Decent 24" monitor for new Mac Pro?

[WShawn]

Hi:

We recently upgraded my workstation to a 3 Ghz 8 core Mac Pro, replacing my dual 2.5GHz G5 Power Mac, and I'm looking for a decent 24"-ish monitor. I used two CRT monitors with my G5, a 19" main monitor and a 17" menu monitor, and they're still working okay. We bought a 24" Dell widescreen LCD monitor from Best Buy and have had it for a little under two weeks. It seems like a so-so monitor. There are a couple of issues with it. The bottom part of the screen is noticeably brighter, and I can't really calibrate it as accurately as I'd like. The Mac display calibration tells you to crank up the contrast on the monitor and then turn down the brightness until a grey oval is barely visible. Well, no combination of those adjustments will make that grey oval barely visible; it stands out a lot, so I don't know if the subsequent software adjustments are accurate. I'm wondering if this is an issue with all LCDs since they're backlit.

Any thoughts on good (or decent) 24" LCD monitor? I'm wondering if I'd be better off with two smaller monitors, like a good 20" for color and an adequate 17" for menus.

Thanks.

Shawn Marshall
Marshall Arts Motion Graphics

[Giacomo99]

The Apple Cinema Displays are, by far, the best monitors I've ever used, in terms of color and clarity. It might mean shelling out a few hundred bucks more, but when you consider the time you'll be staring at the thing, cost seems like a small consideration.

[Matt]

I've had a bad experience with the Dell 2408WFP (now returned for a full refund). It had red tinting on left hand side, oversharp text and a shocking input lag of around 60ms.

I would avoid that monitor until they have A01 revisions out.

Shame really, because for the price it looks good, is well built, but those display issues just let it down.

[LastofTheLarrys]

We've got about 10 Apple 30" monitors and 10-15 Dell 24 and 30" in our studio. Most people prefer the Dells because of the better contrast ratio, black bezel, adjustability (tilts up and down and extends upward and downward), USB and compact flash card readers, dual DVI-D inputs, HDMI and RGB inputs.

Apple has USB and Firewire inputs. One DVI input. Tilts slightly along the x-axis. That's it.

I love Macs. But their displays, while very good, are not the best value. You can get as good or even better displays for less money.

The Dells look very nice. I personally don't like the silver bezel on the Macs. Just like I don't like silver bezels on my TVs. I think you give up lots of features and pay more for a mac display. And it's technically inferior to a Dell.

If the Dell had an Apple logo on it and the Apple had a Dell logo, the real Dell 30" would outsell the Apple 30" ten to one.