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Cinema Display or Dell Ultrasharp

DELTAsnake

DELTAsnake

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 18, 2008
382
1
Australia
I'm about to order my Mac Pro but I'm not sure which display to go with.

The Cinema Display is of course made for the Mac Pro, is LED and has built in speakers(but I've read the quality on them is bad). Plus I do like the screens on my iMac and MBP.

But an Ultrasharp 27" from Dell is $350 cheaper and has a much higher rating from Cnet.

I have no Dell or Apple Store nearby to look at them and you can't get a sence of how good they are looking at them on the Apple and Dell sites. Any help would be appreciated.
 
ACDs aren't made for Mac Pros, they're made for Macbook Pros...everything else has a useless charger cable hanging around.

anyways, unless you like the display that much, buy something else. there is no good reason to buy an ACD over an HP or Dell or NEC. for starters, there's no pivot or height adjustment. the tradeoff, if you're looking at the U2711, is you have to deal with wide gamut, which has its own set of headaches...I'd go with an older, standard gamut 30", or dual 24".
 
Both very comparable and both listed as $999 on each company's USA website. So, the Dell at $350 cheaper is a good deal. Do you typically pay more for apple products in Australia that are comparably priced in the US?
 
toxic said:
the tradeoff, if you're looking at the U2711, is you have to deal with wide gamut, which has its own set of headaches...I'd go with an older, standard gamut 30", or dual 24".
Click to expand...

Ok, this might sound dumb, (I'm not a color professional) but I thought a wide gamut meant you could see more colors and I thought that was a good thing.

I've now ordered the Mac Pro now but I'm holding off on getting a display. I never thought about no hight adjustment on the ACD, that sounds like a really bad design.
 
munkery said:
Do you typically pay more for apple products in Australia that are comparably priced in the US?
Click to expand...

Apple Australia just dropped there prices on there Mac's so I'm paying about the US price on the Mac Pro + our taxs. The Cinema Displays didn't get a price drop so they are still $1300 list, I can get one for $1200 from Apple via a promotion they run here, but Dell is selling the Ultrasharp for $850, big difference there.
 
DELTAsnake said:
Ok, this might sound dumb, (I'm not a color professional) but I thought a wide gamut meant you could see more colors and I thought that was a good thing.

I've now ordered the Mac Pro now but I'm holding off on getting a display. I never thought about no hight adjustment on the ACD, that sounds like a really bad design.
Click to expand...

If you're not super worried about perfect color accuracy, then I wouldn't make a big fuss over standard or wide gamut. Anyhow, I'd get the Dell. Better reviews, more connectivity, cheaper, and more functional design. The only downside being that it isn't as pretty as the ACD. Overall, the dell is a better option IMO
 
DELTAsnake said:
Apple Australia just dropped there prices on there Mac's so I'm paying about the US price on the Mac Pro + our taxs. The Cinema Displays didn't get a price drop so they are still $1300 list, I can get one for $1200 from Apple via a promotion they run here, but Dell is selling the Ultrasharp for $850, big difference there.
Click to expand...

The Dell is cheaper, has height adjustment (which seems important for you, both have pivot BTW), and also has anti-glare (which I prefer). I would definitely get the Dell. It has faster typical refresh rate. Can't compare the contrast as Dell spec listed as max and Apple spec listed as typical. Honestly, I bet the actual panels inside the enclosure are from the same panel manufacturer as neither company makes their own panels. So, get the same thing for cheaper.
 
I have both the current spec Dell U2710 27" LCD and the iMac i7.

I have to say it, they are close in quality but on first impressions I actually think that the i7 LED-backlit panel seems better than that of the Dell, although I haven't yet done any photo editing on either (they're brand new, received only a week ago).

I bought the Dell based on a combination of price (worked out at around 60% of the cost of the Apple 27), stand (adjustable so that it aligns vertically with the iMac), connectivity (might want to keep your options open here and having multiple inputs is no bad thing) and warranty/support (Dell offer 3 years included in the price, and a zero pixel defect warranty versus 1 year and a somewhat unclear pixel warranty for the ACD).

On the other hand, I do think that the ACD is the better looking device and it would have looked nicer next to the iMac, and perhaps the picture quality might be a tad better although as I said, take that with a pinch of salt until I've had a chance to spend (much) more time with either.

I'm certainly very happy with my purchases.
 
DELTAsnake said:
Ok, this might sound dumb, (I'm not a color professional) but I thought a wide gamut meant you could see more colors and I thought that was a good thing.
Click to expand...

Apparently it can be but requires very specific matching to compatible graphics cards. In my case, I found best results from the Dell by switching to Adobe sRGB (I think it was) which is a standard gamut setting. This most closely resembles that of the iMac's panel.

Frankly, I'm not too worried about colour gamut as I will eventually calibrate either panel (for now I did it by eye, which is perhaps slightly less than optimal). Calibration should sort out any remaining differences, and I'm happy with the look using sRGB for now.
 
I just bought the Dell 27" for my office. I use both a PC and my Macbook Air... and I wanted them to both share the same monitor. The ACD only has the single input.

/Jim
 
DELTAsnake said:
Ok, this might sound dumb, (I'm not a color professional) but I thought a wide gamut meant you could see more colors and I thought that was a good thing.
Click to expand...

no. most applications aren't color-managed, so when you use a wide-gamut monitor, all (well, a lot of) the colors are off. the most common problem is that colors are much brighter than they should be, because the monitor can display much brighter greens or blues or whatever than the sRGB color space contains, and just about every untagged or un-color-managed application/image assumes sRGB.

it probably has an sRGB display mode, but they don't always work very well, and why pay more for a wide gamut to use in sRGB...
 
The ACD is made for all Macs not just MBP's. Having a charger does not prevent you from using it on any Mac.
I'm not sure where people are seeing the Dell cheaper. I can find it a little cheaper but not much.
Dell does not have the same quality control standards as Apple, this entire panel is not exactly the same as Apples, and you are certainly more likely to have issues with the Dell than the ACD so make sure you buy it from someplace that will still get you Dell's terrible support.
Most of the reviews are by PC centric sights and who cares what they think. Especially CNet which is a joke.
But as others have said it's the connectors that get you. It's a lot of money to spend for an ACD to hook up only one device to it and be constrained by what that device is.
 
DarwinOSX said:
Dell does not have the same quality control standards as Apple, this entire panel is not exactly the same as Apples, and you are certainly more likely to have issues with the Dell than the ACD so make sure you buy it from someplace that will still get you Dell's terrible support.
Click to expand...

Wow! Are you really using the words quality control and Apple in the same sentence? :eek:
No offense, but there is no such thing at Apple (any more). Display wise, I don't think that I have to mention any more than yellow tinge.
But the non existing quality control at Apple doesn't end at displays. Crooked keyboards in the MBP's, audio problems with the 2009 MP and crooked 3G(s) iPhone displays are only some of the issues Apple's hardware had in the past. There are much more of those stories, but I think I made my point.


Likely to have more issues with the Dell? Sorry, but that's just nonsense.
And even IF you'll have an issue with the Dell display, you get three, yes 3 years of next day exchange warranty. What do you get with Apple? Exactly, 1 year! If you want three years, you have go pay $100 extra. And even then, next day replacement can be possible if you're lucky, but is by no means granted.

And you can be sure that I don't have a PC centric sight.
I use both Apple and Dell displays and never had an issue with the Dells, but already had to replace my 30" ACD which had a faulty back light (quite a common issue with the aluminium Cinemas, as well as faulty power supplies).
Not to mention the various other Apple products (of all kind) Apple had to repair or exchange. Thank god I've got a very good AASP nearby and always buy AppleCare. I'd never buy an Apple product without AC. It's just not worth it.
 
I have a old Dell 2405fpw monitor 24" Ultrasharp. I love it for all the inputs it has. Right now my PC and Macbook Pro are hooked into it so I can easily switch between them. It's around 6 years old and still going strong. I think the CCL is getting weaker now as it takes a while to get to full brightness. But it has lasted this long! I will probably be upgrading to some 30" eventually.
 
I was thinking about getting a display for my Macpro and finally made a plunge at Dell 21.5" ultrasharp. Dell was selling it on eBay for $199 with three years warranty. I've heard nothing but good reviews about ultrasharp although haven't seen one myself. But for $199 I don't think it'll be a huge loss. For anyone who is interested here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/UltraSharp-U221...3458?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item4aa6e2ae12
 
DarwinOSX said:
The ACD is made for all Macs not just MBP's. Having a charger does not prevent you from using it on any Mac.
I'm not sure where people are seeing the Dell cheaper. I can find it a little cheaper but not much.
Dell does not have the same quality control standards as Apple, this entire panel is not exactly the same as Apples, and you are certainly more likely to have issues with the Dell than the ACD so make sure you buy it from someplace that will still get you Dell's terrible support.
Most of the reviews are by PC centric sights and who cares what they think. Especially CNet which is a joke.
But as others have said it's the connectors that get you. It's a lot of money to spend for an ACD to hook up only one device to it and be constrained by what that device is.
Click to expand...

You must not have much (if any) experience with Dell's UltraSharp line. Dell backs their UltraSharp line very, very well. For example, if - for whatever reason - you don't like your panel, you can send it back to dell for a refund or a whole new panel no questions asked (really, no questions asked).

Me and countless colleagues/clients I know swear by Dell UltraSharps (and I work in the service dept of an Apple Authorized Reseller/Service store) as they're amazing panels warranty'd and priced very well.
 
I have had all ultrasharps, my current 24" has a crap load of ports including mini display and can change between them...the LED cinema looks great, but I like options.
 
I need some help -- i'm considering the ACD, or Dell/HP/Samsung.

Does the gamut issue cause problems on the dell with browsing web photos?

Does the ACD require a dim room for glare reduction? I.e, can you use it in a room with natural light without undue glare?

I intend to run them on a lower resolution (1080) due to small text size and the fact that I'll be sitting behind a music keyboard setup. I tested the ACD and it was good enough it appeared, but what about the dell?

If not, does anybody know of a good IPS 27 inch standard gamut monitor with a lower PPI for larger text size?
 
aquablue said:
I intend to run them on a lower resolution (1080) due to small text size and the fact that I'll be sitting behind a music keyboard setup. I tested the ACD and it was good enough it appeared, but what about the dell?

If not, does anybody know of a good IPS 27 inch standard gamut monitor with a lower PPI for larger text size?
Click to expand...

Don't EVER run a LCD at a resolution other than its native one. You loose all the sharpness of that display.

There are much better alternatives out there than running the 27" ACD at a lower res.
Samsung has a 27" S-PVA (comparable to IPS) display with 1920x1200.
 
Well how come it looked acceptable to me in the store at the lower rez?

I really want an IPS panel.. I'd get a 26 but I don't want wide gamut issues on the web.
 
Well, if you're fine with all the blurriness, what keeps you from buying then?
The Dell, as well as other 27" panels with that resolution will have the same blurriness, no difference.

There is no other 27" IPS panel with 1920 res.
 
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