Sorry ... meant to reply to Gizmotion's comments, but accidently hit replay before my comments were in!
I have three Dells, two with absolutely no dead pixels, and all three with extremely minimal backlight problem (though I believe too much is being made of this issue by some ... of course ... not all - some have it bad and some of those people play games and DVDs).
And even though I know most of you expect no dead pixels, and I agree it's nice to have Zero, it is the norm to have at least three to five, even on much more expensive top name brands. Apple and others won't let you return a laptop or monitor just because it has a few. And actually, the ability to see a few randomly scattered dead pixels is rather difficult. I have one 2001FP with a few, and one with absolutely none. They sit side by side. I am not aware of the dead pixels on the one that has it. I suddenly see a dead pixel once in a great while, but it's not something that I normally see. If it's not noticable, what's the big deal? In fact, I don't think that's quite sane to obsess on a few dead pixels that you hardly ever see, but then, that's just my humble opionion.
The fact is that some of you do (expect perfection) - why I don't know - but you do. So you should take both the advice of Gismotion, and Amheck and others(there are many others in this forum that will no doubt say the same thing ... because they have also returned monitors in exchange for another. They will undboutably agree that even if you pay more, the extra money IS worth the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have 21 days to return your monitor if it arrives in a state that doesn't live up to your expectations.
Mine are great. In fact, I've had four monitors from Dell in the last month, and they were all great. I returned only the 19" because ... well, I'm hooked on the higher resolution. No doubt the 1280x1024 resolution is going to be more right for some others. It was also a new technology monitor with an 800:1 contrast ratio. It had no backlight problem. It's blacks were SOLID black, both in apps and on the screen saver or black desktop (on all four sides and at all four corners). It's a great monitor. With coupons, it can be had for $450 or so. Not bad.
I love BOTH the 2001FP and the 2005FPW. They have differenct strengths, and a few different weaknesses. Those of you who have gotten bad ones should know they aren't all that way. When they arrive looking good, they are quite good ... indeed.
For those that find the 2005FP too bright, try turning down the brightness. Also, for those that stil find it too bright, you should consider the 2001FP. The 2005FPW is NOT the better monitor. The 2005FPw is newer and different, and does SOME things better, but it's wrong to think of it as better than the 2001FP. I bought a second 2001FP for a dual monitor setup AFTER first checking out the 2005FPw. So, you can see, for some, the 2001FP WILL be the optimum choice, not the 2005FPw.