Cinema Display Upgrade
Posted on Monday, May 2nd, 2005 at 4:42 pm under Mac Geekery.Tags: apple, Mac Geekery, powerbook
It was hard to part from it, but it was time to update my faithfull 22″ Cinema Display. A good monitor that looked sharp and was impressive to visitors. But, five years in computer time is an eternity. And add to that the Apple factor. Apple’s constant redesign of their hardware line that made the monitor feel like it’s 10 years old when sitting next to a new one. Out with the transparent plastic and in with the new aluminum enclosures. I sold my 22″ and upgraded to a new 20″. Did I dare to say upgrade when i bought a smaller one? I upgraded indeed. So what did I buy into other than the new hip silver look and less pixels?
- This new monitor has DVI as opposed to the ADC which makes it work really nicely with the rest of the world.
- A thiner margin around the screen makes it seem slimmer.
- It has both USB and Firewire ports right behind the screen.
- I can tow away my keyboard right underneath it.
- Has a way smaller footprint
- Has a usefull powerbrick. I nitially disliked that it had a powerbrick, but as it turns out it’s a great feature for powerbooks because it can help keep the cords in reach if it is kept up on the desk top. Check out the picture above to visualize it. I no longer need to reach down to the floor to get my monitor cables everytime I hook up the powerbook to the monitor.
I went down 2 inches because I noticed I never really used the whole screen on my 22″. Besides, I’m trying to decluter and simplify my digital lifestyle and the 20″ fits the bill.
May 3rd, 2005 at 9:27 am
I’ve been thinking about getting one for a long time, but my student budget doesn’t allow for it. But now that they lowered the price again and with a nice student discount, who knows…
Do you think 20″ is enough? At the moment, I’m working quite well on a 15″ PowerBook, but sometimes the screensize is just so limited…
May 3rd, 2005 at 11:45 am
it’s definitely big enough. although if u need it for video editing or audio editing then a 23″ will give you more room. remember also that u can use the powerbook display as a second monitor.
May 3rd, 2005 at 12:26 pm
Nice upgrade. I want one too.
I noticed you still have a crappy Apple keyboard. I suggest you go and get yourself the Tactile Pro keyboard from Matias (http://matias.ca/tactilepro/). It’s basicly the old mac keyboard. Once you try it, you’ll never go back!
May 6th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
How much did your 22 go for? I’m thinking of doing PRECISELY what you did… You trendsetter you!
May 6th, 2005 at 1:46 pm
sold it for $700. hoping to get $50 for the adc adapter thingy. u should definitely do it. i know all the cool kids are doing it. ;-)
May 9th, 2005 at 7:31 am
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the newer 20″ display actually has MORE pixels than the older 22″ display. That’s assuming you have the same 22″ as I do, the very first 22″ display. I got mine in 1999. Still working, but definitely showing its age. Thinking of jumping to 2 20″ displays, side by side.
May 11th, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Yes, the 20″ does have a higher resolution than the 22″ Cinema display.
May 11th, 2005 at 7:33 pm
I got the Dell 2405FPW for my PB 15″. Excellent. It was cheaper than the Apple 20″ (at one time). Trust Dell to apply downward price pressure on large LCDs. Prior to Apple’s 30″ LCD, the 23″ was the big daddy. Now, 23–24″ LCDs are selling like hot cakes in Australia.
That looks like a wireless Apple keyboard, not a garden variety one.
May 11th, 2005 at 7:34 pm
What’s with the automatic conversion to smart quotes? :)
Aug 16th, 2005 at 7:32 pm
I also switched from the old cinema HD to the new style, but I stuck with the large size because I do a lot of two page layouts for books and find that I always use all the space available.
Q: I noticed that you’re powerbook lid is closed in your shots. Do you always use it that way? and do you run into any cooling problems?
Someone else suggested that you buy a Tactile Pro keyboard. FYI: I tried one and killed it in less than two months. Also, I was unable to type Shift-Command-Right arrow to cycle through tabs in safari using the right side of the keyboard… it worked using the shift and command keys from the left side though, but that made it a less comfortable one handed shortcut (the shift and command keys on the right side worked fine individually… just not with the right arrow key combo).
Nov 24th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
well - VERY intersting blog I found searching for “old cinema dispay” in google. Actually I was just comparing screen resolution between new PowerBooks (my) old 22″ 1G Cinema Display vs. new CDs from Apple.
Because I use Timbuktu to control my G5 with 22″ from the living room (on a 12″ PB) i was thining what new PowerBook would fit best to which Cinema Display (for Timbuktu experience). Well - the 17″ PB would fit best to the 21″ CD. Both have 1680×1050.
Theres my point. Now compare 22″ to the new 21″ and 17″ all with about the same resolution. I mean - isn’t the real cool thing about the 22″ the huge pixels and the easy read? You can lean back and still work on it. Where you have to get real close to work on a 17″ PB.
So - should I not just keep my 22″ for the time beeing and NOT upgrade?
By a 17″ PowerBook instead (and keep the 12″ because I love the form factor).
Or should I just buy nothing right now. Wait for the new Intel stuff…
greetings
gfisch
Nov 24th, 2005 at 1:44 pm
i would definetly wait for the new laptops that will be hopefully announced in january at MacWorld.
Feb 25th, 2006 at 8:27 am
wow, what a useful website, am thinking about buying a new 23″ apple screen, but cant work out in my mind if i will be happy with the plastic cheaper looking dell, even though its basically the same insides ! .. being on a tight buget i cant see being able to afford the new apple 23″ one for a long while, although it would be so useful right now, and for the future. Does anyone think that it would be a better idea to buy the old apple screen on ebay, rather than buy the new dell ?
Aug 25th, 2006 at 8:43 am
The 20″ Cinema Display actually has more pixels than the 22″, as mentioned above. It seems really weird that you bought it and didn’t notice this (I mean, even if you don’t look at the specs, it’s clearly noticeable if you put them side by side).
Nice blog btw.