AnandTech: Dell 2005fpw vs. Apple Cinema Display 20-inch
By Ryan Block 
posted April 27th 2005 4:40PM
posted April 27th 2005 4:40PM
By now it's no secret that Dell's 2005fpw and
Apple's 20-inch Cinema Display use the
exact same LG.Philips LCD (literally, it's part# LM201W01). Of course, that 100%+ price differential can be a bit hard
to swallow with the Dell going for as little as $350 on sale, and the Apple only today cutting their prices on the
screen to $800, so AnandTech asked (and answered) whether Apple's is actually any better than Dell's. The conclusion?
We won't keep you in suspense—they scored near identically in all verticals, but the Dell edged out on its price, which
is more than marginal difference.
[Thanks, Tomur]
In the UK the prices are now the same (550 GBP) so the Apple looks the better bet to me.
Anyone else find it ridiculous that the UK price on the 2005FPW is 550? That's over 1,000 USD...
If you're looking for a better car annalogy then lets use the VW Tourag and The Porsche Cayenne. Same except for the shell in general. There's a turbo version of the Cayenne like the firewire on the Apple.
From an industrial designers POV, Apple is not more expensive JUST because it can be. The aluminium housing would cost vastly more than Dells plastic shell, added to this Apple in general will end up selling far less monitors to the general population any way as they are percieved as more expensive so don't even get a look in. If you amortise the cost of all of this out you'd find that Apple HAS TO sell them for around this price point and probably wouldn't be making more profit on each monitor than dell would.
Make sense?
I'd take the Cayenne any day. Just have to work harder!
Joey Geraci wrote:
"As far as the viewing angles that somebody mentioned earlier, I just checked the apple website and I couldn't find any mention of viewing angles at all, ... not really any technical specs were listed, other than the bare basics. Mac zealots seeing net mirages maybe? As for the dell, all I have to click are "tech specs" and I get a whole bevy of features listed, including the aforementioned 88 deg viewing angles."
just go to the cinema display page in the hardware section and click tech specs.
http://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html
maybe you don't know how to use the interweb?
"Anyone else find it ridiculous that the UK price on the 2005FPW is 550? That's over 1,000 USD..."
yeah this sucks!!! if sub $400, then i thought it would be cheap here in the uk. poor effort to uk prices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i would vote for a party if they got rid of these stupid price differences. (i don't know much about the economy).
The whole idea with sheep is that you can basically lead them anywhere. I don't think it's my fault you didn't follow my logic. The point is that the Apple fanboys think they are special for doing something different, but in fact they are just following the marketing strategy by Apple to make you think you are special. I buy things depending on their value, not on whether or not I think it's cool to own them. And just to be clear here... it does not make you special to own an Apple product. It seems to me the better "s" word would be "sucker", or should I use the other "s" word again... "sheep".
oooh how to start up a biggg fight between mac and pc fans... hmmm ah yess.. diss one without reason! GO!
Ha! Anyone that has ever owned/driven a benz/bmw/etc knows that they are not the same as a Toyota, even with the same engine. What a terrible analogy.
As for the monitors, for $800, two Dell 20"'s side-by-side beats one $800 Apple monitor anyday.
What are you guys smoking? The Dell 2005FPW is currently selling for $749: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=320-4111&category_id=4009
R-Bro: That's before coupons.
They're smoking the Home & Home Office:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4111&category_id=4009
Though it looks like the sale that was going on to drive the cost down to the $400's (I forget exactly how much it was), has ended (it's now in the $500's).
But I wouldn't worry too much. Knowing Dell, in time the sale will be back.
Yeah they have a sale every week. The 2405 is back up to 1199 from 999 for the past two weeks.
Price jumped back to $561.
Pretty frustrating to shop at Dell, I'd say. Last night one price. Next day it's up $80 or so / or close to $200 when it apparently was on sale.
Most recent Home coupons brought my new 2005FPW shipped to my door for $418.
I have enjoyed the picture-in-picture and side-by-side modes that let me watch TV while still waiting for an important email, and the pivot function for long web forms. I've tested it on a PC, Mac, DVD player, and VCR.
As mentioned in the Anand review, the Apple Cinema display offers very few comparable features.
I saw the price jump over $100 from 1am this morning. So I called up Dell and asked nicely for yesterdays price and they changed the price for me.
Being an apple zealot... its odd to hear myself say that I was pleased with Dells service.
Uhh, about the viewing angle...
Dell lists a "horizontal viewing angle of +/- 88 degrees", whereas the apple specs simply state a horizontal viewing angle of "170 degrees". The key point here is the plus/minus on the dell spec... I could be mistaken, but I believe this means that dell is REALLY listing a horizontal viewing angle of 88*2 = 176 total degrees, which would make much more sense. If the dell viewing angle was really only 88 total degrees it would simply DISAPPEAR just by looking a little bit from the side. Since I'm looking at dell WS right now, this is obviously not the case.
Does anyone know who manufactures the LCD panel mounts contained within the photos of post # 37.
They look amazing.
Thanks,
nunu
Kensington
http://www.kensington.com/html/1851.html
Matt:
Was your mother run over by an Apple delivery truck or something? Because you have serious issues.
Different people buy different products for different reasons -- who cares.
Check out the websites of both Dell and Apple - the retail price is 749 and 799 USD respectively. Though Dell is offering it at 561.75 on their website as a current promo.
How justified is comparing the promo price of one of the vendors of a manufacturer (which is how the ~350 comes in) with the retail price of another product of a manufacturer? Not at all.
The only comparison that can be there would be between 749 and 799 (fair) or 561.75 and 799 at best (somewhat fair). The Dell is available for "17 USD a month" for 5 years and the Apple for "18 USD a month" for 5 years on the official sites. That doesn't seem like a lot of difference does it?
There's a 50-60 USD difference between the two the way I see it, which can be explained by the Firewire ports alone I should think, if not the better "looks"/ display quality as some have reported/ economy of scale etc etc. What "deals" you can get on a product can't be a point of comparison, or can it?
What spins people can put on a story.
Welcome to rip off Britain. Please leave your wallet at the doorstep. Enjoy your visit.
Does Apple do promos? And if so do they do it with the same frequency as Dell? If no to either of those I think it is perfectly justifiable to compare the promo price of the Dell to the normal price of the Apple.
Ultimately it comes down to what people will probably end up paying.
Re: Kunal (#121),
You obviously don't know anything about dell. Dell's "promo" prices, for all intents and purposes, are the ACTUAL PRICES that smart buyers should expect to pay. The $750 retail price is a joke. Since the 20" widescreen went on sale last fall, it has dropped to the $400-$600 range probably twice a month, EVERY month. It will continue to do this FOREVER, just like dell does with ALL of their products (PDAs, laptops, cameras, etc.). Don't believe me? Check out out the history of dell prices by searching on techbargains or xpbargains. The REALLY good prices from dell are always listed there, often with discount codes that dell supplies to these sites to attract customers. This is how I picked mine up for $426 shipped last week, and this is how all of my friends did too. All you have to do is wait 2-4 weeks and almost any product they sell will go on a massive sale. Dell has been doing this for years.
Even without these insider-deal websites, dell frequently puts the 20" widescreen on advertised sale, at least once a month. It's not really a "promo" anymore when it's consistently on sale for its entire lifetime.
Re: melt
Who doesn't know about the Dell-our-prices-are-a-lottery system - what you buy now for 600 bucks, could be available for 500 a couple of hours later or maybe even 700. Depends on which side of the bed you woke on that day, eh? ;-)
It's hardly a lottery.
Unless you consider it a lottery that you are guaranteed to win no matter what if you just wait a short time.
As opposed to a company that does not do these kinds of promotions... which could be considered a lottery that you are guaranteed not to win.
PS: Despite what it might sound like (and despite the amount of Dell stuff in our home office), I'm in no way a Dell advocate (though I used to be... I guess you could consider me a recovering addict ^_~).
As a matter of fact I tend not to reccomend Dell to my friends anymore (though I used to preach the gospel of Dell like a good little zealot).
All because of a severe downgrade in their customer service (ever since they began outsourcing it to India).
Horror stories... [shivers]
.. but that's a tale for another day. ^_^
PPS: Anyone have any suggestions for a new "church" for me to join (non Apple please)?
I can definitely second the fact that dell "deals" are the norm rather than some freak thing. Would I rather the deals just be permanent and save a little bit of hassle? Sure, but as I figure it, the couple of people that buy the monitor at the higher price allow me to buy it at the vastly reduced price. Better than pay the exorbtant price all the time, no matter what. (I'm looking at you, Apple).
#13, does he miss the point because the original commentor said "Toyota and Benz" versus "Toyota and Lexus", which would be a more appropriate description of this monitor battle?
The toyota vs Lexus anology is good, but which is the Lexus and which is Toyota? Lets take a look..
Firstly the apple and dell use the same lg phillips tube
They tie in this category 0-0
dell has a 176 degree Viewing angle
Apple has a 170 degree Viewing Angle
Dell wins 1-0
Dell has a 12ms response time
Apple has a 16ms response time
Dell wins * manufacturer response times used 2-0
Dell has 4 usb ports
Apple has x usb ports + firewire
Apple Wins 2-1
Dell has 4 inputs, with pip and pbp
Apple .... Nothing
Dell Wins big time 3-1
Dell has PVC casing and is black
Apple has aluminum casing in white
Both look good but Apple wins b/c its true the aluminum casing does transfer heat away better, and totaly closes off the interior from the world
Apple wins 3-2
Dell offers 3 yr warranty
Apple only 1
Dell wins big time again (if their product is so great why dont they back it up with a great warranty )
4-2
Advertised Brightness 250 apple, Dell 300, Dell wins in Luminance as shown in the benchmarks of this review
Dell Wins 5-2
Contrast Ratio
Dell 600:1
Apple 250:1
Dell Wins 6-2
Application Analysis
Apple as stated has a "washed out look"
Dell the colors were much brighter
Dell wins 7-2
Price Dell costs alot less then apple
Dell Wins 8-2
Cable Management - Dell has more inputs
Apple has less cables but creates a non-messy look
I think Dell went with a more "standardzied" approach here and deserves credit,
it gives you flexibility to plug what you want.. plus I can hookup 2 computers, my dvd player, and my camera at the same time to my monitor and flip through inputs or PIP and PBP with the click of a button. I dont know if you guys noticed, but dell also offers a 12V supply using an ac/dc adapter or for connectivity in your car using a ciagarette ligher or directly to your battery.
Dell Wins 9-2
Rotation and pivoting - Apple is stuck in a position
Dell lets you bring your monitor up and down, 90 degrees left and right, as well as 45 degrees up and down
The monitor can also be pivoted to a 10:16 RATIO with the supplied drivers
Dell wins by far 10-2
Final Conclusion, no doubt about it the Dell is alot better of a monitor than the Apple which is offered at a higher price with a shorter warranty. I would go for the dell even if it was more. You'd have to be stupid not to read the review and still go with Apple. Just the different inputs make it worthy. And abouty personal style.. its really not a "quantitive" observation which one looks better. To me the apple monitor looks cheap and the dell looks alot better even though the apple has a better aluminum casing, it does not look as good. Again its my personal opinion that the dell looks better and I do not consider it as a part of my review since its not a quantitative observation. I bought the Dell but I compared the two before at the store. The Apple also has a glossy screen on top of the lcd panel which makes you see your reflection at certain angles.. sure the effect looks good but the dell is easier on my eyes since I dont see any glare or reflections. And Firewire would be mostly useless to PC users, since they dont utilize this much unless you have a digital camcorder or something.
Anyways final thought I want to leave with is, do you go for looks of functionality? If your obsessed with "apple" products, dont even read this review, go buy your Apple and don't bother with the Dell. your mind is obviously set because Apple has burnt an image into your head to go with it. It is like Coke vs Pepsi, when you ask peoople why they like it they say its the taste, but really its not, just do a pop quiz. When people think of dell and Apple they like the "image" that Apple is all about quality, creativity, and its rare. For all you other people that perfer functionality or taste over "Looks", the Dell is for you. If your not shallow and see things for what they are worth, not looks but funcionality, the dell is for you! Hope this helps. 10-2 is the final score comparison.
#130, by Radz is the most intelligent and objective post I've seen so far! Wow, and with those features, I'm amazed by the versatility. By the way, there will be a 35% off coupon available tomorrow morning for this 2005fpw! Check out www.slickdeals.net for details.
I don't see what the whole problem is, 90% of the time people will go for what is cheapest. In this case I'd go for the Cinema display cause it's 5 cheaper. It seems to me that the people who really are getting screwed are dell customers outside of the US.
Does anyone know if the new Dell 20 inch monitor work with Mac Os9 and the GeForce card in Quicksilver G4?
For those based in Europe who have to pay a ridiculous price for the Dell:
Use ebay. I live a lot further from the States than anywhere in Europe. I bought the Dell for $450 USD including shipping - works fine. Just make sure you get Revision A01 or newer.
After reading this thread, I looked for Dell deals. I was ready to buy an Apple. I bought the Dell monitor for $396, less than the Apple. It is a bit bright but will work fine for me. It also, pivots 90 degrees and my ATI 8500 supports that with the latest drivers and in Tiger. It has a 3 year warranty-two points against Apple. Of course the Apple looks better but more than 50% less is just too much of a price difference. I wanted something that works for me. Both do that. Price comes next.
I live in Finland, and here both Apple and Dell cost around 800 euros. I know that's overpriced compared to US prices, but I really need a good LCD to replace my old CRT. I compared the monitors and it was a easy choice, seeing that Dell has multiple inputs (including composite and s-video inputs, I think those will be useful with game consoles etc. as I don't have a space for regular TV). The biggest difference in my opinion is the warranty. If I spend 800 euros on a monitor, I want it to have a long warranty, like Dell. I really can't understand Apple's warranty policy. I just wonder why so few of the ones writing here have thought of that...
I don't think anyone has mentioned that the apple monitor stand is designed (it seems) to set a closed laptop on (when you are driving the monitor with a laptop. The aluminum to aluminum contact between the powerbook and the monitor provides excellent heatsinking (of the computer, not the monitor!) which is normally provided by having the laptop open.
Not that this makes a huge difference, but its nice to slide the powerbook out of the way, under the monitor, and know that it is not overheating though closed.
I just purchased a 2005fpw. I have been researching good displays for video editing and i actually ordered this from dell for a killer deal. I had to purchase a windows based computer for someone in the office so i ordered the 2005fpw with it for only 100 dollars. I am purchasing a quad 2.5 g5 in january and needed a good display so i went with this..if you can justify spending 800 dollars when i payed 100 thats fine..if youve got the money then thats your business..i on the other hand enjoy having a great display that performs nearly identically and still having 700 dollars in my wallet..