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Should I buy a, *gulp*, Dell LCD??

2A Batterie

2A Batterie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2004
622
2
Out of a Suitcase, USA
I can just see it now... the horses's ass of a spokesman for Dell is telling me "Dude, you're getting a Dell". While it gives my shivers up and down my spine I need a new LCD. I have an old viewsonice A90, but it is so big and bulky. Mainly I want something that is easy on me olde peepers, and LCD's are the best for this if I'm not mistaken. I'd like to get an Apple LCD, but they are so dang expensive. IF I apply a couple coupon codes (as explained on dealmac.com), I can get this Dell 20.1" LCD for $700. That's $500 less than an apple 20". I'm not sure if this is a smart move or not, but I gotta move today as the deal ends at the end of the day.
 
If you're talking about the 2001FP then yes, get it. Great specs, slim bezel, and you can always put a sticker over the Dell logo ;) :D

edit: also on the 2001FP you get DVI, DSUB, S-Video and something else inputs, on the Apple display you get a pathetic single DVI port (a bit of a gripe of mine). It's a GREAT deal.
 
great LCD...

for $1000, for $700-$750 it's a no brainer.

2 gripes -
Anti-glare coating sucks.
Color banding (all LCD's have this, including Apple, with the only exception being Eizo)

My first one had hundreds of dead pixels (defect) Dell replaced it very little hassle involved (the fact of having to return anything involves some hassle). New one is perfect.


2A Batterie said:
I can just see it now... the horses's ass of a spokesman for Dell is telling me "Dude, you're getting a Dell". While it gives my shivers up and down my spine I need a new LCD. I have an old viewsonice A90, but it is so big and bulky. Mainly I want something that is easy on me olde peepers, and LCD's are the best for this if I'm not mistaken. I'd like to get an Apple LCD, but they are so dang expensive. IF I apply a couple coupon codes (as explained on dealmac.com), I can get this Dell 20.1" LCD for $700. That's $500 less than an apple 20". I'm not sure if this is a smart move or not, but I gotta move today as the deal ends at the end of the day.
Click to expand...
 
We had an extra Dell 19" LCD and I hung it off an older G4. In every resolution except 1024x768, the fonts/graphics all looked terrible. Everything looked "unsmoothed". It was horrible. Naturally the user didn't want to run the resolution "so high" (1024x768, high? Weehoo). Eventually I couldn't stand it anymore and pull the monitor and replaced it with an Apple LCD. The Dell went to a WinTelThon user.
 
I'm using a 2000FP right now (at work). It is a great display, and it swivels from side to side quite smoothly, which is nice. I can't think of anything bad to say about it, other than the ugly Dell logo front and center. If you're willing to sacrifice the Apple brand name for price, then I say go for it.
 
I was looking at this LCD as well. It seems like a great deal. I just can't decide between this 20.1" or the 17" W1700 Widescreen LCD TV. I really like the widescreens, and I think I'd get a lot of use out of it. TigerDirect has a refurb W1700 for $479, which is a great price also ($699 retail). Anyone ever used one of their LCD Tvs to compare?
 
My friend pointed me to that Dell 20.1 inch one too, and pointed out that it'll be about $400 less than my price for the Apple 20" CD.

But the Dell is 1600x1200 res. Can you display 2 whole letter-size pages side by side in a good word processor, w/ that res., while still being able to read text in, say, 9 pt. Verdana font?
 
Topic: Should I buy a, *gulp*, Dell LCD?
Click to expand...

I don't understand why some Apple users are such sheep. Get a Dell LCD because it's .... *gulp* ..... a good LCD at a great price. The obvious-ness of such a decision is alarming for most normal people, except for Apple loyalists, many of whom don't really have a reason for not Dell LCDs, like yourself, except that some little birdie told you to hate everything and everyone that makes PCs. The Apple display isn't worth it's price to begin with, except for it's widescreen ratio, and it's supposed response time of 16ms, and most don't even believe that to be true.

Get the Dell because it's good. The Dell logo is just a logo. If it bothers you, then spend the extra $500 on an LCD with an Apple logo, if that's so important to you. Just know that neither Dell nor Apple actually makes the LCD.
 
A few years ago, I bought a Dell LCD for work. Very nice. It was made by Samsung, which I believe, also made the Apple LCDs at the time. Not sure if this is still the case.

Unless you're really keen on the Apple look and/or if you must have superwide screen, go with an LCD that give you the performance you want for a good price.
 
Abstract said:
I don't understand why some Apple users are such sheep. Get a Dell LCD because it's .... *gulp* ..... a good LCD at a great price. The obvious-ness of such a decision is alarming for most normal people, except for Apple loyalists, many of whom don't really have a reason for not Dell LCDs, like yourself, except that some little birdie told you to hate everything and everyone that makes PCs. The Apple display isn't worth it's price to begin with, except for it's widescreen ratio, and it's supposed response time of 16ms, and most don't even believe that to be true.

Get the Dell because it's good. The Dell logo is just a logo. If it bothers you, then spend the extra $500 on an LCD with an Apple logo, if that's so important to you. Just know that neither Dell nor Apple actually makes the LCD.
Click to expand...

Well said. It's the opposite of what PC people do to the mac. I took a communication class once that had a socialist professor and he was anti-mass communication. That feeling ran through the department and warped the minds of all the students to feel the same. I didn't do well because I disagreed with them and believe that although not always, mass communication can be a good thing...
 
Well thanks for agreeing. :)

Funny that I'm also from Toronto. I doubt that Torontonians are less prone to blind agreement and head-nodding, but its a nice association to make, regardless. ;)
 
Duff-Man says....when I went out to replace my 2 crt's with lcd's about 18 months ago I looked at the Apple ones, the Dell ones, Sony etc etc before finally getting my Samsung 172T's...there were some good deals on the Dell stuff but then there was a rebate on the Samsungs too....and in the end I just couldn't stand the thought of giving that twerp Michael Dell any of my money. But that is just me. So, I guess I am saying I am, not one of those that will stick with Apple-branded stuff just for the sake of it...but at the same time I will be careful about who I *do* give my money to....oh yeah!
 
Forgotten specs

did we forget the 2 firewire ports and not just USB. I'm not sure how many cables the Dell needs, but you know your Apple monitor will only have one cable coming up onto your desk and no power supply pack on the ground to kick around with your feet.
 
yellow said:
We had an extra Dell 19" LCD and I hung it off an older G4. In every resolution except 1024x768, the fonts/graphics all looked terrible. Everything looked "unsmoothed". It was horrible. Naturally the user didn't want to run the resolution "so high" (1024x768, high? Weehoo). Eventually I couldn't stand it anymore and pull the monitor and replaced it with an Apple LCD. The Dell went to a WinTelThon user.
Click to expand...
That is pretty much the deal with all LCDs. They only look good in 2 resolutions, their "native" resolution and half the native resolution. The reason is that the LCDs are digital, they can control each pixel. However, when you are not at the native resolution, the LCD has to make some adjustments to convert the number of pixels coming into the number of pixels it has to display. This causes some weird picture contortions, blockiness, bluriness, artifcats etc. The reasont that half reslution looks good(in your case half resolution would be 512x384, not a normal resolution) is because there are 1/4 the pixels. Thus you can convert every pixel coming in to a 2x2 square, so it tends to look much better.
You should use this technique with games unless your vid. card can run the game at the native resolution.
 
Sounds like a good deal. If it meets your needs, by all means go ahead and get it. As for the claim of other manufacturers buying LCDs which Apple rejects - probably more than likely a line straight out of marketing.

Apple displays are way overpriced, especially if they're made with samsung parts. I looked at a lot of LCDs before I bought my 23" Sony a year ago, and have not been sorry - it's a great LCD, and it cost me less than the 23" Apple display.

The included firewire and USB ports on Apple displays are not a factor for me because I have USB on my apple keyboard, and very seldome use them. For extra ports I have a hub - off the desk and out of the way.
 
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