ACD worth it?

[Rondofan9]

So I guess my question for you today... is
ACD > 2 24" LED Monitors

If yes, than is it so much better, that it's worth missing out on a macbook air?

Just because I figured you might ask "well... it depends, what do you have already, how important is a macbook to you"
$1,000 to me is crazy.

Here's my current situation...

I have $800 coming from amazon. I'm going to get the core i5, 2gb ram, 500gb mac mini, use my 2TB External (I'm a photographer) with it, get a disc drive, and upgrade to 8GB of ram for $100 from crucial. After that, my wallet will be empty. I have a laptop under bestbuy warranty that cost me $1,000, it's been sent of to repair 3 times, so if something goes wrong again (which it will-_-) then I'll have $1,000 store credit.

I was thinking of getting a macbook air, I think it'd be an awesome addition to my set up. When I go to friends, school, vacations, etc I have a nice laptop. It has enough memory for a few days, then I transfer any pictures, or other data I gathered during the days onto my desktop at home (mac mini)

Orrrr I could take that $1,000 and get a apple cenima display?!

Are they really that good? I have a 24" Asus LED monitor, and I might get a second one and run an extended desktop.

 

[ThaDoggg]

Just buy a Dell Ultrasharp monitor (IPS panel). The quality is great, 3 year warranty and since you are a photographer IPS is a no brainer.

The price difference between a 24" and a 23" is quite big so I would even go for two 23" monitors if possible.

 

[CWallace]

Probably the biggest reason to get an Apple display - specifically the Apple Thunderbolt Display - is for use with the Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Airs since the display acts as a hub, allowing you to plug in Ethernet, FireWire and USB into the ATD and giving the MacBook Air access to all of them via the Thunderbolt cable (plus it has a MagSafe power adapter).

I bought the ATD as a second display for my 27" iMac because I can charge my MacBook Pro 13 off the ATD's cable, saving me from having to pull out the AC adapter (I use an Apple Thunderbolt cable to connect the ATD to the iMac).

The Apple Cinema Display doesn't really have the same level of benefit (no Ethernet or Firewire, just USB) so if I was price/value-conscious - or had a pre-Thunderbolt MacBook Air - then I would likely not purchase the ACD (at least new).

 

[Ashok0]

Just buy a Dell Ultrasharp monitor (IPS panel). The quality is great, 3 year warranty and since you are a photographer IPS is a no brainer.

The price difference between a 24" and a 23" is quite big so I would even go for two 23" monitors if possible.

I RMAed my Dell Ultrasharp U3011... the build quality looked cheap and the AG coating was horrible. It looked like there was sand smeared all over the screen. It was probably the poorest display I have ever used. Got an ACD instead and have no buyer's remorse. =)

 

[nutmac]

If you are a developer or creative professional, you may benefit from multi-monitor setup, but OS X really is lousy at supporting multiple monitors.

I am a developer with 27" Thunderbolt Display for 15" MacBook Pro. When MBP is hooked up to 27", I rarely ever look at the 15" screen. If I make any attempt at using both, I'd get lost as to where the mouse pointer is and accessing the dock or menu require moving mouse back and forth between two monitors, which just isn't efficient (there are apps that duplicates menu on second monitor, but with issues).

The bottom line. Save up for 1 large high resolution display.

 

[toxic]

Apple displays were always expensive because they use higher-quality panels. if you know nothing about panel types, you can read about them here.

if you want 2560x1440 but don't want to pay $1000, look at the HP ZR2740w. same panel as the ACD, LED backlight, just no Apple integration. $700.

 

[Rondofan9]

$700-900 is still expensive. If I was going to spend a lot, I'd get the ACD.

Basically right now I have an Asus 24" LED 1920x1080 right now. I was going to get a second one for $230. But I have a family member who wants to buy mine for $150 so I was thinking I'd sell that, not buy the other, and spend about another $600 than I would've spent, and get the ACD.

Now I have another question. What's the difference between the 2010 ACD and the 2011 ACD?

 

[tigres]

Not to highjack your thread OP, but I am in a very similar position. I have the 2010 MBA and have been seriously considering the 27" ACD- not the TB.

But, today at Microcenter, browsing around- they have a Sony 32" Google TV on sale for 468. It's not the resolution of the ACD I know, but I am running 3 main windows all day at my office (including VM), and my 20" hp is long is killing my eyes, and ease of work. I just picked up Arrange for mac, and love the way I can split up the screen/windows to my preference just by dragging.

Anyway- to point. Can anyone deter me from grabbing this? it's 32" HD LED, granted 1080p, but still a lot of real estate. Had not considered a TV, but I am really beginning to like the idea. Plus I just just connect it with the HDMI/MDP and carry my audio and video at once.

Thoughts are greatly appreciated. Like the OP, I am having a hard time paying twice that for a ACD. I am in finance, not photography or the arts; so the resolution is not as important to my work.

Thanks.

Here's the TV I am looking at
Description

 

[Fastball32]

Not to highjack your thread OP, but I am in a very similar position. I have the 2010 MBA and have been seriously considering the 27" ACD- not the TB.

But, today at Microcenter, browsing around- they have a Sony 32" Google TV on sale for 468. It's not the resolution of the ACD I know, but I am running 3 main windows all day at my office (including VM), and my 20" hp is long is killing my eyes, and ease of work. I just picked up Arrange for mac, and love the way I can split up the screen/windows to my preference just by dragging.

Anyway- to point. Can anyone deter me from grabbing this? it's 32" HD LED, granted 1080p, but still a lot of real estate. Had not considered a TV, but I am really beginning to like the idea. Plus I just just connect it with the HDMI/MDP and carry my audio and video at once.

Thoughts are greatly appreciated. Like the OP, I am having a hard time paying twice that for a ACD. I am in finance, not photography or the arts; so the resolution is not as important to my work.

Thanks.

Here's the TV I am looking at
Description

As an owner of a 32" & 40" Sony Google TV, along with a Thunderbolt Display, a 27" Cinema Display, and a 24" Cinema Display, I would heavily discourage anyone from buying a TV for a main computer monitor. I have a Mac Mini that I attach to my living room 40" Google TV, and the color reproduction sucks and it makes browsing/reading small font terrible. The only reason to use a Google TV or any 1080p TV for your main computer monitor would be if you were going to use it mainly for videos/movies. That being said, I love my Google TV, but only as a living room TV.
Although the Cinema Displays are expensive, I've never regretted the purchase. I have a feeling you will not be satisfied if you are intending to use the Google TV as primarily a computer monitor.