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Are all monitors the same?

T

TWHH

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
156
19
Hi there,

Have just made bought a MBP to replace my much loved, but now too slow iMac.

Only thing I think I'm gonna miss is having the larger screen for some jobs. So I want to get a monitor...

...now the Apple ones look nice, but I really don't think I can justify the cost.

All other monitors look to be much of a muchness. Are they? I'm not editing hi-res photos or video so doesn't need to be one of these 4K things, but a clear picture is always better than a fuzzy one :)

What should I be looking for, or is there one in particular that I should look at?

Thanks
 
No their not. A 200 dollar Dell monitor won't look as nice as their 500 dollar model. Different display technologies and tolerances mean that you can get something very inexpensive and decent or you can research the best monitor and then spend a lot of money
 
Oh crikey, what are some of the basic things I should be looking for?

When I've looked at these sorts of things I get a bit bamboozled by the name of the different wizzbang technologies manufacturers use.

Thanks
 
TWHH said:
Oh crikey, what are some of the basic things I should be looking for?

When I've looked at these sorts of things I get a bit bamboozled by the name of the different wizzbang technologies manufacturers use.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Basically you have TN panels and IPS panels. IPS are more expensive, have better viewing angles, can actually be calibrated unlike a TN, and have generally slower refresh rates. TN are cheaper, faster, and have viewing angles that can change brightness and color reproduction by moving your head one way or another just an inch.

Also, don't look at it as Apple vs. Dell. Companies like Samsung and LG make panels for those companies, so research who makes the panel in the brand your looking at vs. just looking at the brand name.
 
Last edited:
TWHH said:
Oh crikey, what are some of the basic things I should be looking for?

When I've looked at these sorts of things I get a bit bamboozled by the name of the different wizzbang technologies manufacturers use.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd recommend the Dell Ultrasharp U2412M (see http://www.engadget.com/products/dell/ultrasharp/u2412m/) and a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable (cheaper and neater than many of the other adapters). Its a 24" screen with 1920x1200 resolution, better for general use than cheaper screens with HDTV-res 1920x1080 resolution. It *isn't* a "wide colour gamut" monitor but unless you're using pro graphics software for colour-accurate work then that's not a problem.
 
One drawback on IPS-displays is that they aren't as responsive as the fastest TN-displays. So if you are a gamer you might wan't to think twice, there are TN-displays out there that is really fast and has almost as good color reproduction as most IPS-displays.
 
Apologies for the lag in recognition and thanks for replies. I've been away and offline and only just got my new MBPr.

All these comments are most welcome - thanks for taking the time to provide your advice. Certainly makes the buying process much easier.

I'm not a gamer, so the Dell monitor certainly seems like a strong candidate.

Just need to migrate all my data across from the old iMac so that I wipe the HD and put on ebay... to fund the new monitor!

Thanks again
 
TWHH said:
Hi there,

Have just made bought a MBP to replace my much loved, but now too slow iMac.

Only thing I think I'm gonna miss is having the larger screen for some jobs. So I want to get a monitor...

...now the Apple ones look nice, but I really don't think I can justify the cost.

All other monitors look to be much of a muchness. Are they? I'm not editing hi-res photos or video so doesn't need to be one of these 4K things, but a clear picture is always better than a fuzzy one :)

What should I be looking for, or is there one in particular that I should look at?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You should look into panel type , screen resolution , screen size , etc.

Not all monitors all the same.

----------
TWHH said:
Apologies for the lag in recognition and thanks for replies. I've been away and offline and only just got my new MBPr.

All these comments are most welcome - thanks for taking the time to provide your advice. Certainly makes the buying process much easier.

I'm not a gamer, so the Dell monitor certainly seems like a strong candidate.

Just need to migrate all my data across from the old iMac so that I wipe the HD and put on ebay... to fund the new monitor!

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Here is a nice monitor.
The screen size is 27" , the resolution is 2560 x 1440 , and the panel type is PLS. It also has a 3 year warranty.
Here is a professional review
 
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VI™ said:
Also, don't look at it as Apple vs. Dell. Companies like Samsung and LG make panels for those companies, so research who makes the panel in the brand your looking at vs. just looking at the brand name.
Click to expand...
This and even within a brand monitors are not all identical. A given brand can have a number of different displays.
 
Also check out Dell's outlet store.

You can find some of their top end Ultrasharp monitors at great markdowns (I got one at 50% off) with full warranties.
 
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