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A1082 Cinema Display, is price worth it?
- Thread starter Jon183
- Start date
I totaled the price to $80au which is $70au now since seller thought it was 24" instead of 23". Im getting a 24v 100w psu for $20 and splitting power wires instead of paying more than the monitor its self.
I had two of those monitors. One died, the other still works but it's on its second power supply. (Blown power supplies were a depressingly common problem with these, and they're also prone to issues with the control/usb hub board.) I'll say honestly that for their time they were really nice monitors, but just keep in mind that at this point they're old enough we're getting to the far end of the bathtub curve. $70 frankly seems a little steep.
These monitors used CCFL backlighting so how good it's going to look is going to depend crucially on how many miles it has on it. Replacing the backlights is far from trivial and will almost certainly cost more than it's worth.
These monitors used CCFL backlighting so how good it's going to look is going to depend crucially on how many miles it has on it. Replacing the backlights is far from trivial and will almost certainly cost more than it's worth.
You can replace the CCFL tube - buy a set of 2 incase you break one off ebay for under $10 - you need to be handy with soldering iron tho - I did that for PowerBook G3 and made huge difference. Im also considering LED upgrade as well.
Cheers
AP
Cheap LED lighting power supplies can be used, and work just fine. A little wiring hackery is needed, but if I can do it, anyone can. So you don't necessarily need to shell out for one of those white bricks.
Details readily available via your favourite search engine.
Details readily available via your favourite search engine.
LED backlight conversion kits are a thing that eBay is full of these days, so, sure, it's probably doable. (Those monitors are a bear to take apart, though, just like anything else Apple since 2001.) Of course, reading up on them a significant problem with these conversions is the spectrum from LED lights differs significantly from the original CCFLs, so in all likelihood the monitor's color calibration is going to be irrevocably blown. Probably not a big deal for casual use, but still something to think about if you're considering buying the monitor for any sort of "production" use. If you just want it because you want a matching monitor for a G5 that's a "collector's item" then, sure, not a big deal.
One thing I will say is now that I know they're such a "thing" I'm actually considering getting one of the conversion kits to try retrofitting this old 1600x1200 NEC Multisync LCD I picked out of the trash a while back that has utterly spent CCFLs. It appears it's a model that can actually do NTSC frequencies, which would make it useful for retro stuffs.
I am just talking about a power supply, rather than any LED conversion of the monitor per se, so I can't imagine why this would impact on colours. Here's the link that got me going: http://pixelchimp.net/blog/pixel-chimp/replacement-power-supply-apple-cinema-display .
My new ps is smaller than the one used there, cost something like $15, and involved less wire cutting, as I reused wiring from the dead Apple ps that came with the monitor. So I have no tape and the lead from the screen to the ps is still intact in my hack. The little board to the left came out of the dead Apple ps, and I just plug the Cinema Display into it. The lower set of wires go to the wall socket.
I think all I needed was to confirm in the specs that the new supply supplied sufficient power for the 23" display in use.
Came from eBay/China. Doesn't everything?
My ps:
My new ps is smaller than the one used there, cost something like $15, and involved less wire cutting, as I reused wiring from the dead Apple ps that came with the monitor. So I have no tape and the lead from the screen to the ps is still intact in my hack. The little board to the left came out of the dead Apple ps, and I just plug the Cinema Display into it. The lower set of wires go to the wall socket.
I think all I needed was to confirm in the specs that the new supply supplied sufficient power for the 23" display in use.
Came from eBay/China. Doesn't everything?
My ps:
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After a month, the supply arrived from china, I got a brick that a laptop would use, 24v 4a, it was $12 AUD and looks shifty, but the monitor is real bright, I decided to just solder the red to red and black to black instead of putting a DC jack on the monitor side. It would of been a wiser idea to solder on a female jack to the monitor power cable but I can do that when the supply fails.
Supply can be seen under right side of monitor. Keyboard is plugged into monitor USB port.
Supply can be seen under right side of monitor. Keyboard is plugged into monitor USB port.
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I picked up the 23" Cinema Display off eBay about 6 months ago for a similar price ($75). Arrived at the guy's house to learn it included the box, which was neat. Plenty of sellers are trying to get well over $200 for these displays, but when you look at the actual "completed auctions" on eBay, AU$70-$80 is the price people are actually paying. Have to bear in mind the limited market here in Australia compared to USA - keeps prices higher longer.
I just got a second one for $72 to match the one I got last year for $65, so I concur with your assessment of what people are willing to pay (there were numerous options around $60-$80; I chose this one because the seller was including the power brick.)
Speaking of which, I guess I'll have to be mindful of the inevitable power brick failures. That won't stop me from using them, though, and they look really nice (I like how well they match, too; I was using my first A1082 and an Acer display, and while it worked, it just felt kludgy).
I'd rather not have payed quite as much as I did, but even $177 ($65+$72+$40 for a power brick, as my first display didn't come with one) is a far cry from the price they originally sold for ($2000!!)
c
Speaking of which, I guess I'll have to be mindful of the inevitable power brick failures. That won't stop me from using them, though, and they look really nice (I like how well they match, too; I was using my first A1082 and an Acer display, and while it worked, it just felt kludgy).
I'd rather not have payed quite as much as I did, but even $177 ($65+$72+$40 for a power brick, as my first display didn't come with one) is a far cry from the price they originally sold for ($2000!!)
c
Update: Monitor with cheap brick still works although my eyes are killing me, I want to get something newer and let the G5 tower use this.
For $14 AUD, its turned out to be a good investment. I use this monitor for probably 5 hours each day and I don't see any issues with it so far.
For the pricing, I can understand why these sell for quite a bit, especially the 23in+ models, they have DVI and resolutions over 1080p as well as the Apple logo and yes, they were once ultra expensive.
For $14 AUD, its turned out to be a good investment. I use this monitor for probably 5 hours each day and I don't see any issues with it so far.
For the pricing, I can understand why these sell for quite a bit, especially the 23in+ models, they have DVI and resolutions over 1080p as well as the Apple logo and yes, they were once ultra expensive.
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