Monitor Choices

[Chevelle]

I'm planning on ordering a mini and I'm so confused about monitors. There's so many out there. I want a 27". I'll be using it for web browsing mostly and watching TV shows and movies. I want something high quality but I don't want to spend a grand on an Apple monitor. Looking to spend $300-400. Suggestions?

 

[motrek]

I'm planning on ordering a mini and I'm so confused about monitors. There's so many out there. I want a 27". I'll be using it for web browsing mostly and watching TV shows and movies. I want something high quality but I don't want to spend a grand on an Apple monitor. Looking to spend $300-400. Suggestions?

Newegg has a large selection of monitors with lots of customer reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/LCD-Monitors/SubCategory/ID-20

If you will be web browsing and watching TV then you probably want a resolution of 1920x1080.

IPS panels are generally desirable for image quality, and LED backlighting will make the monitor use less power, make it turn on/off faster, and make it last longer.

Looking for those things, it looks like your best bet is this ViewSonic:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116582

 

[Garden4Gods]

I'm planning on ordering a mini and I'm so confused about monitors. There's so many out there. I want a 27". I'll be using it for web browsing mostly and watching TV shows and movies. I want something high quality but I don't want to spend a grand on an Apple monitor. Looking to spend $300-400. Suggestions?

If you can handle the reflectivity, this may not be a bad choice:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch&redirect=1

Review:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_s2740l.htm

 

[kdoug]

I'm planning on ordering a mini and I'm so confused about monitors. There's so many out there. I want a 27". I'll be using it for web browsing mostly and watching TV shows and movies. I want something high quality but I don't want to spend a grand on an Apple monitor. Looking to spend $300-400. Suggestions?

The ViewSonic VX2770Smh-LED is a nice IPS display but I'm returning mine for the Dell s2740l. The settings for the ViewSonic are hard to reach and there aren't many adjustments. The biggest problem is the text looks a little too jagged and there's no way to change it because the sharpness setting is greyed out when attached to a HDMI cable. On my other machine I have the Dell s2340l attached with an HDMI cable and I can adjust the sharpness and soften the text and it looks terrific, much better than the ViewSonic. Be careful when dealing with NewEgg and monitors, they charge a 15% restocking fee regardless.
I love NewEgg but I'd avoid them when purchasing a monitor.
The Dell s2740l is currently on sale for $300.

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If you can handle the reflectivity, this may not be a bad choice:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch&redirect=1

Review:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_s2740l.htm

Great choice, beat me to it! I own this and the s2340l and they work really well with my Mac Mini's.

 

[SkiHound]

Check resolutions as well as size. A monitor with Resolution of 2560 x 1440 will not look great if driven at a lower resolution. And HDMI won't support that. you'd need dual DVI or display port.

 

[Chevelle]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Viewsonic looks pretty nice. The Dell looks good too but glare could be a problem.

Also, I don't need built in speakers. I'll be hooking up some good comp speakers.

 

[motrek]

The ViewSonic VX2770Smh-LED is a nice IPS display but I'm returning mine for the Dell s2740l. The settings for the ViewSonic are hard to reach and there aren't many adjustments. The biggest problem is the text looks a little too jagged and there's no way to change it because the sharpness setting is greyed out when attached to a HDMI cable. ...

Don't know what that sharpness setting might be doing but it doesn't make much sense. With a digital connection, each individual pixel should be set to exactly the color that the OS specifies, so how could you change the sharpness? Unless it's running the whole image through basically a Photoshop "blur" filter which should ruin image quality.