Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Thunderbolt Display vs Dell U2713H/U2713HM?
- Thread starter tangfj
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
High price and low features? Hardly. You see Apple Thunderbolt Display has only one thing in particular: Thunderbolt hub. Yes it's one of a kind but it does not connect to any video signal other than that. Not even a regular mDP connection on older Macs. All of that for $999.
While Dell and a few another OEMs such as ViewSonic, Philips, or Asus shares the same 1440p panel with Apple, some of their displays also has USB 3.0 hub (ATD does not), it also has multiple video inputs (HDMI, DVI, DP, mDP which works nicely even with Thunderbolt Macs), real buttons/switch and detailed settings for calibration (ATD does not).
All in all Ultrasharp gives you much better run for the money, more useful and practical features, all for $649. I'd say it's a lot cheaper for what you get than ATD.
Don't know why would I pick the ATD over Ultrasharp, maybe if I'm in drug or plainly in the mood to waste money pointlessly.
----------
You can try with mDP to DP cable/adapter.
I think there are advantages to both. If you have only one computer to connect to and it is a newer Mac, than I think a refurb TBD is a good way to go. The single-cable connection is really convenient, and of course the Apple integration is nice - speakers, camera, microphone, Firewire port, ethernet port, etc.
Cons, of course are the super high gloss (not a con for everyone, admittedly). And my biggest pet peeve is that when you put it next to an iMac there is a 1.5" height difference that is not adjustable. IMO that's just inexcusable. And the fact that you can't hook up a non-Mac to it.
My choice was to get the TBD to go with my rMBP and I'm quite happy with it, even with the price I paid for it. However, as time goes by, I'm more and more tempted to build myself a gaming PC, and for that I'll need a different display. As long as I have one with a USB 3.0 hub, I won't really miss much, except for the speakers. Sure, I'll have to plug in 3 cables instead of 2 (USB, display and power vs. TB and power), but that's really not a big problem.
Cons, of course are the super high gloss (not a con for everyone, admittedly). And my biggest pet peeve is that when you put it next to an iMac there is a 1.5" height difference that is not adjustable. IMO that's just inexcusable. And the fact that you can't hook up a non-Mac to it.
My choice was to get the TBD to go with my rMBP and I'm quite happy with it, even with the price I paid for it. However, as time goes by, I'm more and more tempted to build myself a gaming PC, and for that I'll need a different display. As long as I have one with a USB 3.0 hub, I won't really miss much, except for the speakers. Sure, I'll have to plug in 3 cables instead of 2 (USB, display and power vs. TB and power), but that's really not a big problem.
I have one of each, the dell is hooked up to my gaming pc, and the Thunderbolt Display to my MacBook Pro. The dell certainly is a good buy, I have the 2013 display, which is supposedly not as good color range as the older one, but it looks great none the less. Both monitors are mounted on ergotron desktop mounts(highly recommended).
The anti glare on the dell is awesome, but I do prefer the contrast/ black levels you get in a glossy display for photos(not editing them, just viewing). You can argue about my taste, but its my personal preference. Reading text the anti glare of the dell is fabulous. I like both monitors, but for different purposes. The thunderbolt hub is a wonderful convenience, and it would be nice if the pc world would follow suit and incorporate thunderbolt as a docking station replacement.
I am happy with both purchase, sure it would be nice to combine the ports on the dell, with the thunderbolt docking capability of the apple display. Yes, the Apple display costs more, but you get decent speakers, microphone, video chat, network adaptor, USB hub in a single connection to your laptop(ok, two, if you count the included laptop power supply), and that is one powerfully convenient feature(s), that make up for that price difference.
If you need flexibility for different laptops, and don't have the money for both, the dell is a good deal.
The anti glare on the dell is awesome, but I do prefer the contrast/ black levels you get in a glossy display for photos(not editing them, just viewing). You can argue about my taste, but its my personal preference. Reading text the anti glare of the dell is fabulous. I like both monitors, but for different purposes. The thunderbolt hub is a wonderful convenience, and it would be nice if the pc world would follow suit and incorporate thunderbolt as a docking station replacement.
I am happy with both purchase, sure it would be nice to combine the ports on the dell, with the thunderbolt docking capability of the apple display. Yes, the Apple display costs more, but you get decent speakers, microphone, video chat, network adaptor, USB hub in a single connection to your laptop(ok, two, if you count the included laptop power supply), and that is one powerfully convenient feature(s), that make up for that price difference.
If you need flexibility for different laptops, and don't have the money for both, the dell is a good deal.
Just be advised that the U2713HM has a spotty track record (crosshatching, BLB, dead pixels, buzzing). I'm on my fourth and about to receive a refund. If you're willing to play the lottery, go for it. As for the U2713H, some users have reported overdrive while using sRGB emulation.
But the ATD v1 didn't behave for me either, so I don't know what to recommend currently, really. Prices have come down a lot for 27" monitors, but the landscape is pretty bleak when it comes to quality control.
But the ATD v1 didn't behave for me either, so I don't know what to recommend currently, really. Prices have come down a lot for 27" monitors, but the landscape is pretty bleak when it comes to quality control.
i have gone through 2 u2713hm and 2 pb278q and have hated all them and returned. i finally ponied up 200 more and got a refurbished cinema display and i love it!!!
+++++1 on the glitches with the USB Hub to the point that I returned the Dell U2713HM monitor just today via purolator. It's supposed to be USB 3.0 but none of my 3.0 devices would connect properly to the display and then to MBA. But all of my USB 2.0 devices would. It took a month of going back and forth with Dell CS and finally the bloody thing is shipped back.
Other than that, didn't have any problems with the backlight bleed so I was pretty lucky there.
I personally want a TBD but am worried about the quality control. Sure, apple has great customer service but for a monitor that costs 999$ I'd rather not have to rely on customer service for them to make things right. There are plenty of other monitors out there that offer similar specs, MTC.
Since I'm looking for a new monitor now, I'll post a question to see what the compatibility is of several monitors with USB hubs to a MBA. Keep a lookout for comparables because I've already researched a few 27" panels.
Other than that, didn't have any problems with the backlight bleed so I was pretty lucky there.
I personally want a TBD but am worried about the quality control. Sure, apple has great customer service but for a monitor that costs 999$ I'd rather not have to rely on customer service for them to make things right. There are plenty of other monitors out there that offer similar specs, MTC.
Since I'm looking for a new monitor now, I'll post a question to see what the compatibility is of several monitors with USB hubs to a MBA. Keep a lookout for comparables because I've already researched a few 27" panels.
Having had the Dell for a few months now I can unequivocally state that its a fabulous monitor. I use it for both, rMBP and my home built PC. If I needed a second one I wouldn't hesitate for a moment in getting another Dell.
Anyone with the Dell U2713HM, how is the anti glare coating on this monitor? I bought a 21" ultrasharp early last year and it had the thickest coating ever, to a point where the screen looked like sandpaper.
I've heard they reduced the AGC on this model but I want to be sure before I make the purchase. It'll be used for design and development work so the less rough coating, the better.
I plan on hooking it up to my 2012 cMBP so I shouldn't have any problems getting the full resolution, providing I use DisplayPort, right?
I've heard they reduced the AGC on this model but I want to be sure before I make the purchase. It'll be used for design and development work so the less rough coating, the better.
I plan on hooking it up to my 2012 cMBP so I shouldn't have any problems getting the full resolution, providing I use DisplayPort, right?
Oh man, that's really great to hear! I really hope its better. Everything else about this monitor sounds amazing.
I recently bought a Dell 27" U2713HM to connect with my 11" Air 2013.
It's very good to have a USB3 hub on the monitor, I have now a Keyboard and USB3 Gigabit Ethernet adapter connected to the monitor so I have to connect three connectors to the 11" air, power, display port and usb.
At work I have a Thunderbolt display so I can compare them quite nicely.
Advantages to the Dell screen;
Runs cool, I can adjust it up and down, less than half the price of a Thunderbolt display.
No glare from the display, can be quite tricky sometimes with the Thunderbolt display in an office environment.
Advantages to the Thunderbolt screen:
I get some moiré effects from the gray desktop background on the Dell screen. I have never seen anything like that on the Apple display.
Nice to only connect two cables to the computer.
Now I have a Late 2012 iMac Core i7 running Boinc at 100% on all CPU cores for 24 hours next to the Thunderbolt display. The iMac is completely cool, the Thunderbolt display is HOT, it's blowing hot air below it.
It's very good to have a USB3 hub on the monitor, I have now a Keyboard and USB3 Gigabit Ethernet adapter connected to the monitor so I have to connect three connectors to the 11" air, power, display port and usb.
At work I have a Thunderbolt display so I can compare them quite nicely.
Advantages to the Dell screen;
Runs cool, I can adjust it up and down, less than half the price of a Thunderbolt display.
No glare from the display, can be quite tricky sometimes with the Thunderbolt display in an office environment.
Advantages to the Thunderbolt screen:
I get some moiré effects from the gray desktop background on the Dell screen. I have never seen anything like that on the Apple display.
Nice to only connect two cables to the computer.
Now I have a Late 2012 iMac Core i7 running Boinc at 100% on all CPU cores for 24 hours next to the Thunderbolt display. The iMac is completely cool, the Thunderbolt display is HOT, it's blowing hot air below it.
Just want to give a quick update. If anyone is on the fence about buying the U2713HM, I highly recommend it.
The anti glare is amazing and the coating is pretty much perfect. Its such a beautiful monitor and colors just pop. I just put on some wallpapers from InterfaceLift and I just sat here for like 5 minutes with my mouth open. Gorgeous screen.
I would recommend this over the TBD simply because of the ergonomic features. Its not as pretty but my god moving it around, switching orientation, height adjustment, everything is so easy.
I love it. Its about $600 bucks on amazon now too.
The anti glare is amazing and the coating is pretty much perfect. Its such a beautiful monitor and colors just pop. I just put on some wallpapers from InterfaceLift and I just sat here for like 5 minutes with my mouth open. Gorgeous screen.
I would recommend this over the TBD simply because of the ergonomic features. Its not as pretty but my god moving it around, switching orientation, height adjustment, everything is so easy.
I love it. Its about $600 bucks on amazon now too.
I have a U2713HM & a U2713H - the U2713H definitely needs the fix or it looks terrible in OS X, the U2713HM looks identical regardless of using the RBG EDID... Perhaps it varies by version of the display. I'm curious though, I'm also using my displays with a 15" rMBP, and occasionally when the displays are sleeping the U2713HM pops up with a message every hours or so saying it's entering power saving mode and goes right back to sleep... It's only a minor annoyance, no problems actually using the display... but do you ever notice this?
Actually I don't think its a monitor issue. I think it's either an OSX issue or a rMBP issue. I say this because the same thing happens occasionally when my USB drives are connected via USB hub (USB 3.0). I'll see the lights come on on the hub for a few seconds and then off again.
Up until recently I could not get my rMBP to sleep regularly. Ninety percent of the time I would touch it in the morning and feel the heat through the lid. I spoke to support and they couldn't figure it out either.
I don't know what's changed in the last month but now it seems to sleep through the night, even though on occasion I still see the hub turning on and off.
Gah, gotta love no longer having a sleep indicator light on the rMBP. Relatively sure I've never had issues with mine sleeping, but had considered that maybe the monitor was getting a pulse now and again from power nap, however disabling it in system preferences didn't make a difference... might as well test letting it sleep over night in bootcamp instead, could very well be an operating system thing... though I've never noticed it happen to my u2713h, just the u2713hm.... on the other hand, the u2713h has always been plugged into my second thunderbolt port /shrug. Thanks for your thoughts
I was wondering about the power nap feature also. I'm wondering if that's what's happening when I see the lights come on for a few seconds.Gah, gotta love no longer having a sleep indicator light on the rMBP. Relatively sure I've never had issues with mine sleeping, but had considered that maybe the monitor was getting a pulse now and again from power nap, however disabling it in system preferences didn't make a difference... might as well test letting it sleep over night in bootcamp instead, could very well be an operating system thing... though I've never noticed it happen to my u2713h, just the u2713hm.... on the other hand, the u2713h has always been plugged into my second thunderbolt port /shrug. Thanks for your thoughts
In general I've had quite a few little nagging issues since I bought this (early 2013). I've been waiting patiently for Mavericks at which point I'll do a completely clean wipe/install. If things don't improve I'm going to fight for a replacement since I'm within the one year warrantee.
Same here with an early '13, but really my only gripe has been 102c load temps when doing video encodes... Kindah ridiculous IMO, but I don't expect Apple to do anything about it with their 'if it doesn't shut off, it's fine' policy. I've read the 2.4ghz cpus run significantly cooler, and am kind of envious.. Oy vey.
Not sure it will fix your issues, but I think you'll love Mavericks, especially if you use dual screens with your internal lcd... Plus the UI performance on the rMBP's internal LCD is just blazing fast now. May be underwhelming to some, but has undoubtably been my favorite update since SL.
The Apple Thunderbolt Display is a joke next to the Dell UltraSharp displays. It just has one input port and is useless for anything else.
Having used both, the wide-gamut colour on a Dell is far superior for general everyday usage. Even when calibrated and used in a colour aware browser like Safari or Firefox (configured correctly), the unprecedented richness of images on a wide-gamut Dell puts the "mere" sRGB Apple display to shame.
The reflective screen on the ATD is extremely annoying for games and movies to the point where you'll regret your purchase. You can connect 5 different inputs to the Dell display at once be it multiple PCs, Xbox/PlayStation, Blu-ray player etc. Some models like the U2711 will even receive 5.1 Dolby or LPCM audio from the player and output it via multichannel 3.5mm analog ports for your speakers.
In most countries the outrageous price of the ADT is also a joke. It's 200% the price of the superior Dell U2713HM.
Having used both, the wide-gamut colour on a Dell is far superior for general everyday usage. Even when calibrated and used in a colour aware browser like Safari or Firefox (configured correctly), the unprecedented richness of images on a wide-gamut Dell puts the "mere" sRGB Apple display to shame.
The reflective screen on the ATD is extremely annoying for games and movies to the point where you'll regret your purchase. You can connect 5 different inputs to the Dell display at once be it multiple PCs, Xbox/PlayStation, Blu-ray player etc. Some models like the U2711 will even receive 5.1 Dolby or LPCM audio from the player and output it via multichannel 3.5mm analog ports for your speakers.
In most countries the outrageous price of the ADT is also a joke. It's 200% the price of the superior Dell U2713HM.
I'd have to go with the Dell on this one. Just tested out a Dell U2713HM and it's a pretty solid screen. The AG coating is perfect as well, a bit reduced from what others have mentioned about other models in the past few years.
My eyes cannot focus properly on the current iMac or ATD and I'm not sure why, but I'm sure it has something to do with the piece of glass over the screen to some degree. This is where a matte/AG screen makes a massive difference. Plus I like having this thing be easily VESA mountable without having to buy even more accessories.
That said, I was able to pick up this monitor for < $500 from my Dell Business rep. We're not even in the same price ballpark here anymore.
My eyes cannot focus properly on the current iMac or ATD and I'm not sure why, but I'm sure it has something to do with the piece of glass over the screen to some degree. This is where a matte/AG screen makes a massive difference. Plus I like having this thing be easily VESA mountable without having to buy even more accessories.
That said, I was able to pick up this monitor for < $500 from my Dell Business rep. We're not even in the same price ballpark here anymore.
Wow....thats pretty impressive for a display to take 5.1 LPCM and output it over analog 3.5mm's...thats like getting a sound device AND a display...I was playing with the ATD yesterday and it looks like crap...maybe my retina screen is spoiling me but I went over to some other displays *cough* samsung* and they looked better...come on Apple....I almost felt like I was looking at a Gameboy screen! (ok not THAT bad but I had this reminder in my head of the first backlit Gameboy
)
May be a little late to the thread, but heres my question:
I'm wondering about the price for the thunderbolt display. Why is it still so high? I know Apple doesn't really do (big) price drops, they just replace the model each year and keep the price the same (for the Mac at least).
But speaking in tech years, the thunderbolt display is getting old and with new stuff (it doesn't have usb 3.0 and 4K is here) coming out, I'm not sure how Apple can still justify it's price.
I'm wondering about the price for the thunderbolt display. Why is it still so high? I know Apple doesn't really do (big) price drops, they just replace the model each year and keep the price the same (for the Mac at least).
But speaking in tech years, the thunderbolt display is getting old and with new stuff (it doesn't have usb 3.0 and 4K is here) coming out, I'm not sure how Apple can still justify it's price.
Because it's a superior display for designers. No matter what numbers reviewers pull out of the air, when you finally look at it in person, the "mere sRGB" Apple monitor displays smoother banding-free gradients and deeper blacks than all the other feature loaded wide-gamut monitors.
Even the iPhone's LCD has smoother gradients than a U2713H.
Huh? Just a few post above this one, you defended the Dell and bashed the thunderbolt one, what happened? xD