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Level 1

0 points

Any Monitor suggestions for the new mac pro w 8800GT?

Hey everybody,

I was hoping that people would give some ideas about what display to get for the new mac pro. I am leaning towards a 24" or bigger non-apple display the first time because A) Apples are old technology (specially for gaming) B) they are not the bang for your buck.

Hannspree 28" and Samsung 245bw are 2 options for me right now.

Any comments, recomendations, good/bad experience appreciated. maybe we can create a good display opinion pool here.

M

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 1.25GB RAM

Posted on Jan 31, 2008 5:36 PM

25 replies

apeguero

Level 1

4 points

Feb 7, 2008 1:55 PM in response to Resno

I get around this by booting to the OSX Leopard DVD. For some reason, the display is able to read the correct resolution when the Leopard (or Tiger for that matter) disk is in the optical drive.

I discovered this by accident actually and by troubleshooting myself. I've had this monitor for about 3 weeks now and I couldn't get it to properly read resolutions less than 2560x1600 on games (Apple and Windows). Gateway Support claimed it was probably just not compatible with Macs. What a bunch of bull. Anyway, it should work for you too. Don't return it until you try this. You'll be 110% happy after, I promise 🙂

Don Louv

Level 1

24 points

Feb 10, 2008 3:15 PM in response to REINMIRT

I've just received my Mac Pro & 8800GT.
I choose to go with the new 30" monitor from Dell. (UltraSharp 3008WFP)
Once calibrated, it looks great.

The only problem I've had is a periodic (every 5-10 seconds) flickering of the lower half of the screen, if (and only if) the display is plugged into the left hand DVI connector (as viewed from the back). The flickering went away when I moved the cable to the right hand DVI connector.

It wasn't a cable or connection thing, as I had swapped cables three or four times prior to trying the other DVI connector.

rob_ART

Level 2

426 points

Feb 10, 2008 6:21 PM in response to REINMIRT

I have an Apple Cinema 30" connected to my Mac Pro but I also have a Dell 2707WFP Widescreen. I would recommend it as my favorite non-Apple LCD display. The native resolution is 1920x1200. It has DVI, Component, VGA, and S-Video inputs. It has an articulating arm that allows you to raise and lower it. I lower it right down to the desk top.

It's currently on sale for $999.

Feb 10, 2008 9:20 PM in response to REINMIRT

I've looked at the 30" from Apple but found it a bit 'blurry' in some areas, so I ended up buying the latest 30" from Eizo:

http://www.eizo.com/products/lcd/sx3031w/index.asp

Admittedly, it's even more expensive than the ACD - but so far I'm very, very happy.

Feb 12, 2008 9:27 AM in response to John Phillips10

Sorry, you have to belong to the Club to join ; )

I received my UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24'' Widescreen LCD Monitor yesterday and all I can say is "OMG" what a monitor.. Sweeeeet! $599 +tax, free delivery to the door.. Tis good to be a Canuck =) Took less than a week from purchase to delivery, even though the site says 3+ weeks.

Even at it's full price this is an awesome monitor.. not only do you get the additional realestate space on screen to do your work but the display is bright, easy on the eyes and awesome. It takes some getting used to the text size but man.. wow.

What is funny though, is that my 23" Cinema HD sits next to it.. Before the Dell, my old Samsung 19" display colours looked dingy and dark.. what I thought was white before looked dirty compared to the Apple display.. And now that the Dell is sitting next to the Apple display, it's the other way around. whoa.. nice. Same colour representation, but different, hard to explain. Both monitors have been calibrated with Spider2, riquiring very little adjustments, both were almost spot on but they look different. I'm not sure how best to explain it.

Text is better on the Apple but the Dell has a better colour presentation I think, less grainy would be best to describe it I think.

Needless to say, had I known how good the UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor was before, I would not have purchased the Apple display.. Half the price, slightly larger and just as good. Hmmm ya never know.. Hmmm

REINMIRT Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 13, 2008 1:52 PM in response to REINMIRT

OK- here is what I ended up getting.

HP W2408. Not W2408h (VGA and HDMI ports, no DVI on that version). Mine is without the "h" and it is spectacular. Period. I paid $489 at circuit city store and the online price they have ($569) is INCORRECT!

I must say, it is the ONLY "apple like" non-apple display I could find out there. I have compared it to
-Acer 24" (All P, A and X series)
-Westinghouse 24"
-Envision 24"
-Hanns G 28"
-Gateway 24" (2 different models one of which just came out)

My sources were bestbuy, circuit city, amazon & some forums. You can only compare specs for a while and then you gotta get out there and actually play with it see in person and make changes in the menus by yourself. having my 2005 12" Powerbook G4 (and it's DVI adapter) with me helped enormously since I knew I was looking for the Apple display feeling that I am very used to and find extremely accurate when it comes to color correction.

Color saturation and accuracy are terrific. Can be super bright, widely customizable. Absolutely gorgeous and flawless gaming (COD, BF2142, X-plane) and extra ordinary HDef media playback quality. I did my first tests with some 1080p movie trailers off of apple website and I got blown away with the whole experience! I am also using the terrific Logotech Z-2300 2.1 sound system. Honestly, you can ask for much more. Has a very charming glossy frame and display and a very easy to move stand. It rotates, pivots with just the little bit of push of your finger tips. Smaller footprint than any of the others I've checked out. Most importantly it feels like an Apple product! There are NOT many monitors out there that look as nice and solid as Apple displays.

I think my next investment is going to be a 30" ACD. I am able to wait until they improve the response times and contrast ratios and embed an isight in them and reduce the power consumption a little bit.

I purchased mine with a 4-year %100 accidental damage protection plan that cost me $119.

If you have already made some research and feel toren, go for it. I have been all kinds of computers since 1986 and this monitor is by far the best display I've ever used.

Hope that helps.
M

Feb 14, 2008 4:10 PM in response to REINMIRT

I have a HP w2408 on a Mac pro with a Nvidia 7300. Does your monitor go to sleep??? I was WISHING mine would after the graphics update but still no go:(

Feb 16, 2008 9:58 AM in response to REINMIRT

This is very basic question. I was looking to get a Mac Pro and not the Apple monitor. What are the specs necessary to work well with the computer?

RLevien

Level 1

0 points

Apr 13, 2008 2:50 PM in response to apeguero

I have a Gateway XHD 3000 connected via DVI to my MacPro Quad 2.66Mhz running OS 10.5.2. The connectivity is great; the image is excellent; however, the monitor menu is only partially operational. Under Picture, for example, only Brightness is selectable and adjustable. None of the other controls (Contrast, Color, etc) can be selected (they appear white rather than black on the screen menu). Gateway Technical Support was not helpful; they could only indicate that EzTune (the software shipped with the display) is required; however, it runs only under Windows. They also thought it might be a problem with the nVidia 7300 graphic cards; but couldn't be more specific. I have thought of running Parallels and Windows XP and installing EzTunes in that virtual machine, but have not done so yet. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions on resolving it?

12u34me

Level 1

0 points

Apr 13, 2008 4:50 PM in response to REINMIRT

For whatever reason - I've always found Samsung to have created the best settings & color tones relating to an LCD Monitor.

I am not a computer gameplayer, however, I do understand the variables that should optimize the visual experience. I'm not certain, but I suspect that the DirectX format for most video games, supports up to (or around) 120 frames per second. Given this - ideally, you'd want to find a monitor that can "refresh" the screen (known as the refresh rate mhz) to keep up with the frame rate of the video - so try and buy one with 85 or higher. In addition, look for a high "contrast ratio" 3,000:1 is good (Samsung over-inflates theirs), and a brightness of at least 400. Lastly, "color depth" is expressed differently by each manufacturer. You'll want a monitor with a minimum color depth of 16 bits (sometimes re-configured as 24), and to also make sure that the monitor doesn't have to perform some goofy function to achieve this particular level of color.

Best of luck

Any Monitor suggestions for the new mac pro w 8800GT?