[Kerry]

I just purchased a new firewire 800 dual G4/1.25 for mostly Pro-Tools use. However I do use it for my graphics work too. I have two LaCie 19" crt's on my G3 rig with the help of a Rage Orion PCI card.

Questions are:

1- How or can I use the two crt's with the new G4's video card (Radeon 9000 pro). Is there a way to utilize the ADC out with a VGA crt and still run a second on the DVI out with supplied VGA adaptor? Or do I need a second PCI card?

2- Or should I buy the new 20" cinema display. My only problem with the Apple display is its 1680 x 1050 native resolution... everything is tiny! I tried the other resolutions and they just aren't as sharp as native. I'm accostumed to 1024 x 768 on the 19" The advantage to the Apple display is a power on button. I have the CPU in a machine room.

What do you think?

[freakboy2]

dual apple 17 inch flatpanels. then you're styling!

Fb2

[Mac Zealot]

bah just grab a 22" if the size is killing you. It'll still be tiny compared to 1024x768 on a 19" but much more soothing than a 20"

[Superchicken]

You should be able to find a DVI to VGA and a ADC to DVI adapter... although you might end up having to buy 2 DVI to VGA adapters... not sure how the quality ont he screen would look after two conversions. And if you're running in OS X it's best to use a quartz extream capable graphics card... IE at least 32 megs for each monitor.

[Kerry]

I got to looking around and found an ADC to VGA extractor/adaptor from DR. Bott and the Apple store has them in stock. The G4 came with a DVI to VGA adaptor already (which is what I'm using now). So I think for $35.00 I'll hop up to the Apple store tomorrow. According to the Apple site the Radeon 9000 pro will support two monitors. If this works it will free up a bunch of cash for software and other goodies. Of course once I'm at the Apple store I just might be tempted to spring for the 20 incher anyway.

[Cipher13]

Dual 19".

Cheaper, brighter, sharper, higher res... etc...

[Peter]

the 20" cinema looks very nice ... go for the LCD, I would

[Kerry]

Well I just got back from the Apple store. For now The Dr. Bott ADC-VGA adaptor works great. I have both 19" LaCie monitors up and humming no problems. 1024x768 @ 120 hz refresh rate.

I spent a great deal of time looking at all three display options: 17", 20", 23". I considered two 17" monitors as well. But I have to say the 23" is the bomb. It has the most real estate but... a bit pricey. For now I think I'll deal with the CRT's and see what happens with the prices of these things. After all the big one already dropped two grand in price since it was introduced.

Thanks for your comments all.

[Cadaver]

Why 1024x768 on a 19" display?
Isn't that a bit low-res?

Any 19" worth it's salt should run 1280x1024 at a decent refresh rate. Two of those would really give a lot of desktop space.

[Kerry]

Yeah thats the res I have to use and still be able to see things. The higher the res the smaller things get which is what bugs me about the LCD monitors. Everything seems so tiny unless your right on top of it. I'm near-sighted to begin with, but at that 40-something age where I'm becoming blind with close things too.

[chrisutley]

You need to go look at a 20" in person before taking our subjective highly subjective advice.

The 20" is super-bright, super-sharp, and 1680x1050 is nothing to sneeze at. I'm biased because I have a 20", but I will tell you this much. I was considering dual 21" Sony CRT's, but I went to see the 20" in person before deciding. I bought the 20" on the spot and decided to save some cash and buy another 20" in 6-12 months.

[Fobie]

If you have the cash go for the Cinema 22" or the Cinema HD 23".

If you don't do any graphics or such, LCD displays are superior to CRT.