I'm posting here because the subject doesn't apply to a current operational issue. Several years ago, I purchased a Mac Pro and a 30" monitor from Apple. It was one of those strokes of fortune that not one single pixel failed. I continue use it and, after several years, the screen is still perfect. It was the single best investment in computer hardware that I have made. Its only flaw is that it has no camera & microphone for FaceTime with family. I tried a separate camera with a clip on it, but it didn't work out very well and I trashed it.

As I am now beginning to think about a new computer, especially the black Mac Pro that is in the works, I can't find another 30" monitor in Apple's offerings. They seem to be stuck on 27" models.

Has anyone heard any gossip about the future of 30" monitors?

Only Apple knows about their future production plans, but I have not heard even a rumor of a 30" monitor in the offing. Have you looked closely at the 27" models though? I have two, one is Thunderbolt and the other an LED Cinema display and both are gorgeous.

After I posted this message, I wondered if anyone would reply. Instead, I get an ideal responder with experience with two 27" monitors. Thanks for that.

I have not checked the 27" models up close. I fill my 30" with a spreadsheet that could easily fill multiple monitors and I'm always zipping back and forth on it. I'm sure I'd be more productive if I had more screens. Do you use both of them together? Do you know if the 27" has the same relative dimensions as the 30" or if it is proportionately higher or wider? For example, the illuminated screen on my 30" is 15.5" high. How high is your 27" model? Pardon the questions, but this could solve my "problem."

The actual screen, not including the frame, of the 27" monitors is 13" high by 23" wide. The 27" displays are so crisp you can easily use higher resolution smaller fonts and retain excellent visibility. The disadvantage of two monitors is two fold, they cost $999 each, and they take a lot of desktop real estate.

Multi-screen setups are nice and given the promised enhancements in Maverick I might well consider two or even three less expensive 21" monitors.

When you say frame, do you mean the black area around the monitor? I'm wondering as I've been thinking a bit about moving to a 27" iMac which I assume has the same screen real estate as a monitor. Or is that an incorrect assumption?

My wife has a 27" iMac and the dimensions of the actual screen are virtually the same as the monitors: 13" x 23.25". I just measured it to make sure. The iMac seems to have 0.25" more width, but that's trivial.

Just to make sure you (and ryck) are clear about this: the (standard) 27" screen measurement refers to the diagonal of the actual screen, NOT the outside measurement of the entire monitor or iMac. Other critical measurements are native resolution (in pixels) and pixel size (smaller with e.g., retina screens). For example, if the native resolution is the same for a given 27" and 30" monitor, the latter has slightly larger pixels. If the 27" has a slightly larger resolution, the screen real estate may in fact be larger than that of the 30", while pixels may still not be too small to cause vision problems.

In practice (see Mactracker), the 27" and 30" screens only differ in the number of vertical pixels, with the 27" having 10% fewer:
30" (29.7" viewable area) display (2005) resolutions: 1024 x 640, 1280 x 800, 1920 x 1200, 2048 x 1280, and 2560 x 1600
27" (27" viewable area) display (2011) resolutions: ---------------, 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080, -------------------- 2560 x 1440

There are also differences in brightness, contrast and screen reflectivity between the two monitors. With screen reflectivity* affecting the subjective perception of brightness and contrast, you may want to actually see a 27" screen to find out how it compares to your 30" monitor. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

*) Since the current iMacs have the front glass glued to the LCD, which markedly improves the screen, the 27" monitor may get this 'upgrade' as well (if it doesn't have it already).

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear to you. I started this discussion wondering if: "Do you know if the 27" has the same relative dimensions as the 30" or if it is proportionately higher or wider? For example, the illuminated screen on my 30" is 15.5" high. How high is your 27" model? Pardon the questions, but this could solve my "problem." The 27" model referred to a monitor.

I'm well aware of the parameters you list here and thought I made myself clear on that point. I see the 27" iMac every day because I have one sitting about 8 feet from me as I type this message. I have NOT seen the 27" monitor so I was interested in whether I could pair one 27" monitor with my 30" monitor. If, by some miracle, they had the same screen height but not the same width, I might be able to save $999.00 by using them together. I adjust the resolution of my screen from time to time, so I could make an effort to make both monitors look as much alike as possible, but, if they are proportionately the same in height and width, then I'm likely to want to buy two 27" monitors so that they will be more equally paired. My take home from this discussion is that I will likely want two 27" monitors if a 30" monitor is not available.

Actually I used a 21" and a 27" monitors for a while and when dragging from one screen to another worked, but in truth I found I used the larger screen probably 90% of the time. The smaller screen was relegated to things I parked there for occasional reference. It was a bit disconcerting dragging from the larger to smaller screens and with the new "seamless" dragging promised in Maverick I would imagine it could be really be visually disconcerting..

annoying that they continue to use diagonal size, for the larger number to put on the box. I think they'd be using the display's circumference if they thought they could get away with it.

There's no need to apologize. I folded my replies to both you and ryck into a single post to save some space/indulge in my lazyness (take your pick).

Although I cannot test this in practice myself, I'm pretty sure that the vertical screen dimensions of the 30" and 27" don't (sufficiently) match. This is because (a) the vertical resolutions differ, (b) the pixel sizes differ, and (c) the physical vertical screen dimensions differ. The fact that there's a better horizontal match is not really relevant here.

Summarizing, your conclusion to combine two current model 27" monitors makes excellent sense, and is considerably cheaper than the previous 30" option to boot.