LCD Buyer's Guide

[KaranB]

hey samduhman, i just got the vx2025wm yesterday as well and have been quite impressed with the visual quality especially while gaming. what problems did you have with the 215TW ? because thats was my other alternative to the vx2025wm. I still have another 13 days to make up my mind on it.

 

[samduhman]

Originally posted by: KaranB
hey samduhman, i just got the vx2025wm yesterday as well and have been quite impressed with the visual quality especially while gaming. what problems did you have with the 215TW ? because thats was my other alternative to the vx2025wm. I still have another 13 days to make up my mind on it.

The 215tw had considerable ghosting in fast paced fps. It was fine for World of Warcraft and BF2 but in UT2004 it was very distracting. It was so bad as I was running along the walls were even ghosting and my opponents would never completely focus. The VX2025 doesn't exhibit this issue. Don't get me wrong it still ghosts (like all lcds) but the only way I can confirm it is to compare it immediately with my crt. One test I used was on map Deck17 in UT2K4. Theres a sign hanging in one room. If I stand a few feet away from it and strafe left and right repeatedly on the crt the words remain focus. On the vx2025 it blurs a little. On the 215tw.....what words lol.

I consider myself one of the last super anal crt holdouts (my brother is worse than I am) and now it looks as if we're both lcd owners He ordered his vx922 from Newegg and should have it by tomorrow. Im anxiously awaiting his thoughts and hoping he'll bring it by so we can compare the vx's.

 

[KaranB]

thanks i guess i'll be sticking with this one then. if i only i can get the brightness/gamma to a suitable level in gaming without burning my retina's out lol

 

[pcmodem]

Originally posted by: Luddite
Here is a CNET review of the Viewsonic VX2025WM

They give it high marks all around. One user reviewer says movies look blurry.

Dude, they carry these things at freakin' Costco now.

Gotta admit, if I'd not bought my VP930b 2 months ago, I'd likely have bought one of those puppies.




Cheers,
PCM

 

[j3ffry]

Hi guys!

It's a great forum!

Just want to ask I do have a Viewsonic VX922 and is it advisable to upgrade to VX2025ws? of course I'll sell my VX922 and buy a new ViewsonicVX2025..

Watcha think?

 

[poxery47]

I have the same dilema, vx922 vs vx2025wm, the problem is that Im going to buy 1900xt to replace my old x800xl, but I tried vx2025 for a few day and im getting good fps even with x800xl (3200+@ 2.5ghz, 1gig 2x512). Yet, in HL2 DM I have 100% cpu utilization all the time, and while playing Red Orchestra I have normal cpu utilization but all of my ram is used up, I know it's the monitor as I owned vx924 and it was fine.... so whats up with WS gaming? do I need 2 gigs to run it? but still I dont understand 100% utilization in HL2 DM and other source games and mods like BG2

 

[j3ffry]

OMG! That's one prob for me.. I have a low computer specs. So does that mean that it will be useless to own a VX2025WS with this specs:

Motherboard: ECS 915p-a
Processor: Intel lga 775 2.8ghz
Memory: 2x 512 Kingston RAM
VideoCard: Inno3d 6600 PCI-E

Somebody help if I can enjoy the Viewsonic VX2025ws with this specs or even maximize it for gaming..

Thanks in advance!

 

[samduhman]

j3ffry and poxery47, I suggest you guys read the 40pg thread on hardforums. Its 40 pages dedicated to just the vx2025. You'll probably find some answers there. vx2025 thread

As far as going from a vx922 to vx2025 being an upgrade. I'd guess that depends on what your using your lcd for. Strictly gaming and playing older games that require 4:3 aspect ratio your better off with the vx922. Also the vx922 has less ghosting. Want to watch movies, game in widescreen, photo editing, office work, etc then the vx2025 would be an upgrade IMHO.

 

[JJK80]

Latest games support wide screen 1680x1050 resolutions (a lot) these days?

Could someone mention some games that support wide screen 1680x1050 resolutions?

Do I get support also for older games?

 

[j3ffry]

Thanks! Samduhman!

Hope to hear from you after comparing the VX2025 and the VX922(your brothers).
Could be one of my deciding factors.=)

 

[poxery47]

i think im going 922...
btw can anyone test cpu utilization and memory use while playing games like CSs HL DM etc with vx2025?

 

[j3ffry]

Guess I forgot to take into consideration my current specs before ordering the vx2025.
My bad after all..
If theres anyone there who can atleast re-assure me that my Geforce 6600 will run(default resolution/smoothly) in my VX2025...?

thanks in advance!

 

[poxery47]

it depends on the game and other things, my x800xl OCed was able to handle hldm @ high settings with 100 fps but with 100% cpu usage it was a bit laggy, still I dont understand why it affects 2.5ghz cpu or 1 gig of ram that much?! looks like all the owners of 2025 here have 2gigs>?

 

[j3ffry]

Originally posted by: poxery47
it depends on the game and other things, my x800xl OCed was able to handle hldm @ high settings with 100 fps but with 100% cpu usage it was a bit laggy, still I dont understand why it affects 2.5ghz cpu or 1 gig of ram that much?! looks like all the owners of 2025 here have 2gigs>?

I'll be playing FEAR,D3 resurrection, WOW, HL2, NBA live, LOTR, and DVD movies...

The prob is that i'll be short in cash to buy a new VideoCard because I already used it in this LCD...

Hope someone can test or have the same videocard so that I'll calm down a little thinking about it..

It turns down my excitement=(

 

[JJK80]

I bought ViewSonic VP930 a few days ago, after reading Tom Hardware's review(s)

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/17/viewsonic_vp930_lcd_monitor/page6.html
"Even if it's not significantly better than the 191b, the VP930 is an excellent monitor, at home in just about any application, that trades a slight gain in black level against a slight loss of latency."

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/03/27/...spring_2006_lcd_collection/page37.html
"The last 100%-all-around monitor we've seen is the ViewSonic VP930, which we tested in previously. The others are either good at color rendering or are excessively fast.

Our preference still goes to the VP930, for its flexibility of use and advanced ergonomics, especially since the price has come down slightly since the model was introduced."


But after the purchase, when I now have read other reviews, it's seems that ViewSonic VP191(b/s) would have been a lot better, especially in image quality, color accuracy. So I'm a little disappointed that I did not bought the older ViewSonic VP191b model that would have been 20 euros cheaper than VP930. Samsung 940B would have been 99 euros cheaper than VP930. Unfortunately both of those offers are now gone.


Trusted Reviews only give 7 points out of 10 points for VP930's image quality.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2244

"Now, image quality can be a subjective thing, and what one person deems to be good, isn?t necessarily going to please someone else. This is why we use DisplayMate to highlight strengths and weaknesses in monitors. Unfortunately DisplayMate did manage to highlight some shortcomings in the VP930. The Dark Greyscale test proved to be an issue for the VP930 where it failed to bring out the low intensity greys no matter how much adjustment I tried."

"The problems with greyscales became more apparent as I pushed through the tests, with tinges of green and pink clearly visible on the 64 step greyscale test. The 256 level intensity colour ramp test also showed signs of compression at the low intensity end of the scale. The VP930 also struggled on the colour scales test where the drop off at the low intensity end was uneven ? if I tried to bring out some extra detail at the low end, the result was compression at the high end."

"VP930 is more expensive than the outgoing VP191s that it replaces, while not exhibiting the same level of image quality. There?s no doubt that the VP930 retains the design, features and build quality of the previous VP series screens, but it?s just a shame that it stumbled in the DisplayMate tests."

"The VP930 is a beautifully designed 19in monitor with more features than you could shake a stick at. The price is high, but you?ll soon forgive that when you see the connection and adjustment options. Unfortunately the image quality is just not up to the high level that ViewSonic set with previous VP displays."


VP191s's image quality on the contrary was very good, 9 points out of 10 points
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1501

"Subjectively the VP191s produces a fine image, and I?ve used it both for standard desktop duties and for editing digital images. The viewing angle is also superb, with no colour shift or wash out in both the horizontal and vertical planes. That said, firing up DisplayMate did highlight a few problems, the most obvious being significant compression at the high intensity end of both the 64 step greyscale test and the colour scales test. However, after a bit of fiddling with the brightness and contrast levels, I managed to completely eradicate this problem and the VP191s sailed through the DisplayMate tests with aplomb."

"The ViewSonic VP191s is a well featured 19in TFT monitor with a response time low enough to keep most gamers happy. Image quality is impressive, once the display is set up correctly, allowing this screen to excel in pretty much all areas. The market is hotting up in this arena, but it?s clear that the VP range can still hold its own against the ever improving competition."


Behardware's only give only 2 points out of 5 for VP930b's color quality.
http://www.behardware.com/articles/602-...lcd-survey-2-3-4-6-8-ms-and-above.html

"If the VP191b release was a great event, the VP930´s was more discreet. Of course it replaces the 191b star monitor but it is expensive, too expensive compared to the Belinea 10 19 20. Color quality also needs to be reviewed."


CNET AU did not praise VP930b's Color quality
http://www.cnet.com.au/desktops/monitors/0,39029422,40060080,00.htm

"Performance
With all these great features, we hoped for great image quality. Unfortunately, this display delivered merely acceptable performance. Its performance on DVDs and games was average, as was its image quality when displaying basic Web and productivity-application material, but it really stumbled on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based greyscale and colour tests. Greyscale screens showed so much colour that we could clearly see blocks of bluish grey, blocks of greenish grey, and a distinct swath of pink right before the display dropped off to peak white. Colours took on unusual, unnatural-looking tints. The display's uniformity wasn't great either: fans of light were visible in all four corners of the screen."

"- Poor greyscale and colour performance"



What are your thoughts? Are there big difference between VP930(b)'s and VP191(b/s)'s image quality, color accuracy?

 

[imported_Psykosis]

JJK80 one thing I noticed when reading reviews about the vp930 is that the model TomsHardware got for review didn't have the same screen as the rest of the production models. Tom's calims that their model has a M190EN3 V2 (S-MVA?) screen when the production model (and the one tested on the other reviews) comes with a M190EG01 V0 P-MVA screen, less accurate. Except HP that still has a year old 19" S-MVA model, no other brand seems to use these screens on 19"

 

[samduhman]

Originally posted by: j3ffry
Thanks! Samduhman!

Hope to hear from you after comparing the VX2025 and the VX922(your brothers).
Could be one of my deciding factors.=)

I talked to him last night. He was migrating from a 17" crt to the 19" vx922. He cracked me up when he said "This thing is huge. Its as big as a painting He had played a little UT2004 but not to much more when I called him. I immediately asked which did he like better, the vx922 or vx2025 and whether he thought I should return mine. His initial impression is he's likes the vx922 for the size and 4:3 ratio but thinks I should hold onto the vx2025 becuase gaming widescreen looked great also. He couldn't decide between them. He's right on the fence. I think the only way to break this tie is to get them side by side hopefully before my time runs out. Still I've become pretty fond of the vx2025

I need to install an old game and actually see how bad it actually looks. Any suggestions? Im thinking Diablo 2 or something along those lines.

 

[KaranB]

well i've given up on the vx2025wm. put my l90d+ back for now while the vx2025wm sits in the corner beside its box waiting to be packed up and returned. went down to futureshop last night and was quite impressed with the 215tw in terms of PQ,brightness/gamma balance and everything. with lcd monitors its really hard to go by spec sheets and reviews because at the end of the day you're gonna be looking at it through your own eyes and not someone else's. so this is going to be a long ardeous process I think before I finally get one I'm satisfied with.

 

[Slickone]

Originally posted by: samduhman

Originally posted by: j3ffry
Thanks! Samduhman!

Hope to hear from you after comparing the VX2025 and the VX922(your brothers).
Could be one of my deciding factors.=)

I talked to him last night. He was migrating from a 17" crt to the 19" vx922. He cracked me up when he said "This thing is huge. Its as big as a painting He had played a little UT2004 but not to much more when I called him. I immediately asked which did he like better, the vx922 or vx2025 and whether he thought I should return mine. His initial impression is he's likes the vx922 for the size and 4:3 ratio but thinks I should hold onto the vx2025 becuase gaming widescreen looked great also. He couldn't decide between them. He's right on the fence. I think the only way to break this tie is to get them side by side hopefully before my time runs out. Still I've become pretty fond of the vx2025

I need to install an old game and actually see how bad it actually looks. Any suggestions? Im thinking Diablo 2 or something along those lines.

The VX922 is a TN, and the VX2025 a P-MVA, correct? Shouldn't the VX2025 obviously look better?


BTW, 2.8Ghz are "low computer specs"?

 

[poxery47]

samduhman you have the same cpu, could you plz test the cpu usage during the play, with taskmanager? thx

 

[samduhman]

Originally posted by: KaranB
well i've given up on the vx2025wm. put my l90d+ back for now while the vx2025wm sits in the corner beside its box waiting to be packed up and returned. went down to futureshop last night and was quite impressed with the 215tw in terms of PQ,brightness/gamma balance and everything. with lcd monitors its really hard to go by spec sheets and reviews because at the end of the day you're gonna be looking at it through your own eyes and not someone else's. so this is going to be a long ardeous process I think before I finally get one I'm satisfied with.

Sorry to hear. I agree the 215tw does look better than the VX2025 but if you a hardcore gamer I'd avoid it. Sounds like you need the 20mwgx2?

So what was the issue with the VX2025? You only mentioned brighness/gamma lvl problem in a previous post. I was fighting that as well but think I have it at an acceptable level now.

 

[samduhman]

The VX922 is a TN, and the VX2025 a P-MVA, correct? Shouldn't the VX2025 obviously look better?

BTW, 2.8Ghz are "low computer specs"?

You would think it should obviously look better. However he saw my screen Saturday. It was three days later when he tried out his vx922. Hard way to compare if they don't look that much different (other than the aspect ratio). Only way to tell for sure is a side by side comparison.

Are you picking on my cpu I haven't noticed any issues playing games.

 

[KaranB]

well the problem i had with it mainly was finding a good balance between brightness/gamma and decent color fidelity. for example while browsing a page with a white backround i'd have to turn the brightness/gamma way down to avoid blinding myself. but then when i go view a highres pic on those settings, the colors would look off,faces would look far too dark. i tried every possible combination and just couldnt find the right balance. I'm not a hardcore gamer, i mostly just play driving games for 3-4 hours per week. i was quite impressed with how it handled those. although even in games i couldnt find a suitable brightness/gamma balance.

the other problem i had was pretty heavy blacklight bleeding from all 4 corners. this was only noticable on a dark backround. and when i did have one, it looked like an x-men wallpaper. but that didnt bother me as much since im not gonna be looking at anything with a black backround very much. as my usage will mainly be browsing and some driving games.

so that was the issue with the vx2025wm. as i said,i went down to futureshop last night and spent bout 25 mins playing around with the 215tw and various settings on it and had a really good first impression in finding a good balance for all the things i mentioned earlier. so im going to be giving that a try. futureshop has a good return policy so i dont see any harm in trying it out. might get lucky, if not i guess the hunt will continue. i wouldve loved to try out the nec you mentioned but unfortunately i cant find it in any stores up here in Edmonton,Canada.

 

[JJK80]

I have thought changing this ViewSonic VP930 to Samsung SyncMaster 970P. Reviews have praised 970P's image quality and colors!

But I don't like its look, especially the base is not great.


My ViewSonic VP930 doesn't have any leaking issues, I have not noticed any.

 

[JJK80]

By the way, I have emailed to TrustedReviews Editor:

Hello!

I have read your ViewSonic VP191s and ViewSonic VP930 reviews.
Do you think that ViewSonic VP191(s) is better than ViewSonic VP930?
VP191(s)'s color accuracy beter than VP930's?


"Hi there,

Well the VP930 that I looked at was definitely inferior to the VP191, but ViewSonic have told me that there was a problem with that sample.

Ultimately I can only go by what I saw, but I know that VP930 monitors have received better reviews elsewhere, so ViewSonic could well be telling the truth.

If you get a chance, you should look at them side by side.

Riyad Emeran
Editor-in-Chief
www.trustedreviews.com"


Hello,
Thanks!

Do you have opportunity to test another sample?


"Hi,

I could get one, but I have so much new kit coming in every day to review,
that going through the process of retesting something that I have already
reviewed is not my top priority I'm afraid.

Riyad"