Best LCD to go along with an Apple 30" in portrait orientation?

[pawstar]

Hello Folks,

I am hoping to buy an Apple 30" Cinema LCD before the end of this year (hoping for a price drop), and I would like to get a second monitor in portrait orientation that will fit in nicely along side the apple so the two would match (from my calculations, it would be a 18.2"). My concerns are that it has good color rendition and that it is reasonably fast for video ... gaming performance would be nice, but not my primary concern. What would be my best choice?

TIA

[Maad]

I would just like to warn you that you should kick the tires and actually test this monitor in portrait rotation for at least 10-15 minutes in person before you get one for the express purpose of using it in that way ..

If you're unlucky, you might discover something about vertical viewing angles and eye/head aches. The 30 inch ACD might not have the best viewing angles for upclose usage **in portrait mode** (this is key) and I've known this rotation issue to cause some headaches (literally). A good way to test this is to go to an apple dealer and just look at the monitor sideways for a few minutes (the salespeople might look at you funny but it'll be worth it..). If things kinda look funny and appear to be flashy or popping out I would avoid getting this for the portrait mode..

If you're lucky, everything will be fine. Just a warning for caution :)

[tys90]

I think he wants the second monitor to be in portrait to match the height of the Apple display in landscape (normal)? That's what I understood atleast.

[Yonzie]

The pixel pitch of the 30" ACD is 0.2505mm and the resolution is 2560 x 1600.
In order to avoid headaches and focus-issues, you want something with the same pixel pitch, which necessitates it being 1600px wide.
The 20" ACD comes pretty close with a pp of 0.258mm, but it is 1680px wide...
What you probably want is a screen based on the Samsung LTM201U1 panel, which is 20.1" with a pp of 0.255mm, sutch as the Samsung 204T.

[pawstar]

I think he wants the second monitor to be in portrait to match the height of the Apple display in landscape (normal)? That's what I understood atleast.

That is correct. I am hoping to use only the second smaller monitor in portrait mode, the 30" Cinema will remain in landscape mode.

[soekev]

I use the Dell 2001fp next to my Apple 30" and it works fairly well.

I use the Dell w/ a 2nd computer though. Dunno if you wanted to use the 2nd video out on a single computer or a 2nd computer.

[pawstar]

I have looked into the Samsung 204T and its specs seem impressive (its a shame the buttons are not hidden on the side like on the Apples lcds. Is the Samsung my best bet (in terms of color rendition and video performance or are there better monitors out there ... from what I've looked, pretty much every single monitor manufacturer has a 20" with 0.25x pp ... but hard to know which one is really the best (but doesn't cost a fortune, the 30" takes away all of that). Also, are there any 18.x" LCD's that have a 0.25x pp?

[tys90]

To get a .25 pp you have to have a 1600px wide resolution and only the 20" and above LCDs support that IIRC.