So I went and bought a Dell monitor...

[Blue Velvet]

...for home use, that is.

Forgive me all, for I have sinned.

It was a very urgent, impulse purchase as the CRT I'm using now has started to cut out and behave very strangely over the past 48 hours. I've had to order something quick as I can't afford any down time this week.

It's a 20" widescreen (2007WFP) and I have a question about it, but first, let me share my thinking on this...

I really, really, really tried to like the 20" Apple Cinema Display but for the life of me I just couldn't justify spending £529 (about US$1000) for a 20" monitor when the Dell ended up costing less than half the price at £261.60 (about US$500) including shipping and tax.

So I went and ordered it and within hours, I got an email confirmation that it had begun shipping from Ireland with a tentative shipping date and today, I've had two phone calls; one from the courier to nail down an exact delivery time, and one from Dell to confirm the address. I've never had the equivalent level of service when ordering from Apple for corporate orders.

Although it'll be mainly used for general home stuff as well as work (print design), it's not intended as a substitute for the work setups where most of my design work gets done. I don't think I'll be buying three Dell 24" or 30"s for the studio come June, somehow...

Anyway, so it's on its way and my question is this:

It has a couple of USB ports. I presume they're USB2? If they are, will I get USB2 speeds from them if the monitor is linked to the G4 by DVI cable?

The reason I ask is that the G4 is a dual 1.4 with USB1 as standard, and if I get a new iPod next year, it won't sync by firewire. So I'm thinking I can possibly avoid buying a USB2 card for the Mac if the monitor can deliver what I need for the iPod.

Or have I got that completely wrong?

 

[mkrishnan]

You got it already, BV?

Are you enjoying your day at home so far, love?

Unless I'm very mistaken, there should be a USB pass-through connector at the computer-end of the cable that goes from the Mac to the Dell -- Apple and Dell have both proffered "integrated" connectors, but DVI isn't integrated in itself.

So you have to plug a USB connector from the monitor to a USB port of the Mac. And at this point you have your answer... you'll get USB2 if the port on the Mac is USB2, and not if not.

EDIT: See the picture on this page. The item 7, the upstream USB port, is the one that connects to the Mac ultimately. If the DVI cable that came with the monitor didn't have a separate branch-off that connects to this, then you must run a USB cable from that port to a USB port on the Mac.

 

[ronni3]

There is one USB connection on the monitor that gets connected to your PC/Mac, and only then are you able to use the rest. You can pretty much think of it as a built-in USB hub.

 

[Blue Velvet]

You got it already, BV?

No. Wednesday afternoon which is really fast considering the public holidays.

So you have to plug a USB connector from the monitor to a USB port of the Mac. And at this point you have your answer... you'll get USB2 if the port on the Mac is USB2, and not if not.

Ah, OK. Hopes dashed. Thanks...

<trudges away from thread to check prices of USB2 PCI cards>

 

[mkrishnan]

I edited and added a link in my previous post... that'll show you what you're up against. The only part I'm not super clear on is whether it comes with an "integrated cable" that'll hook up to both USB and DVI on both ends... traditionally monitors always come with cables, but I don't see anything discussing that on this page. I have to defer to someone who owns one.

 

[Blue Velvet]

There is one USB connection on the monitor that gets connected to your PC/Mac, and only then are you able to use the rest. You can pretty much think of it as a built-in USB hub.

OK. Many thanks for explaining that. It's my first LCD panel, you see.

 

[Sesshi]

I'm not sure if it works (only googled briefly and there do seem to be G4 users with it) but you can have a Belkin F5U220 if that helps any.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=107412

 

[Alex Urchin]

Although I use ACD's, the 20 inch Dell is a fine display even for diserning pro. The 24 however, is another matter.

 

[Blue Velvet]

I'm not sure if it works (only googled briefly and there do seem to be G4 users with it) but you can have a Belkin F5U220 if that helps any.

Cheers.

Thanks for looking. Sonnet cards are also an option. I'll get one next month with a SATA card and some new drives. I've got to stagger some hardware purchases in order to accommodate some savings.