Recommend me a 27" display...

Jen Yates said:

I need 2560x1400 as an absolute minimum otherwise I might as well just get another 24" 1920x1200 screen to sit next to the one I have.

Click to expand...

The upside of going with another 24" display is that you would save money and have more screen real estate.

That extra 3" significantly increases the price of a display. I've stayed with high-end 24" monitors that I buy when they are offered at a significant discount. I paid $550 for an NEC display with an $899 MSRP.

I went from a Macbook Pro with a 1200 dot display to an NEC PA271. The large, color-correct screen of the NEC is lovely, but I could have gone with a 24" that has 1200 dots and been happy. 1200 pixels on the short side allows full ability to examine detail; 1080, imo, would not.
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-KB-

If you can live with 1920x1080 this NEC display is $516 at B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/741783-REG/NEC_PA231W_BK_MultiSync_PA231W_BK_23_Widescreen.html

This is FANTASTIC. I've been looking for a solid 27" monitor and I've been debating whether to get something pro-grade or something mid-range, cheaper. I narrowed it down to the NEC PA271 for the pro-grade option, wanted to get some opinions. Came to dpreview first and I find this thread. Fantastic. I think I'm going to go for it.

MrMojo said:

Jen Yates said:

I need 2560x1400 as an absolute minimum otherwise I might as well just get another 24" 1920x1200 screen to sit next to the one I have.

Click to expand...

The upside of going with another 24" display is that you would save money and have more screen real estate.

Click to expand...

You misunderstand me.

I have a rMBP and a 24" screen. I did buy a Dell U2711 and had it for a few weeks but after two units with identical faults (Would not always switch on) I got a refund.

I'm not looking to replace my 24" with a 27" but use my retina 15", 24" and 27" all together.

Ya know, if you decide to get the Apple display, you almost might as well get a 27" iMac. It's basically the same screen. You can get a refurb 27" iMac from the Apple Store for about $1400, with a quad core i5 -- and, it accepts video input, so you can use it as a monitor with your MacBook Pro also.

If you don't like refurb, the price new is $1,700, so in that case you'd probably just go with the monitor. Note, though, that the Apple Store refurbs come with the same warranty as the new product. I bought a refurb iMac and a refurb MacBook Air recently; and at least from an exterior point of view they were both indistinguishable from brand new to my eyes.