Advice/Recommendations for running MBA with external display

[dougutphy]

Hello everyone,

I've been using my 11" Air for about 8 months now and it has been the best thing I have ever purchased my entire life. So portable, powerful, reliable, etc etc...

This little machine is absolutely great for when I'm running around and need to pull stuff up, but when I'm just sitting working sometimes it just gets a little frustrating to be switching all over the place to the multiple windows I have open all the time (for example I like to be able to see all my terminal windows, just a personal preference )

I stole my brother's 23'' monitor last weekend just to see how it felt. I loved it, I would keep things I needed to reference on my Air's screen and keep all the stuff I was working with on the 23'' screen. Problem was, my Air started to run very hot. I knew it would heat up a little bit, but I wasn't expecting it to heat up as much as it was. Could it have been the particular display I was using?

Since that experience I think I want to go ahead and purchase a nice external display around 23''. Do any of you guys use something similar? what type would you recommend (Not looking for something up to caliber with the Apple Cinema)? Good/Bad experiences? Have you had heat problems? I have seen some threads about externals but these questions haven't really been answered for just a generic decent flat screen monitor.

Thanks!

 

[tradman]

Hi dougutphy,
I'm looking to invest in a number of products to suport my photography and I'm also thinking of the non thunderbolt display to cut down on costs.
I have been researching a lot the past while about the IPS screens from korea. These are essentially the same panels that are in the 27 inch apple display but cost a fraction of the cost. Purists will state that you may get a few dead pixels but the general consensus among the graphic community on the forums I've visited is that these screens are excellent value for money.
I know you specified 23 inch which are also available from Korea but the big sellers are the 27 inch which cost approx. 250 dollars shipped. Shipping takes three days.
I'm based in Ireland and the cost of the Korean IPS screens is a 5th of the cost of the thunderbolt.

 

[jmoore5196]

I used to live in Central Texas before coming across the big pond, so I'll extend a very long handshake from a former fellow Texan!

Even if money is tight, the 27" Apple Cinema Display or the newer Thunderbolt variation are well worth the investment. I pair my 11" MBA to the TBD and enjoy the heck out of both. The TBD gives me the ports the MBA lacks, which is helpful, and the quality of the display is excellent.

I have never heard the MBA fans kick in, but I don't use the MBA for video work or gaming. The most I push the machine is with InDesign or Photoshop. The MBA does get warm when connected to the TBD, but I imagine that's the video card pushing out to all the pixels in that big, lovely display.

I have actually felt ambivalent about a few Apple products in my day (my last 500-series PowerBook comes to mind, as well as my G4 Cube) but the TBD is one piece of gear I'd buy again and again. The user experience is just that good ... not something one can typically say for the bargain-basement alternatives.

Cheers!

 

[stevelam]

Hi dougutphy,
I'm looking to invest in a number of products to suport my photography and I'm also thinking of the non thunderbolt display to cut down on costs.
I have been researching a lot the past while about the IPS screens from korea. These are essentially the same panels that are in the 27 inch apple display but cost a fraction of the cost. Purists will state that you may get a few dead pixels but the general consensus among the graphic community on the forums I've visited is that these screens are excellent value for money.
I know you specified 23 inch which are also available from Korea but the big sellers are the 27 inch which cost approx. 250 dollars shipped. Shipping takes three days.
I'm based in Ireland and the cost of the Korean IPS screens is a 5th of the cost of the thunderbolt.

Personally I'd rather get a good quality dell. Whats going to happen if the Korean monitor dies in 6 months? Not saying it would, but you'd be pretty much screwed with no warranty/return options.

Unless you absolutely need 27", the dell u2410 is a great ips panel for graphic design and always for sale for about $300-400. Plus the comfort of years of warranty.

 

[calvol]

I'm using a 2010 13-UMBA with a Dell 2412M display via a DisplayPort cable. If you like the 16:10 screen dimension, this is a good option, and is a good bang-for-the-buck for a 6-bit color IPS panel.

http://tinyurl.com/779wzky