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2009 20" iMac Panel vs. 2008 20" iMac panel

C

Canadian Bacon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 27, 2007
100
0
On the Baltic Sea
ifixit lists the part number for the 2009 20" iMac panel as AU Optronics M302EW02. The 2008 model came with either: a) AU Optronics M201EW02 V8 or b) LG/Philips LM201WE3.

ifixit has a link to the M302EW02 panel on AU Optronic's website, but the description for M201EW02 V8 comes up.

So, what's my point?:

a) Does anyone know if those are the same panels, or if Apple has indeed updated the TN panel on the 20" iMac?

b) Do 2009 20" iMac owners have any subjective first impressions of panel quality: gradients, viewing angles, etc. (photo perhaps?)

Thanks
 
Canadian Bacon said:
ifixit lists the part number for the 2009 20" iMac panel as AU Optronics M302EW02. The 2008 model came with either: a) AU Optronics M201EW02 V8 or b) LG/Philips LM201WE3.

ifixit has a link to the M302EW02 panel on AU Optronic's website, but the description for M201EW02 V8 comes up.

So, what's my point?:

a) Does anyone know if those are the same panels, or if Apple has indeed updated the TN panel on the 20" iMac?

b) Do 2009 20" iMac owners have any subjective first impressions of panel quality: gradients, viewing angles, etc. (photo perhaps?)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Well the Phillips panel is the panel used for the 2007 and early 2008 models. The updated panel is was the M201EW02 when the processors were upgraded, so were the panels. Did apple get sued have anything to do with it? Who knows.

Notice in the specs of the M201EW02 it lists 16.7 million colors, not millions of colors by tethering as in the Phillips panel.

As for your question about the 2009 20 panels. I had a 2008 model 20 two weeks ago and now own a 2009 20 for my home and it does seem brighter. Where as i had my 2008 model brightness turned up all the way. On the 2009 model I have it a little more than half, thats it. It seems way, way brighter. Night and day difference.

Viewing angel is hard to judge, I don't really notice any different changes as far as that is concerned. Never paid attention to it. The 2009 also seems sharper. I considered the 2008 M201EW02 sharp, but the 2009 does seem sharper, maybe a better graphics card and a brighter screen have something to do with it.
 
Thanks for replying!

You're the second person who's mentioned a perceived difference in brightness.
I can't just go in to the store and look at one as I live 300km away from the nearest Apple Store, and my local electronics store doesn't have any yet.

Like many people, I've been considering a 2008 discontinued model due to the dedicated graphics card, but a possible panel update has got me swaying the other way. A 'better' panel might be worth more in day-to-day usage.

Thanks again.
 
I was at Best Buy today and they had the old models next to the new models temporarily. I'd say that the new model almost swayed me for a couple of reasons. As dudeman pointed out, I also noticed that the 2009 model was much brighter than it's 2008 counterpart. Also, I did notice that the display was perceivably sharper on the 2009 vs. 2008. The viewing angles seemed a bit better on the new one, but honestly, I could be wrong.

Take it with a grain of salt until you see it for yourself. I was considering the refurb 2008 model with dedicated graphics, but after seeing the new one, I think I may have changed my mind.

The new keyboard on the other hand....
 
I own a previous gen 20" iMac (or I did as I sold it yesterday) and never once thought Brightness was a problem. If anything the thing doesn't get dark enough. :)
 
kvasir said:
Why did you sell it?
Click to expand...

Well I guess I sold it because I got a good offer on my whim of a craiglist post.

Sucks though because they ran out of the low-end 20" refurbs I was thinking about last night. I have to suffer on this eMac for awhile unless I decide to go 24".
 
I hear ya. I was going to jump on the $999 refurbs as well, but I may just wait it all out. I'd like to see the new ones as refurbs this summer. I've been on an Air as my primary computer and I found that editing videos can get a little painful. It's not horrible, but an iMac would be much better. I may still stuffer until the summer!

$999 is a good price for those and I've seen them in and out of stock for at least a week now. I'll be they'll be in stock this week sometime.
 
trip1ex said:
I own a previous gen 20" iMac (or I did as I sold it yesterday) and never once thought Brightness was a problem. If anything the thing doesn't get dark enough. :)
Click to expand...

If you notice right out of the box on the 2008 models, the brightness is turned all the way up on the panel, and that is the default setting, 'out of the box'.

On my 2009 20', I have the brightness at "halfway', and this too was a default setting.
 
I, too, am considering the '08 20", mostly to save money - I like the $849 price. I currently have a 19" Westinghouse cheap-o monitor connected to my Macbook (just sold my Mini), so I'm not exactly used to the very best quality. :) BUT... I can get the brand new 20" iMac for $999 (after rebate) from Microcenter. Is it really WORTH the difference? (I'll be upgrading the RAM to 4GB on either one, so the memory difference doesn't matter to me - its basically screen and video card). Suggestions?
 
J&JPolangin said:
...how does the prev gen 2.4 iMac with ATi 2400 128 mb of dedicated ram compare to the new gen iMac with 9400M GPU with 256 mb of shared ram?
Click to expand...

The Radeon is quicker by a little in benchmarks, should be able to handle more games, and it also wont steal ram.
 
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