Best monitor for Mac Pro?

[bob5820]

A very brief review of the Dell U2311H

I set up one of the two Dell U2311H's I received on Wednesday alongside my 30"ACD, and so far I'd have to say I'm pretty impressed. The Dell has somewhat of a bluish cast compared to the 30ACD but as color blind as I am I'm probably not the best judge. I calibrated both monitors but did not try to color match them. Doing so may even things out a bit between the two but I wanted to see how the Dell calibrated on its own. I'll rerun the calibrations tonight and see if I can bring two closer together.

I apologize for the quality of the picture. I didn't feel like pulling out the tripod so I shot this at 1600 ISO and the image is a bit noisy.


Calibration: Data Color Spyder3 Elite (The 4.0 software upgrade is pretty sweet)
Brightness: Both monitors at about 75%
Contrast: Dell U2311H 75%, 30ACD not adjustable

DataColor calibration report


U2311 compared to sRGB colorspace (U2311 in red sRGB in green)


U2311 compared to AdobeRGB colorspace (U2311 in red AdobeRGB in blue)

 

[strausd]

Thanks for the quick little review! How long did it take for you to get it once you ordered?

 

[gpzjock]

Dell can go to Hell.

I use Dell monitors at work, they are of dubious reliability and don't look good even if they come at a bargain price, I wouldn't buy one personally they seem too bright and brash. I get a headache from the glare within hours. I'm not flaming, this is just my individual view on the monitors I use, everybody is entitled to their opinion too.
My own monitor at home is a 2 year old 22" Iiyama and it looks lovely by comparison I can stare at it all day with no ill effects. I can wholeheartedly recommend any Iiyama model you care to look at, they all seem good quality and reasonably priced. Sorry the link is in sterling not greenbacks.
http://www.iiyama-monitors.co.uk/categories/monitors/iiyama-24-and-26-inch-Monitor.aspx

Happy hunting!

 

[bob5820]

Thanks for the quick little review! How long did it take for you to get it once you ordered?

It was a couple of days, four at most.

 

[bob5820]

they are of dubious reliability and don't look good even if they come at a bargain price,

Like you said, personal opinion. I've never had an issue with any Dell monitor I've purchased, nor have I had any issues with the Dell monitors we use at work (and those a re pretty much Dell's bottom of the line LCD's).

wouldn't buy one personally they seem too bright and brash. I get a headache from the glare within hours. I'm not flaming, this is just my individual view on the monitors I use, everybody is entitled to their opinion too.

Most LCD's are going to come out of the box overly bright and brash, same is true of flat screen TV's. Not a problem if you calibrate your monitors with a tool like the Datacolor Spyder3 http://www.datacolor.com/index.php?id=

My own monitor at home is a 2 year old 22" Iiyama and it looks lovely by comparison I can stare at it all day with no ill effects. I can wholeheartedly recommend any Iiyama model you care to look at, they all seem good quality and reasonably priced. Sorry the link is in sterling not greenbacks.
http://www.iiyama-monitors.co.uk/categories/monitors/iiyama-24-and-26-inch-Monitor.aspx

In the CRT days Iiyama had a great reputation but I hadn't heard of them in years and actually thought they went out of business. Their no longer a force at all in the US market but obviously their still available in the European market (well the UK at least).

 

[TheStrudel]

It's a good bet that the Dell monitors he used at work were not Ultrasharps, unless he's a graphics designer (probably not), so his comment is meaningless.

Just like most of the comments you'll read about monitors on the internet!

Stick to the much more helpful review.

 

[strausd]

The Dell u2311h is one of their ultrasharps, correct?

 

[Mackilroy]

Yes. It's also an IPS display (not all UltraSharps are, or were).

 

[strausd]

Is the u2311h better than the 23 inch NEC IPS monitor?

 

[TheStrudel]

We don't know. It's too new, not enough people have tried and tested it; with displays you need a multiple review consensus because there's variable quality (especially among cheaper monitors).

I think all the current model Ultrasharps are IPS displays now - the 08 (and possibly 09?) models were the last ones to use PVA panels.

You can always try it and return it, you know. I've heard Dell's customer support is pretty good about that sort of thing.

 

[strausd]

Do they give discounts if you order monitors over the phone?

 

[nanofrog]

Do they give discounts if you order monitors over the phone?

Worth a phone call at least.

 

[Jensend]

From the tech specs for the U2311

Color Gamut:
82%* (100% sRGB coverage)

*Color gamut (typical) is based on CIE1976 (82%) and CIE1931 (72%) test standards.

the CIE color space is a bit misleading as it is a LAB color space not an RGB color space

Still pretty poor for an IPS but unless your color correcting for a printer probably not that big of a deal.

Virtually all content aimed at computer screens is designed to look best at with a gamut that equals sRGB. All Apple displays have this lower gamut. I wish my 30" Dell had the lower gamut.

Lower gamut would only be "pretty poor" if all software perfectly supported higher color gamuts. I'm fairly sure Apple chooses the standard gamut because of these issues.

 

[TheStrudel]

Unlike Windows (Well, prior to 7, anyway- I don't know about 7 now), OS X can manage wide gamut displays just fine. There's no disadvantage to having a wider gamut, but it just doesn't confer any real advantages unless you shoot and edit content in a wider gamut, like I do with my digital SLR (I shoot and edit in aRGB). Unfortunately, printing companies are only just starting to go beyond sRGB...

 

[shabbasuraj]

Hey, I was wondering what the best monitor for a Mac Pro would be. I would like for it to be 24 inch, either 1920 X 1080 or 1920 X 1200. Also, I would like an LED display instead of an LCD. It would be nice if it was under $400 but my budget can stretch a little. Anyone have any suggestions? Links are definitely welcome

I suggest you make sure you buy a In-plane switching monitor and not TN.

'If' you really mean what you mean by 'BEST'

 

[strausd]

I think I've pretty much decided on the new Dell u2311h. Now I just gotta wait til the MP gets updated, which better happen freaking soon.

 

[bob5820]

There's no disadvantage to having a wider gamut, but it just doesn't confer any real advantages unless you shoot and edit content in a wider gamut, like I do with my digital SLR (I shoot and edit in aRGB).

Interesting read that shows there are some possible disadvantages to a wider gamut. While I agree agree that a wide gamut canbe useful in editing digital images I think that the perceived advantages it affords you tends to get exaggerated quite a bit. Photographers have been producing high quality images in the AdobeRGB color space long before the appearance of wide gamut monitors. As the article points out a wide gamut in and of itself does not necessarily ensure a higher quality image. In other words even though the Dell U2410'and the Ezio CG24W both have roughly a 96% AdobeRGB colorspace the Dell lacks the Ezio's hardware based LUT and uniformity correction which kind of negates some of the advantages of the wider gamut.

 

[TheStrudel]

It's a color management issue. That's not news to anybody who understands wide gamut.

OS X has had built in color management for a long time, so like I said, there's no real disadvantage. Previous versions of windows, on the other hand, did not, and there it caused problems.

 

[gri]

I use Dell monitors at work, they are of dubious reliability and don't look good even if they come at a bargain price, I wouldn't buy one personally they seem too bright and brash. I get a headache from the glare within hours. I'm not flaming, this is just my individual view on the monitors I use, everybody is entitled to their opinion too.
My own monitor at home is a 2 year old 22" Iiyama and it looks lovely by comparison I can stare at it all day with no ill effects. I can wholeheartedly recommend any Iiyama model you care to look at, they all seem good quality and reasonably priced. Sorry the link is in sterling not greenbacks.
http://www.iiyama-monitors.co.uk/categories/monitors/iiyama-24-and-26-inch-Monitor.aspx

Happy hunting!

I had 2 Dell 3008. The first had dead pixels after 6 months. The second one worked for 5 hours and than broke with the left side of the monitor only producing noise, USB ports not usable. When we got that one of the desk we recognized at the lower edge of the screen a sign that said refurbished. Both monitors had a redish and unequal tint over the panel.
So - 2 monitors with problems. One outright not functional, the other with dead pixels. Dell replaced a new one with a refurbished one. The replacement for that one is going back with complaints, never a Dell monitor again. Either a 30' Apple, hopefully a 27' LED or maybe the 24 LED one.

 

[mcpryon2]

I had 2 Dell 3008. The first had dead pixels after 6 months. The second one worked for 5 hours and than broke with the left side of the monitor only producing noise, USB ports not usable. When we got that one of the desk we recognized at the lower edge of the screen a sign that said refurbished. Both monitors had a redish and unequal tint over the panel.
So - 2 monitors with problems. One outright not functional, the other with dead pixels. Dell replaced a new one with a refurbished one. The replacement for that one is going back with complaints, never a Dell monitor again. Either a 30' Apple, hopefully a 27' LED or maybe the 24 LED one.

Yeah, it happens. I just have terrible luck with Apple products. I've had problems with about a quarter of the displays I've purchased. After being told on the phone that my Air's torn layer wasn't a problem because the service manager had "two herself" on her display and it didn't bother her, then the dead pixels on both 24" LEDs I got, and the dead pixels on my last two MBPs, I swore off ever buying an Apple product that has a screen.

But I love my Dell u2311h monitors, and moreso, I love the fact that if they get so much as one dead pixel in the next three years they'll be replaced.

Saying a company replacing a defective item with a refurbished model is meaningless, it'll happen with almost every company. When my iPhones were replaced I got refurbs; it's a common practice.

I still love most of Apple's products despite my terrible experiences with them and their support, but that's just how it goes.

 

[TheStrudel]

The take home lesson from all this is that with displays, more so than any other product in the whole computer industry, your mileage can and will vary.

The truth of the matter is that no two are ever exactly the same.

LG Philips, the only company which manufactures IPS displays, has a lot of quality control issues.

As a result, so will all the  monitors, because none of them are expensive enough to get the rigorous screening that the high end NECs and Eizos get.

Same for Dell displays. Same for any display under $1,000. But you can now get decent IPS displays for under $300, which was unheard of, about a year ago.

 

[strausd]

Now all we need are some 30 inch OLED monitors for under $300

 

[nanofrog]

Now all we need are some 30 inch OLED monitors for under $300

I know it's mean, but pinch yourself. The disappointment when you wake up from that dream may be too devastating to deal with if it continues on too long.

Now maybe 10 - 15yrs from now, who knows... your dream of a $300 30" OLED may actually happen.

 

[gri]

The take home lesson from all this is that with displays, more so than any other product in the whole computer industry, your mileage can and will vary.

The truth of the matter is that no two are ever exactly the same.

LG Philips, the only company which manufactures IPS displays, has a lot of quality control issues.

As a result, so will all the  monitors, because none of them are expensive enough to get the rigorous screening that the high end NECs and Eizos get.

Same for Dell displays. Same for any display under $1,000. But you can now get decent IPS displays for under $300, which was unheard of, about a year ago.

Any prediction for WWDC re a 27' LED Mac display...?

 

[TheStrudel]

I wouldn't expect any Mac-related announcements at WWDC, were I you. That's not to say that there definitely won't be any, but they've already announced that the focus of the event is the iPhone, so it would seem a bit incongruous to announce Mac related hardware there. There could also be a stealth update (no press release except online), as they have done in the past.

Be nice to get something, but I wouldn't expect it.