[Too Artificial]

I'm trying to decide which of these to get. I know there have been some threads here regarding both, but I'm hoping to get more info.

The Dell seems to have some quality issues with backlight leakage and dead pixels. Thing is, it's hard to tell if these are being overblown on some of the message boards. On Hard Forum, there's a huge thread on this display and some people there are on their 4th or 5th displays in an attempt to get one that doesn't have these problems. The problem with that, if it is a problem, is that it's hard to tell if the displays are that bad or if those people are just that picky.

I'm hoping that users of the Dell will chime in. Have you experienced these issues and if so how much of an impact have they had on your satisfaction with the display. I'm willing to drop the extra cash on the Apple if need be, but if the Dell is good, I'll get it.

Thanks for any insight, opinions, etc.

Hard Forum linkage: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread....1&page=1&pp=20

[TiUser]

Too Artificial, I have both of the displays and tehy are excellent. The ACD has a cleaner setup whereas the DELL is a bit clunkier. My DELL display exhibits none of the problems that you are talking about. Personally, I would have gotten another ACD if were not for the sale price on the DELL ($549).

[Too Artificial]

TiUser, thanks for the feedback. I did some additional research last night at it appears Dell has made improvements on the newest batches of 2005FPWs. I have a couple weeks before my system will be here so I'll keep reading on this and then make a decision.

[sray]

I had to purchase 5 Dell 2005FPWs for my company. Even though I use a Powerbook at work, I could not swallow the big price difference between the two. None of our Dell's have problems and the money saved helps me earn my bonus at the end of the year.

Granted the Dell isn't aesthetically pleasing as the ACD, but it delivers the goods. If money is no object, go with the ACD.

[MichiganRich]

You really should try searching the forums, this has been discussed at length. That said, I will reiterate that IMHO the 2005FPW is the best value out there, especially last week when they were down to $539 (plus shipping). I bought one a couple months ago, my Xmas treat to myself. We have some Apple 20's and 23's here at work, and the Dell's image is every bit as bright and colorful and sharp and vivid as they are. Our two newest displays at work are the dark-cornered, neopolitan-striped, magenta tinted Apple 23's and i'm very disappointed in them, considering they cost over $1800.

Anyways, back to the 2005FPW.... It has 4 different inputs (DVI/VGA/S-vid/Composite), plus picture-in-picture, plus 4 USB2 ports, plus a two-position, hi/low stand. I love mine, and I have plenty of Apple LCDs here to compare it to. I'm a retoucher, and and Apple fanboy, and would readily admit if the Apples were worth the price difference. They're not. As long as you stay in the UltraSharp line that Dell offers, you are going to get an outstanding display. The 2005FPW is my second, next to a 19" 1900FP that I bought in '02. I would easily recommend them to anyone.

[Too Artificial]

sray, thanks for the info. As I mentioned above it appears the Dells are better now than in the earlier batches, so I'm really leaning towards getting one. I'm thinking at worst case, I can get it and if it has problems return it and then get an ACD. Like you, I really like the price difference as long as I get a good product. The savings will cover a RAM upgrade and software purchases, pretty nice.

[Defiant Jazz]

The 2005FPW is great, assuming you don't get one with the massive backlight bleeding (usually in one or more of the corners). Some folks have let the monitor heat up for a couple of hours, then replace the protective plastic screen cover and lay the screen face-down for a while, and their problems went away. FMMV, though.

[Too Artificial]

Found a great deal on the Dell today at Ben's Bargains. $507 + tax, shipped for free so I went for it. Figure at the price it's hard to beat. Will post my results.

[Link]

If I had to buy a display today I'd buy a dell one over the apple ones -- sure the back is cleaner on cinema displays, but they cost almost 50% more, and for what? Lousy service? Defective displays? No thanks.

I had to get my cinema display replaced 3 times due to various problems (uneven backlighting, dead pixels, stuck pixels, scratched screen, etc) -- and a lot of current 23" owners have pink screens that a friend of mine can attest to.

So *@#$$ them.

[MichiganRich]

Too artificial, at that price it's not hard but IMPOSSIBLE to beat... I'm reaching for my wallet right now, I don't think I can pass up one of the 2001FP's for my eMachines gaming rig.... I'm not sure how to spell that sound that Homer makes when he drools over donuts, but I damn sure know how to pronounce it!

Anybody looking for LCD advice on this forum that misses out on this deal is an idiot.

[MichiganRich]

Ordered a 2001FP to go with my 2005FPW. I couldn't resist at that price. That is quite literally the lowest price I've ever seen on it. Go to one of the electronic stores in your area and see what $530 will get you in an LCD (no rebate BS either, are you listening BEST BUY!?!?!)

[Too Artificial]

Originally posted by MichiganRich:
Too artificial, at that price it's not hard but IMPOSSIBLE to beat...

Yeah it really is an incredible price. I'll add a mini to it and have both for just a little over what I would have paid for the ACD. There's some comfort in that. Should be here in a couple of days.

[rwcooper]

Hi, in Canada the 2001fp is $939, the 2005 is $969 and the Apple 20" display is $1249. I can get a Viewsonic VP201s locally for about $999. Does anyone have any experience with the VP201s? I'd prefer 1600x1200 over 1680x1050, but I'd just like to get something that will work with my Mac.

I'd be using it with a PowerMac G5 dual 1.8GHz containing an ATI 9600XT with 128mb of memory.

I'm a bit concerned about getting an LCD monitor with a DVI connection as I have read so many horror stories about problems people have had with different monitors. However the Dell monitors seem to be getting the nod of approval. Can anyone tell me if this applies to the 1905FP as well? If so, I'd consider a pair of 1905s.

Thanks,
Randy

[Too Artificial]

Originally posted by rwcooper:
I'm a bit concerned about getting an LCD monitor with a DVI connection as I have read so many horror stories about problems people have had with different monitors. However the Dell monitors seem to be getting the nod of approval. Can anyone tell me if this applies to the 1905FP as well? If so, I'd consider a pair of 1905s.

Thanks,
Randy

I don't have any information for you, but if you haven't, you might want to check the G5 discussion boards on Apple's support site. They have a displays section and you might find something helpful there. Good luck.

[t500]

I'm using a 2005fpw on my G5 and its great. No bleeding or light problems. Use is for my Desktop, Powerbook and Xbox. Multi inputs is a plus for me!!! Happy Shopping

[MichiganRich]

Cooper, what on earth have you heard about DVI connections?... they are superior to VGA connections in any measurable way. Digital transfer of the pixel grid rather than digital to analog conversion. No need to adjust timings or screen position.

Read some articles at Anandtech.com. The Dell UltraSharps (including the 1905) are some of the best all-around performers.

[ilvwhtgrls]

i was in the same shoes as you.. i did a lot of research and i decided on the dell because it was a hell of a lot cheaper and the multiple inputs are great.

[iREZ]

Dude......get the dell (I just had to say it).

[rwcooper]

Hi,
There were a lot of problems related to sleeping. It seemed that some monitors connected via DVI were preventing the Mac from sleeping, others were preventing the Mac from waking up. The Samsung 213T buttons on the front panel don't function when connected via DVI, but there is a Windows only program to use instead of the buttons. There were other problems I don't recall off the top off my head. It was getting to the point where I was wondering if anything other than an Apple monitor would work reliably with my Mac. Then I started to find some positive feedback on the Dell Ultraharp Monitors.

Dell reduced the price of all their Ultrasharp monitors significantly in Canada today. I just have to decide which on to buy, but it will probably be the 2005FP.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.
Randy

[bitjumper]

Just to share...

I received my 2005fpw this week from Dell for my Mac Mini. I jumped on the $550 special. It has a Jan 05 manufacturing date. FYI, I earlier upgraded my 1.4Gz Mac Mini with 1 GB RAM and a 7200 RPM HD.

The combination of 1 GB, 7200 RPM HD, and the 2005fpw is unbelievable to me. It's is quite a performer and I love this setup.

But for a few days a wondered if I should return the 2005fpw. I started to notice two minor problems: (1) I saw the backlight splotches I hear people talking about, and (2) it seemed like one side of the screen is slighter dimmer than the other.

First, quite a relief was that I do not have any stuck or dead pixels. Having a single dead or stuck pixels in my line of sight was my biggest concern before I purchased this. So I'm not inclined to want to try for another display.

Googling for the backlight issue, I discovered you can actually squish the splotches around until they mostly disapear. Using any cloth, you can apply light pressure (as if you were cleaning the display) and watch the blotches move around, reshape, spread out, etc. I was able to move and disapate the blotches to my satisfaction. I don't watch DVDs or play games, so I rarely notice the backlight problem areas on the screen.

I couldn't find anything on Goggle about the uneven brightness. But I do notice the same on many other LCDs from many manufactures. I noticed it was more evident when the brightness was turned down. I also noticed that applying pressure on the screen changes the brighness too (same as on other LCDs). So in my case, I added some light to my room so I could have the brightness setting a little higher (which is better for my eyes anyways). I also used the cloth pressure technique above and seemed to decrease the light differential. I'm getting adjusted to it. I think it's partly and LCD thing and partly more visible on this display.

I am very excited about this display. It draws me to wanting to use the computer more than I even need to. The amazing clarity and width are wonderful to have. (Especially coming from a 7 year old, blurry, 19" CRT). It works perfect with my Mac Mini. I haven't seen any of the DVI display issues some other Mac Mini / LCD combinations seem to exhibit. There are also no performance problems with the widescreen/high-ressness of the display.

Erik

[Too Artificial]

Erik, thanks for the input, some good info to have. I should be receiving mine early this week. My mini won't be here until the middle of March, but I'm going to bring my PowerBook home from work to test the display. I'll be sure to report back <fingers crossed>.

[elvis2000]

Originally posted by rwcooper:
Hi, in Canada the 2001fp is $939, the 2005 is $969 and the Apple 20" display is $1249. I can get a Viewsonic VP201s locally for about $999. Does anyone have any experience with the VP201s? I'd prefer 1600x1200 over 1680x1050, but I'd just like to get something that will work with my Mac.

I sold my Viewsonic vp201s for the 2005FPW (and I netted $100 in my pocket in the "deal"). I much prefer the widescreen aspect over the standard 4:3 of the Viewsonic. A 20" 4:3 feels like it is towering over you, while the 20" widescreen feels more natural. This is probably why Apple has focused exclusively on widescreens for awhile now. On picture quality, the Dell is brighter and seems to have a better contrast in deeper gradients.

Also - the Viewsonic is one of the many DVI monitors that won't play nice with the Mini. The Dell works with the Mini.

[OldCodger73]

<<Ordered a 2001FP to go with my 2005FPW.>>

Rich, once you get the 2001FP would you mind posting your impressions of the image quality as compared to the 2005FPW? Thanks.

[bbbobbb]

I purchased a 2005FPW for my Cube...I got it for $569 shipped about a month ago. It is the best display I have ever seen!

There are posts floating around on other forums that say that the lcd panel itself is the same exact panel (LG Philips) that is used in the 20" iMac G5. I have been lucky enough to be able to put them side by side and I actually preferred the Dell on the Cube since it was brighter. It also is able to do Portrait mode, too bad there is no OS X software to support this! Someone PLEASE correct me if I am wrong. :-)

As far as the white blotches, dead pixels issues. I had no dead pixels (unlike my expensive PB G4), and the white blotches reports I think were wildy overblown. If you look at a Windows XP start screen (since most of these reports are from Windows users...) the top left corner, BY DESIGN, is overly lit for effect during the start (and shut down) process. I see none of this on the display that I own, of course it is running OS X...
BB

[MichiganRich]

Hey Codger-

The 2001FP is sitting next to me here at work right now. Perhaps the quickest shipment from Dell I have ever received! Maybe they looked at how many displays I've bought recently and gave me the repeat customer special. *grins*

I will let y'all know when I get it home... I was gonna break it out here at work but we got busy, and it's packed so nicely, and if I wait it's more like Christmas morning... *laughs*

I re-ran the Gretag-Macbeth EyeOne calibration on the 2005 last night, using ProfileMakerPro 4 (also Gretag-Macbeth) and I am still so pleased with that display. I think I adjusted it to 190 cd/m2, and the brightness control is at 15. Thats 15 out of 100. I think the display is capable of nearly 290 cd/m2.

The widescreen ratio works well for surfing windows side-by-side, iTunes windows the same (library vs. playlist), and GarageBand with the timeline-based interface. I haven't found anything yet where I wished I was on a standard 4x3. I think that for gaming, that might be a different story. I think the 2001FP is gonna go on my eMachines gaming rig, after checking it out on the G5.

More to come, initial impressions and calibration....

[MichiganRich]

Okay got 'em both hooked up. The 2001 is beautiful out of the box, but... I like the 2005. Widescreen is the way to go. There is a certain contrasty punch to the 2005 that the 2001 lacks, both calibrated. Hooking them up DVI disables the contrast adjustment, essentially defaulting to the native contrast ratio of the display. The displays are basically identical other than the slight punch of the 2005, and I don't think that you could go wrong with either of them.

No pixel defects.

Now, to keeep it or not... I feel kinda decadent having both of them. I'm gonna see how flight sim looks on it, and see if I can re-arrange the desk to have 'em both on here, and then I'll decide.

Any specific questions, Codger?

[OldCodger73]

Rich, thanks for your response. The Dells sound great, congratulations. I'm not a great fan of widescreens as I work vertically, plus I use dual monitors. Presently I'm using a Formac 17" FPD and an old 1997 Sony 20" CRT. I keep hoping the Sony will bite the dust so I can replace it with a FPD, but it keeps soldiering along. As long as it's working SWMBO won't give her permission to replace it.

The Dell 24" sounds interesting. Once they're out I'd sure like to see some reviews.

[Too Artificial]

Okay, got my 2005FPW yesterday and hooked it up to my PowerBook from work. It's gorgeous, even my wife commented on how great it looked and she's not a tech/geek at all.

Used PiXel Check to look for dead pixels and to check out the backlight. Yesterday, I had no pixel issues, but today I have one stuck on green, but it's only visible on the all black background so I can definitely live with it. The backlight has some slight bleeding in the upper righthand corner, but again, only visible on the black background.

So far so good...

[tooki]

What is the warranty on the Dell displays? Their website hides the warranty length like a closely-guarded secret...

tooki

[tooki]

So I used their online chat doohickey, here's the transcript:

The session has been accepted.


{Diana 11:20:46 PM}
Thank you for contacting Dell Consumer Customer Care Chat. My name is Dimple, but you may call me Diana. How may I help you today?


{ 11:22:29 PM}
I want to find out: What is the warranty period on the 2005FPW display?
I can't seem to find a link to warranty information on the website.

{Diana 11:24:45 PM}
Antonio, are you trying to place an order?

{ 11:25:04 PM}
Perhaps, if I can find out that information.

{Diana 11:26:17 PM}
Antonio, any system comes with an initial warranty and if you would like to extend the warranty you could do so.


{ 11:26:40 PM}
right, and my question is, how long is the initial warranty?

{Diana 11:27:30 PM}
Antonio, all systems have an initial warranty of 1 yr.

{ 11:28:06 PM}
And if the display is bought alone, is it also one year?

{Diana 11:29:00 PM}
Antonio, are you referring to the monitor?

{ 11:29:15 PM}
yes.


{ 11:29:50 PM}
If i buy ONLY a 2005FPW, how long is the warranty on the 2005FPW?

{Diana 11:29:55 PM}
Dell monitor has 3 year warranty.


{ 11:30:30 PM}
Thank you, that is the information I needed.

{Diana 11:31:14 PM}
You are welcome.

{Diana 11:31:19 PM}
Are you satisfied with the level of service provided to you today?

{ 11:33:08 PM}
It seems to me you had trouble understanding my question at first.

{Diana 11:34:04 PM}
Now have I answered your question?


{ 11:34:17 PM}
I think it should not have taken 10 minutes to answer such a simple question.

{Diana 11:34:53 PM}
Sorry for not responding to you on time.


{ 11:35:56 PM}
I mean that I had to ask so many times.

{ 11:36:16 PM}
But thank you anyway, have a good day or night, depending on where you are!


{Diana 11:36:30 PM}
You are welcome.

{Diana 11:36:39 PM}
Good night.

The visitor has ended the chat session.

You'd think they'd hire people with a grasp of simple concepts...

tooki

[spiky_dog]

you're assuming it's a human, not a script that occasionally gets human intervention.

[tooki]

Heh, you may be onto something! I thought it seemed like i was talking with ELIZA!

tooki

[Agent69]

The Dell 2005FPW is being mentioned on Macintouch as well, and most people there seem to be very happy with their monitors. After reading on Macintouch and this thread, I have just ordered one for $609.00 with tax and shipping. I will report when I get it in.

[ASIMO]

Originally posted by tooki:
So I used their online chat doohickey, here's the transcript:


You'd think they'd hire people with a grasp of simple concepts...

tooki

Smart of you to use an alias, tooki. Antonio. Good one.


I have had this Dell for a few months, and while it looks and feels rather cheap, it has performed well so far. Bright, too bright at its brightest, and sharp. Mine actually has a slight warp around the bezel that does not bother me too much.

[Cadaver]

/thread hijack begin/

Well, I've made my decision. I've labored over it too long, so I final just had to make a decision.

I've been torn between keeping my Dell 2001FP (which is very nice - and fully paid for) or replacing it with a 23" Cinema or a 30" Cinema. I'm worried that the 30" is just too big. At the Apple stores, I always seem to be moving my head too much to look around the screen - like sitting front row at a movie theater. Beautiful, but I think just too big to be comfortable with (at my preferred viewing distance). The 23" would be the next logical choice, but if I were to do that, it hardly seems worth $1600 just to add 320 pixels to my horizontal space (becoming responsible with money sucks, doesn't it).

So, since at the moment Dell is selling the 20" 2001FP for $549 + free shipping, I decided to add another 2001FP to the one I have now. While graphic editing can be a little clumsy with a seam running through the middle (where the two monitors divide), its a far, far less expensive way to substantially increase my pixel count. Plus, if I choose, I could rotate one (or both) in to portrait mode since my video card (X800 XT) supports ATI's VersaVision.

Hopefully the new 2001FP will be a satisfactory color/brightness match to the one I have now, which is really only a few months old.

I should have it by March 4. I'll report back.

/thread hijack end/

[tooki]

Originally posted by ASIMO:
Smart of you to use an alias, tooki. Antonio. Good one.

??? I've posted my real name here before, it's no secret.

tooki

[Gdog]

My 2005FPW arrived on Friday. Ordered on Wed for $507 shipped. Mine is a rev A01 and has no dead pixels, but does have backlight bleeding.

I come from a retouching background, and am looking to use this monitor at home. If I end up keeping it, It will replace a NEC FP2141-SB. Before I play the exchange game, I would love to get some specific feedback from other users.

1)I have NO experience with a LCD besides the quick lookover in stores. I run a neutral gray background, and this Dell seems to have a "shimmer"...not really sure if it's the "screendoor" effect that everyone is talking about. It's only really noticable with large solid areas. Has any else noticed this? Is the Apple 20" the same? Is this something I'll just get used to?

2)How the heck can I turn down the brightness using DVI when hooked up to a 15" Ti Powerbook? I use Optical and a X-Rite DTP41 on my CRT's, but this is not compatible with LCD's. I'm not gonna shell out 300 bucks for a new setup just yet. Using Apple's Display Calibrator and changing the whitepoint does little for the actual brightness.

Otherwise, I gotta say this monitor is pretty good for the money. Too bright out of the box for my taste (Used to the relative "dimness" of a retouching monitor.) Colors look decent straight on.

Any comments/answers?

Thanks!
G

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by Gdog:
My 2005FPW arrived on Friday. Ordered on Wed for $507 shipped. Mine is a rev A01 and has no dead pixels, but does have backlight bleeding.

I come from a retouching background, and am looking to use this monitor at home. If I end up keeping it, It will replace a NEC FP2141-SB. Before I play the exchange game, I would love to get some specific feedback from other users.

1)I have NO experience with a LCD besides the quick lookover in stores. I run a neutral gray background, and this Dell seems to have a "shimmer"...not really sure if it's the "screendoor" effect that everyone is talking about. It's only really noticable with large solid areas. Has any else noticed this? Is the Apple 20" the same? Is this something I'll just get used to?

2)How the heck can I turn down the brightness using DVI when hooked up to a 15" Ti Powerbook? I use Optical and a X-Rite DTP41 on my CRT's, but this is not compatible with LCD's. I'm not gonna shell out 300 bucks for a new setup just yet. Using Apple's Display Calibrator and changing the whitepoint does little for the actual brightness.

Otherwise, I gotta say this monitor is pretty good for the money. Too bright out of the box for my taste (Used to the relative "dimness" of a retouching monitor.) Colors look decent straight on.

Any comments/answers?

Thanks!
G

The "shimmer" is due to the anti-reflective coating that Dell tends to use on their monitors. My 1800FP had it bad; the 20" 2001FPs I have do not.

As for brightness, use the monitor's front-panel brightness control. Brightness, by the way, is the only thing controlable when connected to a DVI source. Contrast is fixed, as with any DVI source (on any brand monitor), but unlike brightness, contrast CAN be controlled via monitor calibration.

[Gdog]

brightness....hmmm....must've been late and was fondling the wrong buttons........

[Gdog]

Pretty interesting week.........We got in a bunch of 23" Cinema Displays at work, and I've been using my 2005FPW at home. Based on my experiences with each, and assuming the 20" Cinema Display is the same Quality as the 23", I came to one conclusion:

If you buy the Apple you gotta either have money to throw away or you're a sucker!

Gdog

[Timo]

Looked long and hard at a Dell but decided to be a "sucker" instead. Got a 20" CD. Interestingly, the screen is better than the 23" Cinema Display at the next desk.

[lvee]

Does anyone know if the 2005FPW will work with my ATI Radeon 9000 Mac Edition (64mb) graphics card?

I'm not seeing the 2005FPW's native display resolution of 1680x1050 as an option but the card says it will support a digital DVI signal at 1600x1024. I've got the latest ROM flash, drivers, software, etc. from ATI.

Thanks,
LV

[osxisfun]

For what its worth it does work with my ATI 9200. its not the same card but the rez for the dell (and apple 20") was not listed on the box so i emailed ATI.

they did not know.

i bought it.

it works.

i emailed ATI back and they said thanks and that they would add it to their support answers

[osxisfun]

Originally posted by Gdog:
Pretty interesting week.........We got in a bunch of 23" Cinema Displays at work, and I've been using my 2005FPW at home. Based on my experiences with each, and assuming the 20" Cinema Display is the same Quality as the 23", I came to one conclusion:

If you buy the Apple you gotta either have money to throw away or you're a sucker!

Gdog

Well. I don't agree. the dell pixel density is not as tight as the apple's/. But i would agree with you if you said the price difference between the two was not worth it... i'd still buy an apple for my main monitor but i bought the dell as my 3rd LCD so i do not look at it as much. At $505 i said. WTF? why not...

Is your 2005 BRIGHT?

[robby818]

Originally posted by Gdog:


2)How the heck can I turn down the brightness using DVI when hooked up to a 15" Ti Powerbook? I use Optical and a X-Rite DTP41 on my CRT's, but this is not compatible with LCD's. I'm not gonna shell out 300 bucks for a new setup just yet. Using Apple's Display Calibrator and changing the whitepoint does little for the actual brightness.

Otherwise, I gotta say this monitor is pretty good for the money. Too bright out of the box for my taste (Used to the relative "dimness" of a retouching monitor.) Colors look decent straight on.

Any comments/answers?

Thanks!
G

To control the brightness level try:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10429

It's not perfect, you need to launch it everytime you start up your Mac, if it was in the control panel it would be really great. I just realized that if you have non-OEM ATI Radeon card, then the ATI drivers might allow you to control brightness levels w/o needing this app. When I can afford an X800, I guess I'll find out if this is true.

[holderlin]

I'm trying to decide between the Apple 20" and the Dell 2005. I was about to order the latter when I read the following on Dell's website: "To optimize this monitor's performance, your system must be able to support WSXGA+ resolution (1680 x 1050)."

I have a Geforce FX 5200 card in my G5, am I set for "optimal" performance?

Thanks,
Bob

[osxisfun]

the G5 will do that since the G5 can drive an apple 20" lcd at that rez.

[OldCodger73]

<<I'm trying to decide between the Apple 20" and the Dell 2005. I was about to order the latter when I read the following on Dell's website: "To optimize this monitor's performance, your system must be able to support WSXGA+ resolution (1680 x 1050)."

I have a Geforce FX 5200 card in my G5, am I set for "optimal" performance?>>

Bob, if I remember correctly that's also the native resolution of the Apple 20".

[Mediaman_12]

Originally posted by Gdog:
Pretty interesting week.........We got in a bunch of 23" Cinema Displays at work, and I've been using my 2005FPW at home. Based on my experiences with each, and assuming the 20" Cinema Display is the same Quality as the 23", I came to one conclusion:

If you buy the Apple you gotta either have money to throw away or you're a sucker!

Gdog

I also must be a 'sucker'. I chose the Apple display because I didn't like the look of the nasty looking plastic arm and bezel that's attached to the Dell display (it's not even one of the 'better looking' (IMHO) plastic stands they fit to the smaller/cheaper monitors.
It's all about the solid looking 1/8" and 1/4" aluminium.

[holderlin]

Thanks all. I've placed my order for the Dell. I was, however, torn by the aesthetics of and my brand loyalty to Apple, but ultimately price won out.

thanks again,
Bob