Macbook Air - Best & Most Compatible External Display

[The Rain Man]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to Mac as I've been a windows user all my life but decided to take the switch, listening to all the positive reviews by my friends and family members alike. So, I'll be getting my first MacBook Air 13" today and I'm pretty darned excited about it.

The problem I have is that for my scope of work, a 13" laptop would be too small for my daily needs and instead of having a separate CPU at home.. I was thinking of getting an external display and linking it up with my MBA. However, the 27" Apple Thunderbolt display is a little out of my budget and well.. a little too big for my comfort.

I'm not really good with computer configurations but I just wanted to ask you guys if there were any good external monitors (Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc) that you would recommend for a MBA. I'm looking at getting a 20" or so external monitor but am just worried about it's compatibility with a Macbook.

Thanks again in advance and I really appreciate all the help guys

 

[LeonaV]

Any monitor that supports DVI/VGA/HDMI/Displayport, can be used for the MBA. What's your budget first?

 

[The Rain Man]

Any monitor that supports DVI/VGA/HDMI/Displayport, can be used for the MBA. What's your budget first?

Any particular brands that are affordable and durable? I'm looking to get something below $200 if possible!

 

[malcom90]

Dell U2312H Ultrasharp

 

[B772ER]

firstly, you will need a thunderbolt to HDMI adapter before we can plug in a HDMI monitor to the MBA. most important piece of accessory there is to the whole setup.

 

[liquidy]

Will there be any lag when we use the Dell U2312H Ultra sharp display?

 

[Kikstyo]

Will there be any lag when we use the Dell U2312H Ultra sharp display?

No lag but you need to have thunderbolt-hdmi/dvi/dp connector.

 

[The Rain Man]

Dell U2312H Ultrasharp

I read up about this and it looks fantastic for the price. Most stores are even offering a 5 year warranty for it, so I'm definitely going to get this today. Many thanks for the suggestion cause I was considering Lenovo or Samsung and would've never thought of looking at Dell.

Which adaptor should I get to get this running?

 

[liquidy]

Read that Dell U2312H Ultra sharp does not have HDMI output.. So have to use DisplayPort adaptor. Also the screen is not as sharp due to the anti glare film on the display.

 

[The Rain Man]

Read that Dell U2312H Ultra sharp does not have HDMI output.. So have to use DisplayPort adaptor. Also the screen is not as sharp due to the anti glare film on the display.

I just bought the Dell U2312H from Best Denki today. It cost $299 but comes with a 5 year on-site warranty! But at the same time, I had to purchase the DVI adaptor for Macbook Air which cost $38 as well.

In my opinion, the 5 year on-site warranty was the attention grabber.

 

[limpe84]

Why not simply buy a HDMi to mini-display cable? Think those aren't too expensive.

That said, some external displays may not produce the colours properly when hooked up to a macbook via the HDMI connection. The reason for this is due to the lack of a proper RGB config in the display settings.

If you think your screen's colours look washed out and faded, try this solution. At least, it worked for me (I use a Samsung monitor at home).

Force RGB mode in Mac OS X to fix the picture quality of an external monitor | i reckon

 

[JustAnotherTroll]

using a Dell U2312HM via a Mini-DP to VGA adaptor. Looking good!

 

[The Rain Man]

using a Dell U2312HM via a Mini-DP to VGA adaptor. Looking good!

Some people recommended me to get the Mini-DP to DVI adaptor instead of the VGA. Any idea which would result in better performance?

 

[malcom90]

Some people recommended me to get the Mini-DP to DVI adaptor instead of the VGA. Any idea which would result in better performance?

the DVI adaptor is better. alternatively u can get a mini dp to dp adaptor. I got one for ~12 $ from ebay. working fine for last 2 years

 

[micarforum]

save yourself agony, get the thunderbolt display. other brands will give you issues when your macbook air sleeps, screen locks, disconnect display cable and reconnect again etc. And Apple will push the blame to the Monitor manufacturer, and Monitor manufacturer will push the blame to Apple.

 

[siegeholler]

save yourself agony, get the thunderbolt display. other brands will give you issues when your macbook air sleeps, screen locks, disconnect display cable and reconnect again etc. And Apple will push the blame to the Monitor manufacturer, and Monitor manufacturer will push the blame to Apple.

well since the thunderbolt display is like 1k+ vs normal displays at 300+ max it jolly well be seamless..

 

[the-alchemist]

dell s2340l, no regrets. using lightning to vga.