Costco’s Sceptre X20G-NAGAIII 20’ vs. 20’ ACD for Mac Mini/Powerbook

[macnvrbck]

Anyone see the Sceptre X20G-NAGAIII 20’ inch widescreen monitor at Costco for $380? This monitor looks nearly identical (don’t want to offend anyone) to the 20-inch ACD and a very good price! This would be for my Mac Mini or future Powerbook. I can’t see spending $699 (edu) for the ACD at this time, as I would rather buy a 27-inch or 30 inch LCD TV instead for that price to use with my MAC.

Anyone have experience with this monitor in comparison to the ACD or the 20-inch Dell?

 

[wPod]

Costco?! . . . id seriously look at a dell instead. simply for quality purposes. . . . Interesting, I would have figured they would make it and analog VGA connection, but the tech specs I found here indicates that it has a DVI connection as well. (multiple connections similar to the dell monitor) So, the only thing I would worry about is the quality then. The dell uses the same screen as the apple so you know the quality of the dell will be just as good as the apple. with the Sceptre you might run into problems with the quality of the display or with dead pixels or brightness or such, or color inconsistency if you are working with video/picture editing. but, that is just speculation on the no-name brand and cheap price, I have no actual experience with the monitor myself.

 

[x86isslow]

Do you just want a big screen or do you put dinner on the table by comparing the colors in an ad? I'm guessing that the Costco 20", while probably less attractive, is a better buy for *most* people. Again, if you are one of those people who's gonna use it for Aperature/FCP/Shake/Motion/Photoshop, get the nicer Dell or Apple ones.

 

[BubbaJones]

Go for it.

Costco has a great return policy.

I had a cordless phone a few years ago that allowed multiple handsets to connect to the base. Well, they (Panasonic) stopped making the phone so I couldn't get any more handsets for it (I had 2, I wanted one more). I still had my Costco receipt, so they let me return it and get a new one. This was after I had the phone for over a year.

Check with customer service, but the monitor should fall under the same 100% Guarantee.

 

[ibglowin]

I wouldn't hesitate about buying anything from Costco. We "tested" their return policy last month on a 30" LCD we bought back in January that had some type of bleeding inside the screen. They took it back with no problems. Just keep all your original boxes and receipts.

 

[GWS]

Costco

Costco has a great return policy. It's pretty much "no questions asked". If you're dissatisfied, they'll take the item back. Ask at your store to be sure.

Search the Internet for this display. I found it at NewEgg, and there are a few user reviews there you could read before making your decision. Here's the link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824112176

If you do get this display, whether you keep it or not, please post your review here so we'll know whether or not this is a good deal.

Hope this helps.
Gary

 

[seamuskrat]

I saw this item in the store, and it looked very good. Like the reviews on NewEgg suggested, when playing a WMP video on the PC it was connected to, the video stuttered slightly. At the time, I thought it was a PC/WMP problem. So I am still not convinced the stuttering is not a Windows issue.

It certainly looks as good as my 20 iMac at work or 20 Apple monitor at home. So I bought it in Sunday. Side by side, the Apple is brighter, barely. I set the image to mirror, and both show decent but now awesome blacks. Mine has no obvious dead pixels, but I did not examine it for hours. Side by side, it sits higher than the Apple monitor due to the base. But it looks good with a G5 tower or G4 tower.

It does run a bit hot. After a few hours, touching the unit it does feel fairly warm. But it has been on 24/7 since I have had it. I played a DVD using video mirror at home and did not see any ghosting or stuttering, except for the menu animation in the Incredibles DVD and that was on BOTH screens. I also played some HiDef QT trailers. You can see a difference here. The Apple monitor is smoother. I could not have noticed the difference if they were not side by side. As for the HDTV aspects, the unit only has 1680x1050 so I am not sure it truly counts as real HDTV resolution.

Since Costco has such a good return policy, I am confident in the purchase. I paid 699 for the Apple screen 6 months ago and love it. I had a dual set up with my old 15 studio display that is 4 years old. It was very dim and small compared to the 20, so I am happy to have another 20 instead.

If you belong to Costco you should pick it up with confidence.