MOTUnation.com

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/W ... .7.1.0.1.1

Interesting price cuts!!

Either there are new monitors coming, the refurbs have been used more heavily than usual, or the monitors were way overpriced to begin with!!

Come to think of it, I've only had to buy three monitors since starting with Mac 10+ years ago, and I bought two of those at the same time-- and still have the third in full use. Monitors have had the slowest turnover, so maybe that's why the refurb prices are more attractive these days.

$749 for a 23". Tempting, but at this point it would be partially cosmetic. There are so many other compatible monitors out there for half that price-- new.

Not to say that there isn't something sexy about the Apple models-- and the best things in life come in pairs!!

I know. I bought the 30" to find they have dropped that even further. Must have really been over priced I agree.

Back to trying to make Vienna strings usable.. Wish I had bought east west.

Still have my sight on a Dell 30" but I'm waitiing to see if they'll eventually qualify it for 90 days no interest. I have a Dell Preferred account and bought two Dell laptops that way and paid them off just before the 90 days ran out. I thought of calling them and getting a phone rep to see if they'd do the no interest deal on the 30" then then it would be a go I think.

As an aside I was in Fry's today and the Apple 30" was $1999. Tack on sales tax and it's more like $2300. But what frosts me is I overheard a conversation between a sales guy and some poor woman and heard him tell her "nobody else even makes a 30" monitor" and also that if she had a DVI connector "it'll work no problem." I came very close to turning around tellling her she'd need to make sure she had a compatible graphics card, and oh yeah, someone else, Dell, makes a 30" and it's $800 less. I'm guessing maybe this guy worked at Guitar Center before. ;-P

That would have been very cool to say something to her. I know I would have chickend out too had it been me.

The Dell is obviously the reason they dropped the price. I wonder what they make of thoses puppies at todays prices?

Timeline wrote:The Dell is obviously the reason they dropped the price....

Indeed. It still doesn't make sense to pay more for a refurb than you would for a new one with comparable specs. I mean, it's already a chunk just to get a MacPro outfitted with RAM and drives-- only to find out that you have to spend another $2300 just to see what you're doing!!

Profit? Oh, with today's cost of materials, I'd say that 70-80% is gravy.

Timeline wrote:That would have been very cool to say something to her. I know I would have chickend out too had it been me.

The Dell is obviously the reason they dropped the price. I wonder what they make of thoses puppies at todays prices?

I was in the store with a friend and we dropped in to "run in and run out" to get something, so I didn't want to start a scene, as there was no way I could have done it without confronting the sales guy and embarassing him. There just wasn't time. If I had more time I would've waited till he was out of earshot and taken her aside and filled her in. Of course this underscores the whole need to be an "educated consumer." It's so easy with the internet to be informed before you purchase something. I don't buy any piece of gear without googling it first. If I see something in Guitar Center, etc., I drive home, do a search, and come back with printouts as far as best price and they'll match it usually. I guess there are enough folks who are willing to walk in off the street, without any research and buy something that they don't mind price matching for those of us who take the time to do some homework. Almost every time I've bought something without checking first, I've regretted it.

I try to be USED whenever possible or practical too. Some people may laugh, but I furnished my living room out of craiglist. You see a lot of crap but every so often a gem pops up and you can grab it if you're quick. Oh yeah, the bottom HD192 in the pic... $600 from a local craigslist ad.

so I have an Apple 17 (I think) that I paid 700 for when I bought my g5. I've always wanted to get a second monitor (bigger) what is a good Dell monitor that will work on my mac?

I always buy refurbished if I can. I bought my Dell 24" for $599 and got a warranty from Dell. I was going to buy a 30" but then I sat down in fromt of one adn head to crank my neck back and forth to see everything. It' huge. The 24" is big enough from where I am sitting. I also have a 19" sitting beside it.

I also bought my MacPro 3 gig refurbished. I am very happy with both.

Apple's displays are way overpriced for the closeness of specs between the monitors. Plus I like the non-obtrusive look of the Dell's black trim. I don't need a picture frame around my display.

donreynolds wrote: The 24" is big enough from where I am sitting.

I think that's the key. My monitor sits about 4' away atop a mixing console. My 23" monitor helps, but a second one wouldn't hurt.

A monitor *can be* to big for the situation-- sort of like sitting in the front row of a movie theater...

For me? I don't think I could complain with a 30" for how far away it would have to sit.

I guess it's all about price for most people. Now that I have moved into digital photography (finally), I need to be concerned about a lot more quality issues than before. Interestingly, that pretty much pushes me into Apple's product line should I go for a standalone cinema display before upgrading my iMac (it can be used in front of the iMac as a "replacement" monitor, from what I understand, and would also be usable with a Mac Mini or MacPro as well, so needn't wait on a computer upgrade before buying).

My notes on monitors are not easy to find at the moment, buried as they are in my digital photography research pile. I simply remember that there's a brand that the professional graphics artists prefer that doesn't show up at on-line stores or in regular stores, and is over twice the price of Apple's displays. And I don't recall any other brands besides those two, and possibly LaCie (although I think that was for their CRT's vs. LCD's) being considered to have acceptable colour calibration ranges.

There are new monitor technologies on the horizon, but it'll probably be a few years before they drift down the marketplace to where they replace both LCD's and CRT's. So I can't think of any reason Apple is dropping their prices on current LCD's unless their sales are hurting due to Dell's price drop. And Dell's quality has been going up, so it may be that the two product lines are closer to being qualitatively competitive as well.

to mhschmieder:
Aside from the Apple monitors, you may have been thinking of Eizo monitors for color accuracy. Those two brands are probably at the top of the heap for calibration success.
I am used to having to buy more expensive monitors for the kind of work I do, and forget that there are some very good deals at times for "utility" monitors that won't require a more demanding calibration. I may add a monitor to my Intel iMac audio setup, so this thread was a good reminder.

Also, here's a link to a high-end retailer that deals with color accuracy and carries the Eizo monitors:
www.colormall.com

Yes, Eizo was the company I had in mind, and thanks for the e-Sale link.