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Monitor advice - College edition!

G

Gentz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 14, 2004
19
0
Beloit, Wisconsin
I'm posting this message everywhere :p
Ok, so I'm going to starting college soon, and I would love to bring my big ol' Viewsonic Pf790 CRT, but of course that's way too big and heavy to bring back and forth from college to home, and especially for the dorm. So I'm in need a "quality" LCD. The kind of work I would use it for is not really suited for LCDs yet, but I don't really have much of a choice. I'll probably be doing a lot of digital art (as in Painter 8, some Photoshop), and some light gaming. So what I need here is some quality LCDs that are very good with color. I WOULD get Apple's 20" Cinema Display, but that's a bit too expensive. Right now, I'm looking at the Samsung 710T. If anyone has any recommendations, please share them :D
thanks
 
you arent going to be wanting to bring your monitor home during spring, thanksgiving break are you? air travel or car travel?
 
There was an ad today I thought from one of the Big Box stores that had a Viiewsonic 17" for under $200. You might be able to find someone that could store it for you between semesters.
 
Macmaniac said:
As much as I cringe to say it Dell makes some pretty good cheap LCD monitors, and from what I have read on the forums most of them work fine with Macs, so that would be the way to go if you want a cheap LCD that has a decent warranty.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My brother just picked up a nice 20-some inch display (not widescreen) for something like $750. He loves it. No dead pixels (but, of course, YMMV).
 
zyuzin4 said:
you arent going to be wanting to bring your monitor home during spring, thanksgiving break are you? air travel or car travel?
Click to expand...

Well, I'd only come home by plane if it was a short break, like thanksgiving. Long breaks like Christmas break I would come home by car, in which case I would also be able to bring along my G5. I don't think it'd be a good idea to bring my G5 on the plane :)
I'm actually starting to lean toward a CRT (looking at a Diamondtron 930SB), because I would really like to have accurate color reproduction, not to mention no ghosting(not that important) . I think the first reply I got was pretty good :) Since I won't really be able to take my G5 home by plane anyway, there's no point in brining a monitor home. And if I come home by car (van), I would think it wouldn't be too much of a problem transporting a CRT (19"). But damn, an LCD would make things a lot easier...
Not to mention the space that would be freed up in the dorm.
 
Having just graduated I can say that space is definitely at a premium at school- particularly desk space. As such, I'd reccomend picking up an LCD as the benefits, I think, are worthwhile.

I spent the first there years of college with a CRT, and I'd carry it home with me on every break (home was a drive away...). I lived with it, but then my senior year I got an LCD. Damn are those things nice. I'm not in bad shape by any means, but lugging around a CRT is a pain in the arse compared to the LCD. Even just lugging to and fro at the beginning and end of each school year is tiresome.

I think getting a CRT for home and for school is a good idea, but then I dunno if its that worthwhile to spend money on a second CRT when you could just spend it on a decent LCD. I really think space saving is a good thing at college.

Plus, Having a G5 hooked up to a CRT just won't look as nice as a sleek LCD ;)
 
You have some good points, colinp, but really... is there any LCD that's good enough? I mean if I buy a Diamondtron and a cheap 17" it's still less than a samsung 710T ($480@monitorsdirect.com). But don't read that last sentence and think I've made up my mind ;) I would love to get an LCD, but good ones are so difficult to find... aside from Apple's of course :)
 
Gentz said:
if I buy a Diamondtron and a cheap 17"
Click to expand...

If you're thinking of buying the diamondtron, you won't need to buy a cheap 17"; you'll have the viewsonic to leave at home.
 
http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=D57730

Just bought one of these for my mom.

After doing research on LCDs, I've learned that Apple's are overpriced and under-featured.

All Apples: 400:1 Contrast ratio
This particular Samsung: 800:1

I'm not going to look at prices but I'm sure they're probably half as much for the equivalent area.

Remember: letterbox has less area per diagonal inch by significant amounts.
 
kant said:
If you're thinking of buying the diamondtron, you won't need to buy a cheap 17"; you'll have the viewsonic to leave at home.
Click to expand...

Well... heh.. my Viewsonic will probably go to my dad who is inheriting my G4, my mom then will inherit my dad's monitor and get a whole new computer (PC w/Linux).
 
slughead said:
http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=D57730

Just bought one of these for my mom.

After doing research on LCDs, I've learned that Apple's are overpriced and under-featured.

All Apples: 400:1 Contrast ratio
This particular Samsung: 800:1

I'm not going to look at prices but I'm sure they're probably half as much for the equivalent area.

Remember: letterbox has less area per diagonal inch by significant amounts.
Click to expand...

Interesting! Maybe this 910T is the elder brother of the 710T? ;)
And at least people have reviewed this...unlike the 710T
 
slughead said:
http://www.pcnation.com/web/details.asp?item=D57730
All Apples: 400:1 Contrast ratio
This particular Samsung: 800:1
Click to expand...

While I'm sure this is a good monitor, I would never buy a monitor without first seeing it in person. One can quote all the specs in the world, but it really comes down to which one produces the nicest image in your eyes. I remember going to CompUSA and seeing all sorts of monitors hooked up to some macs they had there, (many with "better" specs) and the Apple displays were far and away the nicest image of the bunch (expensive, though). Not a highly scientific test, but very important nonetheless.

I strongly suggest checking out ANY monitor in person before buying it.
 
While I'm sure this is a good monitor, I would never buy a monitor without first seeing it in person. One can quote all the specs in the world, but it really comes down to which one produces the nicest image in your eyes. I remember going to CompUSA and seeing all sorts of monitors hooked up to some macs they had there, (many with "better" specs) and the Apple displays were far and away the nicest image of the bunch (expensive, though). Not a highly scientific test, but very important nonetheless.

I strongly suggest checking out ANY monitor in person before buying it.
Click to expand...
I agree, but there aren't any stores in my area that have these LCDs. I'll probably order one from monitorsdirect.com as they have a 30 day no questions asked return policy. But I won't be able to use DVI as Apple is being an absolute bastard at shipping the Dual 2.5s :mad:

One thing about a CRT, though - it won't get stolen from your dorm room!
Click to expand...
Hehehe, that's for sure!
 
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