I need to get a new monitor to use with my Macbook Air. Here's the catch; I have to buy one at Target. I have a rather large gift card and a friend who works there and can also give me a discount. What do you think? Do they sell any good monitors? Check their website and let me know or share your experiences of a monitor you bought at Target. Thanks!!!!
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Best monitor I can buy at Target
- Thread starter Chodarth
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Try this if you like it -
http://www.target.com/p/Samsung-19-LED-Monitor-Black-S19B150NS-ZA/-/A-14048689
Do you realize that the 19" Samsung linked above has the same number of pixels as the 11" monitor on a MacBook Air?
In other words.... that screen is going to be jagged as heck.... with big honking pixels. Each Samsung pixel is just about 4x the area of a MBA pixel.
Just saying - you may want to look a bit longer.... unless you like your optometrist.
Right, if you have to get it at Target, there's a more expensive Samsung one on there. Online, the Viewsonics are OOS, but maybe take a look at them too.
My mom has a Samsung and it's pretty nice. We got it from Amazon or Newegg and did a bunch of research, although she wanted to keep the price low.
BTW, what's SIPS?
My mom has a Samsung and it's pretty nice. We got it from Amazon or Newegg and did a bunch of research, although she wanted to keep the price low.
BTW, what's SIPS?
I didn't realize this. This is why I decided to ask on the forum here. I've never bought a monitor before and appreciate all the advice you pros can give. Thanks!
I may be misunderstanding, but your advice seems erroneous. The MBA will display on the Samsung display at the the correct resolution and at the correct aspect ratio without pixelation.
Yes, the Samsung will mirror the MBA pixel for pixel... however individual pixel on the Samsung is nearly 4x the size. As an analogy... take a medium quality TV. Stand back and view a static scene. Looks OK, because from a distance the pixels that make up the scene appear to be relatively small, and the edges and gaps are not detectable by your eye at that distance.
Now - move closer to the screen - just about halfway between the screen and where you 1st started. How does the scene appear now? Same number of pixels... they will however appear to be bigger, with the edges and gaps more detectable. That is a very rough estimation/analogy of the difference between the Samsung and the MBA screen.
Essentially what is being said is that 19" Monitor has the same resolution as the 11" MacBook Air stretched to fit a 19" screen
So its going to look more stretched to fit the larger display, hence getting a higher resolution screen as it seems redundant to get one with the same exact resolution to stretch and fit a 19" display.
There is also this Samsung S23B550VS/ZA is an okay choice.
The problem is this is Target. It's a general store that's suppose to appeal to mass consumers. You won't really find really expensive items here (especially not computer monitors); the reason is usually most consumers are misinformed or uninformed about computer monitors; they would not know the difference between a TN or IPS panel; heck look at the Apple Store explanation (where their displays show different acronym/word definitions in-store) for IPSit says something like In-Plane Switch technology allows 178º viewing angles That's a pretty bad glossary definition by any means, but it's understandable to most consumers. A lot of my friends ask me why I spend a lot money on expensive displays where theirs are almost a quarter the price, etc. That's even after hanging around me a lot, but these inquiries still get asked.
Can you sell the gift card for cash? Can you ask for a different gift card (like a general cash card)? A very important distinction: when you say you have a large gift card, you didn't specify how much, so how much is the card? Large is very subjective. When you said large I'm thinking $2500. Rather large usually implies more. I gave a small gift card to a friend and it was $250 (that may be large to some people). It helps to say how much your budget is, rather than give out a unreliable term.
Finally outside of Target: If you want a good monitor, check out the Dell UltraSharp series, namely their 24", 27", and 30" monitors. The 24" and 27" are similar to what Apple used to sell (24" Cinema Display), and what they currently sell (27" Thunderbolt Display), albeit with matte panels and tons of other connectivity like DVI and HDMI in addition to DisplayPort.
Good luck.
The problem is this is Target. It's a general store that's suppose to appeal to mass consumers. You won't really find really expensive items here (especially not computer monitors); the reason is usually most consumers are misinformed or uninformed about computer monitors; they would not know the difference between a TN or IPS panel; heck look at the Apple Store explanation (where their displays show different acronym/word definitions in-store) for IPSit says something like In-Plane Switch technology allows 178º viewing angles That's a pretty bad glossary definition by any means, but it's understandable to most consumers. A lot of my friends ask me why I spend a lot money on expensive displays where theirs are almost a quarter the price, etc. That's even after hanging around me a lot, but these inquiries still get asked.
Can you sell the gift card for cash? Can you ask for a different gift card (like a general cash card)? A very important distinction: when you say you have a large gift card, you didn't specify how much, so how much is the card? Large is very subjective. When you said large I'm thinking $2500. Rather large usually implies more. I gave a small gift card to a friend and it was $250 (that may be large to some people). It helps to say how much your budget is, rather than give out a unreliable term.
Finally outside of Target: If you want a good monitor, check out the Dell UltraSharp series, namely their 24", 27", and 30" monitors. The 24" and 27" are similar to what Apple used to sell (24" Cinema Display), and what they currently sell (27" Thunderbolt Display), albeit with matte panels and tons of other connectivity like DVI and HDMI in addition to DisplayPort.
Good luck.
Thanks for all the feedback. The gift card is for $100 (a lot to me) plus I can get an additional 15% off at Target. I don't need anything crazy good. I'm not a photographer, just an average user. I watch videos, surf the web, make short movies and record music. I'd like to spend no more than $200-$300. Also, my desk is small so anything over 24" is too big (I used to have a 24" iMac and then had a 21.5" iMac both of which were a good screen size for me. I sold my iMac and picked up the 13" air). If I had the money I would just buy the Apple cinema display but sadly I don't have the funds. Target also has a great return policy (90 days) which is comforting. Any other suggestions either at Target or somewhere else in the $200 range would be appreciated. Thanks!!!
Walmart also has a 90 day return policy.
AOC 24" $129 http://www.walmart.com/ip/AOC-2436VW/13060462
Dell 24" $189 LED http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-24-Widescreen-Full-HD-LED-Monitor-Black-ST2421L/16439869
Acer 23" $139 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-V233HAJBD/14575830
Read through the customer reviews to get a feel for the quality of each one.
AOC 24" $129 http://www.walmart.com/ip/AOC-2436VW/13060462
Dell 24" $189 LED http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-24-Widescreen-Full-HD-LED-Monitor-Black-ST2421L/16439869
Acer 23" $139 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-V233HAJBD/14575830
Read through the customer reviews to get a feel for the quality of each one.