I just can't help myself...
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 12:50PM If you listen to one of the recent Mac Roundtable podcasts, you'll hear us all discussing the merits of Apple Cinema Displays and I explain why I haven't gone down that route, mainly due to the expense.
For a while now, on my primary production Mac Pro, I've gone with a three monitor system (OK, four if you count the flat panel 32" LCD on the wall)
The main display is a 30" Dell (2560x1600), flanked on the left and right by two Dell 2007FP 20" monitors (1600x900). The original reason for getting the two 20" monitors was that they can rotate by 90" and as such, matched the height and resolution of the 30" Dell when in portrait mode. I've since resorted to having them in landscape mode, there just seemed to be more usable screen real estate in landscape although obviously, it's the same!
The only issue with the 20" monitors is that they are 4:3 not 16:9 (or similar) and this presented a problem when recording screencasts on the Mac Pro. I usually need to reset my resolution to 1280x720 and the 20" monitors didn't support this natively. All was not lost though as an application called SwitchXRes allows me to reset the resolution to this and although there are large bars top and bottom it works fine.
All was well with the world until I read a blog post by Ethan Kaplan - BlackRimGlasses - VP of Technology over at Warner Bros. I've been following Ethans blog for a while and if it's possible, he's an even bigger Mac fan than I am. Presumably, because of his job, he is able to indulge in some quite nifty technology (that's my excuse too!)
When reading the description of his main Mac Pro he tells of a four monitor setup...
This is my main work machine, which I estimate I use 8 to 10 hours per day, five days a week. The machine is a 2009 Mac Pro, with eight cores running at 3.0ghz. I have 16 gigabytes of RAM in the machine, and two Nividia 8600GT video cards. These cards drive four Samsung 2343BWX displays.
I love these displays for a few reasons. First off, they have the typical Samsung display, which is to say crisp, bright, high contrast and even gamma. And secondly, they are one of the only high density LCD’s on the market, running at 2048×1152 resolution.
Hmm...
Those monitors sure sound nice, and they are true 16:9 resolution.
Hmm...
So what could I do! I ordered one from eBuyer over here in the UK to try it out (a snap at £183 inc VAT) - Product page
It's gorgeous.
As well as running in the full resolution of 2048x1152, it also runs natively at both 1280x720 and 1920×1080, the standard HD resolutions. Perfect for recording my screencasts and playing back true HD content. I might even experiment with 1080p versions of my screencasts (or that may be overkill!)
So the decision was taken.
A second Samsung has been acquired and I'll be replacing both Dell 2007FP 20" monitors. I considered going with three but I couldn't give up the 30" Dell, not for now anyway!
I'll let you know how I get on with this configuration (and I'll post a photo) but in the meantime, is there anyone in the Uk looking to buy a couple of Dell 2007FPs at a knockdown price!
Update: The second monitor arrived but the DVI port seems dead. D'oh! Ebuyer returns are on the case and the faulty monitor should be collected tomorrow and the replacement here by the end of the week.
Don McAllister
Further to my reporting that one of the monitors has a dead DVI port, I'm sorry to report that the remaining monitor also appears to have a problem. The screen is flashing on and off and when on, there seems to be a slowly moving line going up the screen. I've switched it off overnight and will check it again tomorrow but at this point, I may just go with returning these for a refund.
Beautiful monitors but if two out of two go bad on the first day....
Don McAllister
Ah well, it's the following day and the second monitor is still showing signs of instability so it's back to the supplier with that one too.
After thinking about it, I can't really afford to have unreliable monitors so as these must be part of a bad batch, I've decided to get a refund on both rather than a replacement. So it's back to the Dell 20" for now.
Now if Apple would just produce a Cinema Display with DVI as well as Displayport, and offer an option minus the built in video camera, I'd happily pay the Apple tax for a well built reliable monitor.
Kudos to the supplier of the faulty monitors by the way - Ebuyer.com - absolutely pain free returns procedure.
Reader Comments (8)
Hi,
Thanks for this. I am new to Macs and run a Macbook unibody at the moment. What extra software/connectors etc do I need to set up a multi display configuration with 2 of these Samsung displays?
You are an animal Don. NIce nice . I use a Samsung SyncMaster 2693HM 25.5-inch LCD Monitor [link http://tinyurl.com/mv7jfy] and love it. . My other one is a 23" cinema display which has been good too
Richard, You may struggle running more than a single external monitor from your MacBook especially if using Displayport. You can get a DisplayPort to DVI adapter from Apple and run a single Samsung 2343BWX monitor from it as well as the internal display. This is a great combo.
I'm running my multiple monitor display off my Mac Pro desktop machine which has two graphics cards, each with two DVI ports allowing me to run up to 4 monitors.
Unless anyone else is aware of a DisplayPort adapter that supports multiple devices, I think you'll be restricted to just one external monitor for now.
Never been called an animal before Victor :-)
Cool!
Don,
Check out Hanns-G monitors on NewEgg. I have one friend who has won an Emmy and swears by them. Also, know a photographer who swears by them.
I am drooling over your set up. One day.......i am just trying to complete my transfusion from Windows to Mac. I hope one day to have a similar setup as you.
As to putting more than one external monitor on a mac laptop - we've used on of these in the past and it's not too bad (not amazing, but if you NEED more real estate...) http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4517
We use Eizo monitors here. They're the best money can buy (in our opinion), but they are really pricey - I'd only get one if you're doing colour sensitive stuff.
Don -- You CAN use the Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display! Here's the adapter you need:
http://www.atlona.com/pdf/pr/DVI-displayport_pr.pdf
Let us know if you get one,
Dave P.