what monitor should I get instead of the 23" cinema display?

July 10, 2009 4:59 AM

what monitor should I get instead of the 23" cinema display?

I've been spending a few weeks now on ebay hunting for a used 23" apple cinema display and I'm frustrated. the display, which I use at work and am extremely happy with, goes for anything from €450 to up to €800, which is totally ridiculous, and the new version apple now sells doesn't seem to work with my two year-old mac book pro.*

thus I'm looking around for other monitors in a similar size range and priced around €400 plus/minus a bit. new or used, which monitor would you recommend and why? please note that I'm in germany and cannot purchase models sold exclusively in the US.

*make my day and correct me, I beg you.

posted by krautland to computers & internet (15 comments total)

Well I am using an asus 24 inch monitor that has 1900 x 1200 sesolution that wasnt that expensive. Has DVI,HDMI, and VGA ports.
posted by majortom1981 at 5:20 AM on July 10

The Apple displays use IPS panels which are also supposed to be in some Dell displays. This page has a list of monitors that use IPS panels. Maybe you could find one that satisfies your needs from here.
posted by hariya at 5:23 AM on July 10

Is the compatibility issue you cite due to display port?

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MB572Z-Mini-DisplayPort-Adapter/dp/B001IF252M
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570Z/A
posted by jangie at 5:25 AM on July 10

About two years ago, I purchased a Dell 2407WFP in place of a 23" Cinema Display and I'm very happy with it. Dell has newer models out since then, but I have no reason to believe they'd be lower quality.
posted by Alterscape at 5:44 AM on July 10

I agree that a display adapter is what you need for the Cinema Display.

However, as has been cited over and over again in numerous AskMe threads on monitors, Dell makes essentially the same monitors for much less cash. I hook my Macs at home and work up to them.
posted by mkultra at 5:44 AM on July 10

TFT Central is based in the UK and has reviews of high-end models that are available in Europe. For instance, the HP LP2475W and the NEC LCD2490WUXi.

The main reason to not buy the Apple is that it's expensive compared to the competitors, but it does have some extra features that may make up for that, like LED back-lighting and a built-in iSight. But your current display doesn't have those features, so I don't know that you'd miss them.

Of course, this is assuming you need an IPS panel. If you don't mind the cheaper panels, you can get a nice Samsung for 1/3 of the price of the Apple display.
posted by smackfu at 5:49 AM on July 10

Is the compatibility issue you cite due to display port?

Another possible stumbling block is HDCP (High Definition Content Protection).

The unibody macbook introduced support for HDCP, and will only play certain iTunes movies if the external monitor supports HDCP. None of the cinema displays sold before the introduction of the unibody macbooks supported HDCP - so if you had a unibody macbook and a pre-unibody cinema display, some movies downloaded from iTunes wouldn't play on your cinema display.

I can't find anything saying whether pre-unibody/pre-HDCP macbooks have the same limitation; iTunes might only demand an HDCP-compatible monitor if you have an HDCP-compatible macbook (i.e. a unibody one).

If you want advice on whether this is a problem for you, it would help if you told us (a) if this is the problem you're worried about, (b) if your macbook is unibody, and (c) whether you plan to download any movies from iTunes.
posted by Mike1024 at 6:29 AM on July 10

I got a fantastic deal on this LED-backlit Dell Monitor and maybe you can too, if you if you search around.

@Mike1024, if it's a two-year old macbook pro, it isn't unibody.
posted by tmcw at 6:32 AM on July 10

If you do decide you don't need that panel, as suggested above, I have had a Samsung T240 since Christmas and it is amazing for my gaming rig :)
posted by utsutsu at 7:40 AM on July 10

Seconding the Samsung T240. It's what I use at work instead of a cinema display and I love it.
posted by peacheater at 9:10 AM on July 10

I don't think I have the unibody mpb, which I think is the one with the black keyboard and glossy display only, right? what I have is the 2GHz Intel Core Duo, which System Info says has the Model Identifier: MacBookPro1,1. it basically doesn't have the new -small- port that the new cinema displays use, which is why I didn't consider them. the adapters jangle linked to would work for me if they were exactly the other way around - I had the large connector but not the small.

I like the Dell tmcw mentioned but am worried about it being advertised as providing only 60hz @ 1990x1080px, which is the resolution I'd use. anyone know if that's too low to be comfortable?
posted by krautland at 1:31 PM on July 10

23/24's are usually either 1920x1200 or 1920x1080. You can get cheap LCDs with TN panels for around $200 USD. If you want something comparable in picture quality to a Apple display, you want something like the Dell 2408WFP which are on Dell for $449 USD.

If you want a higher res - 2048x1152, there is the Samsung 2343BWX and the Dell SP2309W.
posted by wongcorgi at 2:10 PM on July 10

Don't worry about the refresh rate, 60hz is 'standard' refresh rate for LCDs. You can get higher (see 120hZ or even 240Hz, mostly on expensive LCD TV's) but for your everyday computing stuff, it's more than adequate, your cinema display would be the same* (*I think, pls correct me if I'm wrong!)
posted by defcom1 at 5:54 PM on July 13

If you don't need the best in picture quality, consider the Acer X223Wbd. I bought it for my father from Newegg mainly for it great reviews and low price. I was very satisfied with the results.
posted by vmrob at 2:32 PM on August 5

I should have mentioned that the above monitor is 22 inches.
posted by vmrob at 2:32 PM on August 5