I was looking and researching into upgrading LCDs. I have decided that a 20.1" widescreen is the best. Anyone else have any experiences out that with any 20.1" LCDs. It appears that no monitor is perfect in this category. I am looking for something with no colorbanding issues, otherwise the Dell 20.1" would have been pretty nice. Does anyone know if the fixed this issue yet? Otherwise it looks like the viewsonic is the best 20.1" out there right now. Let me know which monitor you have or suggest. I noticed that most monitors say that you must have a resolution of 1600, but I wanted to know if they can go lower incase you want to watch HD movies, like 1280x720.
Widescreen LCD 20.1"
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You can set your resolution lower but it will look worse since it isn't the native resolution. Unless you set it to not take up the full screen and use black bars around the image.
Though I'm not familiar with the current 20.1" LCDs.
Revisedsoul
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been hearing alot of good things about the viewsonic vw2025's
I recommend the ViewSonic VX2025wm very highly. I currently own one, and I must say it is every bit as good as the reviews have indicated online - actually, even better.
There are approx. three 20.1" widescreen monitors competing for the top tier right now. The Dell 2007w, the ViewSonic VX2025wm, and the NEC 20.1" widescreen (don't know the model number off hand). Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages.
The Dell is renowned for it's flexibility. It is currently the best solution if you are wanting a multimedia monitor (for video and such). It offers a USB hub, rotation, and full height adjustment. One of the most compelling features at this point is the integrated HDMI/HDCP support. This means that it will be compatible with HD video formats to be released soon. The upcoming Windows Vista claims to require an HDCP (HD Content Protection - a piracy prevention scheme) compatible monitor if you want to watch HD-DVDs/Blu-ray/etc. on your computer.
The Dell unfortunately has a couple downsides as well. The first is expense. It retails for almost $200 more than other 20.1" widescreens. The second is response time. While it is fine for multimedia, etc., hardcore gamers would be wary of ghosting. I have heard mixed reports on this - most people don't notice any ghosting, but some people (mostly hardcore gamers) have complained. The last downside I have noted is color quality. The Dell flatpanel is fine for non-critical applications where color quality doesn't matter, but colorimeter tests have shown the Dell's color reproduction to be off somewhat significantly.
The ViewSonic VX2025 has several advantages. The first is that it's color reproduction is about as good as anything available in the sub-$1000 price range. Colorimetry tests show that the ViewSonic's color reproduction quality is approx. 98-99% good *out of box*. The dell cannot reach this level of quality even with manual tuning. In short, the picture quality is among the very best. Secondly, the price. The ViewSonic not only looks good, it's relatively cheap.
The ViewSonic also has some downsides, like the Dell. It does not support HDMI/HDCP so Vista may not work nicely with it if you want to do HD video at it's full capabilities. The LCD panel is based on P-MVA technology, which unlike the NEC's panel (TVA or something) has a slower response time. Viewsonic compensates for this somewhat with overdrive technology, but in the process introduces some minor artifacts into video (so I'm told). The Viewsonic also does not have a USB hub built in, or height/rotation flexability, if that makes a difference to you.
The NEC is primarily a gamer's monitor. It is built on the fastest response time LCD technology available. The color quality suffers as a result, but if your primary focus is gaming, it isn't noticable enough to worry about. Like the ViewSonic, it does not have the flexible options that the Dell has (HDMI/HDCP and USB, etc.) but it (like the ViewSonic) is not nearly as expensive. The NEC has a special coating on the panel to make it glossy. This makes it look great for games/video in the dark, but can be distracting with glare in the light. Some people like it, some don't - you'll have to decide. The NEC also does not have USB or height/rotation ability.
I believe the Dell goes for around $500 while the ViewSonic can be had for $320 and the NEC for $350-$400. The choice is up to you, and it all depends on what you want to use the monitor for. If you are doing a mix of things, go for the ViewSonic. If you want a primarily multimedia monitor, the Dell. If you want a gaming monitor, the NEC.
Personally, I would highly recommend the ViewSonic. It is a great mix of price and performance. I am very happy with mine and I'm glad I chose it. You can get it at NewEgg.com for $322 right now, I believe. I have not noticed any ghosting or video artifacts, and it is easily the best monitor I have ever seen. Scaling (to lower HD video size, games, and such) seems to be VERY good. I couldn't have asked for a better monitor. It comes highly recommended.
Hopes this helps! :cheers:
There are approx. three 20.1" widescreen monitors competing for the top tier right now. The Dell 2007w, the ViewSonic VX2025wm, and the NEC 20.1" widescreen (don't know the model number off hand). Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages.
The Dell is renowned for it's flexibility. It is currently the best solution if you are wanting a multimedia monitor (for video and such). It offers a USB hub, rotation, and full height adjustment. One of the most compelling features at this point is the integrated HDMI/HDCP support. This means that it will be compatible with HD video formats to be released soon. The upcoming Windows Vista claims to require an HDCP (HD Content Protection - a piracy prevention scheme) compatible monitor if you want to watch HD-DVDs/Blu-ray/etc. on your computer.
The Dell unfortunately has a couple downsides as well. The first is expense. It retails for almost $200 more than other 20.1" widescreens. The second is response time. While it is fine for multimedia, etc., hardcore gamers would be wary of ghosting. I have heard mixed reports on this - most people don't notice any ghosting, but some people (mostly hardcore gamers) have complained. The last downside I have noted is color quality. The Dell flatpanel is fine for non-critical applications where color quality doesn't matter, but colorimeter tests have shown the Dell's color reproduction to be off somewhat significantly.
The ViewSonic VX2025 has several advantages. The first is that it's color reproduction is about as good as anything available in the sub-$1000 price range. Colorimetry tests show that the ViewSonic's color reproduction quality is approx. 98-99% good *out of box*. The dell cannot reach this level of quality even with manual tuning. In short, the picture quality is among the very best. Secondly, the price. The ViewSonic not only looks good, it's relatively cheap.
The ViewSonic also has some downsides, like the Dell. It does not support HDMI/HDCP so Vista may not work nicely with it if you want to do HD video at it's full capabilities. The LCD panel is based on P-MVA technology, which unlike the NEC's panel (TVA or something) has a slower response time. Viewsonic compensates for this somewhat with overdrive technology, but in the process introduces some minor artifacts into video (so I'm told). The Viewsonic also does not have a USB hub built in, or height/rotation flexability, if that makes a difference to you.
The NEC is primarily a gamer's monitor. It is built on the fastest response time LCD technology available. The color quality suffers as a result, but if your primary focus is gaming, it isn't noticable enough to worry about. Like the ViewSonic, it does not have the flexible options that the Dell has (HDMI/HDCP and USB, etc.) but it (like the ViewSonic) is not nearly as expensive. The NEC has a special coating on the panel to make it glossy. This makes it look great for games/video in the dark, but can be distracting with glare in the light. Some people like it, some don't - you'll have to decide. The NEC also does not have USB or height/rotation ability.
I believe the Dell goes for around $500 while the ViewSonic can be had for $320 and the NEC for $350-$400. The choice is up to you, and it all depends on what you want to use the monitor for. If you are doing a mix of things, go for the ViewSonic. If you want a primarily multimedia monitor, the Dell. If you want a gaming monitor, the NEC.
Personally, I would highly recommend the ViewSonic. It is a great mix of price and performance. I am very happy with mine and I'm glad I chose it. You can get it at NewEgg.com for $322 right now, I believe. I have not noticed any ghosting or video artifacts, and it is easily the best monitor I have ever seen. Scaling (to lower HD video size, games, and such) seems to be VERY good. I couldn't have asked for a better monitor. It comes highly recommended.
Hopes this helps! :cheers:
Thanks NetGuru42, you have finalized my decision. I have been reading up and the various top end 20.1" monitors. The viewsonic appears to be the best bang for the buck. While the NEC is nice, if you are refering to the same one I am, I do not like the glossy screen, glare kills me. I am going to go with the Viewsonic. I do not want to risk getting the color banding and other issues if I were to go with the dell. HDCP is not a big issue with me right now either. As far as the artifacts go, have you noticed any while playing games on the monitor? :cheers:
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My samsung uses a P-MVA LCD as well. You can't directly compare response time with another type of LCD. It takes a lot higher response time on a P-MVA to notice ghosting then on other types (can't remember the specific kind). P-MVA LCDs is what gets you good color as well.
Good screens.
Good screens.
Nope, no artifacts noticable in full-resolution OR scaled-down resolution (even 4:3 pulldown). Well, except for the tearing I'm getting because I have a crappy vid card that doesn't handle Vsync (until I build the new computer in my sig, anyway)... but anyhow, yeah, no artifacts in games or video that I've noticed.
Apparently the Tin-type panels (TN or whatever) have a significantly faster response time than their P-MVA counterparts. And I don't know about the higher response time before notice of ghosting thing, but I do know that an 8ms P-MVA monitor is approx. the same performance as a 22-23ms TN or S-IPS. So I guess you can't directly compare LCDs by their rated response times, but ghosting levels can be compared by observation, as some reviews have done.
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heres a failry detialed review on a large selection fo 20"ers
http://www.behardware.com/articles/619-1/updated-survey-13-lcd-20-5-6-8-16-ms.html
http://www.behardware.com/articles/619-1/updated-survey-13-lcd-20-5-6-8-16-ms.html
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BarnyMiler
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I picked the Viewsonic VX2025wm and have never looked back. A couple of quick notes:
1) In dark areas of games (HL2, Doom3, Tomb Raider:Legend, etc) you can see splotches of black where it is apparent that the monitor doesn't have enough colors to fill in the gradients smoothly. Same thing happens in really bright areas too - like in HL2 on Highway 17 when you leave one of the tunnels and you are looking into the sun light. But it's not a big deal.
2) This is a big one too - the default resolution for the monitor is 1680 x 1050. You really should set your desktop resolution to this setting. The monitor will yell at you if you don't. But you can run it lower, it will just look a little crappy.
When gaming though, you really should run all your games at this new resolution. You don't have to and the monitor scales really well - so if you are more comfortable at 1024 x 768 or whatever, it will work - just don't expect to be blown away by the level of detail.
Of course, running at a higher resolution means your video card needs some extra horsepower if you don't want to have any loss in FPS. Jumping up to this resolution is around a 25% increase in pixels from a 19/17 CRT or LCD running at 1280 x 1024.
I'm running a 6800 Ultra with a 3.0GHz Pentium D processor and I can run most games fairly well at High settings. But I'm interested in getting better performance so I'll be upgrading the video card soon - I want to see the 100 FPS mark in Lost Cost!
1) In dark areas of games (HL2, Doom3, Tomb Raider:Legend, etc) you can see splotches of black where it is apparent that the monitor doesn't have enough colors to fill in the gradients smoothly. Same thing happens in really bright areas too - like in HL2 on Highway 17 when you leave one of the tunnels and you are looking into the sun light. But it's not a big deal.
2) This is a big one too - the default resolution for the monitor is 1680 x 1050. You really should set your desktop resolution to this setting. The monitor will yell at you if you don't. But you can run it lower, it will just look a little crappy.
When gaming though, you really should run all your games at this new resolution. You don't have to and the monitor scales really well - so if you are more comfortable at 1024 x 768 or whatever, it will work - just don't expect to be blown away by the level of detail.
Of course, running at a higher resolution means your video card needs some extra horsepower if you don't want to have any loss in FPS. Jumping up to this resolution is around a 25% increase in pixels from a 19/17 CRT or LCD running at 1280 x 1024.
I'm running a 6800 Ultra with a 3.0GHz Pentium D processor and I can run most games fairly well at High settings. But I'm interested in getting better performance so I'll be upgrading the video card soon - I want to see the 100 FPS mark in Lost Cost!
Glad to hear it worked out for you, mate! I love my VX2025... now I just can't wait to get rid of my Radeon 9550 (OC'ed to 450/250 :cheese
and Athlon XP 1800+... Maybe with my new rig I'll be able to hit that 100fps like you were talking about...
btw, I think the whole black splotch/grayscale gradient thing is an inherent problem with all LCDs for right now...
cheers! :cheers:
and Athlon XP 1800+... Maybe with my new rig I'll be able to hit that 100fps like you were talking about...btw, I think the whole black splotch/grayscale gradient thing is an inherent problem with all LCDs for right now...
cheers! :cheers:
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