So i got a new room and its time to renovate, as a design student the macbook 13" screen gets extremely annoying its just to small to work with.

iv just robbed a bank and i'm looking buy my a really nice LCD monitor for the mb.

my limit is about $500, this is where i hit a wall.. i don't no what to get exactly what do people recommend and im not really looking to buy a apple product. The viewsonic lcd screens look amazing as i already have a 19' LCD in a different room i think there one of the best out.

I'm thinking widescreen is allot better than the normal screens after i used my mates 19' widescreen lcd monitor. but what do use think ?

Now i can either go with 19' 20' 21' 22' ... so many sizes but i dont no what would be best either i guess a the bigger the better.

THE biggest concern i have is the compatibility of LCD monitor with MAC's and in particular my macbook (c2d intel)... i understand that some monitor are not compatible.

Can anyone direct me or help me decide what would be the best monitor for me to purchase.... also any advice for what not to buy or what is better than other products. I will mostly be using this computer for making graphics and designing stuff, watching movies, listening to music, occasional gaming (ie cs 1.6, BF:1942, UT original very very rarely on bootcamp but not important).

thank you MacTalk

All monitors I know of are compatible, as long as it has a DVI port, you're golden. Get the biggest screen you can afford for the price. As far as brands go, I've never been let down by Samsung (they're the priciest), but BenQ do a good job for the money, as well as Dell LCDs.

my 2 dell 19" fp937s' are doing a fine job, color and brightness has been good (but i do calibrate them properly)..

you are in ydney, have a look at

http://www.msy.com.au/ for some cheap prices!

(silly msy website)

this http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf


*no connection with msy!

i got an lg l204wt 20 inch, $339 from umart. the 22s don't have any higher res than the 20s so it didnt bother me having the smaller size, image looks crisper anyway

The ChiMei 22" is a great bargain - a mate got one a while back for the price it can't be beaten.

JB

Look at the resolution of the monitors. I've seen a lot of 22 inch displays that have a resolution of only 1680 x 1050. Apple's 23 inch has 1920 x 1200. Dell's 20 inch at $349 delivered looks like good value. You will need one of the $35 adapters from Apple to be able to connect an external monitor.

yeah... the cable i can get for $10 ebay

i am in sydney

what do use think about wide screen ? ye or na ? i think i like it !

Widescreen all the way!

I did the same as you for my macbook. I have a 19inch chimei widescreen that I sourced on http://www.staticice.com.au. I can't remember how much I paid, possibly high $300's.

I put my macbook on an iCurve stand and use a wireless keyboard and mouse. Then I plug in my mini-DVI to DVI adaptor into the macbook when I am at home and off I go!

It was really easy to set up and I regret not doing it earlier.