[corp miler]

I am looking for an Apple display and am looking at either a new 20", a used 20" or a used 22". I was about to buy a used 22” from an Apple Certified dealer until I noticed the resolution is actually less than the 20” (1600 x 1024 vs 1680 x 1050). Now, I don’t know if that is a bad thing or not. I replaced my old NEC CRT with a new Apple 23” at work and find I have to sit closer the screen to read the type. I probably prefer the larger menus (darn aging eyes). Would an older 22” display look basically like a 20” that is moved a few inches closer to your eyes. How does the 22” compare to the 20” in terms of crispness, color accuracy and eye strain? Are there any issues with buying an older LCD? I can save a couple hundred off a new one — not much but money that can go towards other equipment. Thanks.

[tooki]

In an older LCD, the overall image quality will be lower (not because of age, but because LCD technology keeps advancing rapidly), though the 22" Cinema is still an above-average LCD. The only thing that can wear out is the backlight tubes, but those can be replaced, though the manufacturers will never tell you that. (www.jkllamps.com sells tubes for almost every LCD out there.)

Beware that the 22" Cinema came in two kinds: a DVI model which for some reason will not work on a Mac mini's DVI, and an ADC model that will require a $100 adapter if your computer doesn't have an ADC port.

That said, if you choose to go with a new 20", don't waste your money on Apple's. Dell's is $750, and it's often on sale for much less. (Last week, it could be had for $562 shipped, and I've heard of it selling for even less.) And the Dell has a 3 year warranty, where Apple's has 1 year, and the Dell has far more inputs (so you can hook it up and watch TV on it, or another computer, or do picture-in-picture). See the other thread a few lines down for the discussion of the Dell 20" display; there's no need to duplicate all that talk here.

tooki

[Mithras]

I don't think it's a no-brainer, tooki. The 2005FPW (I have one) definitely does not have the quality of the Apple in terms of backlight or QC, not to mention the casing. So it's a question of how much those things are worth to you, whether you can find a Dell coupon, whether you can buy the Apple on education discount, etc.

But yeah, I don't think there's much reason to get the 22".

[Link]

Generally, the answer goes like this:

If you already have a 22", don't bother swapping for a 20" unless you can get a really good deal, but if you don't have a monitor yet, go ahead and get a 20" -- used 22"ers tend to sell for $800 when you can get say, a dell 20" for $600.

Smalldog DOES carry the polycarbonate 20" for $819 -- http://www.smalldog.com/product/12651632

but you'd still need an adaptor which brings the price just below that of a DVI 20"