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Extra display for MBP

R

rasmusDoh

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 30, 2009
186
0
Hey

Wanna buy a MBP - and i'm gonna wait and see what the rumored updades bring.

Anyway i'll be using it for studies, so something like in this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/857072/

I was really considering a 15" MBP, but i have a 15,6" Dell with Win 7 ATM, and i really can't fu**ing see the text on my display unless i scale up the text and i have to sit pretty damn close to the screen..

Therefore i thought it might be a good idea to buy a 13" one (which would probably also be nice for carrying it around on campus) - and then also buy an extra display to use at my apartment.

What are the pro's and con's of the 24" Display you can buy along with the computer in the online Apple Store? One serious con is the price (1100$ at the danish store).

Can i get a nice looking and super "performing" display for less than that - and where?


Also how do you usually connect your MBP to these things? USB? And won't i have to have my MBP "open" to use the Keyboard - and thus possibly covering some of the extra display in an annoying way?


Hope you can help me out!


EDIT:
How about something like this:
http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=dk&l=da&s=dhs&cs=dkdhs1&sku=324797
That seems like a fair price, but is the quality good enough for my new baby? ;)
 
Could you argument to take the 15" AND a an extra display?

Are the 15" that much more "unhandy" to carry around a lot?

Now that i'm finally buying myself a MBP, i don't mind spending a little extra, and the 15" do have the possibility of some better upgrades + a matte display (dunno if that's much of a deal?)!

What'd you guys think?
 
Dont buy an Apple monitor, they are the best monitors in the world, but the price is ridiculous, a $200 Dell or HP Monitor would suit you just as well.
 
Try the Dell Monitors

I bought a 22" model that supports two displays (one for regular VGA, and the other for DVI). Just make sure it supports HDCP for watching your HD movies from iTunes.

I have my windows laptop hooked up to the VGA port, and i bought a mini-displayport to DVI adapter to hook up my Mac to the DVI port.

the monitor has a button to switch between both sources.

also regarding the text being too small on your pc, try changing your screen resolution. just hooking up to an external monitor won't necessarily solve your problem.
 
I'm not trying to start an argument, but I'd give the opposite advice: Do buy the Apple 24" ACD. Granted, it's expensive ... but it's also gorgeous, convenient and exceptionally functional when combined with an MBP or MBA.

I went through the same battle myself several months ago. I wound up spending the money for the ACD and have never regretted it. In fact, the ACD is the reason I'm sticking with the MBP! I now have room for an iMac, but can't handle losing the Apple display.
 
RaZaK -> You mean turn the resolution down. That give a less sharp image, but an easier to read one. Is that right understood?

Again how do you hook up these high resolution monitors to your MBP? MBP don't have HDMI do it? So how do you hook it up without loosing resolution?

And also please tell me if it ain't annoying to have your MBP display / screen up to use the keyboard and touch pad - while using the other display to "look at"?

jmoore5196 -> Do you have a 13" or 15" MBP?
 
I think the 13" and an external display is a good combination - that's what I have. However, I'll probably buy the 15" MPB next time as the 13" is a little small for the occasional development that I do on just the laptop. Unless I convince myself that the 13 is sufficiently more convenient to carry.

The external monitor works great. I also have USB keyboard and mouse so using my laptop at home is pretty much like using a desktop system except I can take the whole thing with me.

The Apple monitors are very expensive. I have one, but would probably buy another manufacturor next time mainly because of cost. I've seen some bad looking LCD monitors so I would not go super cheep with out viewing the monitor myself.

Usually what makes the monitor more expensive is more pixels on the screen. There are lots of 19, 22, and 24 inch monitors but they all have the same resolution - and it is not all that high resolution. But your comment about difficulty reading the screen make me think you will be happiest with a large size, low resolution monitor - fewer pixels on a larger screen makes for larger text. So you don't have to spend the extra money for a high resolution monitor.

t
 
rasmusDoh said:
RaZaK -> You mean turn the resolution down. That give a less sharp image, but an easier to read one. Is that right understood?

Again how do you hook up these high resolution monitors to your MBP? MBP don't have HDMI do it? So how do you hook it up without loosing resolution?

And also please tell me if it ain't annoying to have your MBP display / screen up to use the keyboard and touch pad - while using the other display to "look at"?

jmoore5196 -> Do you have a 13" or 15" MBP?
Click to expand...

HDMI isn't the only high resolution connector. At work I use DVI to connect a MBP to a 30" ACD at 2560 x 1600. The newer MBP can connect miniDisplayPort or use a miniDP to DVI adapter.

If you don't want to use the built-in display you can close the laptop and use an external keyboard. Otherwise why not use both displays? You could put email or chat on the built-in display while you do your main work on the external.

At home I use miniDVI to DVI to connect a mini to a Dell monitor. Dell makes some good monitors that are cheaper than Apple ones.
 
I have a 13" MBP and love it. However, I miss the screen real estate when I don't have it 'docked' to the ACD, so I'll probably buy a 15" MBP next time around.
 
Well the ACD really sounds nice - and i do have the money, so i think i'm gonna go with that!

What kind of cables would i need to connect my coming 15" MBP to the display - for maximum quality?

Also now that i've already fallen in love with the beautiful design of the ACD, please decribe some of the stuff that makes it exceptionally functional with the MBP - just so i know! :D

Btw can't quite figure out the deal on 24" ACD's in the buying guide.. ACD is currently on "don't buy", but doesn't seem to include the 24" - or what?
Think it would be fine to just buy one along with the MBP, when that one gets updated - hopefully soon!
 
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