Dell 30" UltraSharp or Apple 30" Cinema?

[yawnbox]

I'd really like to get some input about these two monitors. I am looking for a LCD screen for gaming/graphic design/home entertainment purposes. I'm planning on buying two Geforce 7950GX2's for quad SLI along with Intel's new proc, so i know i can support the high-res.

The Dell @ $1900 (http://www.compudirect.com/cgi-bin/product_view.cgi?HOME_06-102&pricegrab&Component)
has better specs than the Apple Cinema Display, but is it really any better of a monitor? What kind of support for the Apple 30" is there for using one on a PC?

 

[Alex_Huck]

I'd really like to get some input about these two monitors. I am looking for a LCD screen for gaming/graphic design/home entertainment purposes. I'm planning on buying two Geforce 7950GX2's for quad SLI along with Intel's new proc, so i know i can support the high-res.

The Dell @ $1900 (http://www.compudirect.com/cgi-bin/product_view.cgi?HOME_06-102&pricegrab&Component)
has better specs than the Apple Cinema Display, but is it really any better of a monitor? What kind of support for the Apple 30" is there for using one on a PC?

I was thinking about getting the Dell myself, though on The Dell website It says "Works ONLY with Dell Precision 380/470/670 / Dimension 9150 / XPS 400/600" I'm not sure it's compatible with custom builds. As for the cinema, I think that that one can be supported by custom builds, as TG's $10K computer uses it, and that is custom built.
-edit- As for if the Apple supports Windows, or is Mac-only, I'm not sure

 

[turkishdrummer]

If I were choosing between those two it would just be a color preference. There both reliable and good.

 

[kbk_75]

I am also considering buying one of these 30" LCDs. I'll be honest, I'm not going to do any fancy design/graphic work on it, I'll be gaming mostly, plus a healthy amount of MS Office, e-mail and web browsing.

Does anyone know which one runs better at non-native resolutions (specifically for gaming at around 1600x1200)? I've read somewhere that the Dell handles small fonts better and the Apple's colours are slightly better.
Also is the Apple too slow for gaming? I also noticed that its power consumption was significantly higher (and therefore that it runs a lot hotter!)

 

[jhutz42]

Will just jump in for a second here. Worth noting the Apple 30" just dropped a large amount in price. It was $3k (Canadian), and now it is $2300. This is $100 more than the Dell, and in all honesty the Dell panels while they are nice, are not exactly flawless and the text on them can be hard on the eyes (for example white text against a black background has a slightly straining effect on the eyes).

If I were you, and you want a big LCD for gaming, I would say get one of the Sceptre 37"s, Acer 37"s, or even better yet one of the Westinghouse 37"s (there is a new W3 model out which is fantastic). I have tried all 3 of those displays, and currently am on a Westy 42", it is unbelievably good and I rate it very highly for the amount of inputs, size, quality and price against the Dell 30 or Apple 30. The Westinghouse also does true 1080P support, so it will display the full quality of PS3 games if you decide to get one of those in the future. Check them out @ BB if your interested. This is just coming from someone who has tried a LOT of screens and so far I've been happiest with this one.

Good luck

 

[kbk_75]

Thanks for the suggestions jhutz42. Appreciate your comments. The thing is, I live in India and none of the screens you mentioned are available locally. The Apple is, the Dell can be imported. Besides, I would like to use the screen as a hi-res PC monitor, not just a large gaming screen, so I'm thinking that the Apple and the Dell are what my choices come down to.

 

[jhutz42]

In that case maybe you should wait it out a little bit longer. Both the Apple & Dell are first generation 30" panels, and each have their respective pros and cons. IMO when you pay this much for a panel, it should be near flawless and without issues that you have to 'learn to live with'. Personally I found the colors on the Dell to be a little exaggerated, and overall a little too bright for my liking, while it can be adjusted, lowering the brightness to a rcomfortable level deteriorates the colors to the point where they look like VGA, and that's not really acceptable when you spend that much money. Whereas on the Apple I absolutely love the vibrant colors and feeling you get from the 'whole package', but the sharpness & clarity aren't all there. So if you plan on doing a lot of reading or text work, the Apple could end up being a little hard on your eyes after awhile.

Despite these things (among others, if you go do a little research), they are both really beautiful panels if you are coming from something like a 19" or 20" and have never experienced them before. If that's the case then it's likely you would be so impressed with them that you would probably overlook those flaws and not take much notice of them.

Anyways, if you are in no particular rush, it might be a good idea to hang on for another month or two and see what pops up. I have a feeling there might be new 30" (or maybe larger) panels out before the end of the year. That is just speculation on my part though

 

[kbk_75]

I'm looking to upgrade from a Viewsonic VP201b (20"). I'm not in a hurry, it's just that I saw that damn Apple display at the Apple store and it blew my mind! 😀 Of course I haven't yet had a look at it running Win XP. The dealer may actually let me try the thing to see if I like it, in which case hey...

Problem is I'm still running an AGP card (it is the fastest AGP card on the planet though, and I've modded it so it OCs nicely to damn near 7900 GTX speeds) so I don't think I'll be able to game at native res until I upgrade my entire rig sometime in the next six or so months. So yeah, you may be right, it would probably be a good idea to wait a while. It's just the lure of the dark side...is so strong! :twisted:

 

[akscottbot]

the dell or apple will work fine on any dual link dvi vid card. both use the same panel manufactured by... i dont remember. beside minor tweaks and connections they are identical. second gen 30''rs will be out soon, so consider that.

Quad SLi is in its infancy now, and is far from efficient. dual 1900/1950's or a single 7950 will give you much better price/performance.