Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple 23" Cinema display vs. Dell 24"

millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
I'm looking for a bigger screen for photo editing and LOVE the ACD 23" looks, but don't like the price so much. How do you guys feel about these two screens? I had read somewhere that someone had a coupon for a Dell screen for $650...anyone know where that coupon is?
 
If the aesthetics are your main concern, get the Apple. If they are not, get the Dell. Quite simple.

The Dell has a variety of outputs, but no FireWire - that is usually not a deal breaker for most people.

I just like the look and feel of the Apple, which is why I bought one. Color and accuracy is just fine for me.
 
My main concern is having a larger working area for Photoshop. However, that being said, if I'm going to plunk down hundreds and hundreds of dollars I want to make sure I get the best thing for my money. Apple aesthetics lean me in that direction, but if everyone loves the Dell for this reason or that AND I can find a coupon to get it for $650 somewhere, that might be the deal breaker. So I'm trying to get peoples opinions on the two monitors to help make my choice.
 
I've been using a 30" ACD for almost a year now for color correction and photography work and have never had an issue...with this one...it took three tries to get a working one, but hopefully they have worked out those issues.

I just can't imagine putting Dell's display with my aluminum PM and aluminum PB. It's the price I pay for being mildy OCD. :eek:
 
Get the ACD. The 30" ACD has already been proven superior to the 30" Smell. Buy a refurb. You can get it at around $800-900. Not much more than the Smell, and you get the rugged good looks, plus better picture and performance. I wouldn't care aboue that 1" extra screen size on teh Smell.;)
 
1" isn't going to make any difference because the two monitors have the same resolution, so that shouldn't be an issue. The Dell will just make things look a little bigger, but at the same time, that means that the Apple will have (minutely) better dpi.
 
iGary said:
I've been using a 30" ACD for almost a year now for color correction and photography work and have never had an issue...with this one...it took three tries to get a working one, but hopefully they have worked out those issues.

I just can't imagine putting Dell's display with my aluminum PM and aluminum PB. It's the price I pay for being mildy OCD. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got a little bit of the OCD in me as well....my friend who is purely price sensitive for every purchase he makes would think I'm crazy for considering a monitor with the same resolution but twice the price. But for me, I'm almost ready to do it. I love Apple industrial design.
 
Josias said:
Get the ACD. The 30" ACD has already been proven superior to the 30" Smell. Buy a refurb. You can get it at around $800-900. Not much more than the Smell, and you get the rugged good looks, plus better picture and performance. I wouldn't care aboue that 1" extra screen size on teh Smell.;)
Click to expand...

Where do you get it for $800-$900? On the Apple refurbished store online they are going for $1100.

Also, I've read plenty that people have to return them because of color issues and get a new one....almost like you have to get lucky to get a quality one. This makes me think the best route would be to buy new at a nearby store for the added flexability "just in case"
 
millerrh - do you have any video devices that wouldnt use DVI connections. Like for example my hi-fi has a DVD player but I mainly use it as a radio / speakers for my computer, this DVD player of mine has s-video out, so I want my new monitor to have s-video inputs, with the ACD dont have.

If you are going to be soully using DVI connection, AND really want to impress your friends and family AND can afford it - get the ACD.
 
*

I've been running FCP suite on a 24" dell and have enjoyed it. No problems with color or dead / uneven spots. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I'd rather have the ACD, because i like supporting apple-- but when all i could afford was a 20" ACD or a 24" dell-- I had to go with the larger canvas for FCP.
 
Finally broke down and bought the 23" ACD. First impression -- I love it. But I have two things that are kind of annoying me about it and I wonder if I should try to exchange it. After spending $1300 on a display I kind of want it to be perfect.

Firstly, the upper right corner/edge is a little bit washed out compared to the rest of the screen. It is so minor, at first I was wondering if it was just light reflecting differently off the screen, but it really is there.

Then when testing this theory about this "light spot" I made my entire desktop black to see it better and notice about 8 pixels that are stuck on a color that isn't black. I'm guessing these are dead pixels?

Do you guys think this is worth exchaging? Or do all monitors have a certain amount of dead pixels?
 
millerrh said:
Finally broke down and bought the 23" ACD. First impression -- I love it. But I have two things that are kind of annoying me about it and I wonder if I should try to exchange it. After spending $1300 on a display I kind of want it to be perfect.

Firstly, the upper right corner/edge is a little bit washed out compared to the rest of the screen. It is so minor, at first I was wondering if it was just light reflecting differently off the screen, but it really is there.

Then when testing this theory about this "light spot" I made my entire desktop black to see it better and notice about 8 pixels that are stuck on a color that isn't black. I'm guessing these are dead pixels?

Do you guys think this is worth exchaging? Or do all monitors have a certain amount of dead pixels?
Click to expand...

8 pixels is more than enough for an exchange!!!!
 
iGary said:
I just can't imagine putting Dell's display with my aluminum PM and aluminum PB. It's the price I pay for being mildy OCD. :eek:
Click to expand...


Ditto. Didn't want a Dell's display with my PB and PM. Just doesn't feel right.
 
you have to remember, there are other things to take into mind-

compair the specification sheet of the apple monitor and the dell one.

the brightness on the apple is 270 cd/m2 compaired to the dell pannel's 450 cd/m2

and the contrast is a pretty poor 400:1 on the apple pannel to the dell's 1000:1

i'm pretty sure that they both source their pannels from samsung or LG too (having never cracked open a apple or dell monitor myself, i'm only going on what i've heard :) ).. sooo.

in terms of price and specs the dell pannel wins hands down. but, and heres a big but. within the next few months apple *should* be updating their pannels to those which are of eaqual or greater quality of dell's. samsung have just launched a range of pannels with a 2000:1 contrast ratio. it would be perfect for apple to go for these, i'm not making any firm prediction. but to remain market viable, espessily to the graphics market. they really need to upgrade and soon.

and yes if it was purely asthetics, i'd go for the apple in a shot
 
oh, i just want to add!

look around the entire market for a display. not just dell and apple :)

LG, phlips, samsung, viewsonic, sony all put out some quite nice monitors. and a wider selection gives you more choices to work with!
 
I have a 23 in ACD at work and a 24" Dell at home, the ACD is far nicer but the Dell is good too, especially for the price. I thought I would be unhappy with the Dell but in reality, it is an awesome monitor for the price and even if the price gap was smaller, the monitor is still pretty good.
 
Both monitor are awesome; the apple outdoes the dell in design and solidity, but the dell has more options and analog inputs which can be truely usefull.

I got the 23" apple monitor 1 year ago and I have nothing to complain about, everyones that sees it just go wow. For me both where the same price, Dell had no rebate here in Montreal and apple had the 200-300$ student discount. I choosed apple becose it just looks awesome.

Just a warning; at first I was using it at maximum brightness for long period of time, and then realized my vision realy deteriorated and needed new glasses. For me its too bright, Im now leaving it at medium brightness and have no more problems.

If you have a mac I would get the Apple, but if look is not important for you and you plan on getting a ps3 and watch tv on it then get a dell.
 
ericssonboi said:
8 pixels is more than enough for an exchange!!!!
Click to expand...

Apples policy is, if more than 10 dead (not stuck, dead) pixels, you may get the screen repaired or exchanged.
 
Now that I've got this Apple Display I notice a strange behavior when I use it with a Windows PC. If I restart my machine, the buttons on the side no longer work. I have to unplug the display from the wall, replug it back in, and then they will work. Is this just some sort of incompatability problem with Windows or is there something wrong?
 
For the stuck pixels (this wont work on dead ones) you can try pixelmurder - it flashes intense colours in a quicktime movie and claims to blast stuck pixels into life. You have to leave it on over night though.
Or you could try massaging them with an -almost dry- cloth with moderate pressure. This is often quite effecive.

Heres a link to PixelMurder: http://itasor.com/pixelmurder.mov

I hope you get it sorted.

- Joe.
 
Joe2000 said:
For the stuck pixels (this wont work on dead ones) you can try pixelmurder - it flashes intense colours in a quicktime movie and claims to blast stuck pixels into life. You have to leave it on over night though.
Or you could try massaging them with an -almost dry- cloth with moderate pressure. This is often quite effecive.

Heres a link to PixelMurder: http://itasor.com/pixelmurder.mov

I hope you get it sorted.

- Joe.
Click to expand...

Do not leave that overnight! After they were revived (if they were revived), the flashing would stress them out and they could become stuck even more.
 
Ok well i have both of these monitors! lol

here is my opinion. the 23" ACD is incredible. when calibrated it seriously is just a very very good monitor, especially for photoshop.

however, since that is the only monitor on my G5 i do feel like i run out of room on occasion, ( if i could only have 1 monitor i would take a 30" for sure ) so i bought a dell 24" because i got it for under $700

off the bat the dell is incredibly bright, like, painfully bright. but when properly calibrated ( i have a monaco optix xr ) it is very nice. the contrast is a thing of beauty. now here is where my beef is. it's black. lol. i tried using it side by side with my ACD, and while the colors and brightness would spot on with each other. that silver to black bezel difference drove me crazy. so i took the dell to my office, where i use it with my 17" powerbook, and i like this setup very very much.

basically. performance-wise they are nearly the same ( and i need critical accuracy )
looks-wise i would take the apple in half of a heartbeat.
price wise you just cant beat the dell.

hope that helps some!

- Abram


edit- thats what i get for smeeking! haha didnt see that the OP already decided. my bad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back