Non-Apple Displays

[AFizzle]

Hi all,

Just looking fro some general advice here.

I'm buying a Mac for my parents, and struggling over whether to buy a Mac Mini and an external (likely non-Apple) display or just to bite the bullet and buy a 20" iMac.

I'm sure that an external display will WORK fine, but will the screen quality (regardless of what I buy) be unbearably and noticeably different than an Apple display. Can anybody recommend a good 20" display that will be compatible with a Mac Mini.

Alternately, can anybody tell me why it might be worth forking up the extra $$ for the iMac. I know what the differences are spec-wise, but if there's something glaring I should know, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to be as economical as possible here. Thanks!

 

[notjustjay]

The 20" iMac LCD is not that hot. You'll probably find lots of good non-Apple LCD displays and still come out ahead. However, the iMac is a nice all-in-one unit, which looks nice and reduces clutter. Which is more important to your parents?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Define screen quality (in relation to the MacBook? ).

There are different degrees of panel quality, and if you think that Apple uses only H-IPS (the best) in their computers, you're sadly mistaken.

The LED Cinema Display itself is indeed H-IPS (as is the 24" iMac, I believe), but other Apple displays are of less quality (the old 30" Cinema Display is also H-IPS).

You'll have to look on a model-by-model basis at other manufacturers' displays (and do research of your own as to the panel type, as that is rarely stated) for the best one.

 

[AFizzle]

Thanks guys...good to know.

Hm...well I have a (new) MacBook myself. What is the iMac display like relative to this one?

And, my rents likely don't care too much about the 'all-in-one' unit. Again, I'm just trying to be economical.

With an education store discount, the Mac Mini would run me about $669 (CDN), I already have a keyboard and mouse to give them, and I'm trying to figure out how much I'd have to spend to get a decent (or good) quality display. The iMac I believe would run me $1349. So, if I could pick up the Mini for $669 plus a good display for anything less than $300, I think I'd go that route. Again, that's only provided that the entire setup is legit. Should I have NO worries about quality/compatibility of a non-Apple display? If anyone has a similar setup to what I'm talking about, let me know what product(s) you've gone with!

 

[MTI]

In connecting a Mini or even an iMac to an external non-Apple display, is there software available to handle differing or non-support display resolutions? For instance, if the non-Apple display has a native resolution that is not supported by the video card in the Mini or iMac?

 

[Osarkon]

As long as you research the displays you'll be fine. I run an Acer 22" with my macbook via VGA and it's fine for me, but that's me. A lot of people won't settle for anything but DVI these days.

In connecting a Mini or even an iMac to an external non-Apple display, is there software available to handle differing or non-support display resolutions? For instance, if the non-Apple display has a native resolution that is not supported by the video card in the Mini or iMac?

You can get software that lets you manually set the resolution, an example of this is SwitchResX Control. Used this myself and it works as advertised.

 

[MTI]

You can get software that lets you manually set the resolution, an example of this is SwitchResX Control. Used this myself and it works as advertised.

Thanks! Looks like just the thing.

 

[notjustjay]

In connecting a Mini or even an iMac to an external non-Apple display, is there software available to handle differing or non-support display resolutions? For instance, if the non-Apple display has a native resolution that is not supported by the video card in the Mini or iMac?

In my experience, to be honest, my Macs have had far fewer problems connecting up to "weird" external displays (like projectors and TVs) than my PCs.

 

[MTI]

I downloaded and installed SwitchResX Control and read the documentation, but it doesn't seem to be able to match up my 15" Intel Core Duo iMac with a Samsung 22" T220 LCD panel so that the aspect ratio doesn't stretch or distort (fuzzy) graphics and text.

 

[blackhand1001]

Hi all,

Just looking fro some general advice here.

I'm buying a Mac for my parents, and struggling over whether to buy a Mac Mini and an external (likely non-Apple) display or just to bite the bullet and buy a 20" iMac.

I'm sure that an external display will WORK fine, but will the screen quality (regardless of what I buy) be unbearably and noticeably different than an Apple display. Can anybody recommend a good 20" display that will be compatible with a Mac Mini.

Alternately, can anybody tell me why it might be worth forking up the extra $$ for the iMac. I know what the differences are spec-wise, but if there's something glaring I should know, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to be as economical as possible here. Thanks!

Lets be realistic here. Are your parents doing anything that really requires any color critical work. It sounds like any decent rated tn panel would suffice for them. 99% of people are satisfied with them. The TN panel in the 20 inch iMac is downright 'poor even compared to other TN screens. I'd personally go with the mini and look at Samsung, dell, or other lcd manufacturers for a nice screen. Lets also remember that Apple is not an LCD company they buy monitors from mostly LG (I honestly think some people altitudes reflect that they have forgotten this) and that there are better monitors out there than ACD's, many other monitor use the exact same lcd panel as the LED 24 inch and the 24 inch iMac.