News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

March 5, 2006

rivals

Save Some Cash with a Dell

Posted Mar. 5, ’06, 6:12 PM PT by Scott Silverman
Category | Apple » Rivals

dellmonitor.jpgDell is not a brand you will find many Mac users buying. In fact, I try to avoid Dell at all costs, even walking on the other side of the walkway when passing a Dell store at the mall. However, when it comes to my hard-earned green and keeping a budget, I start to view things in a new light. Yes, I bought a Dell monitor for my Power Mac G5, and aside from that ugly Dell logo on the front, I love it. I needed a widescreen monitor to go with my new setup for video editing, Photoshop, word processing, and web browsing—all things it really helps to have a widescreen monitor format. So naturally, I looked towards Apple’s 20-inch Cinema Display. But at a price tag of $800, I decided to check out my other options.

A quick Google search revealed Dell’s 20-inch widescreen 2005FPW. As it turns out, these two displays use exactly the same Phillips-branded LCD panel. The only difference is the backlight module and the casing. Oh yeah, and the Dell’s selling price was $480. It was a difficult decision, giving up that beautiful, aluminum-enclosed, Apple-logoed display, but I did it. This decision saved me $350, and also gained me a few features.

The Dell display has four total inputs—a DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video. That means that you can switch between any of these four sources with the push of a button on the front of the monitor. Additionally, the Dell can move in ways the Apple 20-inch only dreams of—up, down, left, right, back and forth, side to side. The Dell has performed great for me over the past six months I’ve had it. It gives great color accuracy along with my Gretag-Macbeth display calibrator, which is much needed for my digital video and photography work. If your interested in a new widescreen monitor, check out Dell.com. When you’re at the checkout page, it will have a spot to enter a Dell coupon code. A quick Googling of “dell coupon codes” returns plenty of money-saving numbers. Entering a coupon code saved me $70 off the price of my monitor. Now if only I could get past that ugly little Dell symbol staring me in the face…


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