Monitor for my Macbook Pro 1.which? 2.Resolution help?

[matthughes64]

Hi im just about to get a macbook pro 13" 2010 version and I want to get a screen for it cos 13" isn't really that big. I thought it would be nice to have one just for a little more space for all my application windows. I just want it for everyday stuff like safari, mail, iwork, and also Logic Studio. I may do a tad of gaming cos my brothers got CoD 4 Mac which ill install, but really I just want a nice screen for all my applications.

I haven't got that much space, or money either, so I'm looking at about 20" to 22", widescreen, and I want to spend about £100 to £180 ($150 to $270).

1. I've seen a lot of reviews and they all ramble on about technical things like contrast ratio, colour accuracy (deltaE), response time etc. Will this matter to me (considering how I use it)? Should I listen to them or just get a nice looking, well priced 20" - 22" screen? Can anyone suggest any? I've seen the 'Acer V203HCb' and the 'SAMSUNG SyncMaster P2070' for a little more are these any good?

2. Resolutions. I've seen lots of different, varying resolutions, and I know if its higher, then it's better, but will they all work at full resolution with my macbook pro? Cos looking at the apple page for it: http://www.apple.com/uk/macbookpro/specs.html
I cant see there are that many, as these are all the size of the macbook pro screen and lower. I that irrelevant? Will any resolution work?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, Matt.

 

[spinnerlys]

2. Resolutions. I've seen lots of different, varying resolutions, and I know if its higher, then it's better, but will they all work at full resolution with my macbook pro? Cos looking at the apple page for it: http://www.apple.com/uk/macbookpro/specs.html
I cant see there are that many, as these are all the size of the macbook pro screen and lower. I that irrelevant? Will any resolution work?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, Matt.

Graphics and video support

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz configurations; or 512MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.66GHz configuration
Intel HD Graphics with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory5
Automatic graphics switching
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colours​

 

[matthughes64]

cool

k thanks, so I guess u mean that pretty much any resolution will work. cool. still, can anyone answer question 1 though?

 

[kasakka]

1. I've seen a lot of reviews and they all ramble on about technical things like contrast ratio, colour accuracy (deltaE), response time etc. Will this matter to me (considering how I use it)? Should I listen to them or just get a nice looking, well priced 20" - 22" screen? Can anyone suggest any? I've seen the 'Acer V203HCb' and the 'SAMSUNG SyncMaster P2070' for a little more are these any good?

With your budget, you won't be able to get anything but bottom of the barrel TN panel displays. They have poor viewing angles and limited color reproduction but for many they are good enough. Basically you can ignore all the specs manufacturers state because things like 10000000:1 contrast ratios are marketing rubbish, also response times on all displays are good enough these days.

So basically you should get the highest resolution you can get for the money and avoid any displays that only have VGA connectors. You want DVI, HDMI or Displayport so you get the best image quality. If you can, try a few in the shops or google for reviews (actual reviews, not ones on sites that sell the displays). Make sure you can actually set the brightness low enough because many displays these days are so bright they'll burn your eyes off unless you set the brightness way low.

 

[wywern209]

i suggest buying a monitor from Dell. i've heard that they are pretty decent though i do not know if any of their models are in your price range. but the samsung syncmaster one looks nice but the res on it is a bit low. how about this one i found on newegg it has a full HD resolution and is in your price range.

 

[matthughes64]

k thanks kasakka for the info, I've seen this one: http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39030120,49304404,00.htm
It's actually a lot cheaper than any of the other ones I've seen, it's got DVI and 1080p and it's quite small for its screen size (rims are small and it's thin). Is this gonna be as good as other ones that are more expensive, like ones I described earlier? I dont want speakers btw so this saves space and cost as this doesnt have them. Or should I spend a little more? can you suggest any?

Oh and wywern they dont sell them in the UK but thanks anyway