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Advice on best non-mac monitor for new MacPro

E

efgamer

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 25, 2009
8
0
I bought a new MacPro desktop and want dual 24 or 26 inch monitors and cannot afford Mac monitors. What is best to use besides Mac that will give me full scree resolution? I bought a HD 24-inch samsung but can only get it to view in a widescreen format that is not ideal.

thanks
 
Last time I was shopping for monitors people were saying Dell had almost the same screens inside as Apple's for cheaper (especially with internet coupons).

However, i'm not sure what you mean by full screen resolution...depending on what you're doing, widescreen is awesome for putting up two word docs next to each other, movies are bigger, etc. So what do you need it for?
 
so any suggestions?

So you are saying I will never get proper screen resolution for non-mac monitors if they are 24' or larger? Any suggestions on 22" to go with? If not maybe one good 30' monitor instead of dual - or will have I have the same trouble.

thanks for the great advice
:)
 
No, I'm saying that 4:3 is dead and that there is no legitimate reason to buy a monitor that isn't 16:10 or 16:9 anymore.

You're not going to find anything 4:3 larger than 20" anymore, and fewer every day.
 
full screen

NP3 said:
Last time I was shopping for monitors people were saying Dell had almost the same screens inside as Apple's for cheaper (especially with internet coupons).

However, i'm not sure what you mean by full screen resolution...depending on what you're doing, widescreen is awesome for putting up two word docs next to each other, movies are bigger, etc. So what do you need it for?
Click to expand...


--

I want the full screen to be used on the monitor - things just do not look right in widescreen mode. I am using it for making music so bigger is better for me so I can see everything. I was thinking of running duals so I could make music in Reason or Ableton on one monitor and use the other one for various other applications or research.
 
Tallest Skil said:
No, I'm saying that 4:3 is dead and that there is no legitimate reason to buy a monitor that isn't 16:10 or 16:9 anymore.

You're not going to find anything 4:3 larger than 20" anymore, and fewer every day.
Click to expand...

--

so I am stuck to buy Mac monitors or can I find something 24-30 inch that will work and give me full use of the screens real estate...?

thanks again for all the great help - I love macrumors!
 
efgamer said:
so I am stuck to buy Mac monitors or can I find something 24-30 inch that will work and give me full use of the screens real estate...?
Click to expand...

Apple hasn't sold 4:3 monitors since before 2003...

Everything is widescreen now. There is no such thing as "full" screen, and you're not "losing" anything with widescreen monitors; you're GAINING resolution.

The human eye resolves things more comfortably when they are wider than they are tall, anyway.

It's something to which you must become accustomed.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Apple hasn't sold 4:3 monitors since before 2003...

Everything is widescreen now. There is no such thing as "full" screen, and you're not "losing" anything with widescreen monitors; you're GAINING resolution.

The human eye resolves things more comfortably when they are wider than they are tall, anyway.

It's something to which you must become accustomed.
Click to expand...

--

so sounds like I should go big and deal with the wide screen? it seems like when I am in the macstore the mac 30' go full screen - dont they?
 
which brands?

Umbongo said:
Sure there is, they (20", 1600x1200) line up perfectly in vertical mode to a 30" display.
Click to expand...

What brands are those? Can you help point me to them? I just want to make sure I get the right monitors as I am not too savvy about all of this screen resolution stuff.

THANKS!
 
efgamer said:
--

so sounds like I should go big and deal with the wide screen? it seems like when I am in the macstore the mac 30' go full screen - dont they?
Click to expand...

The OP is somewhat uneducated. He thinks widescreen means black bars. To op- Widescreen does fill up the whole screen for computer monitors.
 
confused...

supermac1 said:
The OP is somewhat uneducated. He thinks widescreen means black bars. To op- Widescreen does fill up the whole screen for computer monitors.
Click to expand...

--

yes not too bright but make great beats. I do not want the black bars at all - isn't that possible? It seems like a common thing people want?
 
efgamer said:
--

yes not too bright but make great beats. I do not want the black bars at all - isn't that possible? It seems like a common thing people want?
Click to expand...

If you are hooking up a computer to a display, widescreen or not, you shouldn't have black bars. If so, it's an easy resolution fix in the settings. People don't want black bars. You get them if you try to play widescreen/HD video on a non widescreen display.
 
efgamer said:
What brands are those? Can you help point me to them? I just want to make sure I get the right monitors as I am not too savvy about all of this screen resolution stuff.

THANKS!
Click to expand...

Mostly older or very high end models. Don't worry about the whole widescreen thing. Go to a bestbuy or wherever and look at the models they have to get an idea of what you'd get in a 20", 22" or 24" display.
 
tried that...

supermac1 said:
If you are hooking up a computer to a display, widescreen or not, you shouldn't have black bars. If so, it's an easy resolution fix in the settings. People don't want black bars. You get them if you try to play widescreen/HD video on a non widescreen display.
Click to expand...

--

on the 24inch samsung i tried all the settings and couldn't get the black bars to go away. When i plug in my macpro tower it takes away a setting that I do not have when plugging in my macpro laptop...

can you recommend a specific monitor...or brand?
 
efgamer said:
--

on the 24inch samsung i tried all the settings and couldn't get the black bars to go away. When i plug in my macpro tower it takes away a setting that I do not have when plugging in my macpro laptop...

can you recommend a specific monitor...or brand?
Click to expand...

Is the samsung a TV or monitor? Are you adjusting the tv/monitor settings or the computer settings?
 
RE: Advice on best non-mac monitor for new MacPro

RE:
"I want the full screen to be used on the monitor - things just do not look right in widescreen mode. I am using it for making music so bigger is better for me so I can see everything. I was thinking of running duals so I could make music in Reason or Ableton on one monitor and use the other one for various other applications or research."

Your quest for "full screen mode" sounds like something out of the Windows world that has essentially no meaning on the Mac side of things.

Widescreen or not, the monitor is in "full screen mode" so long as it is running at its "native resolution".

If you're going to be doing music production with DAW software you WANT a display that is "wide screen", because doing digital audio editing in a timeline emphasizes "left-right" movement instead of "up-down". With a display such as a 24", you would have that extra "width" so that you would have much less scrolling through your timeline than with a 4:3 type display.

I would offer as best non-Apple choices for 24" to be either the Dell 2408WFP or the HP 2475w.

- John
 
Okay to kind of reopen this thread and not post a new one, what do you guys think is a good Monitor/TV (preferably between 22"-27") that is relatively cheap ($200-$350ish) That is compatible with my mac (ATI Radeon HD 2600 graphics card)?

I've looked at Samsung's touch of color 24" and that seems nice but a lot of people say it's not good for viewing angle and I want to use the screen for movies/gaming though xbox.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
Also what would be a good website to get it from? Amazon? Going to try to get one soon since the one I have now is burnt out on the top.
 
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