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HP vs Dell vs ACD (was "Looking at Dell Ultrasharp instead of ACD...Comments?")

A

ahenson

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 30, 2008
15
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*PLEASE SEE LATEST POST BELOW*

I am looking at purchasing a few 21.5" Dell Ultrasharp U2211H displays for my department at work. Dell has them for $279 + my 20%, so for three each would be $223.20 before tax. I'd like to get ACDs but they are out of my budget for replacing these older CRTs.

We use them for design work (Photoshop, InDesign, etc) and currently have LaCie CRTs from about 5-8 years ago that work fine but take up a HUGE amount of desk space. We don't need anything larger than 23" per screen really, so the ACDs would be a bit too large, and we want to keep our dual setup (secondary screen is cheap 19" that we use for tool palettes and web browsing).

Anyway, this Ultrasharp seems like a great deal for an HD IPS display. Any comments on the Ultrasharp, and specifically on this model, compared to any similarly-priced IPS screens? Also, anyone notice a difference when using VGA vs DVI? Thanks.
 
What type of PS work are you doing? If it is web type stuff then you should like the displays. If it is high end print work then you might want to give one a test drive before committing.

I've been using the Ultrasharp for years at the office (have three lined up in front of me right now). However I'm only doing light Photoshop work on them and they aren't calibrated. Even though I'm using them on a PC I set the monitor's profile to Mac as I was losing some of finer gradations.

Overall it is a fine LCD.
 
You can get ACD's refurbished from Apple for $599. That's exactly what I did and mine came in an absolutely pristine condition. I've been very happy with it and believe at that price it is a great deal.
 
Most of the PS work will be processing/editing/clipping in-house product and jewelry photos. Otherwise, Pantone colors will be used in InDesign for ads and such that are important. One display will be used for print only, so I think if we decided we didn't like it then we could return it and use the LaCie CRT until we found a better display or have it in the budget for an ACD.

Thanks for the suggestions, Laird. Jaro65, even at a refurb price, an ACD is a bit out of my budget right now.

Anyone else use the Ultrasharp?
 
My Dell UltraSharp 1905FP is the best display I've ever used. Never seen an Apple display that can equal it yet.

You might also consider the Dell UltraSharp 2209wa, particularly if pixel size matters to any of your workers (it DOES to me, my eyes are getting old and many newer displays have tiny pixel pitches that make reading text at native resolution difficult for me).

Here's a question for anyone reading:
From time to time, Dell offers some VERY good deals on displays (from their "regular" pricing). The problem is, that all too often one _finds out_ about such deals after they've expired. Is there a site or two that keeps timely track of all current Dell deals?
 
Okay, so after a little more research and talking to my boss, I am looking at perhaps a $600-1000 range each for two displays. I am going to go ahead and purchase a U2211H and see how it looks. I am thinking one of these others would be better, and I need two displays.

My question now is between these, which would be better for web/video/photo/design? I am leaning toward the HP LP2475w because of response time and color accuracy.

HP LP2475w
Dell Ultrasharp U2410
ACD 24"
 
I have one major problem with my Dell S2405W. The HDMI audio cuts out for seconds at a time and Dell won't do anything about it. They claim incompatibilities with the HDMI signal. It will be the last Dell product I buy.
 
With the Dell, I will be using DVI-I to VGA for now and DVI-D directly pending purchase of new Mac Pro towers with an upgraded EVGA GeForce GTX 285 card.

Good thing with the HP and ACD is DVI-I compatibility.
 
Fishrrman said:
My Dell UltraSharp 1905FP is the best display I've ever used. Never seen an Apple display that can equal it yet.

You might also consider the Dell UltraSharp 2209wa, particularly if pixel size matters to any of your workers (it DOES to me, my eyes are getting old and many newer displays have tiny pixel pitches that make reading text at native resolution difficult for me).

Here's a question for anyone reading:
From time to time, Dell offers some VERY good deals on displays (from their "regular" pricing). The problem is, that all too often one _finds out_ about such deals after they've expired. Is there a site or two that keeps timely track of all current Dell deals?
Click to expand...

I'll put in another vote for the 2209WA. I have one on my Mini, and I wish I had bought two. The panel is amazing, especially in off-axis viewing. I'm not a photo or video pro, but the color reproduction is really good. I also love the warranty: 3 years advance ship if you have even 1 dead/stuck pixel. I believe you can also extend it to 4 or 5 years.

As for the notice on deals? I read a couple of bargain sites and that's how I usually find out. I got my monitor for about $225 after taxes and such. I use techbargains.com, dealhack.com, and a few others. They have alerts and RSS feeds they can send you. The biggest problem is that a lot of Dell (an HP, for that matter) are stuff like "expire after 1000 uses". It doesn't take long to hit that mark.
 
ahenson said:
Okay, so after a little more research and talking to my boss, I am looking at perhaps a $600-1000 range each for two displays. I am going to go ahead and purchase a U2211H and see how it looks. I am thinking one of these others would be better, and I need two displays.

My question now is between these, which would be better for web/video/photo/design? I am leaning toward the HP LP2475w because of response time and color accuracy.

HP LP2475w
Dell Ultrasharp U2410
ACD 24"
Click to expand...

I know nothing about the Dell, love my 24 ACD, and I've read a lot of bad stuff about poor quality control and color variation on the HP. I think a purple tinge was common at one time, but that could be resolve by now.

At any rate, response time shouldn't be a primary factor for your consideration. The manufacturer specs prob aren't apples to apples anyways.
 
brentsg said:
I know nothing about the Dell, love my 24 ACD, and I've read a lot of bad stuff about poor quality control and color variation on the HP. I think a purple tinge was common at one time, but that could be resolve by now.

At any rate, response time shouldn't be a primary factor for your consideration. The manufacturer specs prob aren't apples to apples anyways.
Click to expand...

I had two Dell 3008 displays The first one was returned for increasing amounts of dead pixels. The replacement was broken within 5 hours (just noise on the left half of the screen - and turned out to be a refurbished one as we realized when we de-installed it. Not a Dell again. I am hoping/waiting for a 27 ACD... If not coming out soon I may consider a refurbished Mac 30 ACD.
 
brentsg said:
I know nothing about the Dell, love my 24 ACD, and I've read a lot of bad stuff about poor quality control and color variation on the HP. I think a purple tinge was common at one time, but that could be resolve by now.

At any rate, response time shouldn't be a primary factor for your consideration. The manufacturer specs prob aren't apples to apples anyways.
Click to expand...

Well, I will be doing motion graphics and video editing on mine, so that's what I am looking at response time as a factor. None of the other designers will be working with motion, just print design.
 
ahenson said:
Well, I will be doing motion graphics and video editing on mine, so that's what I am looking at response time as a factor. None of the other designers will be working with motion, just print design.
Click to expand...

Well point being that "response time" is more a function of panel type. The IPS panels will pretty much behave the same, and that's what you want. There is no standard way that they measure the published specs so you can't put any stock in them.

TN will generally have the best response time, meanwhile it will look terrible.
 
I've noticed that seems to be the consensus on no standards for response time. Thanks for the reply.

Any ideas on the color gamut of the ACD? I'm not finding it's percentage offhand (HP's has a 102 and the Dell a 96).
 
Can your systems even work with Apple Cinema Displays without a converter box? What graphics cards do they have?

The 24" ACD is not really any better than the U2410 or LP2475w for the type of work you are doing. It has its place, but really it doesn't provide a real benefit over other comparable displays for work. It's nice and pretty, the LED back lighting is a nice feature and if you are using a Mac notebook then it can compliment it well, but if yo u re spending that sort of money NEC's are a better choice, and the Dell and HP models can be had so much cheaper and do the same job.

Most 24" IPS displays have sizeable threads with a huge amount of information regarding quality control, discounts etc over at [H]ard|Forum
 
Umbongo, if we went with the ACD, we would buy them with a new Mac Pro and get the 512GB card upgrade instead of the separate 1GB card. I agree with you on the ACD pricing compared to the HP and Dell.

I got the purchase order signed off a little while ago for two 21.5" Dell U2211H, one 24" Dell U2410, and one 24" HP LP2475W. Since we aren't near any major cities, we are just going to try them out here and compare them side by side with our files and existing offset prints, in-house print center, and motion graphics. Whichever set we don't like, we'll just ship back within the 15 or 21 day return limit.

If I have time and remember, I will post the results here! Thanks for all the help and comments, everyone.
 
bob5820 said:
I picked up a pair of Dell U2311H's about a month or so ago for $230 each. Overall I'm satisfied with them, good color, great viewing angle.
Click to expand...

How were you able to get them for so low? Right now, they are currently on sale for $269, but I'd love to find a way to get them closer to the price you got them for :)
 
Icaras said:
How were you able to get them for so low? Right now, they are currently on sale for $269, but I'd love to find a way to get them closer to the price you got them for :)
Click to expand...

Search slickdeals type sites regular or go through a dell sales rep who will offer them that low.
 
Umbongo said:
Search slickdeals type sites regular or go through a dell sales rep who will offer them that low.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, man! I checked it out and I should be able to get it for around that price. :D

Been thinking about between this monitor and the ACD too, but the difference in price, especially after getting a discount, is just hard to ignore.
 
ahenson said:
I saw a thing on dealmac.com about the display. You can sign up for the small business newsletter through Dell and they will send you an email with a one-time-per-customer 20% coupon. Purchased the U2211H and the U2410 with the coupon yesterday, no problem, and saved $231.40 on the three displays.

http://dealmac.com/Dell-Ultra-Sharp-U2211-H-22-LCD-Display-for-207-free-shipping-more/369907.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link too. I had to opt back into their mailing list though, because I had unsubscribed from future newsletters a while back. I wasn't a part of the Small businesses newsletter.

Still have yet to receive a coupon in my email. How long did it take for you to get your coupon sent?
 
Dell

One important thing to consider is how your customers are going to view your products. If some via web, then you definitely need at least one glossy LCD. I purchased a Dell 2410 when the first came out and many times wished I would have spent an extra $100 on a refurb Apple LED Cinema. While the Dell is perfectly usable, it feels somewhat muddy, which is a complaint with their anti-glare coating on this model. It doesn't bother most people.

It's a personal preference for me and I wish I would have spent more and purchased the refurb Apple. The Dell U2410 is still a good LCD though and you may like it.
 
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