3rd Party monitor that is nearest to a 21.5" iMac's quality?

[MDJCM]

I really like the quality of Apple's iMac displays but just need a monitor.

Anyone found something very close?

I know with the 27" screens you can get almost identical monitors for ~£400.

My colleague has a £200 Dell 24" monitor, but it has a matte effect screen and it basically blurs the sharpness. It's just not the same, the 21.5" (non-retina) iMac has the best non-retina screen I've seen around that size.

Hope that makes sense. I basically want a glossy/glassy sharp ~22" external monitor.

 

[Fishrrman]

Any search for a quality display should begin by browsing this comprehensive list of IPS monitors:
http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php

 

[MDJCM]

The problem with those lists is that the Dell monitor my colleague has is way up there in ratings but is Matte and much duller than an iMac screen in real life.

It's almost like the specs don't account for it actually looking great for the eye. It's technically good.

IPS is great, but buying a pricey IPS monitor doesn't guarantee the same look.

Also, the notes on that list say "Glossy" but it doesn't go into enough detail to say whether it's good glossy like the iMac or overly-reflective like the average other-brand monitors. If you see what I mean.

Thanks for the link though.

 

[MDJCM]

I'm still looking for this. PC World are useless as they run their monitors on VGA with a crap demo loop.

 

[ra004e]

I really like the quality of Apple's iMac displays but just need a monitor.

Anyone found something very close?

I know with the 27" screens you can get almost identical monitors for ~£400.

My colleague has a £200 Dell 24" monitor, but it has a matte effect screen and it basically blurs the sharpness. It's just not the same, the 21.5" (non-retina) iMac has the best non-retina screen I've seen around that size.

Hope that makes sense. I basically want a glossy/glassy sharp ~22" external monitor.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-S...F8&qid=1461712139&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+s2216m

Should do the trick, not as good as 21.5" iMac as that's a LG IPS 8 bit panel, the Dell is a LG IPS 6 bit+FRC dithering. But it's an glossy panel and still works really good. Very sharp. There are 2 versions S2216M (DVI)
S2216H (HDMI) the DVI will not have issues being recognized as a TV. Good luck.

 

[MDJCM]

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-S...F8&qid=1461712139&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+s2216m

Should do the trick, not as good as 21.5" iMac as that's a LG IPS 8 bit panel, the Dell is a LG IPS 6 bit+FRC dithering. But it's an glossy panel and still works really good. Very sharp. There are 2 versions S2216M (DVI)
S2216H (HDMI) the DVI will not have issues being recognized as a TV. Good luck.

Hi, I clicked on the link but there is no more s2216m, just the matte version.

 

[ra004e]

Hi, I clicked on the link but there is no more s2216m, just the matte version.

Hello,

I just verified this link and it points to monitor we were discussing.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-S...F8&qid=1461712139&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+s2216m

This monitor is for sure glossy, not quite as glossy as Dell S2240m but that works in it's favor as it handles reflection better. It looks like it's a really great price as well. Good luck.

 

[MDJCM]

Hello,

I just verified this link and it points to monitor we were discussing.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-S...F8&qid=1461712139&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+s2216m

This monitor is for sure glossy, not quite as glossy as Dell S2240m but that works in it's favor as it handles reflection better. It looks like it's a really great price as well. Good luck.

This is interesting, when I click that link I end up at Amazon.co.uk

They must have some special filtering preventing me from looking at the .com site
[doublepost=1464412854][/doublepost]

Hello,

I just verified this link and it points to monitor we were discussing.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-S...F8&qid=1461712139&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+s2216m

This monitor is for sure glossy, not quite as glossy as Dell S2240m but that works in it's favor as it handles reflection better. It looks like it's a really great price as well. Good luck.

This direct link works:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2216M-Screen-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B012AQI7CO

I think my colleague has this one. It looked like a great spec, then it arrived and it has a rough filter in front of the LCD that just takes the sharpness out of everything. Whereas on my Mac you can see every pixel and it is razor sharp. I was disappointed.

Maybe this one is different, but it looks identical, I'll verify model number on Tuesday.