Apple Archive

Choosing a Monitor for Your Mac

- 2000.09.22

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Whether you have a Mac II, a Quadra, or a Power Mac, you will need a monitor (unless, of course, you have x-ray vision and can see the files on your hard disk without a monitor). The best type of monitor depends on what you plan to use your Mac for.

If you have a Mac II series, I recommend a 14" monitor, such as the Macintosh Colour Display or the 13" (which shows the same as the 14") Apple High Resolution RGB Display. You cannot use PC monitors on a Mac II series video card, apart from some of the later high-resolution cards.

If you want to use the Internet on a Quadra or Power Mac, get a 15" or 17" multiscan monitor such as the Apple Multiple Scan 15 and 15av, or the Apple Multiple Scan 1705 17" display. These should work on almost any Quadra or Power Macintosh. Don't waste your money on a 17" monitor for your 6200-6320 series Performa; they can't support resolutions beyond 800 x 600.

If you are planning to do word processing full time, go with a 15" portrait full-page display, or, even better, a two-page display (these are about 19-21"). If you do go with a two-page, I recommend a grayscale model, since the price is much lower (about $50). There are a number available; there is of course the Apple two page monochrome display, and then the Radius Two-Page Display 20gs and 21gs. All three are nice monitors. There are others from companies that have gone out of business. Some of these can have nice pictures and be extremely good values, but make sure you look at the monitor before you buy.

When looking for a monitor it is imperative that you see the actual monitor that you will be purchasing in action. If you are buying a colour monitor, run several programs that show colour and run a screensaver. Then, bring up a picture and see if the colours look balanced. If they don't, check the controls. If the colors are still not correct, don't buy the monitor.

If it is a grayscale monitor, bring up a picture that shows a good variation of lights and darks. If the picture appears blurry or the monitor doesn't separate light from dark very well, look for another monitor. Also watch out for images burned into the screen.

On all monitors that can change resolution (called MultiScan or MultiSync monitors), try each and every resolution available. The monitor should have no problem switching resolutions. The monitor and/or the computer may not be able to support some settings. For example, if you set the Apple Multiple Scan 15 monitor to 512 x 384, it doesn't show a good picture because the monitor does not work with that resolution.

Also make sure to ask if this monitor works on your Mac. If you ask, "Will this 21" Apple monitor work with my Mac IIcx?" and get an answer like, "This 21" monitor will work with your Mac IIcx's built-in video," you have to be careful of that dealer. First of all, the IIcx doesn't have a built-in video card, and second, even if it did, it wouldn't be able to support anything more than the IIci can, which is the portrait monitor resolution of 640 x 870. A 21" monitor would need a much higher resolution than that. Don't buy from just any old dealer.

Only buy from dealers that you know and respect. If a dealer seems not to care about you and doesn't want to help you, don't buy there. Sometimes your local Apple dealer will have used monitors for sale, or you can go to a chain like Computer Renaissance, although they vary in dependability and stock. My local Apple dealer doesn't happen to carry monitors, but if you need help with something, such as finding out if a 21" monitor will work on your IIcx, they will try to help you. My local Computer Renaissance doesn't specialize in Mac hardware, but you can get some good deals there on VGA type monitors, which can be hooked to Mac LCs, Quadras, and Power Macs. I don't recommend ordering monitors over the Internet, as they can get damaged too easily in mail.

Most monitors will work with a Power Mac's logic board video, and if you own a 6100, 7100, or 8100 with an HPV card with maxed out video RAM, you can run almost any Mac or PC monitor there is.

The most important rule when buying a monitor, and I can't stress this enough, is to look at the one you are buying. Don't spend $50 on an unseen monitor only to find out that the one you got has too bright a picture, a shrunken picture, or washed out colour. Make sure you look at the monitor you will be taking home and compare it to others in the store.

Remember, a different monitor can improve the way you work and change the way that you think about your Mac. LEM

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