Recommended External Monitor For MacBook Pro

Can anyone recommend an external monitor for the MacBook Pro?

I currently have an LG Flatron 22" connected to it via DVI. But there is this annoying buzzing sound coming from it if the brightness goes below 100%. I am on my 2nd replacement of the monitor because of this.

I am will to spend some dollars for it, but I need it to be quality and definitely not make noises.

Either 22" or 24" would be fine.

Thanks.

 

What about an Apple Cinema display?

 

I have the HP w2207 22" and its pretty nice...no noises or anything... It is a glossy display though (which i prefer) and it looks good next to the Macbook Pro. It also features a very adjustable base with cable management along with landscape or portrait modes, built in (crappy) speakers and a 2 port usb hub. I got it online for $249 which I think was a steal. I also have the HP w1907 at work. Its the same but a 19" without the adjustable base and it is excellent quality as well.
If you don't like glossy, I've also had good luck with Dell lcd monitors.

Good Luck.

 

If you can afford it,get the apple cinema diplay.Otherwise go for the Samsung syncmaster.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. The only hesitation I have with the Apple Displays are:

1. Are they worth the premium price for what you get? Are they worth $500 more than an equivalent Dell or HP?
2. Aren't the current Apple Displays like 4 years old in terms of model year?

 

I personally do not think that an Apple display is worth the price. When they originally came out, they might've been worth it, but these days there are other displays by companies like Dell and Samsung that are quite good as well, and much cheaper. Someone else can explain the intricacies of displays and what you should look for, but I don't think Apple has any real advantage in terms of term tech these days.

They sure do look good though...

 

there are some threads on here about the quality of the apple displays and I believe they use professional panels for more accurate colors and such... if your not a pro and your lg was ok except for the noise then i doubt you would notice the difference.... if you have an apple store near you it might be worth stopping by and taking a look but I couldn't tell any difference...

 

ageezee,

I am leaning towards the w2207.

Did you have to make any modifications to the settings of the w2207 when you hooked it up? Or was it set correctly out of the box?

Do you find the text and such look ok when compared to your MacBook Pro LCD -- e.g., no graininess and such.

 

I second niemassacre. The Cinema displays are beautiful and some swear by them but they honestly are not worth the mark-up over the competition, especially if you live in Europe where Apple's pricing policy is nothing short of discrimination and profiteering in asking €899 ($1385 US) versus $899 in the states. And please don't tell me about VAT cause it doesn't even things up. You can get a HP W2408h for less than €400 (highly adjustable and portrait mode) and if you don't want a TN panel then new Dell 2407 uses an S-PVA compared to the ACD's IPS (last gen) panel. If your into graphics design the pre-calibrated ACD may be your bag but otherwise wait for a Dell deal and don't line Apple's coffers anymore than we already have. Its not the same as paying a premium for an MBP to get OSX, its about the hardware and Apple will need to do better to get my hard-earned.

 

I opened it up....set it next to my macbook pro..plugged it in...it was recognized... switched on...macbook pro set it to the correct resolution...tweaked the color/brightness/contrast settings a bit...done...

its not grainy at all but the dpi is a little less than my macbook pro so its easier to see the pixels than on my macbookpro...but not much (ideally a 20" with 168x1050 is closer to the same dpi)....text looks sharp....brightness and color are great....it came with both vga and dvi cables...along with a line input cable (for the sound, which i dont use) and a usb cable or the hub...it also came with software which is for auto sensing the orientation but I haven't tried that... there are a lot of positive reviews for it online but I would just go to a store and look at....there are two models...the w2207 and the w2207h which is newer and replaces the vga input with a hdmi input....if thats important pay attn and I believe thats why i was able to find it so cheap.. I bought it from compusa/tiger direct, not sure if they still have it on sale or not.

I looked for a long time and couldn't be happier...I couldn't find anything remotely close for the price/features...it looks so much nicer than a lot of the other displays out there....

 

hey guys i was wondering if there are any 22/24, preferably 22 inch displays that have 1920x1200 res, and that are on the cheapish? i really want to get an external monitor for doing uni work and im not that happy with a 1680x1050 display in a monitor that size. i have seen plenty of 24 inch monitors with the 1920x1200 res but they are too expensive, being a uni student price is important.

 

I have this monitor and I don't see how anyone could call it 'pretty nice'.

I think it's a very good display, very high contrast, potent colours. It makes my MBA look so pale. Also it's a very high built quality, build to last.

Is there nothing negative about? well the viewing angles are not the best, but who cares if you're sitting right in front of it. And the speakers are horrible, do not use them.

I bought a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW and returned it after 3 days. Disappointed by the accuracy and the way it displays fonts.

 

Just got myself a Dell 2007wfp for ~AU$350 (ish w/EPP discount). Not sure if they're still selling it elsewhere, they're seems to be in the phase of clearing out the stock.

Loving every aspect of it especially the colours and viewing angle, much much better than ordinary TN panels (I've got a Rev 04 with LG S-IPS panel), and the adjustability of the display (tilt, pivot, height adjustment).

The 4 powered USB hub is a nice addition to the display, saved me from getting an extra USB hub.

The gripe with IPS panels are the less-than-spectacular contrast ratio which resulted in dark movie scenes lost without details. And certain angle tend to produce this dark amber glow over black details displayed on-screen.

 

Hey all thanks a lot. Especially Ageezee for the picture

I am going to Costco today, they seem to have the HP w2007H there for me to look at. I have a HDMI/DVI cable that should work for me. I will look at TigerDirect too.

One last thing: The HP w2007 or W2007H is a TN monitor right. That is ok? I heard S-IPS is better, but more expensive. I don't play games or anything.

 

The HP W2207 is TN afaik.

S-IPS is better for professionals who work with colours a lot, like photographers. Although the HP scores really good with colours, also in reviews.
The viewing angles of S-IPS panels are usually better.

Here's two reviews of the HP W2207
Cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/hp-w2207-lcd-monitor/4505-3174_7-32391039.html
Tomshardware.de: http://translate.google.com/transla...-239783-17.html&langpair=de|en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Bytheway, I agree with Cnet about the HP software, very buggy. Don't install it, you don't need it.

 

I have a dell 20" and a samsung 19" and am perfectly satisfied with both.

 

Just wondering if this might help anyone looking for a comparison of both the HP 22" and 24" panels.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=w2408h&hl=en&sitesearch=

This might sound crazy but I'm considering buying 4 of the w2408h's to replace/extend the 2 19" (Benq FP991 + Medion) and 1 17" Samsung 172MP I currently run. Has anyone come across good prices in Europe for the w2408h or who might do a deal for 4 of them. The cheapest I can find is €380 inc. VAT each.

1 will be connected to my MBP.
2 connected to my pc.
1 connected to a new Vaio TZ which will be bought this autumn.

They will be mainly used for document viewing (studying for the New York Bar) browsing online and movie watching. They will all be facing away from a window. Can anyone tell me from experience of the HP models how bad the reflection is when facing away from a natural light source (I know that sounds stupid) and how badly do they reflect artificial dimmed light, basically are they stupidly reflective to the point you can't work on Word etc. I'm just worried about eye-strain over long periods of viewing (8-12hrs a day).

If anyone has any other suggestions for a different model I would be more than happy to hear it. The only thing is they must have a portrait mode, preferably changing automatically upon turning.

 

Can anyone give me their w2207/w2207h monitor settings such that it closely matches the crispness and color of the MacBook Pro LCD?

I tried the built in OS X Color Calibrator, but I am a bit color blind.

Thanks.

 

I really like my HP w2207. I prefer the glossy look and not many external monitors offer glossy screens.

 

I literally just bought a w2207H today. Do you have your w2207 connected to a MacBook Pro? If so, could you share with me your monitor settings?

Thanks.

 

the HP monitor is connected to a MacBook Pro. As far as settings on the monitor, it's really a personal preference. The easiest way to set the monitor is to play with brigthness, contrast, and color. The color options are what makes the biggest difference. I prefer "sRGB".

 

Thanks again. Could you appease me and give me your settings that way I can have a baseline. I mean right now it is not very good; I am sure yours are a much better place to start. I will start with sRGB.

 

Brightness: 90
Contrast: 80

That looks good to me!

 

my dad had a w2207 for 1 day and thought it sucked and exchanged for a syncmaster the following day. The thing about the HP mon is the weird placements of the ports, they are positioned vertically, meaning you plug in your ports from down to up which is very inconvenient. I myself have a LG flatron and it doesn't make any noise even though the screen quality sucks comparing to the syncmaster, but it has component, vga, dvi, composite, s video as well as built in speakers =)

 

I'm happy with the quality of my Syncmaster.... my notebook screen looks super washed out compared to it.

 

The HP W2207 can fully rotate. Meaning that if you want to plug in stuff you just rotate it 90 degrees up and have perfect access.

For the people here who have it, i recommend not installing the software. it's buggy and you don't need it anyway.

 

Thanks!

Can anyone else provide their recommended settings as well?

Thanks.

 

Wrong, wrong, and wrong, but the last sentence is right.

How you can even say that an IPS panel isn't good nowadays is madness...

Can you even name a screen that is better than the 23" ACD for the money?

That HP is "fine" but generic in that it's a TN panel like 99.99999% of displays out there. They're all the same!

You'll have to excuse the tone, but some people really don't realise the benefits of IPS panels over other techs. All they do is look at the price and say: "Wow, why would I spend 8-900 bucks on a 23" when I can get a 24" for under $500?" Just....gah!

And here's a link showing the viewing-angles (or lack thereof...) on a TN panel vs the alternative: PVA/MVA and IPS.

http://www.behardware.com/articles/712-5/lcd-david-vs-goliath-iolair-vs-dell.html

 

I would love the Cinema Display! Trust me. I just need to round up the money for a 23" (unless the 20" would serve me just fine). Where can I get the best deals for one -- including maybe getting the AppleCare to boot.

And I worry about the WWDC announcing new models and me being stuck with 4-year old models just a month before a new one is announced.

 

I disagree. A monitor is a lot more than just a panel. The technology inside can have a dramatic impact on the image quality, colours, contrast, responsetimes etc.

For example here they compare 5 different monitors with TN panels, they all come out different.
http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=...l-monitor-bildschirm,testberichte-239783.html

 

No that's fair enough, and I was too lazy to edit my post to say that. I figured someone would call me on it..

The engine in all these displays is a TN panel. That's pretty much the crux of it...

 

Well, first, they're not *really* 4-year old models. The design is about that old, but they were refreshed in 2006 for an updated IPS panel. But yes, there's always the *danger* of new models soon. That said, the current panel is better than 99.9% of screens out there, and I don't think you'll find anyone who'll argue with that, assuming they understand panel types. I got my Apple Care for my 23" for $45 delivered from eBay, boxed and all.

 

Or you could get into Dell's "Panel-Gamble" 2007wfp (that is if you're into 20-inchers) which has similar S-IPS panel as 20" ACD's for less than half the price and a different design (and with height, swivel, pivot and tilt adjustment too).

Got mine recently new from Dell, S-IPS panel, no defects, plus a 4 year warranty (no idea what are they going to do with it in case they break down after 4 years.. touchwood) at just approx. AU$360 with student discount.

 

You got one hell of a deal for that screen. But yeah, who knows what happens if it dies within 4 years. Chances are it won't, of course. But it's a total panel lottery at this point.

 

I've just noticed if I set Quickview to Text, it's the best setting.

Then I set contrast to 60 and brightness to 60.