Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Old Apple Cinema Display vs Older Apple Cinema Display-Photo Editing (new competitor)

SPNarwhal

SPNarwhal

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 22, 2009
1,260
156
illinois
Has anyone had experience with this monitor?

apple_cinema_display.jpg


I can't really seem to find much on it, not even a video really.
Someone is selling one here locally, a 23", for $140.
I didn't know it was this type until he told me, since I was looking for the newer old one.

(this one)

apple-cinema-display.jpg


Is there a huge difference? I need it for photo editing, and it seems like I can either get the 23" plastic one for 140, or get a 20" newer old one for 150.

What are the big differences really? Is the other a lot better in regards to the screen itself?

Thanks. :)
 
Last edited:
You can easily find the specs online. Though the displays are similar.

Differences to note: The Plastic one uses an ADC connection to the computer. Depending on what kind of computer you are connecting it to, you may need to purchase an ADC-DVI adapter. The Aluminum display uses a standard DVI connector. Also the Aluminum has 2x FireWire 400 ports and 2x USB 2.0 ports. The plastic display only has 2x USB 1.1 ports.
 
i know about the connectors and ports and such, but primarily looking mostly at just the screens themselves. I realize I can look up the specs and such but it doesn't beat actually seeing/using it in person.

does the plastic one seem cheaper? Is there that much of a difference?

I just want to know if there's a decent enough difference to where I should stray away from the plastic one and go for the metal one, even if it's a little smaller.
 
If you have an older plastic mac or one with a adc video card then I would get that one just for the cool factor.

Otherwise the ACD is really your best bet. I bought a 20" off a guy three years ago, and he bought his display new in 2005. It still looks amazing though the backlight is somewhat dim. (I've since upgrade to the 27" ACD and the quality is outright ridiculous).
 
I have a 27" iMac, i5. Might be a pain to get a minidisplay adapter anyway.
But yeah, the plastic one looks a lot cooler so that's one of the big reasons I was considering it, but don't want to skimp myself out on screen quality just to have a cool looking side screen, especially since I'll be using it to work on things and not just a convenience
 
SPNarwhal said:
Has anyone had experience with this monitor?

Image

I can't really seem to find much on it, not even a video really.
Someone is selling one here locally, a 23", for $140.
I didn't know it was this type until he told me, since I was looking for the newer old one.

(this one)

Image

Is there a huge difference? I need it for photo editing, and it seems like I can either get the 23" plastic one for 140, or get a 20" newer old one for 150.

What are the big differences really? Is the other a lot better in regards to the screen itself?

Thanks. :)
Click to expand...
The monitor with the plastic bezel comes in several generations. You can't tell which generation you have from a frontal shot. I have a 23" plastic bezel Cinema Display that I purchased with my 2.0 GHz Power Mac G5 (2004). I also have 23" aluminum frame Cinema Display that I purchased with a 2.5 GHz water-cooled Power Mac G5 (2005). Both computers and both displays run like new. Aesthetically, I prefer the aluminum frame because it matches my CPU. Functionally, I prefer the plastic frame because it is better integrated with the CPU. Pick your dessert--ice cream or cheese cake.
 
So is the display itself pretty much the same on both then?
That's the only question I really have about it.
I don't care about the cosmetics of the display casing, only the display itself. Which one has a better picture quality?

All I know is that it's a 23" plastic bezil display, in comparison to a 20" Aluminum model.

Which would you personally choose and why?

Pretend theyre the same price.
 
Get the aluminum enclosure (ones released in 2004). The design is beautiful and uses a non proprietary DVI connection. The 30" ACD is hands down the best display from apple
 
SPNarwhal said:
....
I don't care about the cosmetics of the display casing, only the display itself. Which one has a better picture quality?

...
Click to expand...
I have only two 23" displays to compare--not counting my other Macs. However, the plastic frame and aluminum frame displays are equally beautiful. As I said--ice cream or cheese cake.
 
If you end up buying the newer 23" ACD with the aluminium frame, just be careful to check it out before buying.

There are a fairly large number of them out there that have a pink fringing problem, the outer few inches of the display have a very distinct pink tinge which make them useless for colour managed work. You can't miss it if the one you're looking at has the issue.

We have one of these that we bought back in 2004/2005 and which developed the problem over the first 18 months of its life, Apple flatly denied it as an issue at first, and by the time they did acknowledge it as a problem (due to the number of people reporting it) ours was out of warranty and they wouldn't replace it, I suspect there are many other people out there who suffered a similar situation and would love to get rid of their pink monitor. The good ones are good, but there are some duds out there.

You mention that you don't care about the aesthetics of the display, just the image quality, but I'm not clear what your main use will be. If it's video or games, then the older 23" displays use an S-IPS panel with a very slow refresh rate, which makes them less than ideal for these applications. Those made after 2006 use and H-IPS which is better but still not ideal. If this is your main application then you can buy something brand new for less money that will be better. If on the other hand you're doing colour managed stuff, then the Apple display is pretty good (provided you don't get a pink one!), however, you could get something new that is equally good for not a lot more money than a 6 year old Apple display, like all Apple products the resale values hold up well on these. A good bargain (though considerably more than the $150 you mention) is the Dell U2410, it's a top rated IPS panel and is being sold off cheap now because it has been superseded by the inferior 2412 model. Have a look here for some good reviews and advice:
tftcentral.co.uk
 
Last edited:
Being offered the 23" for $80 now.

Sounds like a good deal, and if the screens are equally as good as eachother, I'd rather take the bigger one. Cosmetics aren't extremely important to me, getting the screen best for photography work is priority here. Although I don't know which I would pick cosmetically anyway, the aluminum would match my iMac, but the plastic just looks cool.
 
SPNarwhal said:
Being offered the 23" for $80 now.

Sounds like a good deal, and if the screens are equally as good as eachother, I'd rather take the bigger one. Cosmetics aren't extremely important to me, getting the screen best for photography work is priority here. Although I don't know which I would pick cosmetically anyway, the aluminum would match my iMac, but the plastic just looks cool.
Click to expand...

Ah, the photography bit seals it, you definitely want an IPS display so the Apple 23" should do pretty well, like I say, just check it's not pink, they're unusable for colour managed work if they are.
 
finally the straight to the point advise I was in search for this entire journey to Mac Peripherals.

Thank you a lot a lot.

Actually, wait. 23"? 23" as in the plastic one I was talking about?
or 20" Aluminum display?

You were talking about the newer 23" Aluminum displays having a pink screen problem etc (you're talking about the newer but still old matte ones, right?)

Alright, straight forward.

Which display is better for photo editing?

A) 23" Plastic Display

apple_cinema_display.jpg


or

B) 20" Aluminum Display

Apple%20Cinema%20Display%20HD.png
 
You would need an ADC adapter to use the older plastic cinema displays, which can run for around $100. Unless it comes with the adapter from whoever is selling it, I would not consider getting one.
 
CubeHacker said:
You would need an ADC adapter to use the older plastic cinema displays, which can run for around $100. Unless it comes with the adapter from whoever is selling it, I would not consider getting one.
Click to expand...

This. Plus, there's going to be 1-2 or more additional years on the backlight unit (or at least there could be depending on how extensively they were used).

I have two of the 20" aluminum displays (1680x1050) - they're very nice and easy on the eyes. Standard DVI connectors (plus 2 port USB 2.0 hub and 2 port FW400). Matte antiglare IPS panels. Though do note that the antiglare coating on them is towards the aggressive side, which some people don't like.
 
Alright, now to throw another wrench into the system which can either be a decent competitor or just be thrown out as a possibility right away.

ENTER NEW COMPETITOR:

imac_g5_profile.jpg


White iMac as an external display? How good is that for photo editing?

Is the white iMac even anti-glare or "true color" ?

Not going out on a limb here, just that they're pretty cheap now and why not have a 2nd computer for free even if I won't use it? Just use as the 2nd display. Plus it will look cool as a little sidekick to my 27".

How does it compete with the 20" Cinema Display?
If at all.
 
um the only iMacs that have target display capability are the latest generation.

Unless you mean actually editing pictures ON the iMac.

In which case, still, no. Get the screen.
 
SPNarwhal said:
Actually, wait. 23"? 23" as in the plastic one I was talking about?
or 20" Aluminum display?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'd thought the 23" was the aluminium one rather than the other way around. Same basic spec for the 20" and 23" aluminium ones applies though (with the exception of resolution), they're both IPS panels. I'm not sure if the 20" suffered the pink fringing problem, but I'd check it out before buying just in case. If it isn't pink then the $150 price tag is fair.

With regard to the White iMac as an external monitor, I'm not sure if you can do that, I was under the impression that the new 27" iMac was the only one that had that capability, happy to be proved wrong though.

If it's an Intel based white iMac for $150 then I'd snap it up anyway, whether you can use it as a monitor or not. If it's the older G5 based one then I'd not bother, as it will only be of very limited use as a computer, particularly for photo editing. We have an old G5 PowerMac which is a dual processor G5 with 8GB RAM and that's pretty slow with PhotoShop3, unusable with PS4 and PS5 won't run on it at all (Intel only). So a single processor iMac with max 2.5GB RAM is going to be close to useless.

If you can stretch your budget a little further and you're not bothered about it being an Apple display, there are plenty of brand new IPS panels on the market that will outperform the 20" cinema display in every respect. The NEC EA232WMi sells for £240 here in the UK, so probably $240 in the US, only $90 more and you get a brand new IPS panel display that's 3" bigger and much better than the Apple 20".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back