Monitors to flank Thunderbolt display

[Pistol Peto]

One of my first posts here...

I'm going to buy a nMP when they release it + I've got a Thunderbolt monitor already. I plan on buying a monitor for each side of it to flank it. They don't need to be the same size - 21" to 24" should be fine.

Any suggestions for a monitor that is a good match the Thunderbolt display?

Mostly concerned with getting a similar picture/brightness/glossy screen. Put another way - what would Apple be selling if they sold a smaller Thunderbolt display?

Thanks!

 

[Ccrew]

One of my first posts here...

I'm going to buy a nMP when they release it + I've got a Thunderbolt monitor already. I plan on buying a monitor for each side of it to flank it. They don't need to be the same size - 21" to 24" should be fine.

Any suggestions for a monitor that is a good match the Thunderbolt display?

Mostly concerned with getting a similar picture/brightness/glossy screen. Put another way - what would Apple be selling if they sold a smaller Thunderbolt display?

Thanks!

Another Thunderbolt.

Seriously, once you get used to looking at one it's hard to get anything else that measures up.

 

[dimme]

if they are not the same size/resolution moving the cursor between the two is going to drive you crazy.

 

[Pistol Peto]

Thanks for the feedback!

I've used two Thunderbolts together at work. While it gave me lots of space - there's something about having a main monitor in front of you and smaller side monitors for other programs that are part of your work flow.

Currently I'm using an old 20" LG to the left of a Thunderbolt and I quite like it. As long as I arranged them properly in System Preferences I can get used to the curser over time.

The biggest problem I have with it is it's a much poorer quality screen and things look different enough for it to be problematic.

I think I'd even opt for two smaller screens flanking a larger screen than even three Thunderbolts - so long as the smaller screens are similar quality to the Thunderbolt... which brings me back to my initial question

 

[zI INFINITY Iz]

I recently bought a Dell u2412m monitor for 239 euro. It's a 24", 16:10, 1920x1200 display. It's "IPS" or something of a cheaper version of it, eIPS. Anyway, it looks very nice imo, with the low price being a bonus. It's bright as well, though it's not glossy like you said you wanted it.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B005JN9310

It's one of the best value you can get for this price point, very good reviews.

ps: the monitor is also very light for a 24" size, don't know if this matters to you. It also energy efficient.

 

[Pistol Peto]

I recently bought a Dell u2412m monitor for 239 euro. It's a 24", 16:10, 1920x1200 display. It's "IPS" or something of a cheaper version of it, eIPS. Anyway, it looks very nice imo, with the low price being a bonus. It's bright as well, though it's not glossy like you said you wanted it.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B005JN9310

It's one of the best value you can get for this price point, very good reviews.

ps: the monitor is also very light for a 24" size, don't know if this matters to you. It also energy efficient.

Thanks very much for your advice! I'll look into it today.

 

[orangezorki]

Slightly left-field option here, but how about a smaller display in portrait? Perhaps a 19" would be close to matching the height of the 27"? That would be much, much cheaper.

Of course you get what you pay for, so it might be difficult to find one good enough to match the thunderbolt display. Still, it would fit in nicely and be a good place to have pallets or a pdf open. And Mavericks' new full screen options won't drive you crazy like ML did.

David

 

[mtmac]

I think also if you want the same screen quality, one more thunderbolt vs. two 20" screens makes more sense and a nicer look. You get the same amount of desktop for the peripheral windows, just on a single entirely matched screen rather than having three screens, with 2 being different involving both quality differences and cursor jumping. What would you put on two 20" screens that couldn't be done on one 27" thunderbolt?

 

[JohnZimmerman]

Good idea...

Slightly left-field option here, but how about a smaller display in portrait? Perhaps a 19" would be close to matching the height of the 27"? That would be much, much cheaper.

Of course you get what you pay for, so it might be difficult to find one good enough to match the thunderbolt display. Still, it would fit in nicely and be a good place to have pallets or a pdf open. And Mavericks' new full screen options won't drive you crazy like ML did.

David

That is not left-field at all. It is actually an excellent way to provide a little extra workspace.

But in order to match the dot pitch of the Thunderbolt display, you'd need a 15.4" monitor with 1440 x 900 resolution. Anyone know of one? Please let us know!

P.S. I don't recommend trying to do this with 19" monitors. Their dot pitch is much higher than that of the TB display (.2835mm vs. 0.233mm), so they are taller and don't match the TB display well.