Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is this stupid? Monitor Question

M

Makyz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 11, 2003
28
0
I just turned 19 and I have a 12 inch pb revision B and I am very happy with it.

I recently got an internship web designing for the enviromental branch of my university so I have a steady income of about 10$/ hour 20 hours weekly during semsters, 40 hours during the summer. Anyway I have 500$ from my recent birthday and I am really in the market for a LCD monitor to hook up my powerbook to. I am anxiously waiting for the new Apple Displays that are rumored to come out at the upcoming conference.

The thing is they will probably be ridiculously expensive when they come out, but I still want one. Specifically at least a widescreen 20 incher. So I am planning to do that Apple Education loan thing. I do not have many expenses since my scholarship helps me out alot through college, so I have that 500$ and the internship to help me out paying the loan.

Is this stupid? Should I go for an alternative. I need the LCD for web designing, and using Photoshop/Illustrator comfortably in a dorm room- so I really dont want a CRT. Also I am planning to buy a high end g5 in exactly one year- so it would be nice to have a nice monitor ready for it.

Arg so many thing going through my mind so Ill sum it up:

1) Is the Apple Education loan good? Anyone have experience with it?

2) Are there better wide screen LCD, doesnt HAVE to be widescreen but its a preference. Cheaper is always better hehe. Does widescreen really make a big difference or would the 17inch apple display suffice?

3) You think that the old LCD screens would be sufficient for what I need? Do they have any glaring flaws?

4) Any other monitor suggestion will be appreciated

thanks in advance
 
1) No idea, but it's usually better to just pay for it than deal with a loan.
2) It will cost you more, but having widescreen will totally be worth it. Besides, you'll be the coolest dude around (until all the girls meet the guy with the 23" widescreen).
3) After the new monitor releases, I would still get the current version. They will be cheaper then, and (according to rumor), there won't be any massive changes in your price range.
4) Remember that you don't have to go with apple. Check out pricewatch.com to see the best prices for this stuff. It may turn out Apple is your best deal, but like you said, cheaper's better.
 
I would definitely wait the couple of weeks to see if there's a display announcement at WWDC - it's so close now that it won't hurt to wait. If so, buy the then-cheaper older model.

In any event, if your eyes are even halfway decent, resolution is usually better than raw size. My work PC laptop - which sucks except for the screen - has a beautiful 1900x1200 15" screen, which I much prefer to my iMac's 17" 1440x900 screen. On the other hand, I prefer my 20" Apple Cinema Display to the PC laptop, since it's close on resolution (1680x1050) but much bigger.

So, IMHO, I'd go with the best resolution you can find in a 17" or larger screen. If you can, for example, find a great deal on a 19", go for it. An LCD is definitely better than a CRT, but, of course, you could get a CRT for about the price of decent bottled water nowadays, and maybe that would be a good route until you can save for the LCD. <soapbox>As far as Apple loans go - they're still loans. Avoid them. I started borrowing in college and am still working my way out of the habit, so I'd recommend not starting it if you don't have to.</soapbox>
 
jknight8907 said:
2) It will cost you more, but having widescreen will totally be worth it. Besides, you'll be the coolest dude around (until all the girls meet the guy with the 23" widescreen).
Click to expand...

Or the guy that buys the first Apple 30" LCD after WWDC. :D
 
Apple's current 20" LCD is probably the best LCD in the market for the price.

The very best deal for you would be to get in a store 5 days before the WWDC, put a hold on a 20" screen (with a deposit) and pick it up the day after the new LCD comes out. That way, you'll be sure that they still have one in stock for you and that they'll have to give you the new price. (It's an old trick from dealing with Apple every 6 months!!!)

Apple's Education loan isn't the best in the country, but it a fair alternative if you can't spend the cash.

The 20" is a monitor that is able to last 5 years no problems. if you Buy a top notch Desktop machine like the G5, even if you buy a larger say 30" LCD, you can still use the 20" as a second monitor.

Hope this helps,

Mrmac
 
mr_mac said:
The very best deal for you would be to get in a store 5 days before the WWDC, put a hold on a 20" screen (with a deposit) and pick it up the day after the new LCD comes out. That way, you'll be sure that they still have one in stock for you and that they'll have to give you the new price. (It's an old trick from dealing with Apple every 6 months!!!)
Click to expand...

What a great idea! I've been waiting for that monitor at a (hopefully significantly) lower price, too.
thanks for the tip!
 
hold off

I would definately wait for the conference to come out, but when they do and the newer models are released they will lower the price and they will fly off the shelf. Although I am not a big fan of financing plans, Compusa is always running some sort of 12,18 months same as cash with no payments for an extended period of time. I would buy the 20" right before the conference on one of these plans and when the price is reduced ask for the difference back from Comp or tell them you will return it. They have a pretty liberal return policy if it is within 14 days (what bs). But if they return an open item they will then have to discount it to resell it so they will willingly give you the difference. You said you were earning some dough so at the end of the summer pay the loan off with no interest charge at a much lower price for what you wanted. The 23" is nice and the 30" will be even better but unless you plan on editing alot of video the 20" is perfect in my opinion. Good Luck!
 
I live in NYC and I wonder if there will be this huge deluge of people swarming into the Apple store on June 23 to put a 20" monitor on hold. :p
 
The apple education loan isnt very good. I signed up for it, but then did a bit of exploring and found out my bank could give me a way better interest rate. I would recomend the loan route if your smart enough to actually pay it off. I was able to pay mine off a year earlier than planned. It was nice not to have to shell out 2700 bucks cash for my powerbook, but rather pay x amount each month for a little over a year.

My 2 cents american.
 
The Apple Education loan is decent, if you're sure that you'll make all the payments on time. Good idea to pay a lot up front. Even better, try to pay it off early... Your credit will really look nice at 19 with a loan already paid off. DEFINITELY beneficial.

If you're going to go for any monitor, I'd say get the 20" cinema display. I have one, and it is SO nice. If you wait until after WWDC, you might see a price drop on the current ones, too!

Good luck...
Lee Tom
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back