spec me 27" as good as a mac monitor

edscdk

edscdk

edscdk

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A friend runs a design company and he needs a new computer,

he has a 27" new i5 all in one mac, I have NO idea how good the screens are on these things compared to normal PC screens... - I want to price a PC of about the same spec since I expect it will be a lot cheaper

should I be looking at http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-083-IY&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat= for £250

or would I need to be looking at something along the lines of http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-013-HO&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat= for £420
 
The 27in iMac uses an IPS type 2560x1440 resolution panel. Therefore, if you want something of similar quality then you need to get a PC monitor with similar specs.

The first monitor you linked to (the Iiyama) is not comparable to the iMac, since it only uses a TN panel (compared to IPS this has faster response times, but inferior colour accuracy and viewing angles) and it's resolution is only 1920x1080.

However, the Hazro is comparable as it does use an IPS panel with the same resolution as the iMac (though not exactly the same panel as the iMac, I believe that uses an LG panel of higher grade - but even so the image quality is very similar). The Hazro does come with a 3 year warranty - however quite a few users have found issues with these monitors (see this thread) and the warranty service isn't as good as the likes of Dell, Samsung, HP or Apple (with Dell they come to your house the next working day with a replacement monitor if yours has a fault, with hazro you need to send it off to them and it may take a while before you get it back).

The Korean monitors (catleap etc.) mentioned above are of similar quality to the Hazro screen - in fact I think they use the very same panels (though usually of lower grade - so expect more pixel defects). These monitors are really good price, though the catch is that the warranty situation is a bit messy (depending where you buy from you may need to fork out a lot of money to send it back to korea if it fails) and you have little recourse if you get a monitor with few pixel faults which are below a certain threshold level.

If you want something with a nice screen which is comparable to an iMac 27in and have a good warranty service then I would personally go for a monitor like the Dell U2711 (though this one does have a pretty strong anti-glare coating).
 
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cmndr_andi said:
The 27in iMac uses an IPS type 2560x1440 resolution panel. Therefore, if you want something of similar quality then you need to get a PC monitor with similar specs.

The first monitor you linked to (the Iiyama) is not comparable to the iMac, since it only uses a TN panel (compared to IPS this has faster response times, but inferior colour accuracy and viewing angles) and it's resolution is only 1920x1080.

However, the Hazro is comparable as it does use an IPS panel with the same resolution as the iMac (though not exactly the same panel as the iMac, I believe that uses an LG panel of higher grade - but even so the image quality is very similar). The Hazro does come with a 3 year warranty - however quite a few users have found issues with these monitors (see this thread) and the warranty service isn't as good as the likes of Dell, Samsung, HP or Apple (with Dell they come to your house the next working day with a replacement monitor if yours has a fault, with hazro you need to send it off to them and it may take a while before you get it back).

The Korean monitors (catleap etc.) mentioned above are of similar quality to the Hazro screen - in fact I think they use the very same panels (though usually of lower grade - so expect more pixel defects). These monitors are really good price, though the catch is that the warranty situation is a bit messy (depending where you buy from you may need to fork out a lot of money to send it back to korea if it fails) and you have little recourse if you get a monitor with few pixel faults which are below a certain threshold level.

If you want something with a nice screen which is comparable to an iMac 27in and have a good warranty service then I would personally go for a monitor like the Dell U2711 (though this one does have a pretty strong anti-glare coating).
Click to expand...

perfect just what I was looking for! TVM....
 
Think you're forgetting to mention one big difference between the Mac/Hazro/Korean monitors vs Dell/HP/Fujitsu/etc. The former are glossy while the latter are matte so in my eyes they don't really compare, I picked a Hazro over a Dell despite the Dell being cheaper. Also there does seem to be a quality difference between Hazro and the Korean bunch.

Gibbo said:
Hazro use different internal components of a much higher grade. The only thing in common is the LG IPS panel, but the components around the panel, actual build quality, plus Quality Control is far far higher on the Hazro. Plus the fact Hazro are using Grade A panels, wheras it seems an unknown on the quality of the panel in some of these as the amount of issues with dead pixels seems high.

Having being in this industry now for 10+ years and knowing several manufacturers of LCD including those who have spent time in Korea, the quality expectation over there is a lot lower than in Europe, UK and USA. Only manufacturer to be excluded from this is Samsung as they manufacturer in Korea.

Were having to review these monitors very closely, we can't resell a brand which potentially has a massive RMA issue, we either bring these in and aim to be competitive, as such would only make in the region of 15% which right now would not cover the expected failure rate, dead pixels, DOA's etc. So the other option is we more expensive and make circa 30-40% to cover cost and potential RMA's to ensure were not selling at an overall loss.

Then we have to factor in if we want to sell a brand/product which has a high risk of not satisfying the customer, as this reflects on ourselves.
Click to expand...

Hazro uses the same grade panels as Dell/HP etc although I don't think the actual rank is "A", from what I understood they use the second best tier of panels though. The best panels are used in Nec/Eiso aimed at the professional market with a three times higher price tag.
 
Yea, I should have highlighted the anti-glare vs glossy difference - as that is a pretty big difference between these monitors (though I did briefly mention it with the dell). If you really want a glossy 27in 1440p monitor (like the iMac) then yes the Hazro or Apple Cinema display are the main ones to look at.

Fair enough with the Hazro vs Korean monitor quality, I didn't realise the build quality between them was so big.
 
The Apple Cinema screens have Display Port so should be just fine on a PC with a DP port on the GFX right?

My HZ24Wi I'm looking to phase out and keep my U2412M as a 2nd display with a primary 27" screen but I do like the glossy IPS screens like on my Hazro.
 
It's mini-display port on the previous models, with thunderbolt on the latest :)

The HZ27WC non-glass version has a very glossy screen when put next to my old u2311H, but I think I prefer the Hazros slight gloss over the sometimes dirty looking Dells AG coating.

Take a pop at the HZ27WC, if it's not what you're expecting then just DSR it. The one main criticism I'd have with mine is the stand, but then you've got that funky arm that you use on your old Hazro. So that sorts that :p
 
The problem I have with newer Hazros is the plastic is cheap plastic and bezel is fairly thick while the Dell screens use nice quality plastic and have thin bezels. I just couldn't get over that!

The Apple display at least is all Aluminium which I'm used to from the HZ24Wi!
 
Yep, that's true. You've got to ask yourself if the price of the ACD is worth 2x the price of the Hazro though, for the frame!

Plus it would look naff next to your S3 :p
 
Hmm aye, no major hurry I guess so I will keep an eye out for what can be done about this situation :p
 
originally you said "as good as" there are only 2 choices

nec and dell the others are the same size but no where near as good as

** No competitor price hinting **


ooops didnt think i mentioned a competitor did i ?
 
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Hard to make out what you were saying before the edit but I'm curious as to where that better than NEC was going since at 2560x1440 they have two models, the Multisync PA271W and the hooded SpectraView Reference 271.

Both cost more than than even the Apple cinema display and are pretty much the crème de la crème amongst the 27" monitors. The new thunderbolt ACD can't be used with PC's btw so it is by all means completely useless unless you're using a Mac.
 
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