Reason for 27" ACD -> 27" ATD

Wait until WWDC in June to see what Apple does about 4K@60Hz for MacBooks. OS 10.9.3 may be the basis for Apple to announce newer ATDs or other monitors.

I know the 27" ACD is getting on a bit, and I'm sure you're getting the same 'upgrade twitch' I do. But the logical thing to do is wait for the impending 4k display, it's not too far away now and you'll be much happier with it in the long run.

Killerbob said:

So, any technical reason to pick an ATD over the ACD?

Click to expand...

display-wise, no

port-wise, up to you if you could benefit from tb ethernet and firewire ports, if not, then ACD is fine

Killerbob said:

I know the 4K offering is the right one, question is if I'd get anything from switching to the ATD in the meanwhile? If I bought an ATD it could replace my ACD until the 4K version came out,. And, as it probably won't match the new 4K one, it would be shortlived anyway.

So, any technical reason to pick an ATD over the ACD?

Click to expand...

If you are not dying for ports or a speaker/webcam, your current one is going to be the exactly the same.

Not sure what you think is "aging" about the display. LED backlight, should be good until the rapture. Whereas I have two ACDs with backlights that get warmer every day.

If you are just bored with your 27" ACD, you won't see a display difference with the ATD.

Unless you want to eat the loss that comes with selling and trading up, your 27" can just be one of your 6 monitors that your nMP can push pixels to.

EDIT: I just looked at the specs of the 27" Cinema Display. You should have webcam and speaker support right now. If that is what you're upgrading from, you'd be getting a basic spec bump only, and a thunderbolt passthrough, and some convenience.

In which case you'd be upgrading to future proof only. But you'd also be buying a model that hasn't been refreshed in some time.

Assume that any new display will have TB2 as well, which the ATD does not. You won't want it to be a bottleneck.

Tough call, but waiting seems wise.

- they are ageing ??
My 2 x 23in ACD's from .... 2007 are still going strong, look great and have
never let me down.
I LOVE the flat matt screens also.

Yup wait and see, there are things coming from several companies, 4K is still
a new phenomenon !

M.

apple needs to lay the wood and drop a 4k ips 60hz 27 monitor non igzo non 2 panel and sub 1799..

Speaking of ATD, compared to an iMac's 27" isn't it a bit too dark ? Is there a cookie-cutter profile for this monitor around ? Factory profile on Mavericks does't seem totally optimized.

Personally I reckon the TBD is actually a downgrade from the ACD, as it's identical apart from the connector - while Mini DisplayPort is a relatively standard connector found on many PC graphics cards (I've been using my 27" ACD with a PC since the display was released) as well as being compatible with Apple's own hardware from more recent years, Thunderbolt is supposedly an industry standard yet no-one other than Apple has really shown any sign of using it. So it could even go the same way as the old ADC connector where you had to buy a stupidly expensive and large adapter if you wanted to continue using your display just a few years later when they were no longer making machines with the connector, or if you wanted to use it with non-Apple hardware.

647156 said:

while Mini DisplayPort is a relatively standard connector found on many PC graphics cards

Click to expand...

Actually AFAIK, MDP was only used on Radeon Cards, Nvidia never embraced it. Apply developed the MDP standard in Late 2008.

It's use on current Radeon Cards seems to be limited to the high end R9 that drives multi monitors.

Lou

Killerbob said:

I thought the TBD/ATD also had FW800 and an Ethernet connector?

Click to expand...

Yes I meant the actual screen and overall appearance of it is the same - the Thunderbolt connection (and therefore the functionality it provides ie the additional connectors) is the only difference.

flowrider said:

Actually AFAIK, MDP was only used on Radeon Cards, Nvidia never embraced it. Apply developed the MDP standard in Late 2008.

Click to expand...

It is AMD cards that seem to have the Mini DP connector yes, I use a Radeon 7970 which works great with the Cinema Display. Nvidia cards seem to usually have DisplayPort rather than the miniaturised version, the two are similar and I used to use a small/cheap cable with my previous card (a Radeon 4890) which also only had full-size DisplayPort. Although the Mini DP connection on the 7970 has been flawless so far, whereas with the full-size DP I occasionally had to remove and re-insert it after boot-up for it to recognise the correct resolution for the display.

^ ^ ^ ^I have used both. Never had an issue with either. I currently use a Gigabyte accelerated GTX 780 modified by MVC. I use a DP to DP Cable to my IPS HP monitor without issue.

Lou