[Retired] The LCD Thread

[najames]

"Two LG L226WTs sounds good, but the HP w2207s are even more enticing if you like the glossy panel and chance of a Samsung panel. Both the LG and HP have HDCP"

Thanks a lot for the quick response xtknight!!!

I actually went to Sears last week to see the HP. I asked about it and the sales dude gave me some smart ass remark, then said "uhhhh your not serious, are you?". I said yes I am serious, it is on the website and I'd like to see it and maybe buy 2 of them. He just said they don't stock ANY HP stuff and left. Is there any way to tell what panel they used?

I'll wait for replies to others questions on the LG models.

I am tempted to use your Satans recommended Acer, but no HDCP. ** sigh **.

 

[btdvox]

Well I used DVE on my LCD TV, and i got great results from the LCD monitor.

 

[theMan]

I am in the market for my first LCD. I thought I was going to keep my amazing 19" Sony Trinitron CRT forever, but sadly, I have no space for the monster anymore, so I must venture into the world of LCDs. I have been trying to parse through the incredible amount of information in this thread, but I just can't seem to get my head around it all. Maybe somebody can just kind of *tell* me what to do, because I am so confused. I did some looking and I found the Dell 2007WFP, which looked like a great LCD with a very low price. However, after reading this thread, and learning about the panel switch thing, there is no way I am going to buy it, especially since I kind of had a thing against dell... Now I am just confused (did I already say that?).

So here's what I need.

I will be doing internet/office type work, along with watching moves (pretty important for me), audio recording (don't know how much this factors into a display, but I will be doing a lot of it), playing games (not really hard core, but I don't want a completely terrible monitor for gaming), possibly a bit of photo editing, although that is not a high priority. Basically, I need an all around, good for almost everything LCD. As I said, I was originally planning on getting a 2007WFP, which at the time cost $380, but now costs $320. So, I would be willing to spend probably around $350 or so. I definitely value quality over size, but I don't want to get anything under 20", because this LCD is going along with my new 17" laptop, and I want to actually have a size difference to make it worth buying. I am pretty sure I want a widescreen for watching movies, so I haven't looked into any 4:3 displays.

I have noticed many 22" screens that are priced similarly to the 20.1", and I don't know if there is a picture quality issue between them and the 20" screens, because they appear to have the same resolution (1680x1050). That extra 22" is a kind of enticing though.... If somebody can point out a great 22" screen in my price area, that would be sweet.


I appreciate any help I can get here, and I really like this thread. I'm going to keep reading it and googling like crazy until I can come up with something. I hope I can kind of get pushed in the right direction though.


EDIT: I have just been reading this thread, and I have been turned on to the LG L226WTQ-BF.

I googled it and I see the advantages as being:
1.fast response time, no lag, good for gaming, good for movies.
2. good color quality, and image quality.
3. right at my price range.

Disadvantages are:
1. bad greyscale performance. I don't think this is an issue for anything i am doing though, but I am not sure what the implications are.

Is there anything else I should know about this LCD?

Oh yeah, and it looks like there are a ton of revisions to this monitor. Have there been a lot of improvements over previous L226 models?

 

[najames]

It looks like the Samsung 205BW will be the monitors for me. They are on sale and in "the multimedia list". $399 for two of them.

Objections?

going once, going twice.....

 

[lcdn00b]

Why does neither this list nor the "Monitor Source" site cover either the Acer or Westinghouse offerings? The Acer AL2416wd and AL2416WBSD and the Westinghouse L2410NM are cheap enough that I'd like to consider them. Anyone know anything about them??

 

[imported_FraggleRock]

Hi. I am brand new to these forums, but have joined because surprisingly this is one of the few places I have found on the internet with a decent offering of knowledge when it comes to LCDs.

As it is, I recently bought a Samsung 216BW, and I am aware that this is somewhat of a budget LCD but am happy nonetheless.

I do, however, have a couple questions that hopefully someone can answer.

1st question: Were the 216BW's also made with the A, C, and S panels? In the "hidden" menu screen it lists my MCU-SCALER (what is commonly known to determine your panel type) as MStar, and the version as M-ME22V0CFA-1001 (Which is almost identical to one of the versions of an S Panel in the 226BW. However, I can find NO MENTION anywhere on the internet of Samsung using MStar panels.

2nd Question: is 1/2" to 1" of backlight bleeding (in width) on the top and bottom of the screen pretty much normal? I know Samsung says it isn't and I should just exchange the monitor, but I really don't want to go through all the trouble if all of them are like this. It is noticeable when playing games that have a lot of dark areas to the point of distraction.

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions for LCD calibration utilities or a site with tools I would very much appreciate it. (I hate magictune and lcdresource.com is down. )


Anyway, thanks ahead of time. And all in all, I really love this monitor except for the backlight issue. At 249 dollars, it feels like a steal.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: theman
I am in the market for my first LCD. I thought I was going to keep my amazing 19" Sony Trinitron CRT forever, but sadly, I have no space for the monster anymore, so I must venture into the world of LCDs. I have been trying to parse through the incredible amount of information in this thread, but I just can't seem to get my head around it all. Maybe somebody can just kind of *tell* me what to do, because I am so confused. I did some looking and I found the Dell 2007WFP, which looked like a great LCD with a very low price. However, after reading this thread, and learning about the panel switch thing, there is no way I am going to buy it, especially since I kind of had a thing against dell... Now I am just confused (did I already say that?).

So here's what I need.

I will be doing internet/office type work, along with watching moves (pretty important for me), audio recording (don't know how much this factors into a display, but I will be doing a lot of it), playing games (not really hard core, but I don't want a completely terrible monitor for gaming), possibly a bit of photo editing, although that is not a high priority. Basically, I need an all around, good for almost everything LCD. As I said, I was originally planning on getting a 2007WFP, which at the time cost $380, but now costs $320. So, I would be willing to spend probably around $350 or so. I definitely value quality over size, but I don't want to get anything under 20", because this LCD is going along with my new 17" laptop, and I want to actually have a size difference to make it worth buying. I am pretty sure I want a widescreen for watching movies, so I haven't looked into any 4:3 displays.

I have noticed many 22" screens that are priced similarly to the 20.1", and I don't know if there is a picture quality issue between them and the 20" screens, because they appear to have the same resolution (1680x1050). That extra 22" is a kind of enticing though.... If somebody can point out a great 22" screen in my price area, that would be sweet.


I appreciate any help I can get here, and I really like this thread. I'm going to keep reading it and googling like crazy until I can come up with something. I hope I can kind of get pushed in the right direction though.


EDIT: I have just been reading this thread, and I have been turned on to the LG L226WTQ-BF.

I googled it and I see the advantages as being:
1.fast response time, no lag, good for gaming, good for movies.
2. good color quality, and image quality.
3. right at my price range.

Disadvantages are:
1. bad greyscale performance. I don't think this is an issue for anything i am doing though, but I am not sure what the implications are.

Is there anything else I should know about this LCD?

Oh yeah, and it looks like there are a ton of revisions to this monitor. Have there been a lot of improvements over previous L226 models?

I didn't notice that bad of grayscale performance on my L226WT, compared to most LCDs.

The L226WT and L226WTX are discontinued, but they were the same thing: the L226 without response time acceleration. The L226WTQ and L226WTY (the new models) feature the response time compensation. They are also exactly the same, to my knowledge. Perhaps different box contents or different warranty or something. Haven't really cared to research it much as they are largely the same. Some just think they're different models so people can't price match among stores.

It does sound like a good option for you, but you may also look into the NEC 20WMGX2. After rebates it's $80 more, and it's 20.1" size with a glossy screen. It's the "perfect" LCD for many. Very much worth the price IMO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...on=nec+20wmgx2&x=0&y=0

I've tested the 20WMGX2 and L226WT side by side, and I prefer the NEC in most cases except strictly text editing (where the L226WT's slight contrast advantage helps it). Anyway, in dark games, and for response time, the NEC is considerably and noticeably better. Why not pay $80 for significantly better performance? You get tons of inputs too, and a USB hub, and a TV tuner. And a glossy screen, and an IPS panel with faster response time, better color reproduction, and CRT-like viewing angles. It has a very stable image. That's in stark contrast to the LG (or a lot of LCDs) where you move your head and notice the image changing a lot. I do wish the NEC was bigger but it's still a great LCD and you said you valued image quality over size (much like me). Even though the LG is bigger it doesn't get you any more resolution anyway, so if you can see the NEC fine you're not missing anything.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: FraggleRock
Hi. I am brand new to these forums, but have joined because surprisingly this is one of the few places I have found on the internet with a decent offering of knowledge when it comes to LCDs.

As it is, I recently bought a Samsung 216BW, and I am aware that this is somewhat of a budget LCD but am happy nonetheless.

I do, however, have a couple questions that hopefully someone can answer.

1st question: Were the 216BW's also made with the A, C, and S panels? In the "hidden" menu screen it lists my MCU-SCALER (what is commonly known to determine your panel type) as MStar, and the version as M-ME22V0CFA-1001 (Which is almost identical to one of the versions of an S Panel in the 226BW. However, I can find NO MENTION anywhere on the internet of Samsung using MStar panels.

MStar, like the service menu implies, is the manufacturer of a scaler, the component of an LCD that scales and interpolates the image when you input a lower resolution. They are a competitor to Genesis, another popular monitor DSP manufacturer.

The panel number is probably something internal and encrypted. Like Dell, Samsung hid it because people were returning and complaining about getting different panels.

I don't know if Samsung uses other panels in the 216BW, but my guess is no. I thought only Samsung manufactured 21.6" panels. That will probably change soon if it hasn't already.

2nd Question: is 1/2" to 1" of backlight bleeding (in width) on the top and bottom of the screen pretty much normal? I know Samsung says it isn't and I should just exchange the monitor, but I really don't want to go through all the trouble if all of them are like this. It is noticeable when playing games that have a lot of dark areas to the point of distraction.

Yes, that's quite typical for TNs in reality.

Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions for LCD calibration utilities or a site with tools I would very much appreciate it. (I hate magictune and lcdresource.com is down. )

Anyway, thanks ahead of time. And all in all, I really love this monitor except for the backlight issue. At 249 dollars, it feels like a steal.

I'm not really sure why lcdresource.com has been down for the past month, but I don't own the site or pay for it so I don't want to complain too much. If it's down for much longer I have all the stuff locally anyway in some form so I can just upload the important stuff like the tests to my other site.

Originally posted by: lcdn00b
Why does neither this list nor the "Monitor Source" site cover either the Acer or Westinghouse offerings? The Acer AL2416wd and AL2416WBSD and the Westinghouse L2410NM are cheap enough that I'd like to consider them. Anyone know anything about them??

The AL2416WD actually looks like a good deal but I don't tend to recommend Acer monitors too much. (Except the AL2051W where it's the only one in its class that uses a P-MVA panel any longer.) Their support isn't too good and it lacks a lot of video inputs that other 24" LCDs have. I bet it's missing some scaling options too, and there's just not that much info on it.

The AL2416WBSD is a TN, and so it will exhibit all TN characteristics. I've already seen one 24" TN, the Samsung 245BW, and I didn't like it. The Dell 2407WFP-HC is cheap as it is and it's one of the best screens ever.

I really don't know about the Westinghouse L2410NM that much either. Again, lack of info. But it also looks good. I'm just more comfortable recommending LCDs that tons of people already use (i.e. "tried and true").

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: najames
It looks like the Samsung 205BW will be the monitors for me. They are on sale and in "the multimedia list". $399 for two of them.

Objections?

going once, going twice.....

Sounds great to me. Just keep in mind you could get a 20WMGX2 for $30 more after rebates... (I'd go for the NEC myself)

Plus I don't like dual monitors that much. I would much rather have one big LCD (not that the NEC is bigger, but it is much higher quality anyway). Just too many problems with dual monitors (compatibility, window managing, etc) Besides, the bezel in the middle is really annoying and it causes me more neck discomfort. I just don't have the space for them, either. But the fact I have two differently sized, different aspect/resolution, and differently coated LCDs doesn't help that. With the proper setup and thin bezels it's probably feasible for many people. For general usage, gamers, and people who watch movies, I doubt dual monitors would do you much good. For comparing large datasets or watching the stock market they are great. Maybe watching two HD video streams at once on both monitors is your cup of tea. I just don't see how that would benefit you unless you had another pair of eyes.

If you're a big multitasker it's a great idea. Make sure you are though before you commit to two lower quality screens over a high quality one. If you do mostly text work I'd doubt you'd notice a difference in quality anyway.

 

[imported_FraggleRock]

Thanks for the response knight. I was actually able to get the backlight bleeding down to practically nothing by uninstalling magictune, reinstalling my video card drivers and controlling the brightness (or disabling it for that matter... as I put it near 0) through the video card. I didn't realize how insanely bright samsung monitors were. But it was nice to know when I called them that they had no problem exchanging it if I made the decision to.. In fact, the guy on the phone told me that their internal policy is that they will even exchange a monitor with only 1 dead pixel. He said it isn't publicized, but that is what their "unwritten" policy was. So anyone who is hanging on a thread between two companies, and RMA is important to you, maybe that will help.

I have one more quick question to anyone who might know. I thought that monitors with 16.7 million colors were 8-bit, but I have read everywhere that the 216bw is 6-bit, yet the specs on it say 16.7 million colors. Did they figure out some way to accomplish this color depth with only 6 bit? Either way, despite all the negative things I seem to have read about TN panels, I am delightfully happy with my 216bw. Which I guess is what really couunts.

 

[tw33ter]

NEC 90GX2

I'm trying to find an lcd for a friend. She mainly just surf's the net, with the occassional movie and game here and there. She's got about $250 to spend, would the 90gx2 be the best bet?

edit... just found out that the glossy coating will be an issue since it faces a window... what's the best one with an anti-glare coating?

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: xtknight
You have ClearType enabled, and probably poorly tuned. Try ClearTweak.

No guarantee that they will all go away, though. For that to happen you must use an OS that has better font AA or disable ClearType in its entirety. Calibrating the monitor with a colorimeter may possibly help.

Yay! Thanks for the link. I totally forgot about ClearType, because I didn't need it on my old monitor... oh well. ClearType is completely off now, but it's nice to have contrast in case I find some font that looks crappy.

 

[najames]

I am a HUGE multitasker. While programming at work and waiting for programs to run I often open a PuTTy window on the second monitor to run Solaris commands, like "df -h" to check space or "ls -la" to check files and permissions, etc. I will use both monitors to compare data side by side when changing programs. I was typing earlier posts while programs were running and surfing about the monitor at the same time.

No problems with dual monitors in WinXP for sure, it is easy to set up, and is fairly flawless. We all have Radeon 7x00 PCI slot video cards and Intel 915 onboard graphics. The only problem I encounter at work is the card's video gets a little squirrely sometimes (moire). I open the case and reseat the video card riser and it is good for another 6 months, been this way for 2 years now. I have done some reading about Ubuntu and it seems like it is easy now there too.

I'm a chameleon, both eyes go independently, unfortunately neither are connected to any gray matter. DOH!!

 

[theMan]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: theman
I am in the market for my first LCD. I thought I was going to keep my amazing 19" Sony Trinitron CRT forever, but sadly, I have no space for the monster anymore, so I must venture into the world of LCDs. I have been trying to parse through the incredible amount of information in this thread, but I just can't seem to get my head around it all. Maybe somebody can just kind of *tell* me what to do, because I am so confused. I did some looking and I found the Dell 2007WFP, which looked like a great LCD with a very low price. However, after reading this thread, and learning about the panel switch thing, there is no way I am going to buy it, especially since I kind of had a thing against dell... Now I am just confused (did I already say that?).

So here's what I need.

I will be doing internet/office type work, along with watching moves (pretty important for me), audio recording (don't know how much this factors into a display, but I will be doing a lot of it), playing games (not really hard core, but I don't want a completely terrible monitor for gaming), possibly a bit of photo editing, although that is not a high priority. Basically, I need an all around, good for almost everything LCD. As I said, I was originally planning on getting a 2007WFP, which at the time cost $380, but now costs $320. So, I would be willing to spend probably around $350 or so. I definitely value quality over size, but I don't want to get anything under 20", because this LCD is going along with my new 17" laptop, and I want to actually have a size difference to make it worth buying. I am pretty sure I want a widescreen for watching movies, so I haven't looked into any 4:3 displays.

I have noticed many 22" screens that are priced similarly to the 20.1", and I don't know if there is a picture quality issue between them and the 20" screens, because they appear to have the same resolution (1680x1050). That extra 22" is a kind of enticing though.... If somebody can point out a great 22" screen in my price area, that would be sweet.


I appreciate any help I can get here, and I really like this thread. I'm going to keep reading it and googling like crazy until I can come up with something. I hope I can kind of get pushed in the right direction though.


EDIT: I have just been reading this thread, and I have been turned on to the LG L226WTQ-BF.

I googled it and I see the advantages as being:
1.fast response time, no lag, good for gaming, good for movies.
2. good color quality, and image quality.
3. right at my price range.

Disadvantages are:
1. bad greyscale performance. I don't think this is an issue for anything i am doing though, but I am not sure what the implications are.

Is there anything else I should know about this LCD?

Oh yeah, and it looks like there are a ton of revisions to this monitor. Have there been a lot of improvements over previous L226 models?

I didn't notice that bad of grayscale performance on my L226WT, compared to most LCDs.

The L226WT and L226WTX are discontinued, but they were the same thing: the L226 without response time acceleration. The L226WTQ and L226WTY (the new models) feature the response time compensation. They are also exactly the same, to my knowledge. Perhaps different box contents or different warranty or something. Haven't really cared to research it much as they are largely the same. Some just think they're different models so people can't price match among stores.

It does sound like a good option for you, but you may also look into the NEC 20WMGX2. After rebates it's $80 more, and it's 20.1" size with a glossy screen. It's the "perfect" LCD for many. Very much worth the price IMO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...on=nec+20wmgx2&x=0&y=0

I've tested the 20WMGX2 and L226WT side by side, and I prefer the NEC in most cases except strictly text editing (where the L226WT's slight contrast advantage helps it). Anyway, in dark games, and for response time, the NEC is considerably and noticeably better. Why not pay $80 for significantly better performance? You get tons of inputs too, and a USB hub, and a TV tuner. And a glossy screen, and an IPS panel with faster response time, better color reproduction, and CRT-like viewing angles. It has a very stable image. That's in stark contrast to the LG (or a lot of LCDs) where you move your head and notice the image changing a lot. I do wish the NEC was bigger but it's still a great LCD and you said you valued image quality over size (much like me). Even though the LG is bigger it doesn't get you any more resolution anyway, so if you can see the NEC fine you're not missing anything.

I have been reading reviews of the 20WMGX2, and the one thing that the reviewers keep dwelling on is the fact that it cannot switch to 4:3 even though there is an option to do so. I have never had a widescreen LCD before, so I don't even know why you would need to switch... so I don't think that would be an problem. Also, many said it wasn't worth the price, but now that it's $430, that shouldn't be an issue. However, the one thing that deters me is the glossy screen. I have never been a fan of them. When I go to Best Buy or Compusa, those things are like mirrors. Maybe it is just because those stores have those bright warehouse lights... I was checking out laptops and some of the screens were so glossy, the keyboard actually reflected into it. I do have a fairly bright overhead light above where I usually work, so I don't know if that would be so good for me. But who knows, maybe the lights in Best Buy really are super bright compared to the ones in my room.

So do you think it basically comes down to those 2 monitors, for my price range and usage? Or are there any others I should consider?

Oh yeah, and are the speakers on it detachable? Because I already have good computer speakers and the thing just looks idiotic with those things on there. If not, would a hack saw work?

Thanks for the suggestion man. I appreciate it.

 

[bonga13]

hey, thanks for replying re the Acer al2223wd

thing is this -- I saw a screenshot somewhere online with someone using a MX 440.. that is pretty much a tier down from ti4200... and it shows the "digital flat panel" settings tab. I tried installing the new drivers as i mentioned but that didnt work.

As long as it's non-hardware related - ie. like i said, I rather not have the auto scale on.

What do you make of this monitor btw (there doesn't seem to have been a LOT of talk on it) thats all.

 

[puti]

I got myself at LG 226WTQ just recently. It's fantastic.

My thoughts:
-No ghosting (MD June 07). I tested this using the red cirle, gray background method as per older posts.
-Movies look great for a TN. Much better than I expected and on par with my CRT.
-Games are incredibly sharp.
-I really don't understand how people complain about pixel size being larger for 22" panels vs 20' panels. The pixels are tiny... Suggestion: If you can see individual pixels you are sitting WAY to close. Seriously.
-Color reproduction is very good. My flatmate has a Dell 24" and we agree that the quality of color is on par or very close.

I'm sure I would have been happier with a superior technology or larger screen but the laws of diminishing returns would have made me regret the purchase.

The only downside is that you must be directly in front of the screen.

 

[hywdx80]

http://www.digitalversus.com/d...&mo2=175&p2=1752&ph=12

Above: This test shows that the samsung 206bw has ZERO lag compared to a crt.

http://www.digitalversus.com/d...&mo2=195&p2=1857&ph=12

Above: this test shows the the samsung 226bw has some lag compared to a crt.

Is the samsung 206bw accurate ?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: FraggleRock
Thanks for the response knight. I was actually able to get the backlight bleeding down to practically nothing by uninstalling magictune, reinstalling my video card drivers and controlling the brightness (or disabling it for that matter... as I put it near 0) through the video card. I didn't realize how insanely bright samsung monitors were. But it was nice to know when I called them that they had no problem exchanging it if I made the decision to.. In fact, the guy on the phone told me that their internal policy is that they will even exchange a monitor with only 1 dead pixel. He said it isn't publicized, but that is what their "unwritten" policy was. So anyone who is hanging on a thread between two companies, and RMA is important to you, maybe that will help.

I have one more quick question to anyone who might know. I thought that monitors with 16.7 million colors were 8-bit, but I have read everywhere that the 216bw is 6-bit, yet the specs on it say 16.7 million colors. Did they figure out some way to accomplish this color depth with only 6 bit? Either way, despite all the negative things I seem to have read about TN panels, I am delightfully happy with my 216bw. Which I guess is what really couunts.

Yes, yes they have. Temporal and spatial dithering, see the OP[original post] for more details (particularly Hi-FRC).

Remember, it's all relative. Plenty of people are happy with TNs. It's generally true that those who don't work with monitors as much aren't as sensitive to their idiosyncrasies. For people like me the market can look pretty grim.

Nice to know about an "unwritten" policy. I've never heard of that before. But of course, don't judge a book by its cover. Some companies may actually have better policies than you'd think they would.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: hywdx80
http://www.digitalversus.com/d...&mo2=175&p2=1752&ph=12

Above: This test shows that the samsung 206bw has ZERO lag compared to a crt.

http://www.digitalversus.com/d...&mo2=195&p2=1857&ph=12

Above: this test shows the the samsung 226bw has some lag compared to a crt.

Is the samsung 206bw accurate ?

I don't think that's an accurate test result. That's the reason I'm not recommending the 206BW right now. I haven't seen an accurate input lag test of it yet.

Originally posted by: puti
I got myself at LG 226WTQ just recently. It's fantastic.

My thoughts:
-No ghosting (MD June 07). I tested this using the red cirle, gray background method as per older posts.
-Movies look great for a TN. Much better than I expected and on par with my CRT.
-Games are incredibly sharp.
-I really don't understand how people complain about pixel size being larger for 22" panels vs 20' panels. The pixels are tiny... Suggestion: If you can see individual pixels you are sitting WAY to close. Seriously.
-Color reproduction is very good. My flatmate has a Dell 24" and we agree that the quality of color is on par or very close.

I'm sure I would have been happier with a superior technology or larger screen but the laws of diminishing returns would have made me regret the purchase.

The only downside is that you must be directly in front of the screen.

Thanks for the report. Good to hear 100% that the ghosting issues are gone with the L226WT. I agree on a lot of your points. The L226WT is probably up there with a PVA except for the viewing angles. Honestly the contrast is great for a TN.

Originally posted by: bonga13
hey, thanks for replying re the Acer al2223wd

thing is this -- I saw a screenshot somewhere online with someone using a MX 440.. that is pretty much a tier down from ti4200... and it shows the "digital flat panel" settings tab. I tried installing the new drivers as i mentioned but that didnt work.

As long as it's non-hardware related - ie. like i said, I rather not have the auto scale on.

What do you make of this monitor btw (there doesn't seem to have been a LOT of talk on it) thats all.

A similar model to the Acer used to be on the recommendations list. However, it is based on the CMO 22" panel AFAIK (or the AUO) which have typically been behind the newly-released LG and Samsung panels. For that reason, LG- and Samsung-based panels have been recommended in place of the Acer.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: theman
I have been reading reviews of the 20WMGX2, and the one thing that the reviewers keep dwelling on is the fact that it cannot switch to 4:3 even though there is an option to do so. I have never had a widescreen LCD before, so I don't even know why you would need to switch... so I don't think that would be an problem. Also, many said it wasn't worth the price, but now that it's $430, that shouldn't be an issue. However, the one thing that deters me is the glossy screen. I have never been a fan of them. When I go to Best Buy or Compusa, those things are like mirrors. Maybe it is just because those stores have those bright warehouse lights... I was checking out laptops and some of the screens were so glossy, the keyboard actually reflected into it. I do have a fairly bright overhead light above where I usually work, so I don't know if that would be so good for me. But who knows, maybe the lights in Best Buy really are super bright compared to the ones in my room.

If you're seeing the keyboard in the monitor then that's a totally inaccurate assessment of how this LCD performs in normal lighting conditions. I have seen that happen with my glossy laptop in the sun, but that's about it.

The way my room is, the NEC reflects basically nothing. It's just a normal monitor with a nice, vibrant look and small glare in the corner when it's bright. Seriously, that's it. My room is set up with diffused lighting, however (the lamp points toward the ceiling to light the room).

So do you think it basically comes down to those 2 monitors, for my price range and usage? Or are there any others I should consider?

Oh yeah, and are the speakers on it detachable? Because I already have good computer speakers and the thing just looks idiotic with those things on there. If not, would a hack saw work?

Thanks for the suggestion man. I appreciate it.

I think the L226WT and 20WMGX2 are the LCDs for you. The w2207 is the L226WT's glossy brother, so perhaps that's a possibility. It has a USB hub too. I love those because you can plug your mouse into it.

You can screw the speakers off from the bezel on the NEC. Hacksaw could do it too, don't think your wife would be too fond of the end result.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: najames
I am a HUGE multitasker. While programming at work and waiting for programs to run I often open a PuTTy window on the second monitor to run Solaris commands, like "df -h" to check space or "ls -la" to check files and permissions, etc. I will use both monitors to compare data side by side when changing programs. I was typing earlier posts while programs were running and surfing about the monitor at the same time.

OK, never mind then. Obviously your attention span is far greater than mine. My brain is simply cooperative multitasking.

No problems with dual monitors in WinXP for sure, it is easy to set up, and is fairly flawless. We all have Radeon 7x00 PCI slot video cards and Intel 915 onboard graphics. The only problem I encounter at work is the card's video gets a little squirrely sometimes (moire). I open the case and reseat the video card riser and it is good for another 6 months, been this way for 2 years now. I have done some reading about Ubuntu and it seems like it is easy now there too.

I'm a chameleon, both eyes go independently, unfortunately neither are connected to any gray matter. DOH!!

Are you using DVI and you still see moire?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: tw33ter
NEC 90GX2

I'm trying to find an lcd for a friend. She mainly just surf's the net, with the occassional movie and game here and there. She's got about $250 to spend, would the 90gx2 be the best bet?

edit... just found out that the glossy coating will be an issue since it faces a window... what's the best one with an anti-glare coating?

Check out the Samsung 205BW. It sounds like an awesome value in this case.

OfficeMax has "instant savings" on the 205BW, available for just $199.99 USD (until 8/05). And even at that price it's still the best in its class.

 

[ecksor]

Dell 2407WFP-HC gamma 2.2 6500K profile - calibrated with Spyder2 Pro in full dark (no ambient light compensation)

Please let me know if anyone wants to play with different settings - gamma, temperature, ambient light, luminance etc.

Thanks.

 

[bryanvlo]

Thanks ecksor - What OSD settings are you using?

 

[ecksor]

You are welcome. For calibration I always use monitor's defaults.