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Apple Displays - one 30" vs two 20"

S

splicednuggets

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2008
14
0
I'm looking at purchasing new monitor(s) in the very near future for my G5. Money is not really and issue and I'm looking at either buying a 30" Apple display or two 20" Apples. Either way I'll upgrade my video card upon purchase of the monitor. I'm wondering which is a better buy for my needs. I mainly edit using Final Cut Pro, with hundreds and hundreds of short film clips to deal with at a time in any given project. I use a handful of other applications- but not usually more than a few non-screen occupying apps at a time. I don't usually switch between applications and I'm not editing any HD video. I leaning towards the 30" right now and don't really care if Apple updates their screens, the current ones are fine in my opinion.. what are your thoughts?
 
I would say to go for the 30". I have seen two 20"s set up, and I think I would get a little bit annoyed at the setup after some time. The 30" is beautiful, and very spacious, more so (in my opinion) than two 20"s.
 
I agree...get the single 30" display. More pixels, and a single screen space that provides you with the most flexibility for arranging your windows.
 
I agree with the 30". I was drooling (literally) over one in-store the other day.
 
Get the 30". Not only its more convinient than working with 2 (much) smaller displays, but its also higher quality, better for color-precision work and has better viewing angles.
 
eXan said:
Get the 30". Not only its more convinient than working with 2 (much) smaller displays, but its also higher quality, better for color-precision work and has better viewing angles.
Click to expand...

true, i didn't even think about the viewing angle. makes sense to me. any other pluses for the 30"?
 
It's beautiful. I was in the same budget area as you, but could only afford one screen. I've gone for a 23" and when I have more money and the new screens come out, I'll add a 30".
 
One 30 inch or two 20 inch?

I think I would go with 3 x 20 inch.

- One directly ahead of you (main monitor)
- One for Winders (left side).
- One for other stuff (right side).

:D
 
smogsy said:
no spilt n middle between the the 2 screens :p
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Obvious, but true.

What about a video card for my dual 1.8GHz G5/3GB RAM... I was thinking about going with this one. Any reasons why I shouldn't pick this up for a 30" ? How smoothly will things run on this with that much screen real estate? It appears to be my only option other than get a new setup, which I would rather not do considering this thing is fast enough for me. Thanks.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/ATI Technologies/100435065/
 
ive used 3 screen setup and it gets annying quick, sure its fun at first but now i only get q big screen :)


9600PRO is fairly old but will do the job for 30inch

althernarively you could get 2.4ghz imac? would be much faster :) with 24inch screen with 1900x1200 :)
 
smogsy said:
ive used 3 screen setup and it gets annying quick, sure its fun at first but now i only get q big screen :)


9600PRO is fairly old but will do the job for 30inch

althernarively you could get 2.4ghz imac? would be much faster :) with 24inch screen with 1900x1200 :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I could see myself getting annoyed by it quickly. I can't go for the iMac cause I have two 750GB drives in my G5 that are too precious to me along with 3GB of RAM. It still flys. I don't need a faster computer for awhile. If the 9600 card works fine with the 30" then I think I'll for it. Anyone had issues with this card and the 30" together?
 
Freyqq said:
I'd get 2 24" LG L246WP

really really well reviewed monitors for about $600 each..honestly better than a 20" ACD for the same price! lol.

read these reviews for instance - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005089&Tpk=lg+l245wp
(the LG L245WP and LG L246WP are the same monitor. the 45 version they made for internet retailers and the 46 is for b/m stores. the actual monitor is the same)
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I don't know. I'm a design person, the only display that is pleasing to my eye are the Apple and LaCie ones. But the LaCie monitors come with a massive price tag.

I've been looking for reviews about the 9600 with the 30" but haven't found any. Help? Thanks.
 
splicednuggets said:
I don't know. I'm a design person, the only display that is pleasing to my eye are the Apple and LaCie ones. But the LaCie monitors come with a massive price tag.

I've been looking for reviews about the 9600 with the 30" but haven't found any. Help? Thanks.
Click to expand...

30". many people don't realize how difficult it is to produce this screen. 2 x 20 looks forced. looks like an after-thought. if you can, go 30.
 
itou said:
30". many people don't realize how difficult it is to produce this screen. 2 x 20 looks forced. looks like an after-thought. if you can, go 30.
Click to expand...

thanks man. wat about the 9600 video card for my dual 1.8.. will this run the 30" well? it's a heck of a lot of screen real estate for a card to handle.. but my 23"/15" screen setup right now is running off a 64mb card..so i guess four times the amount of vram should do something? i hope. 30" it is. thanks everyone who contributed.
 
I've seen some people have one 30" and next to it they take a 20" and rotate it in portrait mode. They both are then the same height and the portrait one is great for email screens, itunes window, long word docs, etc.
 
I know this is probably beyond what you are looking for. But if money's not a concern, have you ever looked at 2 x 30"? Extended mode with 2 wide screen and extreme high resolution, this seems like a great solution for myself. Perhaps it will suit you too.
 
The 20" displays are too small for your needs. It's not what you asked, but I would go for 2 x 23" ACDs or the 30" now and possibly at 23" at a later date. Undoubtedly, you'll move into HD before too long and the 20" does not do 1920 x 1080. A 23" ACD has enough room for all of your FCP windows. I'd suggest you use a second display for a full resoution display monitor, essentially using the second display at your Canvas Window. Having the second display for a full resolution preview is a wonderful thing.
 
I went from two 18 inch monitors to a 23 inch Apple display...hesitated for the longest time because I loved my 2-monitor setup but am so glad I made the switch...one larger monitor ROCKS! I would go for the 30 inch.
 
Why apple display?

they are overpriced, outdated, don't support hdcp. i know the displays look great and you want to keep that "apple" image. But you should highly reconsider.
 
errol said:
I've seen some people have one 30" and next to it they take a 20" and rotate it in portrait mode. They both are then the same height and the portrait one is great for email screens, itunes window, long word docs, etc.
Click to expand...

Man... i have a nice Samsung 22" monitor that can't rotate and I want to buy a 30". :(

I guess I probably should sell the 22", get the 30" (gulp) and then go for a monitor that can rotate... i'm really liking that idea.

Or perhaps I should keep the 22" for a right winger and get another 22 that can rotate for the left winger and get a big 30" in the center. Then i'd have three mismatching displays, but one nice setup.

Hmmm.. :rolleyes:
 
I don't know if it will work in your setup or not, but I had a Radeon x800xt in my Dualie 2.0 G5 and that thing flew no matter what I threw at it. I had 3.5 GB of RAM in it, and adding that card made as much difference or more as adding those extra 3 GB of RAM did (and I used it with a 30" screen at the time...worked perfectly).

But then, I've also enjoyed working on dual 20" Dell Ultrasharps in the past, as well. Worth thinking about...it's easy to setup a workflow, especially in Final Cut, with two monitors (all toolbars on one side, workspace in the other).

Whatever you end up getting, enjoy =P
 
well, to answer a few questions...

i'm not going to be using HD for the foreseeable future.... it's all 16mm/8mm/vx1000 cam footage. i don't need an hdcp?? i don't even know what that means really. i don't have endless money, so two 30" would be out of the question, not to mention a little bit of overkill. but thanks for the input, i'm pretty sure i'm going for the 30" with the 9600 256mb card, seems like the most logical decision for my needs.
 
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