I own a 950p as well, although I've only had it for a few months. I like it a lot, but I do have a few small complaints (may just be my particular monitor):
1: Geometry is way off when you get to the edges of the screen; to the point where it can't be completely "adjusted away". The top bows down, the right side curves in slightly from top to bottom, and the very bottom of the picture isn't quite level. That said, the rest of the picture seems fine.
2: I've noticed the brightness/contrast thing myself, although mine seems to be the opposite: I've got the brightness cranked all the way down, and the contrast set somewhere in the middle. On top of that, I have to push the brightness down further from within my video card controls - I swear, you could use this thing for a spotlight! That makes it good for office work and web surfing, but I have to go back into the vc controls to bring the brightness back to normal if I want to play any games. Otherwise everything is almost black.
3. Unless the focus is set just right, I get these weirdo-looking bands across the screen - looks like the colorbanding you'd see when you play a game in 16bit, except that the bands aren't straight, they form waves across the screen.
When all is said and done, I guess I should've sent it back for a replacement when I saw all of this stuff. I cured everything but the geometry though, and I do like it. Besides, how much can you expect for $160? (got it through a dell deal over the summer)
Nate