Im wondering what I should use, right now I dont have the cash for either of the apple displays but im thinking around october I will. I know 2x 17 gives me more screen space than one 23, but does it give me more than a 30? im just wonderng. thanks.
Im wondering what I should use, right now I dont have the cash for either of the apple displays but im thinking around october I will. I know 2x 17 gives me more screen space than one 23, but does it give me more than a 30? im just wonderng. thanks.
I'd rather have one 20" than 2x17". Even if multiple itty bitty displays can gain you some pixels, the hit in usability isn't worth it IMO. Depends on your use of course - someone working in the stock market or system administration/monitoring might actually want to maximize their pixels.
I'm very happy with a 24". For the computer wouldn't even want a 30".
Have you considered non-Apple displays? If Apple has some functional difference to the competition, it's not apparent to anyone but graphics pros. The price difference is steep for just an aluminum frame.
I'd get the 23" personally. I use a dual 17" at work sometimes and I find that I don't even use the second display much at all except for the odd palettes but I wouldn't even need to put them there if I had a higher resolution on the main display.
What annoys me about secondary displays is there is no dock or menu bar so you have to bring your mouse back to the other screen to get to those.
If you like to monitor emails and events and things, a second display can come in handy as a dumping ground but you don't need a big display for that.
I find 20" to be quite big and I don't know if I'd want any higher but being able to do 1920x1200 would sell it for me as it'll show unscaled HD video.
Apple's displays are more expensive but they have better technology inside and I love the aluminium appearance and they have extra USB ports and things.
Apple's displays are more expensive but they have better technology inside
Like what?
Quote:
and they have extra USB ports and things.
They have extra Firewire and that's all the features they have over any other display. Everything has an USB hub, and most displays have alternative input options. DVI+VGA, HDMI etc. are common. Mine has DVI+VGA+component. Apple just has one DVI and it doesn't support HDCP so you can't use it to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.
hooking it up to a mac pro @ 2x 2.66, 4gb ram, X1900 512. Im going to college for graphic design but I also game. also, my 2nd display is ALWAYS full. I keep Im's, my media player, torrents, etc on my 2nd screen at all times, the main monitor i use for web browsing, games, etc.
"IPS (in-plane switching) was developed by Hitachi in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angles and color reproduction of TN panels. Most also support true 8-bit color. These improvements came at a loss of response time, which was initially on the order of 50ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.
IPS has since been superseded by S-IPS (Super-IPS, Hitachi in 1998), which has all the benefits of IPS technology with the addition of improved pixel refresh timing. Though color reproduction approaches that of CRTs, the contrast ratio remains relatively weak. S-IPS technology is widely used in panel sizes of 20" and above. LG and Philips remain one of the main manufacturers of S-IPS based panels."
Other panels use this too and are cheaper than Apple's but it's something to be aware of when thinking about buying and Apple display. If you don't need that level of accuracy, you will be paying for something you don't need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gon
They have extra Firewire and that's all the features they have over any other display. Everything has an USB hub, and most displays have alternative input options.
Not every other display has USB ports and the extra firewire ports can be very useful depending on what you do. We have a G5 quad at work and with firewire drives and camcorders, we often need more than the two provided.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gon
DVI+VGA, HDMI etc. are common. Mine has DVI+VGA+component. Apple just has one DVI and it doesn't support HDCP so you can't use it to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.
Yeah, if you want it to double as an HDTV, it's probably best to avoid the Cinema display.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackmajik2021
my 2nd display is ALWAYS full. I keep Im's, my media player, torrents, etc on my 2nd screen at all times, the main monitor i use for web browsing, games, etc.
In that case, I think two displays would be good but I don't think you should compromise your main display especially for design work. I'd probably get a big display and a small one, maybe a 20"-23" (doesn't have to be an Apple one) and a 15" - remember, when you start a game (on the Mac anyway) the second display goes black.
I don't have a main display as such. I have two 17", and spread things out across them as I feel the need.
At the moment, iTunes, Mail, NetNewsWire, Skype and Adium are fighting it out on the right, and Omniweb, Finder and Colloquy coexist peacefully on the left.
I'd definitely support getting two displays - it's a lot nicer than just having one, in my opinion.
Comments
Im wondering what I should use, right now I dont have the cash for either of the apple displays but im thinking around october I will. I know 2x 17 gives me more screen space than one 23, but does it give me more than a 30? im just wonderng. thanks.
I'd rather have one 20" than 2x17". Even if multiple itty bitty displays can gain you some pixels, the hit in usability isn't worth it IMO. Depends on your use of course - someone working in the stock market or system administration/monitoring might actually want to maximize their pixels.
I'm very happy with a 24". For the computer wouldn't even want a 30".
Have you considered non-Apple displays? If Apple has some functional difference to the competition, it's not apparent to anyone but graphics pros. The price difference is steep for just an aluminum frame.
What annoys me about secondary displays is there is no dock or menu bar so you have to bring your mouse back to the other screen to get to those.
If you like to monitor emails and events and things, a second display can come in handy as a dumping ground but you don't need a big display for that.
I find 20" to be quite big and I don't know if I'd want any higher but being able to do 1920x1200 would sell it for me as it'll show unscaled HD video.
Apple's displays are more expensive but they have better technology inside and I love the aluminium appearance and they have extra USB ports and things.
What computer are you hooking it up to btw?
Apple's displays are more expensive but they have better technology inside
Like what?
and they have extra USB ports and things.
They have extra Firewire and that's all the features they have over any other display. Everything has an USB hub, and most displays have alternative input options. DVI+VGA, HDMI etc. are common. Mine has DVI+VGA+component. Apple just has one DVI and it doesn't support HDCP so you can't use it to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.
Like what?
S-IPS (super in plane switching):
"IPS (in-plane switching) was developed by Hitachi in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angles and color reproduction of TN panels. Most also support true 8-bit color. These improvements came at a loss of response time, which was initially on the order of 50ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.
IPS has since been superseded by S-IPS (Super-IPS, Hitachi in 1998), which has all the benefits of IPS technology with the addition of improved pixel refresh timing. Though color reproduction approaches that of CRTs, the contrast ratio remains relatively weak. S-IPS technology is widely used in panel sizes of 20" and above. LG and Philips remain one of the main manufacturers of S-IPS based panels."
Other panels use this too and are cheaper than Apple's but it's something to be aware of when thinking about buying and Apple display. If you don't need that level of accuracy, you will be paying for something you don't need.
They have extra Firewire and that's all the features they have over any other display. Everything has an USB hub, and most displays have alternative input options.
Not every other display has USB ports and the extra firewire ports can be very useful depending on what you do. We have a G5 quad at work and with firewire drives and camcorders, we often need more than the two provided.
DVI+VGA, HDMI etc. are common. Mine has DVI+VGA+component. Apple just has one DVI and it doesn't support HDCP so you can't use it to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.
Yeah, if you want it to double as an HDTV, it's probably best to avoid the Cinema display.
my 2nd display is ALWAYS full. I keep Im's, my media player, torrents, etc on my 2nd screen at all times, the main monitor i use for web browsing, games, etc.
In that case, I think two displays would be good but I don't think you should compromise your main display especially for design work. I'd probably get a big display and a small one, maybe a 20"-23" (doesn't have to be an Apple one) and a 15" - remember, when you start a game (on the Mac anyway) the second display goes black.
At the moment, iTunes, Mail, NetNewsWire, Skype and Adium are fighting it out on the right, and Omniweb, Finder and Colloquy coexist peacefully on the left.
I'd definitely support getting two displays - it's a lot nicer than just having one, in my opinion.