[l008com]

I have a Mac Pro with two 20" displays. I've been meaning to upgrade these displays for a while now, but I was on the fence abut replacing the whole machine with a 27" iMac. If I don't, do I get a 27" and a 24", two 24", three 24", or what.

Well one of my two 20" monitors just crapped out. Sounds like lots of sizzling going on, and when it sizzles, it would turn itself off. BUT oddly, no smoke, and no smell at all. But that means it's finally time to upgrade.

I have no problems at all finding monitors on newegg or amazon that have all of the technical specs I want, LED backlight, matte etc. But that still doesn't tell you how "good" a monitor looks. For example, the one that burned out was a BenQ and it's sitting next to an Apple Cinema display. Both screens are identical in almost every way, yet the Apple just looks better.

So I guess what I'm looking for here are some suggestions for ~24" 1920x1080 monitors that just look real good. I'm thinking I might go with three 24" monitors. That will cost a little less than just one 27" monitor (that super cheap brand newegg has, much less than name brand 27" displays).

ASUS seems to get the highest ratings. ViewSonics are popular too. But I had a viewsonic once and I didn't like it. It didn't have a sleep mode. And viewsonic likes to put their displays in super glossy enclosures, which I also don't like.

So if you have any advice or ideas . . .

[shifuimam]

Dell UltraSharp monitors use the same IPS displays as Apple Cinema Displays, but for a fraction of the price. I have all UltraSharps at home and work, and I love them. They look great, have multiple inputs and things like USB ports, and use a more flexible stand that allows for raise/lower and rotate.

That's what I'd recommend over anything else. They also have a three year warranty if you buy them new. If you don't care about the warranty, Dell Outlet has 21" current-gen for $169 and 23" for $199, both with a 90-day warranty unless you also buy a computer with them. They're also LED-backlit.

[l008com]

I'd rather go with a 24". I know it's the same pixels as modern 21.5" displays, but the pixels are a little bigger. And with the distance my monitors are from my face on my current desk, the 24's would work out better.

[l008com]

Despite my last post, this appears to be a really affordable 21.5" 1080- IPS display:
Newegg.com - ASUS VS Series VS229H-P Black 21.5" 14ms HDMI IPS-Panel LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50000000:1

[l008com]

And all that said, I ended up going with two of these:
Amazon.com: Viewsonic VX2336S - LED 23-Inch Full HD Widescreen IPS Monitor with LED Backlight: Computers & Accessories

I may get a third later on. But apparently a quirk of the 5770 card is that if you want to use three monitors, then you need a dual-link miniDP to DVI adapter for each of the miniDP ports, even if you aren't using a resolution that requires dual-link. So to add a third monitor, take that $180 for the display, and add $200 in adapters to it. It's really too bad that it doesn't work with the regular $20 adapter. It does work with the $20 adapter when using just two monitors, which is the setup I have now. (to be clear, the card has one DVI port and two miniDP ports).

[l008com]

I just set up these monitors today. The photo is dark but the image is very nice. Colors seem very accurate. White is very white. It easily as good as the Cinema Display that was replaced, and much better than the BenQ that was also replaced. And at $180 each, it's hard to go wrong. I haven't decided if I'm going to go for a third yet. It's $180 for another screen plus about $100 or so in adapters. We'll see.

ALSO no dead pixels. Nice and matte. The screens have a mette bezel, and then a very thin glossy bezel around that which does catch some sunlight but overall I'm very happy with these screens!