William Computer Blog

1. ak 14 Aug 2006

If I were to choose, I’d pick Dell. Better technical spec at a cheaper price. More connectors makes it a lot more versatile device.

But good for me doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Follow your heart. Kalau beli nanti sampai beli Dell-nya malah bisa-bisa kepikiran terus ACD-nya.

2. viewsonic? 14 Aug 2006

Quick Question, why don’t you go for viewsonic monitors? Are they not compatible with MacBooks?

3. William Pramana 14 Aug 2006

Viewsonic: I did look at the ViewSonic VP2330wb. It has a similar spec with the above mentioned displays. I’m pretty sure the monitor is compatible with the MacBook Pro. However, the perfectsuite LCD control software that comes with the monitor is not compatible with Mac OS X.

I also think the ViewSonic does not look as good as both the Dell 2407WFP and Apple Cinema Display. Thanks for bringing it up.

4. Nano 16 Aug 2006

You said:

“Let’s move on to why I like the 23-inch cinema display.”

And started to talk about the Dell instead.

You might want to correct that.

5. rbrown 17 Aug 2006

I am in the same boat. I am not sure which one I should buy. Although the prices have gone down on both. Right now you can get the acd for 1000 or 900 with educational discount and the dell you can get for $700. So is it worth the $200 more? Not sure. I just think the acd’s are so pertttty. Let me know what you decide.

6. Adrock 18 Aug 2006

I just found this article upon waiting for my 24 Dell to arrive for my PowerBook, Down grading from 17”PB to a 15”PB due to going out on my own. Here NZ they had a special which finished yesterday. $1352 NZD incl 12.5% TAX with additional 3 Years totalling 5 Years Warranty - ($868.39 USD) in NZ Standards that So Cheap. Can’t Wait for it to arrive! Good luck on your decision.

7. William Pramana 18 Aug 2006

Hey Adrock, I decided to go with the 23-inch Apple Cinema Display. It arrived 3 days ago. Hope you enjoy your new display :)

8. Indrayana Tirtayasa 19 Aug 2006

Congrats for your new display bro. Can’t wait to see your setup.

9. William Pramana 19 Aug 2006

You can visit http://flickr.com/photos/wpram/219005792/ to view my workspace.

10. Oliver Davies 22 Aug 2006

Same dilemma…. with it being so close what was it that actually tipped you towards the Apple 23”? I keep bouncing back and forth…..

11. William Pramana 22 Aug 2006

Oliver Davies: I decided to buy the Apple because I don’t need so many video input. I am not planning to connect the monitor to any device other than my laptop.

Anyone who wish to connect the monitor to multiple device should choose the dell.

Good luck :)

12. Stewo 23 Aug 2006

Ya, Ya Yaaaaaaa :)

Believe me it’s the better decision You will be happy with it. I follow the last entries. That’s funny!

13. Harry 25 Aug 2006

Hi, since this has turned into a forum i’ll just adress this to everyone rather than just William Pramana. Yes, i’m in the same boat (although a bit short of cash as it stands right now), the Dell 24” or the ACD 24”. I have a pc and all the exterior for my hardware (case, speaker’s,keyboard,printer) is black, this is why i’m leening towards the dell. Problem is, i like the ACD for all ths same reason’s as William. Can anyone make my mined up for me?

14. Lachlan Hunt 30 Aug 2006

I’m looking to buy a new monitor in the near future and I too am facing this dillemma. Before I found out about the Dell, I was planning to get the Apple, but now I think I’m going to get the Dell.

The look is irrelevant to me, none of my equipment matches, I’m purely after functionality. That effectively means (from your list) there’s no relevant cons for the Dell.

I’m not really into gaming, so the 2ms difference in response time is also irrelevant for me.

Lastly, the price of the Dell is a huge benefit over the Apple. Just one question though, where did you find the Dell monitor for A$1,199? The Dell Australia site lists it as A$1,499 (or A$1,249 with the current discount entertainment pack).

15. William Pramana 30 Aug 2006

Hey Lachlan,

The price for the dell monitor was $1199 at the time this blog post was written. Dell had a limited time promotion at the time.

You should wait until dell have another promotion (They do it a lot).

16. Harry 30 Aug 2006

Yeah, the apple is ment to have better image quality and response time, also the dell ultrasharp line have been critisized and returned by many unsatisfied user’s. Given that i couldn’t really care about the silver colour against my black pc anymore i’m now leaning towards the Apple. Although the Dell monitors have many inputs for various connectivity options, there have been many reports of limited functionality. The Apple seems now like the more quality option.

17. Jim Gish 2 Sep 2006

As of this writing, Dell has the 2407WFP for $747 US ( $252 less that the Apple ).

18. Heidi 29 Sep 2006

Can anyone help answer my question? I’m not particularly computer savvy. I have a 15” Powerbook and just ordered the Dell UltraSharp. Will it be easily compatible or do I need to buy a new “card” or any other equipment in order to set it up? (Will it work at all with my powerbook?)

Thanks! HM

19. SweetBasil 1 Oct 2006

Many years ago Macs had special needs for monitors, but no longer. There is no such thing as a Mac-specific monitor.

The main thing is to know if the monitor’s connection is (a) “analog” , “VGA” — or — (b) “digital, “DVI”

Digital is best, but analog works. Your PowerBook can handle either (at least the last few editions of the PowerBook can).

A DVI cable will plug directly into your PowerBook’s video port. To hook up VGA devices, such as older monitors or most overhead projectors, you need a simple DVI to VGA adapter. Apple may have given you one, or you can buy one.

The other possible connections (Composite Video, S-Video, Component Video) are for hooking up TVs.

In the “Displays” System Preferences panel, you’ll probably see that the Mac recognizes the make and model of the monitor. That is not required, but is helpful for Mac OS X to optimize the display of colors.

20. smacky 5 Oct 2006

I have the same dilemma, I was considering buying a 20” apple cinema display at first but it turns out that with the additional cost of extending the warranty to 3 years it would actually be cheaper to buy a 24” ultra sharp, which is hard to refuse given that they are poth more or less the same LG Packard screen in different packaging. I know deep down that the ultrasharp is the better choice, it has more features more connectivity more flexibility for very significantly less money. I also know that any slight difference is greys or the colours between the two screens is very unlikely to have any real impact on me professionally, given that they are both excellent monitors. I doubt there is anything you can see or do on the Apple that you can’t on the Dell.

yet still I’m looking for any excuse to buy the apple. That aluminium bezel is just too sexy. If only I had a bit more money and a bit less sense… how happy I would be.

Personally I blame apple they’re uncompetitive prices and stingy warranty is forcing me very reluctantly to turn away from their product, not because I don’t want it, but purely because I don’t like being ripped off. would it really kill them to throw in a 3 year warranty, like every other manufacturer on the planet? That might be enough to tip it for me.

Anyway I think I’m gonna be strong and do the right thing and buy the Dell. I’ve instructed my friends and family to keep me away from any apple shops. But who knows, I may still crack and run off with the pretty one.

21. Simon 6 Oct 2006

As a Dell 24” owner (the 2405 rather than the later 2407) I am completely happy. It works well, looks fine, has heaps of connectivity, and is currently on special at A$1099!! I am amused (if not impressed) at all the talk about preference for the Apple Display for its looks. pah! The Dell looks fine, connects like crazy, doubles as a card reader, does PIP, has rise/fall AND tilts if you want. And is about $400 cheaper. No contest, surely..?? cheers.

22. stradivari 10 Oct 2006

i’m facing the same dilemma like William , but as i’m currently living in indonesia , i hav 2 rule out Dell cause they don’t have authorized seller nor service centre here ..

so basically i’m choosing between Apple CD and Samsung 244t .. personally i choose Samsung over apple after i compare the spec and Samsung built his own panel too.. but after i found out Samsung was listed way overpriced ( newegg is 875 USD , indonesia is 1680 USD ) , i will buy apple .. ( here is 1150 USD ) .. Samsung U better read this comment and fix ur %$#%ing sh%t price policy .. sorry bout my broken english btw , cheers

23. John R 13 Oct 2006

Another aussie here..

Just ordered the Dell 2407 WFP, ariving tomorrow! Managed to get the price to AUD 989 after tax ;)

TV input is a big plus and the card reader will be great too!

Cant wait.

24. Pete Stone 15 Oct 2006

Does anyone know if the fact that the Dell at 24” rather than the Apple 23” at the same resolution means that the Dell geometrically distorts at all?

25. michael 10 Nov 2006

I’ve read everyone’s comment, but I found that no one mention the HDCP, as for apple this is a con. The HDCP has much to do with the Microsoft’s next generation OS(vista) .Is it a big issue to consider??? Any comments???? Maybe you guys only want to connect the display to MAC.

26. Kathy 16 Nov 2006

Just got the Dell 2407WFP and it’s gorgeous. Have a new Mac Pro coming but am currently on a suped up G4. It is plugged in and working but is all stretched sideways. The driver provided on CD and the read me stuff all applies to Windows. Went back online to see if I had made a compatibility error and it looks mixed…. Running OSX10.3.9 - anyone know how to get the right driver so get it to display properly? Can’t find anything on Dell’s site. :-) thanks for any tips you have

27. Sean 4 Jan 2007

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse as the last reply was 16 NOV 2006. I just thought I would pipe in to let anyone else in the same boat know that Costco sells the Dell 2407WFP for $744.99. The price is good and they offer a lifetime satisfaction guarantee on monitors. You really cannot go wrong with a Dell 2407WFP from Costco. It works very nicely on my Mac Pro.

28. clark 19 Feb 2007

I wondered if anyone - like Kathy, in her post - has tried running this new Dell 24” monitor on a Mac G-4 with OS 10, and - if so - if they’ve run into trouble getting the picture to display properly.

29. Jak Logan 21 Feb 2007

I own two 23” Apple Cinema Displays as well as two Dell 2407WFP Displays. I noticed some color differences when I hook each one up to my 15” MacBook Pro (Core Solo). The Dell shows colors differently than the Apple displays. The blue background on the Apple login screen is much brighter on the Apple screens, as it looks dull, almost grey, on the Dell. I have tried to match the color preferences via the menu controls on the Dell, but it’s still a little off. The Apple displays don’t suffer from those LCD finger trail depressions when you scrape your finger across the LCD (just a side note, I don’t condone doing that). I like how the Dell monitors are height adjustable, but they are still a bit shorter than the 24” iMac by about an inch. I still think that the only thing keeping the MacBook Pro from perfection is the lack of a card reader. The Dell display solves this somewhat (although you’ll need the larger Sony ‘Pro’ adapter for using Sony’s Pro Duo memory sticks… if yours gets stuck, use scotch tape to remove it.) So, your MBP already comes with an infrared receiver, and I doubt Apple’s next Displays are going to include anything new but that and an iSight, so go with the Dell. The warranty is cheap and you can turn the brightness all the way up to override the color differences. I recommend the Apple only if you don’t need the built in card reader or work with photos all day long. Also, I don’t know if it’s because of HDCP, but I have a video scaler from StarTech to convert my Playstation2’s component (and SNES’ yellow video) cable into DVI. The DVI readthrough won’t show up on the Apple, but will on the Dell. And using a HDMI to DVI adapter with my Plsystation3 won’t work with the Apple, but will on the Dell. I have no need for the scaler now with Dell’s huge input options. So save your money and go with the Dell. The resale depreciation might be higher, but if you use it for five years, it’s worth it.

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31. SteveC 14 Mar 2007

Dell 2407WFP - just bought one. Interested to know about 1920x1200 resolution and our G4 with the standard GeForce2 MX video card. VGA connection requires 60Hrtz which isn’t supported, and currently we are getting a 1280x1024 stretched image. If we buy a ADC to DVI adapter, will we get the full resolution? Any help much appreciated.

32. Patrick 18 Mar 2007

William Pramana: I will also have a 15’ macbook pro this summer hopefully with the new leopard and I want a bigger monitor and I was stuck between these two. As of now I’m leaning more towards the Apple since it looks sweet ans will match my macbook pro and the dvd playback is better since I will be using it for that feature. Thanks

• Patrick

33. Pim 12 Apr 2007

Hey everyone, here’s some sound advice: STAY AWAY FROM THE DELL 2407WFP! I’m looking at one for over a year and I regretted buying it from day one. Why? Viewing angle. Yes, technically the viewing angles of both screens are equal, but it seems that what makes the viewing angle numbers is the angle at which you can still distinguish stuff on the screen. That’s unfortunately not very helpful information. What I would have liked to know before my purchase was how fast colors start to change at different viewing angles. And this is where the Dell turns out to be a piece of **: the colors are only right when you keep your head still right at the sweet spot in the center middle of the screen. Clients sitting next to you are out of luck.

34. Dell Computer Deals 24 Apr 2007

It seems like a no brainer to me, go with the dell. You said it yourself, dell pros:

Cheaper price, more video input options, HDCP support, Picture in Picture, Picture by Picture, Media card readers, More adjustable

Apple Pros:

You like the design.

35. jtcdesigns 26 Apr 2007

Apple over prices for the monitor but damn it sure looks a whole lot better than any other monitor. Why are you sticking with only dell and apple? I was looking at those two and a samsung. I seen a few viewsonic monitors btu something in my head just says wow those are crap. Dell and apple are both using LG inside. I opted to just buy two 22” widescreen samsung’s. The colors are great and I love the space. I’m a graphic/web designer/animator They are great with my mac. I’d suggest looking around more than just two companies. The design isnt bad either because it’s solid black without and stupid labels on it. Just the model at the top left in small letters and the frame is rather small too. I currently have both plugged in dvi and my xbox 360 plugged in through vga and plugged into my computer stereo system. Depending on the model you can get one with composite outputs and what not. Good luck on your search, I think you will be happy with either of those three brands.