The Thunderbolt display is expensive, but it also has a lot more than just the panel - it has a webcam, speakers, USB, firewire, ethernet, and a MagSafe connector to charge a MacBook, not to mention that gorgeous aluminum and glass body. Worth $999? Maybe not, but it's definitely not equivalent to a Korean display off eBay.
You'll probably need a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-link DVI adapter as well, if you're driving one of the Korean displays from a recent Mac. Apple sells one for a hundred dollars, or monoprice has one for $70: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&c...
Just something to keep in mind when you're budgeting.
In a store full of big-screen TVs, laptops, tablets and every species of shining rectangle, one device emits a reality-distortion field like no other: the iMac. The display is just.. perfect. After seeing the iMac 2 years ago, I switched to e-IPS (Dell 2209WA, then the Dell U2312HM), but somehow they're not in the same league. Way better than TN LCDs, of course, but not iMac/Cinema display. Is e-IPS that much worse than IPS? Perhaps it's Apple's calibration which does the trick? I don't know.
I would love to find a cheap monitor which used the same panel as the iMac and had similar image quality. Any pointers?
I spoiled myself with the Apple thunderbolt display I confess, and love it. But I did not research all the alternatives and no doubt I paid the Apple premium tax.
No doubt there are better deals but if say the premium is $350 over a 3 year lifetime (at least) it's a few starbucks coffees or meals out per year for something I use hours per day :)
Dont get the Apple display - just get a Korean knock off with the same panel for a quarter of the price...