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I'd love to get this LCD monitor, but I'm wondering if I should hold out until more LED monitors are on the market.

I really like the brightness of the 27" iMac monitor and the above monitor is only rated at 5 cd/m2 less than that monitor, but wouldn't a back lit LED monitor appear to be much brighter than an LCD monitor? How do LCD monitors compare to their LED counterparts?

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Apple monitors are generally better quality. –  Josh K Apr 27 '10 at 16:15
In terms of general build quality or in terms of which specs (response time / brightness / contrast / color calibration)? In terms of specs I can't see much of a difference, though mac led monitors do seem brighter than some of the lcd monitors I've used. Either way I'll be forking out a lot of money so I'd like to make an informed decision. –  evan Apr 27 '10 at 16:42
I'd be more likely to upvote this question if it used the terminology better. Both monitor types we're discussing are LCD monitors. The difference is whether the LCD is edge-backlight with CCFL tubes shining on a reflector, versus being directly backlight by a matrix of LEDs. So it's not "LCD monitor vs. LED monitor", it's "CCFL-backlit LCD vs. LED-backlit LCD" –  Spiff Apr 28 '10 at 2:00

2 Answers 2

up vote 3 down vote accepted

If you ever think you should wait for better display technology -- the answer is probably yes.
However, if you need a display today, your question should be which is the right one and will LED display prices fall faster than your urge for the display rises.

Some references,

  1. PC-Mag: How to Buy an LCD Monitor
  2. CNet: LED vs. LCD: Which is better?
  3. LED TV and LCD TV : A Comparative Study

You can also try AskAboutGadgets Stack Exchange.

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Its mainly about brightness and power consumption. LED screens have less power consumption and generally higher brightness.

If you're looking at quality look up on IPS (in-plane switching) screens.

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