Hey friends! I just recently purchased a refurb 2010 13" MBP from Microcenter for 899. Last week I added a 750GB Cavier Black 7200 hd and upgraded to 8gb ram for $200 total. I don't NEED a new display, but this deal seems worth it. I came across a used 24" ACD in great condition w/ no blemishes for $500. Is this a pretty good deal? The main reason I am leaning towards ACD is the isight cam, esp since I usually use my MBP in clamshell mode.
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Used 24" ACD for $500...worth it?
- Thread starter zoman504
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As others said, that's a decent price. However, I'll fill in for the people who usually pop their heads into each monitor thread to tell you to buy something else. You can buy a brand new 24-inch Dell U2410 with a better display panel and DisplayPort (look ma, no dongles!) for less than the used Cinema Display. Obviously there are aesthetic reasons to go with the CD, plus you get speakers and webcam.
While I understand the rationale behind most Apple products' slow rates of depreciation, I have never understood the incredibly slow depreciation rate of their monitors. I see the original Cinema Displays and Studio Displays (about a decade old now) still going for ridiculous amounts. Panel technology gets better and, more importantly, the CCFL backlighting gets weaker over time. It's not like a computer, the CPU or memory doesn't get slower over time. There's a noticeable difference between the backlighting of a new monitor vs one that has been used for several years (like the used CD). I'm a bit leery of used monitors in general, but especially when I'd be plunking down half a g for one.
While I understand the rationale behind most Apple products' slow rates of depreciation, I have never understood the incredibly slow depreciation rate of their monitors. I see the original Cinema Displays and Studio Displays (about a decade old now) still going for ridiculous amounts. Panel technology gets better and, more importantly, the CCFL backlighting gets weaker over time. It's not like a computer, the CPU or memory doesn't get slower over time. There's a noticeable difference between the backlighting of a new monitor vs one that has been used for several years (like the used CD). I'm a bit leery of used monitors in general, but especially when I'd be plunking down half a g for one.
Yeah get it. Make sure there are no dead pixels, loose internal parts, the camera & speakers work, and it charges your 13" MBP.
I have one of these things and they are great. I think the poster above was worried about the backlighting fading with time but LED's, as far as I know, don't suffer from this to the same degree as the CCFL's in the old 17, 20, and 30" ACD's last last introduced in 2005.
The thing is a beauty. I had a loose wire in my refurb model that caused the screen to black out when I rotated it. Luckily it was still under applecare and was a breeze to fix - just needed the connections fiddled with. As long as you don't transport roughly I would expect it to last a really long time. Your productivity (and movie watching) will thank you.
I have one of these things and they are great. I think the poster above was worried about the backlighting fading with time but LED's, as far as I know, don't suffer from this to the same degree as the CCFL's in the old 17, 20, and 30" ACD's last last introduced in 2005.
The thing is a beauty. I had a loose wire in my refurb model that caused the screen to black out when I rotated it. Luckily it was still under applecare and was a breeze to fix - just needed the connections fiddled with. As long as you don't transport roughly I would expect it to last a really long time. Your productivity (and movie watching) will thank you.
Yeah, careful with the Dell comparison. I purchased a Mac Mini and a Dell U2410 for my mom this Christmas (got the Dell vs a ACD because she has an old Windoze PC and the ACD port options are .. limited).
That POS Dell doesn't handle DisplayPort signal properly - it goes into powersave mode and then she has to pull the power cord to get it to power back-on. Yay, quality Dell coding. Based on my research it'll need a firmware update (ship back to Dell) -- but I haven't seen confirmation Dell has a fixed firmware version yet, so she's running a mini-displayport to HDMI convertor off her Mac Mini to push the U2410.
Yeah, shoulda bought an ACD (she never uses the Windoze machine anymore, so the extra ports weren't even necessary). D'oh
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Thanks!
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I decided to go ahead and purchase it. The seller seems very reputable and the display sounds like it should be in great condition. Obviously, with any online purchase my fingers are crossed, but everything seems legit. I've already received my tracking number. The selling point for me was the webcam on the ACD, and every time i've seen these in store they look beautiful. I'm excited for it to come!
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I decided to go ahead and purchase it. The seller seems very reputable and the display sounds like it should be in great condition. Obviously, with any online purchase my fingers are crossed, but everything seems legit. I've already received my tracking number. The selling point for me was the webcam on the ACD, and every time i've seen these in store they look beautiful. I'm excited for it to come!
I had a total brain hiccup on that one. I was thinking of the 23-inch CD. Yes, the LEDs in the 24-inch CD are not prone to the same backlight degradation as CCFLs. Also, no dongles since it's mDP, not DVI. The 24-inch CD is superior (depending on how one feels about glossy) to the 23-inch CD in nearly every way.