TR Forums

I'm trading up to a 27" IPS monitor from my existing Samsung LED backlit TN 24". I'm doing a lot more photo editing, so Id like the better color reproduction of an IPS. My existing monitor is a higher end TN and its decent enough, but I'm gonna move into the big boy pants now. I'll spend up to ~$1000, and I'm currently not seeing much. Dell and Apple only.

Apple -
Pros - $850 refurb/999 new, includes USB hub, Webcam, Mic, speakers, when used with MBP 15" (so it can power it, speakers, mic, webcam, through '1' cable, looks awesome, metal construction
Cons - only 1 input, glossy glass screen, needs $30 adapter to wall mount

Dell - Matte display, multiple inputs, no adapter needed to wall mount
Cons - $1099 new, no speakers integrated, plastic construction

Any other suggestions?

Why is a monitor made out of plastic a negative? You are not going to be carrying the monitor around and just because it's plastic doesn't mean it has poor build quality. I'm just not following . Also the u2711 is going for 999 right now. You want to pay attention to which color gamut you want to use. It looks like Apple only uses a standard gamut screen 16.7 mil, while the dell u2711 has an extended color gamut. If your going to use AdobeRGB then you don't want to buy the Apple Cinema Display.

Dell has sales on these if you're patient. I've seen them as low as $750 brand new.

As much as I dislike Dell's desktops and laptops their screens have been excellent. I've had a 2001FP, 2008WFP and now a U2411 and all of them have been great. The 2001FP I purchased in '04 is still alive and kicking.

If you're using a MBP, then the Apple screen looks neat- otherwise the Dell. Both should be very, very nice.

Synchromesh wrote:

Dell has sales on these if you're patient. I've seen them as low as $750 brand new.

As much as I dislike Dell's desktops and laptops their screens have been excellent. I've had a 2001FP, 2008WFP and now a U2411 and all of them have been great. The 2001FP I purchased in '04 is still alive and kicking.

I had a 2001FP years back and there ended up with dust or something behind the screen that were visible when using anything but dark colors. I was not pleased with that, but other than that it was nice.

And I know plastic isn't necessarily bad. My monitor now is plastic and its fine. But if I'm spending that much money, I want it to be solid and, this may be a little hoserish, but the aesthetic of the apple will match my macbook pro. I also do a bunch of skype/facetiming from my laptop. When its in the dock, I can't. The choices for a decent mac compatible webcam are slim, essentially limited to the $99 Logitechs, thus the apple 'kind of' saves me $100.

I'm leaning towards the Apple, but I'm not dead set on it yet. Are there any options I'm not finding?

EDIT:

Forgot to mention that I DO have another PC that I'd LIKE to have hooked up, so the Apple minus of only having a single display input is a fairly big minus.

I have the u2771, and its an amazing monitor. If you are doing serious photography stuff I suggest you get it and bask in the high colour glow of it's beauty. My camera shoots in Adobe RGB, the monitor is calibrated to it, and you can calibrate your output to it, resulting in an end to end Adobe RGB workflow. Additionally, you can get a fire GL or Quadro card and enable 30 bit colour display which again, is incredible.

I don't know about the Apple monitor, I'm sure its great, but the Dell u2711 is a serious monitor for photographers.

I've been well-pleased with my Dell UltraSharp monitors (2000FP, 2001FP, 3007WFP and U2410). You get better bang for your buck with these than with comparable professional monitors from NEC or Eizo.
http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/List ... =27%20Inch

Incidentally, how did you select the 27" size over 30"?

Corrado wrote:

I'm leaning towards the Apple, but I'm not dead set on it yet. Are there any options I'm not finding?

A 27" iMac? It has DisplayPort input and comes with a whole computer. But seriously, you can get a refurb for $1439.

Corrado wrote:

Forgot to mention that I DO have another PC that I'd LIKE to have hooked up, so the Apple minus of only having a single display input is a fairly big minus.

Why not just keep that PC attached to your old 24" monitor?

ludi wrote:

Corrado wrote:

Forgot to mention that I DO have another PC that I'd LIKE to have hooked up, so the Apple minus of only having a single display input is a fairly big minus.

Why not just keep that PC attached to your old 24" monitor?

Space. I only have rom for 1 desk and I'd like o mount hte new monitor on my existing wall mount.

Corrado wrote:

Space. I only have rom for 1 desk and I'd like o mount hte new monitor on my existing wall mount.

Why not start building your uberhacker video wall?