Monitor Advice

Ever thought about the U2412M from Dell?

Either that, or the 27" Dell S2740L for $289, which is better for Netflix and Hulu.

Hp ZR2440w

kyle777 said:

Thank you all for the suggestions! Is there anything specific I should look for when I'm buying a monitor?

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Only that it has digital inputs like DVI or DisplayPort and has a good resolution for its size.

The U2412M I have has 1920 x 1200 pixel across 24", the Asus you mentioned has less pixel (1920 x 1080) across a bigger 27", which makes the pixels more visible on that display and might make you not enjoy that display as much, especially when using the DCC applications you mentioned.

You should also look into if you want a 16:10 display (I prefer those, as I do not mind black bars when viewing 16:9 or 2.35:1 content) or a 16:9 display.

I have the U2410 which has been decent and has plenty of inputs but I'm thinking about CL'ing it to get a TB display, after the refresh, of course. I like the concept of a clean desk.

Dell is supposed to be updating the U2410 with a U2413 which would have USB 3 ports, less aggressive anti-glare (less "grainy", "sparkly", "oily", whatever appearance against light backgrounds), and I think display port. I think it's already out in Europe in limited quantities, but it isn't out here yet, also, I don't know how much it'll go for here.

The U2413 should have a 16:10 ratio and 1920 x 1200 resolution in a 24" screen.

Most of the other popular models have already been mentioned.

Alternatively, you could "gamble" on Korean IPS monitors...

I just got a Benq VA LED monitor to go with my mac mini and it looks awesome. It is very stylish and it compliments my mac mini. It is model VW2430H.

kyle777 said:

Thank you all for the suggestions! Is there anything specific I should look for when I'm buying a monitor?

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That all comes down to exact budget, the higher end IPS monitors will obviously cost more but you get top quality, if you're on a budget but would like something good for a good price might I recommend the Benq VA LED monitor range, their VA panels are just as good as the IPS in terms of viewing angles and colour reproduction, the 23" monitors are 1920x1080 at 16:9 so compared to the IPS 24" screens you get the same resolutions effectively as they have 16:10 aspect ratios.

Also the VA screen would be slightly better for gaming(ps3, xbox if you do) as the response time is much quicker than IPS.

If you do want to go IPS for colour reproduction and image quality it's worth keeping in mind the Wide-gamut monitors suck as the Dell range vs standard RGB HP/ASUS etc, the wide gamut will take quite a bit of adjustment to get right, but you have the ability to tweak the colours very specifically. The standard RGB monitors usually come factory calibrated pretty close to spot on, at least my HP did and there's minimal fuss.

One last thing, the Dell's have limited input options if you plan on hooking up more than one device, the HP and ASUS have HDMI,DVI,D-SUB and DisplayPort in the IPS monitors as well as a USB hub and audio output.

Food for thought.

Might this interest you?
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/aoc_i2757fm.htm

27", IPS, $269 @ Best Buy.

hkim1983 said:

Dell is supposed to be updating the U2410 with a U2413 which would have USB 3 ports, less aggressive anti-glare (less "grainy", "sparkly", "oily", whatever appearance against light backgrounds), and I think display port. I think it's already out in Europe in limited quantities, but it isn't out here yet, also, I don't know how much it'll go for here.

The U2413 should have a 16:10 ratio and 1920 x 1200 resolution in a 24" screen.

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I just wish Dell would release a monitor with speakers and the reduced-cabling design of the TBD. A little competition for Apple would be good.

designs216 said:

I just wish Dell would release a monitor with speakers and the reduced-cabling design of the TBD. A little competition for Apple would be good.

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Yup, I agree, that would be nice. It would also be nice if they accelerated their rollout of this less aggressive AG coating on more of their models, combined the power and thunderbolt into a split cable, and also cut costs while maintaining a high level of quality...but I can dream right?

Fishrrman said:

Might this interest you?
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/aoc_i2757fm.htm

27", IPS, $269 @ Best Buy.

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I went to look at this monitor first hand today and they didn't have it on display. Thinking about picking it up tomorrow.

hkim1983 said:

Yup, I agree, that would be nice. It would also be nice if they accelerated their rollout of this less aggressive AG coating on more of their models, combined the power and thunderbolt into a split cable, and also cut costs while maintaining a high level of quality...but I can dream right?

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Dreaming is part of what rumors are made of...

nice looking cheap monitor will propably have problems. good monitors are not cheap.

remember, buy cheap, buy twice!

I would reccomend to stick to brands like Nec, Eizo and HP, Dell.

Eizo has a really nice monitors. mainly for photographers but not only.

Things like Benq etc...wouldn't trust it at all!

Out of the screens mentioned, I'm looking for clarity and I/O more than I am color reproduction.

Getting a 27" screen with only 1920x1080 seems like it wouldn't be all that crisp. Maybe I'm just spec hunting, but with other screens being 2560x1440, it sounds like a concession. I don't care about color-calibrating my home photos, but I'm on my computer all day using Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Internet. Staring at my 2007 iMac screen wears me out by the end of the day. I am looking for crisp, bold text without seeing individual pixels.

I would like something that comes close to the TBD in I/O, (usb 3.0 and thunderbolt would be ideal, but 3.0 and display port would be nice, especially if display port could pass the usb 3.0 through it. dreaming, i know) but it seems that only the TBD and the Dell u2x13 fit the bill. Do I have to get a $650 monitor to get USB 3.0? And $829 (refurb) to get it all to pass through one cord?

I'd appreciate any advice you all have for me!

Edit: I guess getting a 23-24" with 1080p wouldn't be that bad of a trade off, no?

anarti said:

nice looking cheap monitor will propably have problems. good monitors are not cheap.

remember, buy cheap, buy twice!

I would reccomend to stick to brands like Nec, Eizo and HP, Dell.

Eizo has a really nice monitors. mainly for photographers but not only.

Things like Benq etc...wouldn't trust it at all!

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Benq is usually well reviewed, but they're mostly aimed at being budget gaming displays. The others you mentioned are likely out of his range. If he made a living as a photographer and needed to make a lot of adjustments in post, I might suggest looking at one of those. It's not clear from the OP though. He could easily spend several times his current budget on something like that. I find it easier to suggest something like NEC when they were looking at an Apple display anyway, so they're already in that price range. You can't find anything really good below $600-700. On a strict budget I'd probably go with a low end Dell or HP 23 or 24" ips display. None of these are a lifetime investment anyway. Even with a really top quality display, you swap it out every 3-5 years depending on how many hours it has and whether it's still supported.

ToomeyND said:

Edit: I guess getting a 23-24" with 1080p wouldn't be that bad of a trade off, no?

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If I look between a 1920x1200 17" display and a 1920x1200 24" display, I can definitely see the difference in text, however it's not bad if you're accustomed to it.

thekev said:

If I look between a 1920x1200 17" display and a 1920x1200 24" display, I can definitely see the difference in text, however it's not bad if you're accustomed to it.

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Thanks for giving your experience. As noted by my 2007 iMac, I want to get something that lasts me a while. I don't want to make too many concessions, but getting a screen for $250 instead of $1000 sounds very appealing.

Edit: Wow, I didn't realize that my 2007 20" screen was 1680x1050. A 24" at 1080p isn't going to look much different than this.