Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

miacomet · Nov 18, 2005, 10:54 PM

I'm about to buy a 12" PB and I want to get a 20" DVI display to go with it. I hope to close the PB and use it while connected to a 20" display with a KB+MM at home. And then be able to take it on the road too.

What's the best 20" display?

1) Apples?

2) Dells?

3) Something else?

mduell · Nov 18, 2005, 11:24 PM

I vote Dell.
Newer version of the same panel Apple uses (see Anandtech's comparison).
$500 most of the time, $400 on a good week.
3 year warranty is standard, 4 year (+$29) and 5 year (+$19) are available (generally I keep displays longer than computers).
Better brightness (backlight), better contrast, better response time.
DVI, VGA, S-video, and Composite inputs, with Picture in Picture and Picture by Picture support for any combination of two.
Comes on a great stand (4 degrees of freedom), but also VESA mountable without any additonal hardware.

But the Apple display has some plusses too. "Sexy" Aluminum case and Firewire hub are worth the increase in price/loss in features to some people.

harrisjamieh · Nov 19, 2005, 06:50 AM

The Dell is probably the 'wiser' option, for the reasons mduell said - the extra connections, better price, and better panel, but if you want to be all Apple, then go with the Apple Cinema Display. I use one of these everyday, and find it excellent. I especially like the firewire and usb hubs built in, and the whole 'single cable from the display' thing, where the power, dvi, usb and firewire cables are all in one nice cable, reducing clutter.

I think the 12" PB's have the same display as the 12" iBook's, one of which I had, and when going from the iBook to the ACD, WOW! So i think you will be happy with eaiter, but in my opinion, if you have the extra cash, the Apple screen is a very nice, luxury item

miacomet · Nov 19, 2005, 08:33 AM

Thanks! I am looking at this Widescreen Dell:

DELL
UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand and 3-Year Warranty
$579.00

I have a two more questions.

Is that the best price? Or can I get it for $500 somewhere else? And is this the best 20" widescreen Dell Display?

Also, does it just plug into the 12" PB with the same DVI connector or do I need extra cords?

mduell · Nov 19, 2005, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by miacomet

Thanks! I am looking at this Widescreen Dell:

DELL
UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand and 3-Year Warranty
$579.00

I have a two more questions.

Is that the best price? Or can I get it for $500 somewhere else? And is this the best 20" widescreen Dell Display?

Also, does it just plug into the 12" PB with the same DVI connector or do I need extra cords?

I can't find any coupons now, but new ones should be out Wednesday or Thursday. You should be able to get the price down to $400-500 including shipping.
Yes, that is the best Dell 20" widescreen (assuming you don't want the longer warranty).
Yes, Dell includes DVI, power, and USB cables for the display.

miacomet · 06:25 PM

Thanks again! The only thing I worry about with the Dell is the quality of the screen... I more or less know that I am paying more for an Apple Display but it is pretty much guaranteed to be a high quality LCD screen.

Do people complain about the quality of the Dell LCD screens? Or are they also high quality?

Also, how much is the shipping usually on the Dell 2005 FPW to Massachusetts? I couldn't figure out how to do that on Dell's web site without putting in all my personal info...

mduell · Nov 19, 2005, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by miacomet

Thanks again! The only thing I worry about with the Dell is the quality of the screen... I more or less know that I am paying more for an Apple Display but it is pretty much guaranteed to be a high quality LCD screen.

Do people complain about the quality of the Dell LCD screens? Or are they also high quality?

Also, how much is the shipping usually on the Dell 2005 FPW to Massachusetts? I couldn't figure out how to do that on Dell's web site without putting in all my personal info...

As I mentioned in my first reply, Apple and Dell use the same LG.Philips LCD panel (model LM201W01). As of April of this year, Dell was using a newer revision (B5) than Apple (A5), and claims a better response time.

With last weeks coupons, the display was $436.mumble and shipping was $5.20.

miacomet · Nov 19, 2005, 07:27 PM

Thanks! I only asked about the Display a second time because my IT guy told me that Dell uses whatever LCD manufacturer is producing the cheapest screens at the moment... but I guess if LG is the only one making the widescreens then they're the only one.

Now I just have to figure out about the coupon codes...

jesset · Nov 21, 2005, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by miacomet

Now I just have to figure out about the coupon codes...

My suggestion would be to head over to dealmac.com and setup an alert to email you whenever 2005fpw shows up in a deal. You'll get an email as soon as Dell either offers it with a coupon or puts in on sale.

miacomet · Nov 21, 2005, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by jesset

My suggestion would be to head over to dealmac.com and setup an alert to email you whenever 2005fpw shows up in a deal. You'll get an email as soon as Dell either offers it with a coupon or puts in on sale.

Thanks! That's a great idea! I didn't know anything about that...

jdiddy · Nov 21, 2005, 04:49 AM

Another vote for the Dell 2005FPW. I'm glad I got it when I did. I paid $370 each for both of mine. I wish I could see those prices again. Dell has not been having those same cut rate deals as often.

tooki · Nov 21, 2005, 09:36 AM

Yup, I've been waiting for the 2405FPW to drop under $800 again. Last time, I missed it cuz I got the dates confused.

(I was traveling, and thought I could get it once I arrived. I was off by about 8 hours...)

tooki

miacomet · Nov 21, 2005, 10:29 AM

Ok it's done. I'm asking my IT guy to order me the 2005FPW today. Thanks for all your input everyone!!

mduell · Nov 21, 2005, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

Yup, I've been waiting for the 2405FPW to drop under $800 again. Last time, I missed it cuz I got the dates confused.

(I was traveling, and thought I could get it once I arrived. I was off by about 8 hours...)

Hopefully we'll see something big on Black Friday.

legionare · Nov 23, 2005, 02:23 PM

Dell, when it goes under $400 again.

miacomet · Nov 23, 2005, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by legionare

Dell, when it goes under $400 again.

Well I already ordered it for full price, which is still much less than Apple's Education prices.

Kyros · Nov 23, 2005, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by miacomet

Well I already ordered it for full price, which is still much less than Apple's Education prices.

Why if you can probably get it cheaper within a week or so?

tooki · Nov 23, 2005, 05:17 PM

I just got an email today, it's on sale for $450 or so.

tooki

jdiddy · Nov 23, 2005, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

I just got an email today, it's on sale for $450 or so.

tooki

Hurry its $384 after delf coupon!! Super hot for those who don't pay dell tax! Find the coupon the usual places (ebay).

miacomet · Nov 23, 2005, 08:32 PM

Owch. Well at least it was my office's money and not my personal money. That's $150 that I'm not gonna see again.

I guess I can justify it because the sale will probably be gone on Monday and I wouldn't have been able to get the IT guy to order it until then...

wuzup101 · Nov 23, 2005, 10:29 PM

Good choice w/ the Dell. Personally I think the only thing the apple LCDs have going for them are the looks of the physical monitor case. The Dells, which don't look bad at all, are a much better deal and offer more features... pluss dell takes things back a whole lot easier than does apple. I'd go with the Dell anyday of the week. I'm planning on buying a 24" wide from dell this comming summer for my powerbook/xbox 360 (if/when I get one).

miacomet · Nov 24, 2005, 02:02 AM

Well at least I saved some money on the 12" PB 60G/combo for $1099.

ghettochild · Nov 24, 2005, 03:44 AM

not that I want to hijack this thread...
what are your experiences w/ the 12" PB and an external display (be it from apple, dell, or whatever) in terms of fan noise?

I've read some nightmareish stories about the PB fan going full throttle all the time and stuff.

thanks in advance!

miacomet · Nov 24, 2005, 12:30 PM

I'll let you know when I get the display. It's currently in the mail.

miacomet · Nov 27, 2005, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by ghettochild

not that I want to hijack this thread...
what are your experiences w/ the 12" PB and an external display (be it from apple, dell, or whatever) in terms of fan noise?

I've read some nightmareish stories about the PB fan going full throttle all the time and stuff.

thanks in advance!

i just hooked the PB up to my old 15" Sony VGA flatscreen. And it worked great. I only had it going for about 30 minutes, but there was no annoying fan noise that I noticed. Though I'm hard to annoy... I'lll try out the Dell 20" hopefully tomorrw.

ghettochild · Nov 27, 2005, 01:45 AM

cool, thanks for the update. let me know how things are w/ the 20" when you get it.

zoetrope · Nov 27, 2005, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by ghettochild

not that I want to hijack this thread...
what are your experiences w/ the 12" PB and an external display (be it from apple, dell, or whatever) in terms of fan noise?

I have a 20" ACD and if I am using my Rev C. 1.33GHz 12" PB w/ miniDVI out to the ACD, the fan is running nearly constantly. I used the 12" PB as my primary computer before I purchased a PowerMac, but during the time I used the 12" PB as my desktop, the fan was running often. Granted, I was using Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.. so I was pushing the CPU and memory. YMMV

In contrast, when using my PB w/out the miniDVI out, the fan is rarely running, even if I am using resource hungry apps.

miacomet · Nov 29, 2005, 08:12 PM

No fan noise so far. I've been running my new 1.5Ghz 12" PB with the Dell 2005FPW for about a half hour so far.