Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
What is the best sub $1000 2560 x 1440 monitor to get as a second monitor for the 27" iMac? I currently have a 27" LG monitor which looks pretty good but doesn't match the resolution of the iMac. Can the iMac handle two 2560 x 1440 displays at the same time?

Thanks.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
10,721
5,144
192.168.1.1
What is the best sub $1000 2560 x 1440 monitor to get as a second monitor for the 27" iMac? I currently have a 27" LG monitor which looks pretty good but doesn't match the resolution of the iMac. Can the iMac handle two 2560 x 1440 displays at the same time?

Thanks.

Yes, it'll handle two, actually, if you use Thunderbolt displays (or, I believe, one non-Thunderbolt display) at 2560x1440.

My suggestion, honestly, would be the Apple Thunderbolt Display. Comes in under your price limit by $1. And it should be pretty darn close in color temperature and other display characteristics.
 

762999

Cancelled
Nov 9, 2012
891
509
What is the best sub $1000 2560 x 1440 monitor to get as a second monitor for the 27" iMac? I currently have a 27" LG monitor which looks pretty good but doesn't match the resolution of the iMac. Can the iMac handle two 2560 x 1440 displays at the same time?

Thanks.

Planar have a 27" laminated screen which have the same shape as an iMac. They also use the same LG panel.

Safe bet : 600-700 range.

It was reviewed on toms.
 

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
Yes, it'll handle two, actually, if you use Thunderbolt displays (or, I believe, one non-Thunderbolt display) at 2560x1440.

My suggestion, honestly, would be the Apple Thunderbolt Display. Comes in under your price limit by $1. And it should be pretty darn close in color temperature and other display characteristics.
The Thunderbolt display is going on 2.5 years old and the buyers guide here says not to buy. Many of the reviews are also bad noting things like display failure and high reflectivity.

Unless Apple releases something soon or I can't find another brand that closely matched the latest generation of iMac displays, I guess I'll be waiting.
 

Truthfulie

macrumors regular
Dec 18, 2013
248
0
Dell Ultrasharp line is good. Something like Dell U2713H? I hear Asus PA279Q is also great. Thunderbolt display is not bad if you don't mind the reflection, but for that money you can get better display.
 
Last edited:

fredr500

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2007
227
19
Monoprice

Monoprice has one that meets your needs for under $500. I've seen good reviews but have no experience yet.

Overlord comes in a bit higher but has a better stand. Still sub $500.
 

McGiord

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2003
4,558
290
Dark Castle
I bought a 27" Thunderbolt Display the day it went live and it's worked fine with my 2011 and 2013 27" iMacs.

Is it true that it doesn't line up with the iMac height? In other threads I read that they don't.
If you don't mind sharing can you please post a picture of your set up? Thanks
 

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
OK, I ended up getting the Dell Ultrasharp 27" U2713HM. This thing is incredible! Right out of the box the image looks almost exactly like the image on my 2013 27" iMac. A perfect match and MUCH cheaper. It was on sale at Best Buy for $639. You can even adjust the height of the monitor so its perfectly even with the iMac.

One more note. I had to use a mini-display to DVI adapter. The mini-display to HDMI only gave me 1080p. The monitor comes with a DVI cable.
 
Last edited:

paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
So does the thunderbolt port on the iMac function as a mini-display port also?

All thunderbolt ports function as Mini-display ports.

Edit: I should say any time you use the ports directly out of the back of a Mac they can be either Thunderbolt or a Mini-displayport. If you use the TB port off of a Thunderbolt Display then it will not work as a Mini-Displayport unless you add another TB device between the TB Display and the secondary Monitor....

Edit2: Above is very confusing and a one off scenario.
 

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
All thunderbolt ports function as Mini-display ports.

Edit: I should say any time you use the ports directly out of the back of a Mac they can be either Thunderbolt or a Mini-displayport. If you use the TB port off of a Thunderbolt Display then it will not work as a Mini-Displayport unless you add another TB device between the TB Display and the secondary Monitor....

Edit2: Above is very confusing and a one off scenario.

That's interesting you should mention that. I have a TB cable running from the iMac to an external TB Western Digital Hard Drive. On the back of the western digital, I plugged in the Mini-display > DVI adapter which then goes to the Dell. It works fine. Apparently the TB ports on the back of the hard drive are mini-display ports as well.
 

CWallace

macrumors G4
Aug 17, 2007
11,937
10,563
Seattle, WA
Is it true that it doesn't line up with the iMac height? In other threads I read that they don't.

Unfortunately, it indeed does not line up. The ATD sits about an inch or so below the iMac. Fortunately, I have adjustable stands so I could put them even.
 

pscl

macrumors 6502
Jun 3, 2013
396
61
OK, I ended up getting the Dell Ultrasharp 27" U2713HM. This thing is incredible! Right out of the box the image looks almost exactly like the image on my 2013 27" iMac. A perfect match and MUCH cheaper. It was on sale at Best Buy for $639. You can even adjust the height of the monitor so its perfectly even with the iMac.

One more note. I had to use a mini-display to DVI adapter. The mini-display to HDMI only gave me 1080p. The monitor comes with a DVI cable.

639?

in germany:
http://www.amazon.de/Dell-U2713HM-w...e=UTF8&qid=1389878819&sr=8-1&keywords=U2713HM
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
10,721
5,144
192.168.1.1
Is it true that it doesn't line up with the iMac height? In other threads I read that they don't.

There's a couple of products that will raise the TB Display to match the iMac's height. Here's one of them:
http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/hirise_imac/
There's a picture on this page that shows a 27" iMac with a 27" TB display next to it raised to the same height.
hiriseimac_leveldisplay_headerlarge.jpg
 

pscl

macrumors 6502
Jun 3, 2013
396
61
That's about right. The price on Amazon in the US is about the same. I didn't order through Amazon however because I had gift cards and discount certificates at Best Buy which brought the price down considerably.

but it is a lot cheaper at amazon, than the price you paid.
 

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
I'm kind of upset that the u2713hm is only allowing me 1920x1080 though.. :mad:
You need to be using the mini display port to DVI adapter and the cable that came with the monitor. If you are using HDMI you won't get anything more than 1080p.
 

robgendreau

macrumors 68040
Jul 13, 2008
3,465
329
I've got the Monoprice branded 2560x1440 IPS Zero G

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=113&cp_id=11307&cs_id=1130703&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

It's under $400, but frequently out of stock. It stands about 1.25" below my 2010 27" iMac (I'm actually running it, and the iMac in TDM, off a hackintosh). It has dual DVI, and I believe (but you should verify) that it would work with a DP>Dual DVI adapter.

The quality is great. No bad pixels. Same resolution. Even has a little hole for the iSight (reputedly these are the same panels as used in iMacs). Color and contrast are the same, but the controls on the monitor are in an awkward spot, and getting the backlight set right was a weakness...but it didn't matter in my setting. Build quality is quite nice. The stand doesn't have much in the way of tilt, but the monitor itself has VESA holes so you can use any one of the thousands of VESA mounts at Monoprice with it. Overall it's killer. I had an issue when I bought it (I actually got a better price buying it through rakuten.com, although it was shipped from Monoprice), and Monoprice was gonna take it back no questions asked. Turned out it was an issue with my motherboard, so I kept it. But they have great customer service. I couldn't live with anything but 2560x1440 now (until 4k becomes affordable and more ubiquitous anyway).
 

ccoffin12man

macrumors newbie
Apr 7, 2013
5
0
Is the woot monitor any good? I've seen it on there a couple of times, but this is the cheapest. Anyone have any experience with it?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.