Soyo Topaz S 24" LCD $279 at Office Max

[Jumpem]

The model is DYLM24D6. Any thoughts on this monitor?

 

[isekii]

I have one and I love it.

I want to pick up another and @ 279 I have a coupon for $40 off I might as well pick up another one.

Final total for me is $256.79 shipped.

I don't know if I want to pull the trigger.

it's so tempting though

 

[ther00kie16]

Apparently they've started to use crappy TN panels for these. A lot of people complained & returned them after getting a TN panel. I love mine that I got for $250 on Black Friday though. There was basically no line and no one was there to get a monitor. Much better deal than the $280 (AR) TN panel Acer that so many people were waiting for at Compusa.

Edit: If I were you, I'd hold off buying a 24" because the prices have been dropping. In a couple of months, you can probably find deals for 24" lcds from the big names for $300ish.

 

[imported_tex]

The Soyo DYLM24D6 may or may not be a P-MVA panel. (edit:4-21-08 This is incorrect: the panels are either TN or S-PVA see below edit:4-21-08 NO at least some ARE P-MVA see below)

Check the box - if it says 6ms response time then you are good to go. The evidence is that since the beginning of the year, these monitors have been manufactured with a TN panel.

Now the good news:

Soyo is putting P-MVA (edit: No, these are S-PVA -- see below for more; edit: NO the available hard evidence is that at least some are P-MVA) panels into their Prive line (Topaz LC MT-GW-PRLM24D4) I just acquired one from Geeks.com ($289). Excellent colors, no dead pixels. Further, it seems to run cool -- in contrast to reports of the Topaz S as running very hot. That may have contributed to the various failures reported. This line is newish for Soyo and might be a redesign that addresses some of the problems from the earlier units. If so, it makes sense to buy a new Prive rather than a refuburb or new monitor from OfficeMax, which has only the 'value' Soyo 24" (DYLM24D6).

BTW, Soyo acquired the Honeywell name last year and will begin to sell LCD TVs and monitors under that name later this year.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lanyap]

Originally posted by: tex
Soyo is putting P-MVA panels into their Prive line (Topac LC MT-GW-PRLM24D4) I just acquired one from Geeks.com ($289). Excellent colors, no dead pixels. Further, it seems to run cool -- in contrast to reports of the Topaz S as running very hot. That may have contributed to the various failures reported. This line is newish for Soyo and might be a redesign that addresses some of the problems from the earlier units. If so, it makes sense to buy a new Prive rather than a refuburb or new monitor from OfficeMax, which has only the 'value' Soyo 24" (DYLM24D6).

The casing and controls on the Prive look the same as OM Topaz, is that correct?

Link
http://www.geeks.com/details.a...MT-GW-PRLM24D4&cat=MON

Shipping for me is $17.00 ground CA > AL. $289 is a sale price and the best price I see. It appears that they do not have many in stock. Geeks.com and it's sister stores (e.g. PacificGeeks) appear to be the only store that has this model. $296 with no tax is a nice price for me.

24" Soyo MT-GW-PRLM24D4 DVI/VGA Wide LCD Monitor w/Speakers -- Part #: MT-GW-PRLM24D4

Quantity Remaining at the Sale Price:
20 units at $289.99 each.

Quantity Remaining at the Regular Price:
15 units at $309.99 each.

 

[ther00kie16]

buy.com has it also and is cheaper with 5% off coupon and cash back.
LINK

Edit: Oh and if you have your googlecheckout discount, it's even cheaper.

 

[imported_tex]

The unit looks the same as the other unit as near as I can tell from the pics, apart from the text on the bezel. The owner's manual, such as it is, does not reference the other model.

 

[imported_tex]

The geeks.com price is the best right now at $289 (Buy.com is $309 and a couple of others are $329 ).

If I'm in the market I'd grab the geeks unit because people searching for a cheap MVA panel will see this thread soon enough.

Might be fun to see just how fast the units disappear -- set your watches.

 

[ther00kie16]

yea, geeks is cheaper now. it didn't show up as $289 for me before that's why buy.com seemed cheaper.

 

[jrichrds]

Originally posted by: tex
Soyo is putting P-MVA panels into their Prive line (Topac LC MT-GW-PRLM24D4) I just acquired one from Geeks.com ($289). Excellent colors, no dead pixels. Further, it seems to run cool -- in contrast to reports of the Topaz S as running very hot.

The default brightness range was cranked way up on the earlier Topaz S 24" (e.g. July '07 units and older), which I think contributed to overheating issues. I have my July '07 unit's brightness set to 10, and it's still way too bright according to my colorimeter.
Later units (e.g. Sept. '07) had the brightness range toned down.

 

[troytime]

bought three of these yesterday at 299. so far they're all great

all three are p-mva panels, which makes the deal even sweeter

think i can go back tomorrow and get a price adjustment?

 

[imported_tex]

Here is some more information on the Soyo monitors.

The monitors are rebadged units, the V247 produced by Great Wall (mainland China - Soyo is Taiwanese) (product link (Chinese) http://www.greatwall.cn/produc...d=V247&tid=BE&aid=BEG). The panels are S-PVA, almost certainly Samsung sourced. Note that a number of other posts have incorrectly claimed these are P-MVA panels (AUoptronics).

A query to my monitor (in *nix use:
grep "(?)" /var/log/Xorg.0.log
in Windows you may find it somewhere in the display control panel)
results in an identification of M24EI4. It seems Great Wall also produces the same model with a M24EI5 (see below). Notice, btw the similarity between the Soyo product numbers and the Great Wall numbers:

M24EI4 --> PRLM24D4 (Prive), DYLM24D6 (Soyo)

M24EI5 --> This has been reported with the DYLM24D6. It is not clear how these reports match with manufacturing date or panel, however.

For Great Wall, these both correspond to the V247 model: one black the other white. So this distinction may not have anything to do with the panel in the unit.

The most reliable indicator of panel type is still probably the response time (assuming the units are in the corresponding boxes). 6ms -->S-PVA; 5ms,2ms --> TN

 

[imported_tex]

Some additional information that helps to explain all of the TN, S-PVA panel questions.

Great Wall introduced a new 24" model at the beginning of the year - the M247 - which uses a 6bit TN panel. The manufacturing dates on these models begin in mid-December. The V247 was introduced in July 2007.

So, I speculate that Soyo is now rebadging the M247 as the DYLM24D6, and the V247 (S-PVA) as the PRLM24D4. Before December, the V247 was the DYLM24D6.

(BUT I just found evidence that at least some DYLM24D6 ARE P-MVA panels sourced from AUoptronics ....... soooooo, there is only one thing to do. Yes, time to crack open my new LCD and see what's inside.)

I'll report back later today.

 

[ther00kie16]

In Everest, mine says M24EI4 so I'm guessing it's S-PVA. If I understand everything correctly, S-PVA is better than P-MVA, which makes this monitor even better, at least the non-TN ones. Also, on one of the Chinese forums there was a question MVA/PVA for the Great Wall models and one of the posts said something about using diluted sulfuric acid on the the screen.

tex, you mind reporting on how to open the monitor cuz I know from experience that different lcds are opened differently? The humming of this monitor is really bothering me sometimes and I may want to see if I can do anythign about it.

 

[imported_tex]

Here's the story:

My unit (Prive PRLM24D4 reports as M24EI4 which corresponds to Great Wall model V247) is an AUoptronics panel manufactured Aug 2007. This means it is a P-MVA panel.

So at least some of my speculation above is wrong.

It is possible, I suppose that Soyo is not rebranding the Great Wall units. But, they have the same casing and the internal model numbers (upon querying the monitor) match. Yet, the Great Wall units are reported as having S-PVA panels (which would likely be Samsung) and the Soyo units in at least some cases have Auoptronics P-MVA panels.

I'm prepared to stick with the guess that Great Wall is the manufacturer and at least some of the V247 monitors were P-MVA. It would be interesting to get a few more data points from people with Soyos. It takes about 10 min to crack the case and lift the electronics interface from the back of the panel enough to see the manufacturer of the panel.

 

[imported_tex]

Re: opening the monitor
It is quite easy. You will need a phillips head screwdriver and a thin flat blade.
(1) Disconnect cables, power etc.
(2) Remove the stand or wall mount(3)Lay the unit face down on a nice clean flat surface (Don't want to scratch the monitor face. If you still have the plastic cover the unit was shipped with use that. BTW it makes a good dust cover for the monitor).
(4) Remove the screws around the outside of the casing - there are 8 or 10 in all.
(5) Pry the plastic casing apart using a thin, flat blade (I used a wood chisel ). Be gentle to avoid munging the plastic. Don't force it and do it slowly to various points on the unit. Then work slowly around the case - the two pieces snap together with a slight ridge. It will eventually yield cleanly without any need to force the pieces apart.
(6) The back of the unit is just a cover -- there are no controls or connections to worry about.
(7) When the cover is off, you will see the controls and the memory and addressing electronics on one PCB to the left (looking from the back of the panel). There is a housing over the top of the panel -- this also serves as the cage to support the panel and attach it to the stand or a wall mount.
(8) There are four screws for the housing. Take them out.
(9) Slowly peel back the heavy metal foil attached to the housing and the panel frame -- it has a tacky adhesive on it and can be easily smoothed back into place when you are done.
(10) Lift the housing from the right side to look in and see the panel information. I did not completely remove the housing -- this would involve detaching the two connectors to the electronics on the panel.

(11) !!!!!! When you reassemble make sure the housing is secured -- this is the mounting for the panel to the stand. !!!!!!!!


The whole procedure took 10 minutes.

 

[ther00kie16]

AUO m240uw01 which turns out to be P-MVA and is a very common panel in 24" lcds since AUO is owned by BenQ, 2nd largest lcd panel manufacturer for monitors. So picture-wise, this is equal to many other 24" lcds except for the better Samsung made panels.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: tex
Re: opening the monitor
It is quite easy. You will need a phillips head screwdriver and a thin flat blade.
(1) Disconnect cables, power etc.
(2) Remove the stand or wall mount(3)Lay the unit face down on a nice clean flat surface (Don't want to scratch the monitor face. If you still have the plastic cover the unit was shipped with use that. BTW it makes a good dust cover for the monitor).
(4) Remove the screws around the outside of the casing - there are 8 or 10 in all.
(5) Pry the plastic casing apart using a thin, flat blade (I used a wood chisel ). Be gentle to avoid munging the plastic. Don't force it and do it slowly to various points on the unit. Then work slowly around the case - the two pieces snap together with a slight ridge. It will eventually yield cleanly without any need to force the pieces apart.
(6) The back of the unit is just a cover -- there are no controls or connections to worry about.
(7) When the cover is off, you will see the controls and the memory and addressing electronics on one PCB to the left (looking from the back of the panel). There is a housing over the top of the panel -- this also serves as the cage to support the panel and attach it to the stand or a wall mount.
(8) There are four screws for the housing. Take them out.
(9) Slowly peel back the heavy metal foil attached to the housing and the panel frame -- it has a tacky adhesive on it and can be easily smoothed back into place when you are done.
(10) Lift the housing from the right side to look in and see the panel information. I did not completely remove the housing -- this would involve detaching the two connectors to the electronics on the panel.

(11) !!!!!! When you reassemble make sure the housing is secured -- this is the mounting for the panel to the stand. !!!!!!!!


The whole procedure took 10 minutes.

Since my OM won't let me do that at the store; (I didn't formally asked but just assumed :laugh I guess the only thing is look at the response time as indicated on the box.

 

[Moffat Cafe]

RKS, There is another thing you could do. Buy it and off/on cover at home. If it is not what you want, return it.

 

[MiataPaul]

So I am torn now. I was going to buy this at office max but I want to make sure I do not get a TN panel. I was interested in getting one from th Max because there extended warranty is supposed to be good. Dose any one know about the extended warranty computer geeks sells? is it any good? I normally do not get one, but since this panel only has a year warranty and there dose seem to be some quality issues I think it might not be a bad $45 investment. The geeks policy on dead pixels seems as lame as Newegg's.

 

[imported_tex]

Can't help you much.

If you get one at OM and the unit goes bad -- they replace it, but you may wind up with a TN panel. That said $45 sounds like a good deal if the unit dies 1 day after the warranty runs out, but what will 24" monitors cost a year from now? Like most insurance, it usually doesn't pay unless you are confident you'll need it.

Sorry to say, the Geeks.com deal is gone -- the Prive is now $309 (the normal price).

Here are ways to spot a unit that doesn't have a TN panel.

1) If the box says 6ms. (Hopefully the boxes are accurate.)
2) If the manufacture date on the monitor is before December (probably if before mid-December).
3) Take it home, pop it open and take a look.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: tex
Here is some more information on the Soyo monitors.

The monitors are rebadged units, the V247 produced by Great Wall (mainland China - Soyo is Taiwanese) (product link (Chinese) http://www.greatwall.cn/produc...d=V247&tid=BE&aid=BEG). The panels are S-PVA, almost certainly Samsung sourced. Note that a number of other posts have incorrectly claimed these are P-MVA panels (AUoptronics).

A query to my monitor (in *nix use:
grep "(?)" /var/log/Xorg.0.log
in Windows you may find it somewhere in the display control panel)
results in an identification of M24EI4. It seems Great Wall also produces the same model with a M24EI5 (see below). Notice, btw the similarity between the Soyo product numbers and the Great Wall numbers:

M24EI4 --> PRLM24D4 (Prive), DYLM24D6 (Soyo)

M24EI5 --> This has been reported with the DYLM24D6. It is not clear how these reports match with manufacturing date or panel, however.

For Great Wall, these both correspond to the V247 model: one black the other white. So this distinction may not have anything to do with the panel in the unit.

The most reliable indicator of panel type is still probably the response time (assuming the units are in the corresponding boxes). 6ms -->S-PVA; 5ms,2ms --> TN

Is there a 3ms panel for the Soyo 24" Topaz S ?

if so what panel would it be ?

 

[imported_tex]

3ms would be a TN panel.

I don't know which TN panels are in the Soyo units. While there are some 5ms panels that are not TN, I believe any panel faster than 5ms is TN. The Great Wall M247 is a 5ms response (gray to gray) and is a TN panel.

 

[Chunkee]

my brother bought one of these...there was a pack of newports in the box still sealed...good thing he likes menthols what a nice perk

a new monitor and a free pack of smokes!!!!!

 

[masterosok]

Buddy of mine got one for his g/f and I ordered one today.. He got a mva panel from store.. I ordered mine over the phone due to a $40 coupon I received so what panel I get will the the luck of the draw.. hopefully I get the MVA...