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docholiday · 07:56 PM

Hey,
I am getting a Powermac G5 and would like to purchase good LCDs for a dual-display setup that will replace my (now slightly rusty) 17" Studio Display.

A while ago I remember someone mentioned that you can get 17" Dell LCDs for a very good price. I also checked out the displays from Viewsonic and their dual-display stands, but the ones that I want aren't mac-compatible (according to customer rep). I don't quite understand why...

I would like to get something that is decent (ie. better in picture quality than current 21" Studio display or at least better than my old 17" Studio Display), with each monitor having a size of 17-19", and both displays priced under US$1400 (Combined).

Thanx,
Doc Holiday

osxisfun · Jul 13, 2003, 02:05 PM

I think your best bet is to visit as many shops with LCDs as possible. do not buy an LCD without seeing. What passes as a "good" lcd is the Dos-world is sometimes scary. although there are some good ones out there as well.

Axo1ot1 · Jul 13, 2003, 02:07 PM

I've been lusting after ths Lacie TFT. it's 20" at 1600x1200 and it has VGA, DVI and ADC compatibility (it uses an included cable adapter for ADC).

Looks like it would be great for a dual display setup because the edges are so thin. You really get a nice big viewing area without much interuption (which is more than I can say for the displays I have right now

) Havent seen any reviews around for it yet.

Costs $1400

docholiday · Jul 13, 2003, 07:59 PM

Sorry, but I meant US$1400 for both monitors being the limit... must have been bad phrasing on my part.

I already saw the LaCie: very very nice and if I had the money, believe u me, i would go for 2 of that display.

mark9939 · Jul 13, 2003, 08:51 PM

I recommend Samsungs. They have a very slim case, so they're great for side-by-side.

I own dual 150Ns, cost me $600 all together. Look for comparable 17" or 20" models if you want more screen space.
-M

docholiday · Jul 13, 2003, 09:35 PM

Originally posted by mark9939:
I recommend Samsungs. They have a very slim case, so they're great for side-by-side.

I own dual 150Ns, cost me $600 all together. Look for comparable 17" or 20" models if you want more screen space.
-M

I checked them out.. but on their website it says all the 15" and 17" models are analog input. The one I like is the 191T, which has both inputs... but it costs CD$1300.

Kenneth · Jul 13, 2003, 10:35 PM

Don't forget NEC display....
Currently I'm using the 17" studio display and one shady unknown brand 15" CRT with my G4.

icruise · Jul 13, 2003, 11:07 PM

Originally posted by docholiday:
I checked them out.. but on their website it says all the 15" and 17" models are analog input. The one I like is the 191T, which has both inputs... but it costs CD$1300.

Not true. At least the 172T has DVI and VGA.

docholiday · Jul 13, 2003, 11:12 PM

Ok guys, I did my searching.. checked NEC, Samsung, and ViewSonic.

Out of them all, ViewSonic seems to offer the best and even though earlier I mentioned that they told me it's not mac-compatible, I don't see why. The specs blow away the competition, with picture quality way beyond my Apple Studio Display (according to the many many reviews I read).
Thanx a lot guys (and gals) for helping me decide.

The final price will be far below my US$1400 limit. If there is any modification I need to do to my choices (links provided below), just let me know.

Here is the link for the LCD: http://www.viewsonic.com/products/lcd_vp171b.htm
Here is the link for the appropriate stand:
http://store.viewsonic.com/html/ibeC...oot=7vslvgz2tt
Here is the link for the adapter I am getting:
http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0123-ADE2

MusicalTone · Jul 14, 2003, 02:14 AM

Doc, why dont you just get the Apple 20" and save youself a bit of desk space?

Sven G · Jul 14, 2003, 02:30 AM

Originally posted by Axo1ot1:
Haven't seen any reviews around for it yet.

Here's a photon20vision review; I also read a review on the latest issue of Applicando (an Italian Mac magazine), where they rated it 4 out of 5 - the only flaw being that the included Pivot software doesn't support OS X...

RevEvs · Jul 14, 2003, 03:50 AM

I was going for the 20" Cinema Display, but for the same price I can get the new Sony SDM-HS93 and SDM-HS73, a 19" and 17" Flat panel, also i think they will match the G5 a little better.

revs

docholiday · Jul 14, 2003, 04:27 AM

Originally posted by MusicalTone:
Doc, why dont you just get the Apple 20" and save youself a bit of desk space?

1) It doesn't go very well with the new G5s. The ViewSonic and the model RevEvs chose go very well with the G5.
2) While I'm sure this display is built with the same quality many other Apple products are built, performance-wise the ViewSonic monitor blows the 20" away..
3) It's great to have dual-displays for a variety of work: Programming, movie editing, day-to-day multitasking etc.

OreoCookie · Jul 14, 2003, 07:24 AM

Eizo. Or Formac.

RevEvs · Jul 14, 2003, 02:13 PM

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Eizo. Or Formac.

Ive read some bad reviews of the Formac LCDs. Anyone got one? comments?

revs

slffl · Jul 14, 2003, 02:49 PM

I would recommend 2 Samsungs also. Very thin edges. And aren't they the manufactures of Apple displays anyway? I love the Samsung 172T.

docholiday · Jul 14, 2003, 04:59 PM

The typical response time on the Samsung is 25ms, the Viewsonic 16ms = less ghosting.
Other than that, both the Samsung 172T and VP171b have comparable specs (and equally good reviews).
If it wasn't for the review time I would go for the Samsung. Where I work, they bought a few 15" monitors a while ago and they are really decent monitors.

I am currently trying to get a good deal on the Viewsonics from a friend at Dell.

Nebrie · Jul 14, 2003, 09:05 PM

In response to the original post, you can get some really, really nice deals on Dell LCDs that can't be beat. The problem is that they only happen randomly (though mostly at the end of the quarter) and are avaliable for very short amounts of time and require multiple coupons.

schalliol · Jul 16, 2003, 08:51 PM

I know I know that you all must be tired of my posts on my 19" LCDs if you've been hanging out, but since he asked. I really enjpy my Samsung 191T pair. Yes, yes, mine say Dell on them (FP1900), but they work great and at the time they were cheaper than the Samsung branded version (November '02 USD 729 each shipped-Dell gives you a better price with a small business account, which is free and you could likely get). I really love that only 4cm exists between pixel edge and pixel edge, which makes it seem more like a seemless 2560x1024 display....well enough out of me search for the "PowerMac Picture" and you'll see lots of pics and links to QTVRs of my setup.

reverb · Jul 17, 2003, 02:00 AM

I run dual Dell 1900FP displays, both driven digitally. They are Samsung 191T's, but without the fugly purple on the bases. They have excellent specifications and perform exceptionally well in my experience, including gaming (the Burbank, CA Best Buy uses the Samsung branded version as the demo display on their $5K+ AlienWare gaming system).

After many comparisons, I selected them over Apple offerings. Additionally, energy efficiency and aesthetics are very important to me, and regarding the latter, I have seen no monitor that would look better alongside the G5, as the 1900FP has a very narrow silver bezel and a black base (the silver bezel is available on the Samsung as well, though not at most B&Ms, and has an additional ergonomics certification that the black one does not). I have had three of them in here and all were tested specifically for dead pixels, with none present. If you catch a Dell sale you may be able to get two of them at right around your budget mark.

Link · Jul 17, 2003, 03:44 AM

I have been wanting 3 samsung displays for a long time now, and apparently if/when my mom ever gets a computer, she's interested in taking over my cinema display..

Leaving the playing field open for 3 samsung 175(I believe the new model is) monitors

that's going to be soooo awesome ^_^

On a related note, if you want to wait until september, you could consider those..

or the 172ts.

Honestly I hate the look of the 191t, they're nice, and have very thin frame.. but there's something lacking.. I say it's that damn base. It's not 1/3 as slick as the 172t.

Nice monitors tho.

schalliol · Jul 17, 2003, 09:30 AM

Yeah, the 17's base is certainly nice. The 191t's is ok and I really like it for my config (I have tons of cables running through there on each so there's room to rest my iPod on one to charge and my hiptop on the other, though I also have Ethernet, FireWire and a Mic through them).

Fortunately the 191t has a VESA mount, so you should be abl to put nearly whatever kind of base on it you want (mount on the wall?).

spiky_dog · Jul 17, 2003, 07:24 PM

i'm really happy with my twin apple 17" lcd setup. both adc (duh) on a radeon 9000, with a dvi->adc converter box hooked up to the dvi out.

schalliol · Jul 17, 2003, 08:27 PM

It seems expensive to me to get the ADC adapter. The one thing I would caution anyone getting multiple monitors is to ensure that you don't get a widescreen display. If so, it'll be like looking at two slits instead of a pair of displays that can take up more of your vision. You are getting a heavily widescreen view when using multiple displays as it is. In fact, if I could, I would turn my displays 90� amd get a third. Then I would have a large, very widescreen display.

1. Ensure you're getting at least one digital port (it's nice to have a second port so you don't have to hook-unhook if you want to connect another machine too).
2. Look at the specs to narrow down the competition
3. Compare compare compare. If I didn't I would have considered a Cinema HD display, but when I saw in two different stores that a direct comparison between the pair I have and the Cinema showed that the Cinema doesn't look as good (as the specs agree), I knew the right choice for me to make.
4. Try to get a unit that will not have any dead pixels. That would annoy the crap out of me, I'm glad that Samsung & Dell have high standards.

ZildjianKX · Jul 17, 2003, 10:20 PM

Bought a Samsung 172T for $475 with shipping, the best monitor I've ever owned. I can hook it up to my powerbook via DVI and use extended desktop, then hook my PC up via analog and hit a button and view Windows, very cool.

schalliol · Jul 18, 2003, 06:30 PM

In case that it's not clear, many people are prefering smaller bezels, giving you a more seemless set of images. I didn't indicate this before, but when I went from dual 17" CRTs to my current displays, I nearly couldn't believe my eyes. It was no longer that I had to treat them as two separate displays, but I didn't mind much if something overlaped the middle border.

To get more of an idea of this sort of difference, you may wish to check out this post I created a minute ago. There you can imagine that the wider the bezel, the farther from the original image you get. It comes down to there whether you would like to use the as two separate displays or one with a gap.

I realize that I may be posting more than I should on this issue, so no more posts out of me unless you ask.

retep · Jul 22, 2003, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by Link:
Leaving the playing field open for 3 samsung 175(I believe the new model is) monitors

that's going to be soooo awesome ^_^

On a related note, if you want to wait until september, you could consider those..

or the 172ts.

What's the difference between the 172T and the 175T apart from being newer and shinier - Should I wait?