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Question

Best 27" Monitor for a macBook Pro?

Oct 6, 2011 4:27PM PDT

I purchased a macBook Pro 15" which I plan to use as a desktop when not traveling. I'm looking for just the right and "right priced" 27" LED Monitor to connect it to when using it as a desktop. Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I have to admit
Oct 6, 2011 11:11PM PDT

I have to admit Apple's 27" LED Cinema Display is a mighty nice one, and comes with the MDP connector you'll need to use with a new MBP. The closest alternative I would recommend would be one of Dell's UltraSharp displays, but those are about $200 more than Apple's, and you'd probably need an adapter cable.

Now, in Dell's defense, you will get a host of other inputs on the monitor, whereas Apple's will be just the one. With the Dell you'll likely get 2xDVI, 1xHDMI, 1xDisplayPort, and 1xComponent/Composite. Dell also typically has a 4-port USB hub in their monitors, I think Apple is 3, though I haven't had a chance to look at any of the newer Thunderbolt enabled Cinema Displays.

Both monitors are considered to be "higher than full HD" meaning resolutions higher than 1920x1080, and they're LED backlit IPS panels which will make for a nice, crisp, and vibrant color display.

They're a touch pricey at about $1000 and $1200 respectively, but anything less is a complete waste at 27". Don't think you even find much else above 23" anymore.

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Thank you Jimmy
Oct 7, 2011 1:26AM PDT

Thank you Jimmy. My preference is the Apple LED Cinema Display, but I cannot afford it. I was told that a less expensive brand would work just as well but I am not familiar with other products and there's a plethora of them out there. I was hoping to find something around $350. If it is indeed the case that at 27", less expensive models just don't fit the bill, then I guess I'll have use just the laptop until I can gather the funds required for the "real deal."

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For that kind of money
Oct 7, 2011 10:37AM PDT

For that kind of money, you're not going to find any 27" monitors, and if you did, I'd say it's probably one of those too good to be true kind of things where it's either some poorly constructed Chinese knockoff, or a "fell off the back of a truck" kind of thing.

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Answer
A good 28' monitor.
Oct 14, 2011 9:09AM PDT

Hi,
I bought a 28" I-Inc monitor from Tiger Direct over a year ago for my MacbookPro. It was on sale for about $350. I liked it so much that I just bought one for my wife from Newegg.com for a little less. It has a VGA and a HDMI connector. The Newegg version was refurbished but had no dead pixels. It also only came with a VGA cable. I call and complained that my other I-Inc monitor came with about 5 cables, including a DVI to HDMI cable and Newegg sent me a new one. They didn't have to but that shows what a good company they are. My wife is very happy with hers. It's a great deal.
I also just saw a Samsung 27" monitor at Costco here in LA also for mid 300's.

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28" Monitor
Oct 15, 2011 1:07AM PDT

Thank you so much David Dans. Yours is the first real lead that I feel I can follow. I'm definitely going to look into the I-Inc monitor. The fact that you like it well enough to get a second one for your wife is huge testimony. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.