), but a slower response time (25ms vs. 16ms).

But where are you finding it for the same price as Apple's 20"? I couldn't find it for less than around $2100. At that price it's higher than Apple's 23".

Samsung makes fantastic monitors - I put them up against Apple's any day. The fun thing about all of the Samsung LCDs is that you can rotate them for a "long" view.

carletonmusic said:

Samsung makes fantastic monitors - I put them up against Apple's any day. The fun thing about all of the Samsung LCDs is that you can rotate them for a "long" view.

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I believe the problem with this is that it is only supported by windows drivers... correct me if I am wrong. Also, my expirience with monitors that rotate is they feel less stable because they are not seated in place.

I might be biased having recently gotten a 23" .. but do keep in mind I had viewsonic VP171b's which are very nice monitors and I still opted for a 23".

Pretty much the best way is to go into stores and see them first hand. Problem with this is.... you will almost definitely walk away with an apple, (if you think that's a problem )

What is the point of a vertical monitor? All I can think of is an extreme game of Tetris.

KevRC4130 said:

What is the point of a vertical monitor? All I can think of is an extreme game of Tetris.

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That would be AWESOME !

Why rotate?

Wow... I'm a little suprised that someone posting here doesn't realize how nice it is to rotate a LCD!!!

It's great for document creation and page editing. Plus the aspect ratio of most of the LCD's make it a perfect orientation for viewing webpages.

Mac2004 said:

What's the main difference between the old Apple monitor and the new monitor? Have the prices dropped on the old Apple monitors yet? I'm really debating if the Apple monitors are worht the money.

Also, what does everyone think of the larger 24" Samsung SyncMaster 243T LCD Monitor that goes for almost the same price as the 20" Apple monitor? It also looks very familiar!!

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I believe that the only major difference between the older and newer Apple displays is the response time (well that an design). I've seen a few of the new ones in stores and they look VERY nice and encompass a much smaller space than the previous models.

jcook793 said:

I hadn't seen that Samsung monitor before. Yeah, it does look pretty similar to the new Apple LCDs. It's got the same resolution as the 23" Cinema display.

According to the specs, the Samsung is brighter (300cd/m2 vs. 270cd/m2), has a higher contrast ratio (500:1 vs. 400:1), but a slower response time (25ms vs. 16ms).

But where are you finding it for the same price as Apple's 20"? I couldn't find it for less than around $2100. At that price it's higher than Apple's 23".

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I think Apple's are much more elegant, and they seem to be above the 23" price mostly.

In fact, considering aluminum is the color/finish for LCDs today, I think they look very different. The only thing that confuses you is the Apple background image.

MrSugar said:

Pretty much the best way is to go into stores and see them first hand. Problem with this is.... you will almost definitely walk away with an apple, (if you think that's a problem )

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Man, no kidding. I went to the Apple store last weekend and they had the LCDs. Holy cow, are they amazing. I loved the old monitors but they blow them away. The 23" is just soooo bright and vivid. You definitely start to feel a weakness in the credit card region.

carletonmusic said:

Samsung makes fantastic monitors - I put them up against Apple's any day. <snip>

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Be careful when you say that. I recently had to replace a monitor for my Dell at work. I went with a Samsung because many folks have recommended them. The particular model I bought ended up being rather crappy when compared to an Apple or even the Dell monitor that went bad. Out of the box the Samsung had a bad pixel - bright red, right in the center of the screen. Very distracting and annoying. I took it back to CompUSA and they swapped it for me. The second one also had a bad pixel. It is not as distracting and is not in the center of the sceen, so I can live with it.

When I bought my new system, about a year ago, I did a lot of comparing on monitors. I always keep going back to the Apple displays.

hcuar said:

Wow... I'm a little suprised that someone posting here doesn't realize how nice it is to rotate a LCD!!!

It's great for document creation and page editing. Plus the aspect ratio of most of the LCD's make it a perfect orientation for viewing webpages.

Click to expand...

That was a benefit when the majority of monitors had a resolution around 640x480 and 1152x870 was a big deal. With 1600x1200 or 1600x1080, you can put two pages on the display at the same time anyway.

The Samsung monitors look good overall and I haven't heard of any extreme quality problems that Apple hasn't had. If there's one thing I've noticed with the 21.3 inch display, it's that the mounting seems less secure than Apple's. However, that display has been on my list for a while.

Wasn't thinking

bousozoku said:

That was a benefit when the majority of monitors had a resolution around 640x480 and 1152x870 was a big deal. With 1600x1200 or 1600x1080, you can put two pages on the display at the same time anyway.

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Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'm using a Samsung 191t+ (19 inch, 1280x1024). It makes a huge difference for me. It was hard enough to convince the wife that I needed that. Oh well.

What's interesting is that I was told a while ago that Samsung is the manufacturer for Apple's displays... so in that regard they should be of similar quality... I think.

vraxtus said:

What's interesting is that I was told a while ago that Samsung is the manufacturer for Apple's displays... so in that regard they should be of similar quality... I think.

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I'm not sure who makes the Apple displays. However, I love my Samsung. It's extremely bright and provides a great amount of detail. I have one "stuck" pixel in the upper left hand corner. It only shows up when it's attempting to display blue.