Monitor for a macbook pro

mobileuser

Has anyone got any recomendations for a monitor for a macbook pro ? I want a big monitor for use at home. Anyone got a monitor they recomend or spotted a bargain? the bigger the better.

Many Thanks

[Deleted User]

What's your budget?
Does your Macbook have the Miniport output on it?

Kavanne

All monitors will work with it providing you have the right adapter. I use a Samsung 32" TV with my MacMini through HDMI

mobileuser

Budget is around £300

Leopard

[QUOTE=anewhope;16488731
]What's your budget?

Does your Macbook have the Miniport output on it?[/QUOTE]

It isn't a MacBook, it's a MacBook Pro, and it's irrelevant whether or not its graphics output port is is DVI or (what's actually called) a "Mini DisplayPort".

What is relevant is that a MacBook Pro (either with DVI or with a Mini DisplayPort) can support a 30" monitor and a MacBook can't.


MobileUser,

Definitely go for a 30" monitor if you can run to it; you'll love it. :happyhear

Some people prefer to use two or more (angled) 24" monitors on their desktops, but, since a MacBook Pro can support only a single external monitor, it's best to go for a 30".

The Apple 30" monitor is magnificent and, thankfully, is still matte and not glossy. However, it has its limitations. It can be tilted vertically but its its height is fixed and it cannot swivel. Moreover it has only a single input.

There are some good 30" alternatives, such as the NEC, the Dell and the Hewlett-Packard.

I found THIS site and THIS site very helpful when researching mine.

In the end (and at the risk of prompting "Martin_S" and "anewhope" to spit blood for mentioning it, but I do so only because it might be helpful to you) I bought a Hewlett-Packard LP3065 which popped up, new and unused on eBay one Friday evening a few months ago on a "Buy-it-Now", for £575 with £20 delivery. So, it need not be expensive.

I really like the HP LP3065. It's got height adjustment, tilt adjustment and it swivels. (You're unlikely to want to pivot a 30" monitor into portrait mode!) It has 3 (selectable) Dual-DVI inputs and they are HDCP compliant. It also has four, powered USB2 ports. Cosmetically, it's matt black (I put a little piece of black insulating tape over the silver HP logo on it, which I found distracting!) and the panel is also matte.

Be warned, though, once you get used to a 30" monitor, and all that you can do with it, you'll find it very restricting to go back to anything smaller...

(That said, a 10" netbook sits just conveniently underneath it when it's set to a comfortable height.)

I wouldn't want anything larger than a 30". If you sit at a convenient desktop distance of 75 to 80 cm from it, it's just right. Anything larger and the viewing angle, sideways, to the edges of it, become too extreme.

Hope that helps you - and also convinces you that going 30" need not cost you an eye-watering £1,200 from Apple but can be achieved for a lot less. :money:

- EDIT -

Just seen your latest post. Ah. You did say the bigger the better, to start with, not mentioning price. Still, the 24" LP2465 version of the same HP monitor has been offered, new, on eBay for £300 recently (I rather wish I'd bought that one, too!) and here's one that might interest you for £325 on eBay right now. The same two review sites listed above should help you in your quest.

I'll leave my previous posting about it up in case it helps others.

mobileuser

Thanks Leopard for that great post. Think I will look into getting the HP LP2465 it seems to tick all the right boxes. Now all I need to do is find myself a nice desk for it to sit on and my home office will be complete. If you've got any recomendations for desks they would be gratefully recieved as well

Many Thanks

Leopard

People seem to overlook HP monitors and go in search of those from Dell. So you can often get an HP more cheaply than a Dell.

But, personally, I prefer the HP anyway.

A Dell has more variety of inputs but the HP usually wins out on picture quality in reviews.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2007488,00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/28914/review/lp2465.html
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?PGR&ReviewID=1237

I was impressed by the fact that every single pixel (over 4 million of them!) on my 30" HP is perfect. :T

It came with a CD of drivers and stuff for Windows and nothing at all for Mac but I just plugged it into my ProBook to see what would happen and up popped the display, image perfect. :dance:

I like the fact that the 30" (and maybe the 24" as well?) has 3 selectable (dual) DVI inputs (which is very handy) and that it came supplied with all the necessary dual DVI leads in the box; something that's worth bearing in mind when comparing prices. (Think what a 3 port - dual DVI capable KVM would cost.)

So, make sure you price them all up on level terms in your coparisons.

Even so, if you can run to £350 for a 24", delivered, I'd opt for a BenQ - it ticks every box.

They're currently £350.32 from eBuyer but £343.28 from Microwarehouse if you buy it through Quidco with a 5% discount. (Both prices being for new and delivered.)

Dell does a 27" but it's more expensive and it doesn't pivot. Personally, I'd rather have a 24" that pivots than a 27" that doesn't, irrespective of price.

Hope you find something you like at the right price. :money:



The icing on the cake, when funds permit, is then to get a Bookendz docking station for it all. They're seriously hard to find though; only two of the FW800 version have appeared on eBay UK in the last 18 months. (And the ProBook on which I'm writing this is docked into one of them - so my recommendation comes from personal experience!)