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30" Cinema display or imac 24"??

zer0tails

zer0tails

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 23, 2008
1,224
0
Canada
hello everybody! please dispense with your 2 cents and wise wisdom.

i currently own a 2.5 penryn, 4gb ram, 7200 rpm hd, glossy MBP. I chose this model because i intended to run it with the 30 inch Cinema display. However, looking at the refurb store, I noticed that the price of a 24 inch imac with the 3.06 ghz cpu is the same price as the 30 inch cinema display, which puts me in a right pickle.

which should I get? The imac seems good value for money but 30 inches of screen real estate just takes my mbp to a whole new level. So..I am not sure what to do. I have a feeling I will use my mbp less if I had the imac. Since I'll only use the mbp when i am out and the imac at home. Whereas if i had the cinema display i'll be using it all the time.

suggestions? thanks :)
 
The 30" is fantastic.

Hooking up and unhooking the MBP is not, nor is the turbine-like howl that the MBP will emit if you use it in clamshell mode.

Because of the latter, my next aquisition after the ACD 30" was an Early 2008 Mac Pro.

Now it's a happy household. The portable is portable and the desktop is 30" of glory and 8-cores of power.
 
Can you plug the MBP into the iMac and then use it as a monitor aswell.. if so go for it definitely without the blink of an eyelid..
 
zer0tails said:
hello everybody! please dispense with your 2 cents and wise wisdom.

i currently own a 2.5 penryn, 4gb ram, 7200 rpm hd, glossy MBP. I chose this model because i intended to run it with the 30 inch Cinema display. However, looking at the refurb store, I noticed that the price of a 24 inch imac with the 3.06 ghz cpu is the same price as the 30 inch cinema display, which puts me in a right pickle.

which should I get? The imac seems good value for money but 30 inches of screen real estate just takes my mbp to a whole new level. So..I am not sure what to do. I have a feeling I will use my mbp less if I had the imac. Since I'll only use the mbp when i am out and the imac at home. Whereas if i had the cinema display i'll be using it all the time.

suggestions? thanks :)
Click to expand...

Wow that is really hard....that 30" is amazing though. But that 3.06GHz iMac...uhhh....how about a 20" and something else?
 
Go for the 30" instead of an iMac, you really don't need another computer, nor to you need the hassle of syncing info between two computers. The 30" is a monster of a screen, and really, the MacBook Pro isn't louder in clamshell mode seeing as the majority of heat dissipation is done out the back of the machine and not the top, though it might be a touch warmer because you don't have the small additional cooling factor that the top case provides when the lid is open.
 
noodle654: a 20" and something else is not possible, as my MBP will only run 1 display. Besides, I've used a 22 inch before and I think 20" is too small.

iToaster: good points. Yup, well I'll be putting my MBP on a stand so there'll be some ventilation around the notebook. Also, I think with the 512 mb of vram and 6mb L2 cache, I might be able to get away with running it open? as it'll split between the ACD and MBP 256vram each.

iMac vs. ACD. To be perfectly honest, I'm leaning towards the ACD..because unlike the iMac it has a lovely matte, s-IPS screen which i'm told beats out the screens of all other imacs, macbooks pro/air etc.

I know Apple refurbs are great, but are cinema display refurbs just as good? My biggest no no is to have a single dead pixel. Cost wise..the refurb goes for 1749 vs. 1899 with my edu discount. So for 150 bucks..more is it better to go new?
 
The Apple cinema displays are outdated and overpriced, I'm pretty sure. About the only reason you would want to get one is that they look so nice. I'm not sure if money is an object in your case though...

But a Dell or HP monitor might save you quite a sum for the same specs.

A shame, too. The cinema displays look so nice.
 
iToaster said:
Go for the 30" instead of an iMac, you really don't need another computer, nor to you need the hassle of syncing info between two computers. The 30" is a monster of a screen, and really, the MacBook Pro isn't louder in clamshell mode seeing as the majority of heat dissipation is done out the back of the machine and not the top, though it might be a touch warmer because you don't have the small additional cooling factor that the top case provides when the lid is open.
Click to expand...

Ya' learn something new every day! I had always heard that the MBP vents heat through the keyboard, which is why it runs hotter in clamshell mode (and why I feel the heat on the keyboard). If it vents out the back, that's great!

Beric said:
The Apple cinema displays are outdated and overpriced, I'm pretty sure. About the only reason you would want to get one is that they look so nice. I'm not sure if money is an object in your case though...

But a Dell or HP monitor might save you quite a sum for the same specs.

A shame, too. The cinema displays look so nice.
Click to expand...

The 30" ACD is pricey and long overdue for an upgrade, but it's still one of just a handful of 30" displays available with such high resolution, so I wouldn't exactly consider them outdated yet. They still beat the vast majority of the displays on the market, so I'd still consider them a good buy!

To the OP: If you can stand to wait for a while, it's possible an updated ACD might come available some time in the next year.... no guarantees, of course.
 
Apple needs to release a 30" glossy cinema display, which I hope they do some day. Then I will do what OP wants. But for now it's hard to get away from my glossy anything including my MBP:confused:
 
Ozz.Man said:
Apple needs to release a 30" glossy cinema display, which I hope they do some day. Then I will do what OP wants. But for now it's hard to get away from my glossy anything including my MBP:confused:
Click to expand...

The market for consumer orientated 30" displays is still too small and probably will be for many years to come.
 
OKay so i am ready to pull the trigger. Can someone tell me if I should buy the refurb or brand new? The difference between them would be 150 dollars. Personally, I care little if it's refurb or brand new, I just don't want any pixel problems, ghosting, or line problems. I am a simple man :)
 
ggjstudios said:
I think you should be safe with refurb. Here's more info on Apple's refurb process.
Click to expand...

thanks ggjstudios. I appreciate all your responses to my questions. I'm still unconvinced. There are certain Apple products that i would buy, such as desktops, and ipods. But for portables I've so far stayed away. Displays for me are a bit questionable because, say there were 1-2 dead pixels and that's why it was returned, i doubt Apple would replaced it with a brand new LCD as that would cost alot. On the other hand if they did, I could be sure I'll be getting a display with no dead pixels, and that would be worth a million dollars.

Savings in this case is not very substantial - 150 bucks. Although, I could technically use that money to purchase apple care which would be great. hmmmmm......
 
Your MacBook Pro will work with any standard DVI or VGA display on the market. Save yourself a LOT of money and get something by Dell or Samsung.
 
Beric said:
The Apple cinema displays are outdated and overpriced, I'm pretty sure. About the only reason you would want to get one is that they look so nice. I'm not sure if money is an object in your case though...

But a Dell or HP monitor might save you quite a sum for the same specs.

A shame, too. The cinema displays look so nice.
Click to expand...
There is no monitor on the market for the same price that matches the ACD in terms of quality and colour. Both essential for pro users. A comparable S-IPS Dell display (ie. not the cheap 30") is about the same.

Not only that, but Apple write their own optimised drivers for their displays, not possible with the others.

That said if you don't intend to use the computer for those purposes, then pick up a cheap 30" Dell
 
zer0tails said:
Savings in this case is not very substantial - 150 bucks. Although, I could technically use that money to purchase apple care which would be great. hmmmmm......
Click to expand...

150 bucks isn't substantial? Sheesh, it killed me to shell out the $175 (or so) to buy an iPod of of eBay! (Then again, maybe I'm just so cheap because my Dad is a Jew and I learn from him...that was a joke, for any who would be insulted, BTW) If I had $150 to spare, I would be stoked; I would be able to get a get of brand new Z-2300's instead of having to scour eBay for cheaper ones (unfortunately, as my Dad controls the household Amazon account and he discourages me getting them, I can't save $90 to buy them from there).
Sorry about the rant, I just had to let it out. I hate when people say that much money isn't substantial.
 
thanks for the responses everyone. :) jpmittins: it's OK to rant :D FYi, I meant it wasn't substantial in the bigger picture considered the price of the 30" But of course, 150 is a lot of money to me and not loose change. The thing is I've saved up and agonized for awhile for the ACD.

I've gone ahead and ordered one (new) of the site. After googling I decided not to take the chance with a refurb.

I appreciate the few who've advised me to save money by getting a Dell or Samsung. Truth be told, I've had both in the past, and was never really satisfied. Not a fan boy or anything, but there is a beauty aesthetically and functionality wise to the Apple ecosystem I am building in my room :)

As for features wise, I think the main thing I want the ACD is the quality of the LCD i get for the price. The S-IPS panel is not terribly widespread and the ACDs have great screens. That for me is the main thing. I can do without a built in webcam or HDMI support. I just need my display to do one thing and one thing best, that is provide an awesome picture. So that is why I chose the ACD.
 
zer0tails said:
I appreciate the few who've advised me to save money by getting a Dell or Samsung. Truth be told, I've had both in the past, and was never really satisfied. Not a fan boy or anything, but there is a beauty aesthetically and functionality wise to the Apple ecosystem I am building in my room :)
Click to expand...

The Apple Cinema Displays come with a DVI cable. That's it. There are NO more inputs than this. You won't be able to connect a games console, TV tuner or any similar device to the monitor, nor will you be able to connect two computers to it at the same time. Also, the Apple displays have a huge power brick which you have to find a place for.

I for one do not think the 16ms panels Apple uses in its displays represent good value for money. I'll stick to the 2ms BenQ I got a few years ago for much less money, thanks.
 
zer0tails said:
thanks for the responses everyone. :) jpmittins: it's OK to rant :D FYi, I meant it wasn't substantial in the bigger picture considered the price of the 30" But of course, 150 is a lot of money to me and not loose change. The thing is I've saved up and agonized for awhile for the ACD.
Click to expand...

Ah, good to know you're a rational being (and you think I am too)! It's okay, once you explained it to me, I no longer think you're throwing money around like it's a set of craps dice (weird analogy, I know. It just popped into my head while writing this).
 
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