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Apple display VS. Dell display

M

mohaukachi

macrumors member
Original poster
May 28, 2003
57
0
los angeles
hi all, i was shopping for a new screen and have been infatuated with the apple 23"hd for some time now. 1300 bucks is a lot of money for me however. then the other day my browsing found me a deal on a dell ultrasharp 2405FPW 24" which has pretty much the same "on paper" specs. same resoloution similar response times etc. it's allure is the 899 pricetag.

so my question, and i know there are those of you out there who know, whats going to be a better deal for me in the long run? has anyone here had experience with the dell and can compare it to the apple? or should i shut up and get the apple 20 and be done with it? thanks!

ken
 
there was a good review on the web showing that the apple display has a better picture. the link was in this forum somewhere.

i'm no expert but when i compared them (not really side by side) i also like the apple display more (sharper, better colors). that is purely subjective but the apple just has a better picture.
i'm waiting for a 23" imac. if that doesn't come then i'm in the market for a 23" display. and in the moment i tend to the apple display despite the $500+ price difference.

my two cents.

andi
 
grapes911 said:
Apple and Dell get their screens from the same manufacturer/supplier. Basically they are the same screen in different casings.
Click to expand...

thats what they said in that review i mentioned above. but they also said that the picture quality on the apple looks better. i don't understand why but it confirms my feeling that the apple display simply is better. probably someone here on the forum can explain this (better electronics? or apple only buys higher quality batches by whatever measure?). i really like to know because as i said i'm probably in the market as well.

edit:
i only found the 20" comparison: http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2400
 
mohaukachi said:
hi all, i was shopping for a new screen and have been infatuated with the apple 23"hd for some time now. 1300 bucks is a lot of money for me however.
Click to expand...
Isn't the 23" 1500 bucks?

...And over 1900 bucks here in the UK! - I mean c'mon, the Boston Tea Party was LONG time ago -- and can't we get some fair treatment in lieu of Jonathan Ive... :confused: :D
 
I got my Dell 2005FPW for $397 with special deals/coupons. If you wait around until they have another deal like that, the monitor is unbeatable for its price. Its a solid monitor, especially for such a low price.
 
Pluckie said:
I got my Dell 2005FPW for $397 with special deals/coupons. If you wait around until they have another deal like that, the monitor is unbeatable for its price. Its a solid monitor, especially for such a low price.
Click to expand...
there is no question that the 20" dell for $400 is bargain. the 24" dell at $950 is also great.
although i'm waiting for a 23" imac the option to buy a bargain dual G5 2.0 plus a 24" dell gets more and more tempting. especially when dell gives coupon to further reduce the price.
 
The 2405 is not only $500 less expensive, but it has 5 inputs: Composite, component, S-video, VGA, and DVI. The Cinema display only has 1 input. The 2405 supports picture-in-picture and split screen. The 2405 also has a 9-1 media reader and 4 port USB hub.


Apple and Dell get their LCDs from the same company. Any difference in picture quality is due to either improper resolution/color calibration on the Dell (i.e. using the wrong Display Profile) or is purely psychological (i.e. "I Want the Apple display to be better than the Dell").
 
Also, the people waiting for a 23-inch iMac are going to have a loooong wait (forever). I really don't see Apple introducing a 23-inch iMac. Remember: the iMac is a consumer/entry-level machine. People who want 23-inch displays are "supposed" to buy a Powermac and go from there, until 23-inch becomes "entry level", which won't happen for at least 3-5 years
 
anubis said:
The 2405 is not only $500 less expensive, but it has 5 inputs: Composite, component, S-video, VGA, and DVI. The Cinema display only has 1 input. The 2405 supports picture-in-picture and split screen. The 2405 also has a 9-1 media reader and 4 port USB hub.


Apple and Dell get their LCDs from the same company. Any difference in picture quality is due to either improper resolution/color calibration on the Dell (i.e. using the wrong Display Profile) or is purely psychological (i.e. "I Want the Apple display to be better than the Dell").
Click to expand...

thats kind of the feeling i had too. and yes id get the student rate (200 off) for the apple. ive been cruising craigslist for a used 23HD and the best i can find anywhere is 1200. i appreciate the input guys!
 
anubis said:
Also, the people waiting for a 23-inch iMac are going to have a loooong wait (forever). I really don't see Apple introducing a 23-inch iMac. Remember: the iMac is a consumer/entry-level machine. People who want 23-inch displays are "supposed" to buy a Powermac and go from there, until 23-inch becomes "entry level", which won't happen for at least 3-5 years
Click to expand...

dare you disturbing my day dream! :D

i'm hoping that in the "year of HD" apple brings a actual HD machine to the market. the 20" imac also came as a surprise to many when 20"screen where not entry level. we will see.

regarding the 24" dell: it could easily be that one can adjust the dell to make it equal to the mac.
as i said before, with a dell coupon it could become a real bargain.

has any of you graphics pros experience with calibrating those dells and how good can they be?

andi
 
The ACD and the Dell are not, in fact, the same display.

While the LCD panel is sourced from the same supplier, the backlight components, and the "controller" cards (which interpret the digital feed and command the LCD pixel array) are different in the Apple vis a vis the Dell.

The ACD is a closed system, the Dell runs hot enough to need venting, and thus dust can get in far more easily. (the Dell runs hotter due to the DAC circuitry required to support a legacy analogue connection... the ACD just has DVI, and thus being digital-only has no need for a DAC)

This is more than an academic point; I'm about to buy an ACD over the Dell :)

-RS
 
quidire said:
The ACD and the Dell are not, in fact, the same display.

While the LCD panel is sourced from the same supplier, the backlight components, and the "controller" cards (which interpret the digital feed and command the LCD pixel array) are different in the Apple vis a vis the Dell.

The ACD is a closed system, the Dell runs hot enough to need venting, and thus dust can get in far more easily. (the Dell runs hotter due to the DAC circuitry required to support a legacy analogue connection... the ACD just has DVI, and thus being digital-only has no need for a DAC)

This is more than an academic point; I'm about to buy an ACD over the Dell :)

-RS
Click to expand...

Thank you for such good response. I always thought that ACD were better when it comes to image reproduction. That is why they are used for Virtual Proofing .
 
The Apple 23" and Dell 2405FPW do not use the same LCD Panel. The Apple panel is a S-IPS LG-Philips panel, whilst the Dell 2405FPW uses a PVA Samsung panel.

How could they possibly be the same when even their sizes are different? :rolleyes:

In the case of the 20" widescreens, both the ACD and Dells 2005FPW do use the same LG-Philips panel, but the Dell has arguably better electronics inside. The genesis gm1601 used in the Dell gives it considerable flexibility wrt input options, as well as offering picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture viewing of multiple inputs.

The 20" ACD reportedly has more consistent backlighting, but most of the backlight issues with the Dell 2005FPW were with the early Rev A00 models. A01 improved the situation, and the A02 rev improved it further.

As for the 23/24" panels, the Dell is easily the better panel. The Samsung PVA panel has inherently better characteristics to the S-IPS LG-Philips in the 23" ACD, particularly wrt colour reproduction and contrast ratio (read: deeper blacks). The Dell also uses a much more powerful backlight and there have been almost no reports of the same backlight issues that existed with the 2005FPW.

Again the Dell has a bucket load of input options, including component input so that you can even use it as an HDTV (provided you have a HD component output source).

The only real advantage the 23" ACD has over the 2405FPW is the Apple design and styling. The Dell has the better image quality, greater functionality, and a much lower price to boot. Just a slight bum that it'd look a bit odd next to a shiny PowerMac. Nothing that a little spray paint can't fix though ;)
 
y0zza said:
As for the 23/24" panels, the Dell is easily the better panel. The Samsung PVA panel has inherently better characteristics to the S-IPS LG-Philips in the 23" ACD, particularly wrt colour reproduction and contrast ratio (read: deeper blacks). The Dell also uses a much more powerful backlight and there have been almost no reports of the same backlight issues that existed with the 2005FPW.

Again the Dell has a bucket load of input options, including component input so that you can even use it as an HDTV (provided you have a HD component output source).
Click to expand...

so with that i'm again one step closer to the dell 24" + Powermac Dual G5 2.0 solution. a 23" imac would be $2500 or so.

andi
 
Did someone mention a G5 and a Dell 24" display? :D

g5dellwhiterose5ok.jpg




Qualifying buyers must speak with the Dell education rep or the Small Business rep by phone to get the best prices. Mine was WELL UNDER $899 shipped.
 
Come over to the Dell side!

andiwm2003 said:
dare you disturbing my day dream! :D

has any of you graphics pros experience with calibrating those dells and how good can they be?

andi
Click to expand...

Well, I'm certainly no graphics pro, but I just got my Dell 24" screen, and I'm here to tell you that it can be very very good indeed. I am extremely happy with it. And this is from someone who spent *months* drooling over the displays in the Apple store, convinced that nothing could look that pretty. But when I saw the specs, and the reviews and the price for the Dell, I finally went with that, and I highly recommend it. I'm still waiting for my G5, but I plugged the monitor into my Powerbook and ran the callibration setup thingy, and when I was done, I really felt like everything was just jumping off the screen: very very crisp and sharp, excellent colors, to my eye no blurring or ghosting when watching DVDs. I don't play games so I can't attest to its performance there, but I really think it looks just fantastic.
The thing is, for all you out there considering this same dilemna, I had to make the decision before I had a chance to actually get the Dell in front of my eyes, so I allowed myself to be swayed by some of the other practicalites that the Dell has over the ACD, and I urge you to consider them as well: First, it's got 5 different inputs, so you can have it connected to two computers (one on DVI and one on VGA), and then a DVD player, a video game system, and whatever else (with S-Video, composite video, and component RCA jacks), all at the same time, switch between them easily with the touch of a button, and what's more, you can do Picture-in-Picture between any two sources, or even Picture-by-Picture! Think about it, this is incredibly useful!
Second, the Apple LCD can only be adjusted on one dimension - it can be tilted up and down. But the Dell can be adjusted along FOUR different dimensions: it can be tilted up and down, swiveled left and right, height adjusted up and down the stand, and even rotated from landscape to portrait view. In these two ways, it's actually much more user friendly than the Apple.
(Plus, and I probably won't use this, it's also got slots for all kinds of memory cards and whatnot to be stuck right into it - somebody should find that useful.)
I can't deny that the Apple is the sexiest thing around, but really, the Dell is no slouch looks-wise. I think it's pretty slick looking, very slim and elegant, I say. And while it's not quite as efficient as the Apple's all-in-one cabling solution out the back, the built-in cable management works pretty well, so that if you can run the cables through a hole in your desktop or something like that, they're pretty much invisible coming from the back of the monitor.
I'd be happy to field more questions about it, but I'm glad to be able to pass on my experience to everyone on the forum here - it's really a quality product.
 
If looks matter, then don't ever look at the back side of a Dell monitor before buying it. :D Apple = elegant design! Dell = fugly in front of ACD. But then, the price difference is very high even after the price drops on ACDs a few months ago!

If you compare the number of inputs and features like picture-in-picture, the Dell is much better. But for sole DVI compatibility, looks, and simplicity and elegance of the user interface, the Apple display beats the Dell display hands down.

P.S.: When it was time for me to decide, I bought a 20" ACD after breaking my head over it and the Dell 2005FPW for a week. Anandtech's review didn't help much. :) The way my display is setup currently, I would've felt like committing suicide had I bought the Dell. :D
 
I have a 2005FPW and it's a great monitor.

I found 3 reasons to buy it over the ACD: 1) price, 2) more inputs and 3) height adjustable.

There are more things that the dell has, such as rotation, PIP, etc... , but I don't use these features.
 
I'm using a 20" Cinema Display at work (connected to a dual 2.3GHz PowerMac :)) and it is gorgeous, the styling is way beyond the Dell, and putting the touch controls on the side is great. It is limited by only being tiltable and turnable (the base can move baravelli!). The Dell has that nasty plasticky base as well, ugh.

However the Dell does have multiple inputs. Whilst not having a VGA input isn't an issue, it would be nice to have a second DVI input for a second Mac or to connect up your laptop if need be. Also having a HDMI input would be nice for other things in the future (PS3, etc). I hope that Apple add these ports (and a 4 port USB2 hub) on their next Cinema Display.

I'd recommend making a list of the features you need and then the factors that would influence your decision, and then rank each monitor against them. For example, my office is white and light pine, so a black Dell monitor really wouldn't go, and the bezel would distract me. OTOH at home I have an AG Neovo F419 which has a slim black bezel, and it isn't too bad.
 
Hattig said:
...the bezel would distract me. OTOH at home I have an AG Neovo F419 which has a slim black bezel, and it isn't too bad.
Click to expand...
I know that this is a bad thing to say on a Mac forum, but whatever the bezel looks like you will not even notice it after you've used it for a couple of days, no matter how ugly it is your brain will just ignore it and all you'll see is the picture on screen.
 
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