Hi,

Has anyone had any experiences with a 23” Apple Cinema Display for a PC?  :?:

I was doing some preliminary research on Apple Cinema displays for a PC machine. It seems like there are specific AGP video cards that I need for adapting the display to the PC.

Here’s what I want to do with the 23” Cinema Display:  :arrow:

-watch TV (CNBC) while using Office Suite programs
    -the video card I plan to get also has a TV tuner
-or watch DVD’s or VCD on it while working
-use Desktop Sidebar with lots of RSS news coming in
    -have slideshow running in background
-have music video running too on another media player
-listen to music
:idea: :idea: :idea:
In sum: I’ll have 3 or 4 media programs running simultaneously PLUS Word, Excel, and and Outlook.

QUESTION: Is this with the Cinema Display? Does anyone have suggestions as to additional hardware or software needed?  :o

Any suggestions are welcomed
GoatCamel :D :D :D

Don’t get it.

First of all, it uses an ADC connector and you’ll need a $99 adaper to use it with a DVI connection. There’s no VGA connector and you wouldn’t want to use it with a VGA connection anyways.

Also, you can’t control the brightness or contrast without a Macintosh as they only use software control. There’s no known PC software that can control the monitor.

You may want to wait for the forthcoming new rumored Apple displays. They will supposedly forego the lame ADC interface (in favor of a more standard DVI) and have better specs all around.

So, I would wait to see the next round of Apple monitors before buying or look for other monitors to get. The current Apple monitors actually suck (in terms of viewing angle, brightness, dpi, etc) compared to what most of the other companies have out.

If you really want desktop real estate, go for a pair of Dell 2001FP 20” LCDs. They are damn impressive, and if you buy two, you can take the lady out to a nice dinner with the extra $200 you save (they’re on sale right this minute).

I just got myself one, and I am loving having dual LCDs!  :drool:

I’ve had a 23” ACD in use on my main pc for about a year and a half though, and i have to say they aren’t as bad as Gr00vy0ne makes out (never thought i’d disagree with Gr00vy!).

Sure you lose adjustability running it on a pc, but in my opinion the screen quality is excellent.. The viewing angle is quite reasonable, although never really been an issue for me (why aren’t you sitting directly in front your screen when using it anyway??), the brightness seems perfect to me, even in a fully lit room, and in terms of dpi apart from Gr00vy’s impressive 1600x1024 17” tft i don’t know of a tft with a higher native resolution than 1920x1200 and hence better dpi.. 
Colour reproduction and general picture quality is certainly better than the numerous other lcd’s i’ve had on my second machine in the last year (Hitachi, Viewsonic, Hercules, Samsung x 2).
On the negative side i should mention that it doesn’t have a great response rate if games are your thing, and although i enjoyed playing through far cry and call of duty on it its also worth bearing in mind that you’re unlikely to be able to play anything decent at the native resolution, and that very few games still are being designed with widescreen resolutions supported (although you probably already noticed this owning a TR).

Having said all that, Gr00vy is right… don’t get it, i wouldn’t do if i were in the market right now. Not with these new screens just around the corner (though they would probably tempt me to get the 30” model )

Well, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it isn’t a good monitor but it is getting a bit old compared to what is available or will be within a few months.

I just wanted to point out that people need to be aware that it’s not a straightforward affair to get the thing hooked up to a PC. The extra adapter and cables just adds a little mess of wires. Also, the fact that you can’t adjust the brightness/contrast levels sucks. Most people won’t care but people who need to (for like color calibration, etc.) will need to look elsewhere.

My only complaint about the Apple monitors in general is the fact that you can’t adjust the height. It’s like the one single fundamental design flaw. I hope Apple addresses this in the next rumored models.

Or, if you don’t have to have Apple then Samsung has some great models. They have a 24” model that has better specs than the current Apple and is also 1920x1200.

At any rate, if your in no rush, I’d wait to see what Apple is going to come out with next. Everyone pretty much knows there’s something new coming so it’s just a matter of time. :D

The Dell 2001FP 20” LCDs are amazing. My bro got one for 800 dollars shipped from dell.

Thanks for the input guys!  :D

Guess I’ll wait a bit before getting a wide screen monitor.

GC

I also notice that they have a Mac OSX desktop wallpaper on that monitor in the picture. 

[quote author=“Drachen”]If you really want desktop real estate, go for a pair of Dell 2001FP 20” LCDs. They are damn impressive…

I didn’t see the “response time” in the tech specs…Do you know what it is?

[quote author=“TruthSeeker”][quote author=“Drachen”]If you really want desktop real estate, go for a pair of Dell 2001FP 20” LCDs. They are damn impressive…

I didn’t see the “response time” in the tech specs…Do you know what it is?

The 2001fp has a response time of 16ms, one of the better 20” screens out there.

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Well, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it isn’t a good monitor but it is getting a bit old compared to what is available or will be within a few months.

I just wanted to point out that people need to be aware that it’s not a straightforward affair to get the thing hooked up to a PC. The extra adapter and cables just adds a little mess of wires. Also, the fact that you can’t adjust the brightness/contrast levels sucks. Most people won’t care but people who need to (for like color calibration, etc.) will need to look elsewhere.

My only complaint about the Apple monitors in general is the fact that you can’t adjust the height. It’s like the one single fundamental design flaw. I hope Apple addresses this in the next rumored models.

Or, if you don’t have to have Apple then Samsung has some great models. They have a 24” model that has better specs than the current Apple and is also 1920x1200.

At any rate, if your in no rush, I’d wait to see what Apple is going to come out with next. Everyone pretty much knows there’s something new coming so it’s just a matter of time. :D

Sorry Gr00vy, guess i just felt i needed to defend it a little bit as you did say that it ‘sucked compared to others that are available’..
I will say that i also looked at the Samsung 241mp that was Samsung’s best model out when i bought my Apple, but as much as i like Samsung i just couldn’t justify the extra £500+ for an extra inch at the same resolution (and hence lower dpi surely, or am i confusing dots with pixels?), also the specs weren’t any better than the apple.. i must admit the 243t does look very nice though. If i absolutely had to order a large widescreen tft right now, thats the one i would get, although i’d still rather wait for the new apple screens.. from the rumours they sound lovely.

Here’s a shot of the apple anyway (actually taken as more of a shot of the Samsung on the left that arrived last night).

It’s so beautiful…
Brings tears to my eyes.
:cry:  :cry:  :cry:

Yeah.   
Seeing Arsenal’s setup inspired me to want to get the apple monitor.
But all this talk about waiting for the next apple…
And then waiting for the next line of CPU’s to come out…

Any ETA’s on either ? :?:

GoatCamel
:drool:

[quote author=“GoatCamel”]And then waiting for the next line of CPU’s to come out…

Any ETA’s on either ? :?:

When you’re dealing with Apple, don’t depend on the rumors too much until something is actually announced. They have one of the most tight-lipped R&D depts in the industry. Anything you hear before actual announcement (or when it comes from another company like the 60GB iPod drives announcement) should be taken with a grain of salt.

The best thing in Arsenal’s setup is the old red analog phone…

Just kidding of cours…it’s beautiful setup.

n1 dinovo arsenal

:mrgreen:

Aresenal, what kind of keyboard is that in front of your 23 Cinema Display?

...sweet looking keyboard. I like it’s low profile. 

What kind of keyboard is that?  :?:

GoatCamel
8)  8)  8)