[Macworld]

Post your comments for Review: CrystalPro Monitor has a hard-to-beat price here

[icerabbit]

Question:
Does it have a VESA mount in the back?
Or is it through an awkward adapter bracket that slots into the base?

I see it backordered at monoprice and having a 100x100 VESA mount.

Happy to see a favorable review. It is a shame it only has a DVI connector.

We have a couple systems where the monitors' input can be switched so that either system can be single display or dual-display, as needed. It is also handy if you want to share a big screen between a desktop and use it with a notebook, where you just hook it up to the second or third input. Though in this case with the number of pixels it would have to be dual dvi and thunderbolt of course. Likely thunderbolt is too expensive to implement for the market they're aiming for.

This post has been edited by icerabbit: 06 February 2013 - 12:31 PM

[icerabbit]

( please ignore, I tried to trigger the pop-up add again, and apparently lack a delete option for this post )

This post has been edited by icerabbit: 06 February 2013 - 12:42 PM

[rloyola]

Quote

Question: Does it have a VESA mount in the back? Or is it through an awkward adapter bracket that slots into the base? I see it backordered at monoprice and having a 100x100 VESA mount.

The back of the display has a 100x100 mm VESA mounting pattern, so you can use a mount.

[lawrance]

I'm confused by one would need a duel-link adapter for $69 instead of a $6.95 DVI to Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt adapter? Especially since their is no USB on the monitor.

A couple of other cost considerations vs Apple monitors if connecting a MacBook Pro:

$79 Power adapter needed
$69 HD Camera to replace missing iSight Camera
$25 USB hub
$49 Speakers

[cycomachead]

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I'm confused by one would need a duel-link adapter for $69 instead of a $6.95 DVI to Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt adapter? Especially since their is no USB on the monitor. A couple of other cost considerations vs Apple monitors if connecting a MacBook Pro: $79 Power adapter needed $69 HD Camera to replace missing iSight Camera $25 USB hub $49 Speakers

The dual link adapter is due to the fact that it has a slightly different DVI connection than is supported by the cheaper adapters.

Personally, I just bought a 27" LED Cinema (Mac Pro use) and the extra cost did sting a bit, but I'm glad I went with the Apple monitor. 1 cable is much better to deal with, and if there's any problems I can go to the genius bar. I got a refurb for <$800 from a reputable dealer.

However, if I were going to buy two displays, or just needed them for a short time, these would definitely be on my list. (Right now, I'm using 27+30...)


ALSO, there's one other potentially big point that the article does miss about the quality. While the two display panels are the same model from LG, the ones Monoprice uses are not of the same quality standard. They use the "A-" panels which are (among other things) prone to more dead pixels than the "A" panels apple uses. Honestly, for practical, non-critical use it's probably not that big of a deal if you get a good A- panel, but there is a risk involved. In the past monoprice has had pretty decent customer support, but I'm not sure what their quality standards are for these.

[demani]

Microcenter has the Auria version of this for a similar price: crappy stand, but multiple inputs and functional OSD. Same excellent screen (A- or not). But a little bit more price wise.

Monoprice does have some excellent arms and mounts that will replace those crummy stands for a very reasonable cost. I got two and both handle the 27in screen without any issue.

[simnick]

I find the requirement for dual-link dvi as the only input as rather puzzling. No shipping mac have them, and almost no shipping PCs have them. They all have either mini-displayport, displayport, or HDMI. And only some desktop PCs have dual-link dvi. And then you need a $69 active converter from display-port, and it appears impossible to convert HDMI to dual-link DVI.
If it had some other input, I would happily buy it as a 2nd display for my MacBook Air at work and my iMac at home.

[DocNo]

I too am surprised they went with dual link DVI, but then again many PC's, especially laptops, sport VGA still

Even with the dual link DVI issue, I don't care about any of the other crap they left off - the result is an amazing price! I'm tempted to add two to my existing Dell U2711 for some motion sickness inducing gaming. The problem is I would need $1k in video card upgrades to push a reasonable amount of pixels for these panels.... Ahhh, first world delemmas....

This post has been edited by DocNo: 07 February 2013 - 06:18 AM

[DocNo]

Quote

I'm confused by one would need a duel-link adapter for $69 instead of a $6.95 DVI to Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt adapter?

Single link or straight DVI doesn't have the bandwidth to support the native resolution of these panels.

Quote

ALSO, there's one other potentially big point that the article does miss about the quality. While the two display panels are the same model from LG, the ones ... I'm not sure what their quality standards are for these.

The article did talk about their 5 dead pixel policy being better than most venders 10 dead pixel policy, and they also talked about the ease of getting a replacement for one that had an image problem.

[RudolfHelder]

The same monitor, but with DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, and other connectors, and which is excellent is sold as a Nixeus on amazon. Buyer comments are very positive. I've had one for several months and I too am very happy with this alternative to Apple's ACD.

[allstarmelegs]

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I find the requirement for dual-link dvi as the only input as rather puzzling. No shipping mac have them, and almost no shipping PCs have them. They all have either mini-displayport, displayport, or HDMI. And only some desktop PCs have dual-link dvi. And then you need a $69 active converter from display-port, and it appears impossible to convert HDMI to dual-link DVI. If it had some other input, I would happily buy it as a 2nd display for my MacBook Air at work and my iMac at home.

Wrong. The Mac Pro ships stock with a ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card which "includes two Mini DisplayPort outputs and a dual-link DVI port." Not sure if this will work with the DVI to MiniDisplayPort adapter that Apple sells, as the Monoprice technician I spoke with was very vague about the compatibility issues. I'm going to pre-order and test will all Mac's in my work environment then post results. Thanks.

[baer]

Quote

While the two display panels are the same model from LG, the ones Monoprice uses are not of the same quality standard. They use the "A-" panels which are (among other things) prone to more dead pixels than the "A" panels apple uses.

Would you mind citing your source? I'd be interesting in learning more. Thanks.

[bwolfe22]

Save your money. This monitor (and many other IPS monitors) are NOT compatible with a mac (I tried it with both a mini and a mbp). Spoke with a technician at monoprice to confirm. Their web site now states that it is not compatible with any mac at this time.