[Mallrat]

I know apple makes better computers, software, and mp3 players.

Wish they would make printers again.

But do they make better monitors.

I was considering buying one on eBay.

People are seling the 15inch LCD displays. Perfect size for me.

would prefer higher resolution.

for the same price as the 15 inch, I could get a samsung 17 inch would looked good in the store, but it was running of course windows XP.

Will an apple moniotr always look better than the competition when using an apple? Or would I be okay with another brand?

thank you.

[schk]

While Apple's monitors may look cool, their specs (which is what really matters) are subpar compared to the competition and their monitors cost more than equivalent sized monitors which have better specs. What you should be looking for are high contrast ratios and low pixel response times (sub 25ms is optimal), there are other things to check, but those are the basic ones to look for. If you play games or do video work, lower pixel response times are preferable as that affects ghosting and such. Higher contrast ratios allow you to differentiate colors better which would be useful for graphic work. The only thing Apple monitors offer is ADC which has built in power and USB hub. Any other monitors with VGA or DVI out will still work fine with Macs.

[Mallrat]

Originally posted by schk:
While Apple's monitors may look cool, their specs (which is what really matters) are subpar compared to the competition and their monitors cost more than equivalent sized monitors which have better specs. What you should be looking for are high contrast ratios and low pixel response times (sub 25ms is optimal), there are other things to check, but those are the basic ones to look for. If you play games or do video work, lower pixel response times are preferable as that affects ghosting and such. Higher contrast ratios allow you to differentiate colors better which would be useful for graphic work. The only thing Apple monitors offer is ADC which has built in power and USB hub. Any other monitors with VGA or DVI out will still work fine with Macs.

good to know. so higher contrtrast ratio and lwo pixel response time are what to look for.

I wasn't sure.

the apple monitors always look good in the store (i assume due to the dvi)

I saw a widescreen DVI samsung screen at Tekserve and it looked incredible.

[Footy]

I recently went though two 20 inch Apple displays. Both dropped a pixel within a half hour of use. I know it's always possible to drop a pixel but for that price I just couldn't keep them. CompUSA was very cool about returning them.

Ended up buying a Samsung 191T from CDW and LOVE IT! Looks just as good as the Apple monitors I tried.

Lot of guys happy with that Samsung 17 inch model too.

Make sure you get one that uses the DVI connection not VGA.

[Wiskedjak]

Doesn't Samsung make the hardware that goes into the Apple displays?

[schk]

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
Doesn't Samsung make the hardware that goes into the Apple displays?

I believe Samsung are one of the various suppliers of LCDs in Apple's laptops. I'm not sure who is the OEM for the Apple LCDs, but I doubt it's Samsung as the viewing angles, contrast ratios, and brightness are lower than even the basic Samsung models. Certain Dell monitors (maybe most) are rebadged Samsung LCDs.

[Footy]

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
Doesn't Samsung make the hardware that goes into the Apple displays?

I read that somewhere in the forums recently too when I was researching monitors. Interesting.

[Eug Wanker]

Are apple monitors better than other companies?

If you're talking about the quality of the panel itself then no, because Apple doesn't make them. That said, Apple doesn't sell the low end ones. And when the package them they are a good package.

Doesn't Samsung make the hardware that goes into the Apple displays?

Samsung
LG/Philips
Chi Mei
etc.

While Apple's monitors may look cool, their specs (which is what really matters) are subpar compared to the competition and their monitors cost more than equivalent sized monitors which have better specs. What you should be looking for are high contrast ratios and low pixel response times (sub 25ms is optimal), there are other things to check, but those are the basic ones to look for. If you play games or do video work, lower pixel response times are preferable as that affects ghosting and such. Higher contrast ratios allow you to differentiate colors better which would be useful for graphic work. The only thing Apple monitors offer is ADC which has built in power and USB hub. Any other monitors with VGA or DVI out will still work fine with Macs.

Apple rates conservatively. Others sometimes do not.