Should I return an FPD2485W for a 2407WFP?

[BPB]

I just opened my Gateway FPD2485W box last night and put the monitor together. I am very pleased with it. Now I see this review saying the Dell is a tad better. Anybody know if it's enough better that I should consider returning the Gateway (purchased at BestBuy) and getting the Dell at Costco? In the end the Dell would cost me about $30 more than the Gateway because I purchased the Gateway in tax-free NH. The Dell I would have to get at Costco in MA because the Costco in NH doesn't sell the Dell.

 

[imported_RedStar]

all that hassle of return...just for a "tad"?

 

[chizow]

The review is really good in terms of stating the differences between the two. I felt the Dell had better colors out of the box, better panel uniformity, and absolutely no backlight bleed. The Gateway has a nicer stand, less input lag (imo), and less ghosting/trailing. The Gateway's ghosting is a bit strange though, as it "smears" darker colors instead of lighter trails of the ghosted color and earlier panels seem to have a shimmering problem on certain textures. Both seem to be caused by an over-zealous overdriving circuit.

Otherwise the panels are very similar in the same price range. With Revision A04 the Dell can do 1:1 as well. The Dell has a 3 year warranty and a card reader and the Gateway has only 1 year but has an extra component input. I liked the OSD and menu buttons on the Dell better but overall I like the styling of the Gateway better. I don't think you'd be disappointed with either panel honestly. The one major deal-breaker for some people with the Gateway seems to be the inverse ghosting/smearing and shimmering.

 

[BPB]

Thanks a lot for the reply. IF I can return the Gateway, and IF Costco has 'em in stock (I wonder how I can tell if it's an A04) I will return the Gateway. The big IF is BestBuy, they can be such a pain in the butt. If the Costco I went to in NH had the Dell to begin with I would have simply gotten the Dell. Oh well.

The one major deal-breaker for some people with the Gateway seems to be the inverse ghosting/smearing and shimmering.

Actually, the biggest now that I think about it is the three year versus one year warranty. I called Gateway and the $30 three year warranty is available only to direct purchasers, not via retail outlets like BestBuy. I assumed I could call them and get it. This is THE reason I will return it if I can. Of course getting the Dell at Costco lessons return worries for the Dell that much more.

Oh, do you agree that neither of these does DVD playback well?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: BPB
Thanks a lot for the reply. IF I can return the Gateway, and IF Costco has 'em in stock (I wonder how I can tell if it's an A04) I will return the Gateway. The big IF is BestBuy, they can be such a pain in the butt. If the Costco I went to in NH had the Dell to begin with I would have simply gotten the Dell. Oh well.

Oh, do you agree that neither of these does DVD playback well?

As long as you're within the 14 day return period at Best Buy, they shouldn't give you any problems. That's the biggest advantage to giving the Gateway a shot imo, you can hand-pick it and test it first hand and not pay any shipping if you don't like it. You'll also get a return credit instantly instead of weeks later. I finally got my 2407 credit approved and its been a month lol. I knew Dell was a PITA though when it came to returns so I knew what I was getting myself into.

The Dell says the revision # right on the box. Next to the UPC code there's a barcode and Rev. #. If you're willing to risk Dell CS and their refund period, you can probably get a better price if you order directly from Dell, or even one of the bigger resellers on Ebay. The Rev A04 is almost a guarantee direct from Dell now; Costco could very well have older stock, but if the guy hands you an A03, just ask him to look for an A04. If they say they can't, say you don't want it.

For DVD movies, it really depends on the source/input. If you're using a software player, it depends on the software player and the DVD quality since its being upscaled. Some movies look excellent, some leave a lot to be desired. If you're going from a BRD/HD-DVD/1080p upscaled DVD via component/DVI or HD satellite/cable, movies look spectacular. 1:1 is really important if you want to use external inputs for HD content. The viewable image also makes maximum use of the screen at native 1080 compared to software DVD playback which will waste a lot of real estate depending on the aspect of the source.

 

[Matt2]

I just bought the Gateway at CC last night for $649.99 and I must say that I am impressed. After reading all the negative reviews, I was expecting to return this monitor first thing this morning, but I actually think it's better than anything I would get from Dell.

I bought it at CC instead of ordering the Dell online for $50 cheaper because I wanted to be able to return it without shipping or hassles from the online vendor.

Turns out the panel I have is perfect. No backlight bleeding, no dead pixels. Response time is good. I did notice the inverse smearing on dark colors, but I literally had to stare at my mouse pointer while I ran it over a black web page in order to see it.

The near deal breaker for me was the banding, but its actually not that bad. A little worse than my S-IPS Dell 2007WFP, but I can't see the 2407WFP being any better from what I read.

Make sure you use EzTune to clean up the colors.

 

[BPB]

Originally posted by: Matt2
I just bought the Gateway at CC last night for $649.99 and I must say that I am impressed. After reading all the negative reviews, I was expecting to return this monitor first thing this morning, but I actually think it's better than anything I would get from Dell....
Make sure you use EzTune to clean up the colors.

Ah, you give me hope too! chizow has been a great help, and I was already beginning to think maybe I should keep the Gateway thanks to his posts. Now that I know I can get the Gateway even cheaper I may simply go to CC in NH and then do a return at BB. Still, the 1 year warranty on the Gateway is a worry...

How can you get the Dell so cheap? I saw it as $674 online with the discount and $674 at Costco. Am I missing something?

How did you use the EzTune to adjust the colors? I used it for brightness, etc. Oh, in case you don't know, there is a new version and it's Vista compatible.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: BPB

Originally posted by: Matt2
I just bought the Gateway at CC last night for $649.99 and I must say that I am impressed. After reading all the negative reviews, I was expecting to return this monitor first thing this morning, but I actually think it's better than anything I would get from Dell....
Make sure you use EzTune to clean up the colors.

Ah, you give me hope too! chizow has been a great help, and I was already beginning to think maybe I should keep the Gateway thanks to his posts. Now that I know I can get the Gateway even cheaper I may simply go to CC in NH and then do a return at BB. Still, the 1 year warranty on the Gateway is a worry...

How can you get the Dell so cheap? I saw it as $674 online with the discount and $674 at Costco. Am I missing something?

How did you use the EzTune to adjust the colors? I used it for brightness, etc. Oh, in case you don't know, there is a new version and it's Vista compatible.

You can get the Dell for $649 shipped from here

I shyed away from this because you cant just keep returning the screen until you get the one you want. Plus I've never heard of the company before and buying something like this over the internet from somewhere other than the manufacturer worries me.

To calibrate your colors go to extras--->Wizard and it will take you through a pretty painless process and you'll have full control over it.

If you go to CC, they're going to try and charge you $679.99. Make sure you tell them that it is listed at $649.99 on their website and they'll change the price for you no questions asked. Also, on their website you can enter your zip code and see which stores in your area have them in stock before you go hunting for one.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: BPB

Originally posted by: Matt2
I just bought the Gateway at CC last night for $649.99 and I must say that I am impressed. After reading all the negative reviews, I was expecting to return this monitor first thing this morning, but I actually think it's better than anything I would get from Dell....
Make sure you use EzTune to clean up the colors.

Ah, you give me hope too! chizow has been a great help, and I was already beginning to think maybe I should keep the Gateway thanks to his posts. Now that I know I can get the Gateway even cheaper I may simply go to CC in NH and then do a return at BB. Still, the 1 year warranty on the Gateway is a worry...

How can you get the Dell so cheap? I saw it as $674 online with the discount and $674 at Costco. Am I missing something?

How did you use the EzTune to adjust the colors? I used it for brightness, etc. Oh, in case you don't know, there is a new version and it's Vista compatible.

You can stack a 10-15% coupon on top of that promotion price which should get you to @$600 + tax shipped. The large resellers on Ebay are selling the A04 new for $575-600 + 25 or so shipping, no tax and ship direct from Dell. They also offer the 3-year warranty, but you may have to get it transferred. I don't think you can return it though if you go that route.

I got the Gateway for $598+tax at BB with the 12% Rewards Zone coupon, although its somewhat of a YMMV situation. Also remember that CC may charge you 15% restocking on opened products.

For colors, you can use EzTune but I found if you followed the instructions, you end up with a mess. I ended up using other people's settings to get a good image, but the best way is to apply the colorimeter ICC profile Jarred provided. You can apply the profile by following these steps:

1) Get the MS Color Control Applet and install it.

2) Download the Color Profile ICC provided by Jarred at AT and extract it anywhere, just remember where.

3) Run the MS Color Control Applet through Control Panel > Appearance > Colors.
Note: (On Windows XP Media Edition it's just Control Panel > Color).

4) Go to the 2nd tab Profiles. Hit Install and navigate to where you saved the Color Profile ICC. Select the ICC and it should show up in the compatible profile window .

5) Go to the 3rd tab Devices. Select your Graphics Card entry, hit Add and choose the Gateway Profile you just added. Hit Apply and OK.
Note: (My computer did not go Jarred's new professionally calibrated color profile until I clicked the 'Save as default' button too, then poof!! Much better).

Pretty sure RGB are default 100, set your brightness/constrast to 60/61. Keep in mind the corrected colors will only work while running PC input from XP, not sure if they work in Vista or not.

Edit: Added links to the different color profile files, they didn't carry over I guess.

 

[BPB]

Originally posted by: chizow
1) Get the MS Color Control Applet and install it.

2) Download the Color Profile ICC provided by Jarred at AT and extract it anywhere, just remember where.

Great stuff! Thanks. I dual-boot XP Pro and Vista Ultimate, so I can at least use it for XP. Much obliged.

The CC I would use in NH is OOS, I don't feel like driving 30 minutes to another CC to save the $30 because I don't live in NH. I'm actually about 60 minutes away from that part of NH. Oh well, I'll talk to the Misses and maybe we'll make a trip of it and hit some other stores as well. It's looking more and more like I'll simply stay with what I have.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: BPB

Originally posted by: chizow
1) Get the MS Color Control Applet and install it.

2) Download the Color Profile ICC provided by Jarred at AT and extract it anywhere, just remember where.

Great stuff! Thanks. I dual-boot XP Pro and Vista Ultimate, so I can at least use it for XP. Much obliged.

The CC I would use in NH is OOS, I don't feel like driving 30 minutes to another CC to save the $30 because I don't live in NH. I'm actually about 60 minutes away from that part of NH. Oh well, I'll talk to the Misses and maybe we'll make a trip of it and hit some other stores as well. It's looking more and more like I'll simply stay with what I have.

I would say stick with it. The 2407wfp is not going to blow the Gateway out of the water, in fact, I bet you'd be sorely disappointed with going through the hassle of returning the gateway, getting the 2407 and then finding out that it's marginally better in some respects, but marginally worse in others.

After the initial shock of seeing my tax return disappear in almost one purchase, this monitor is rapidly growing on me. Even my GF who only uses the computer for Sims2 and myspace told me not to return it cause she liked it.

Also, thanks Chizow for the color profile, much easier than using the EzTune wizard.

 

[secretanchitman]

read ATs review on the 2407WFP on the front page...should give you a good comparison.

also, if you want an internal card reader and only 1 component input instead of the 2 like you get on the gateway (i think).

personally, i would go for the dell, since it has a better warranty and slightly better colors, though the gateway is also good, but its a bit too bright.

 

[postmortemIA]

nobody to mention that older (<A04 rev.) 2407WFP and this gateway are both using same Samsung S-PVA panel... thus they can't differ that much. Added with lack of 1:1 support on older 2407WFP and that there's no guarantee you'll get A04 rev it hardly seems worth the trouble.