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Is there special sauce in Apple cinema displays?

W

William Payne

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 10, 2017
931
360
Wanganui, New Zealand.
I am not one to complain about apple pricing however this is the used market so I will make an exception. Here in New Zealand used apple cinema displays are being sold for more then brand new monitors. Both thunderbolt and DisplayPort models. I could buy a really awesome third party monitor for the pricing.

Now I'm not wanting one for any serious work. I just want one to use as browsing monitor and for non essential parts of apps like sliders and stuff.

The only reason I want an apple cinema display is the aesthetic I am trying to setup on my desk. I know its not a big deal but They are nice looking monitors.
 
Apple displays have generally always been pretty high end, not sure of the specific monitor(s) you're looking at but in general they're IPS and have much better colour accuracy and bightness than your typical "cheap" display.

If you're comparing monitors, the big thing to watch out for is TN panels.

They're popular for gaming as their refresh rate can be super high (and they're a lot cheaper to make), but the viewing angles are garbage and they suffer from comparatively poor colour accuracy and a lot of colour shift when your viewing angle changes. IPS panels do not, but IPS is more expensive.

So, if you're comparing panels, be sure to confirm whether you're comparing IPS vs IPS and not IPS vs. TN...
 
throAU said:
Apple displays have generally always been pretty high end, not sure of the specific monitor(s) you're looking at but in general they're IPS and have much better colour accuracy and bightness than your typical "cheap" display.

If you're comparing monitors, the big thing to watch out for is TN panels.

They're popular for gaming as their refresh rate can be super high, but the viewing angles are garbage and they suffer from comparatively poor colour accuracy and a lot of colour shift when your viewing angle changes. IPS panels do not, but IPS is more expensive.

So, if you're comparing panels, be sure to confirm whether you're comparing IPS vs IPS and not IPS vs. TN...
Click to expand...

I am looking at the 24" and 27" cinema displays that morphed into the thunderbolt displays. The iMac styled ones. For what I am wanting this monitor for that stuff does not matter as much. I just want it for the aesthetic appearance of the monitor itself.

I have other monitors planned for important stuff.
 
Wait, you mean a used LEDCD is being sold for more than a new display from ViewSonic or Samsung, right?

The LEDCDs add a lot more value. Resolution isn't as nice, but you have built in speakers, MagSafe, USB ports, and in the case of the TB model I think you have TB ports on the back or maybe network.

They're great displays when you take that into consideration. I waited and bought one on the cheap, but 2 of my 3 USB ports don't work. Frustrating, to say the least. Other than that and a small dead pixel it works wonders.
 
They had pretty good quality control from what I remember, they were just good grade panels. I wouldn't waste money on them to be honest.
 
Strelok said:
They had pretty good quality control from what I remember, they were just good grade panels. I wouldn't waste money on them to be honest.
Click to expand...

I think I agree on this. Not now, unless you're going for a retro look or something. I have an older Cinema Display to go with my PowerMac G5 because it was dirty cheap, but it's showing it's age. For a new Mac I'd look for newer hardware.
 
Yes, that's what I have. By retro, I mean if you're using it with a 2010 MacBook Pro (which is what I had when I bought it) it's fine. That MBP can't output much more resolution. And you get MagSafe. And it's period correct.

This is what I meant by retro... http://jeffsayre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PowerMac9.jpg

Or if you had a G4... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Power_Mac_G4_MDD_and_Studio_Display.jpg

If you're planning to use it with a 2017 MBP, I'd suggest going with a newer display or just paying the premium. Honestly, keep looking. Like I said I found some good deals by being patient. Many see Apple and just want to drive the cost up.

Now I want to get an HDD for my PMG5. That thing is beautiful.
 
davidg4781 said:
Yes, that's what I have. By retro, I mean if you're using it with a 2010 MacBook Pro (which is what I had when I bought it) it's fine. That MBP can't output much more resolution. And you get MagSafe. And it's period correct.

This is what I meant by retro... http://jeffsayre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PowerMac9.jpg

Or if you had a G4... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Power_Mac_G4_MDD_and_Studio_Display.jpg

If you're planning to use it with a 2017 MBP, I'd suggest going with a newer display or just paying the premium. Honestly, keep looking. Like I said I found some good deals by being patient. Many see Apple and just want to drive the cost up.

Now I want to get an HDD for my PMG5. That thing is beautiful.
Click to expand...

Ok I'm not confused the monitors you linked are even older then what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the ones that look exactly like the Thunderbolt Display but with Display port instead of thunderbolt. Otherwise exactly the same. Black border around screen and everything.
 
davidg4781 said:
What are you pairing it with?
Click to expand...

A cheese grater Mac Pro.

Ok I should emphasise, I have better screen options for the important "work" stuff. An Apple Cinema Display would purely be as a non critical monitor for browsing and email and stuff. Resolution and the panel part is not what I'm getting at.

It's about how the design aesthetic would look on my desk.
 
You will have to excuse me but I am going for an overall moderny desk aesthetic/look. The monitor I plan to use for actual work is a big black monitor with a big black hood so I am trying to make everything else look very modern. Right down to even anything I put on my desk, like organisers, pen holders, mouse, keyboard. Its sort of got to fit into the style.
 
William Payne said:
You will have to excuse me but I am going for an overall moderny desk aesthetic/look. The monitor I plan to use for actual work is a big black monitor with a big black hood so I am trying to make everything else look very modern. Right down to even anything I put on my desk, like organisers, pen holders, mouse, keyboard. Its sort of got to fit into the style.
Click to expand...

I own 2 thunderbolt displays. Aesthetically they are far superior to anything else I have every owned. That being said be prepared for potential reliability issues, and decreased brightness from a 6plus year old monitor.
 
wlossw said:
I own 2 thunderbolt displays. Aesthetically they are far superior to anything else I have every owned. That being said be prepared for potential reliability issues, and decreased brightness from a 6plus year old monitor.
Click to expand...

Yeah That is why I am not wanting one for any really critical important work. The stupid thing is I could buy an awesome but horrible looking ips monitor from other brands for less then what cinema displays are going for down here.

I have seen dead displays be sold for more then a basic new monitor.
 
William Payne said:
Yeah That is why I am not wanting one for any really critical important work. The stupid thing is I could buy an awesome but horrible looking ips monitor from other brands for less then what cinema displays are going for down here.
Click to expand...

Just get an old ACD. I have a 30" Apple Cinema Display, which I have come to love a great deal. It is hooked up to my 5,1 (main computer). I got it for $450 used a while back, and it still works great. I liked it so much I got another one for a 4,1 MP, mostly so I'd have a backup. It must be 10 years old now, but the color remains beautiful (much nicer than a new cheap monitor), and it hasn't lost a pixel.
 
pertusis1 said:
Just get an old ACD. I have a 30" Apple Cinema Display, which I have come to love a great deal. It is hooked up to my 5,1 (main computer). I got it for $450 used a while back, and it still works great. I liked it so much I got another one for a 4,1 MP, mostly so I'd have a backup. It must be 10 years old now, but the color remains beautiful (much nicer than a new cheap monitor), and it hasn't lost a pixel.
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Yeah I may have found a place online to where I can get refurb monitors for decent pricing.
 
Forget aesthetics.

Get something new. Display tech has come some way since the Apple displays were introduced.

Another thing: What if you buy a used one and it has problems? I might be mistaken but I think these are now "obsoleted" by Apple, and they may not even repair them any longer.

Again: get something new, with a warranty. A good place to start looking:
Comprehensive List of S-IPS/H-IPS/e-IPS and other IPS Based LCD Monitors
 
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Fishrrman said:
Forget aesthetics.

Get something new. Display tech has come some way since the Apple displays were introduced.

Another thing: What if you buy a used one and it has problems? I might be mistaken but I think these are now "obsoleted" by Apple, and they may not even repair them any longer.

Again: get something new, with a warranty. A good place to start looking:
Comprehensive List of S-IPS/H-IPS/e-IPS and other IPS Based LCD Monitors
Click to expand...

I will be buying brand new specific displays for the important work. The Apple Cinema Display will not be ever used for anything critical. If it died then so be it.
 
They are obsolete. They went shortly after I bought mine and decided to pay to have the USB ports fixed.

If it dies, it dies.
96926963d3300e53a8cad31d549a0a8a.jpg
 
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It isn't important to me that Apple guarantee or be able to fix the display. In the immortal words of Tommy Boy...

"But why do they put a guarantee on the box? "

"Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of *. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me."
 
pertusis1 said:
It isn't important to me that Apple guarantee or be able to fix the display. In the immortal words of Tommy Boy...

"But why do they put a guarantee on the box? "

"Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of *. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me."
Click to expand...

If I was buying a brand new item under warranty it's one thing but here in New Zealand it's pretty standard that when you buy second hand item warranty is pretty non existent.

Any and all warranties would be finished for those monitors anyway. Also we don't have apple stores here. You buy through a retailer or online from Apple.

Consumer guarantee laws here also make it quite common to replace items rather than repair when under warranty.
 
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