Dell 2405FPW owners, this question is for you

[daftpunkit]

Is it loud?
Is it laggy?

I am seriously thinking of buying this monitor but me being me, I scour the internet for reviews on any big purchases. And after a lot of reviews I read the only real review that has bugged me is the one THG reported.

The monitor's higher native resolution would very comfortably support the display of two pages of text side by side. Unfortunately, brightness is too strong for the office. It may seem a bit crazy, but a more economical solution could be to buy two monitors - a 17" and a 19"! This arrangement would support office applications and still be suitable for CAD.

Video noise while watching DVDs is strongly evident. This is a shame, because the format of the screen would be perfect for this application. Forget it, though - there is definitely too much video noise and, in addition, viewing angles aren't suitable. Games are clearly not this monitor's strength, either; it's too slow, and the monitor displays annoying lags. Worst of all, moving images lose sharpness in their textures.

THG is usually pretty honest in their reviews, and the other sites I have read are I would more bias? because the people writing them want to justify their purchase of a $1000 monitor, which is completely understandable.

So is the monitor really loud? Is it lousy at games?
This monitor has been in the back of my head since it came out because being I wanted it to serve as a monitor for photo/video editing, ocasional gaming (but it's FPS gaming), and it would beat my bedroom's TV in shear size so I'd watch dvds on it frequently. But video noise? is loud? I haven't seen this complaint about the 2405FPW so far until THG pointed it out.

Thanks in advance

 

[gunblade]

Loud? Video noise means the noise in display, not something you can hear. Just like when using camera at night, you can see more noise for higher ISO. That is not something you described as loud or silent.

 

[daftpunkit]

I was hoping it was audible noise not like interference...
Yeh my knowledge of video and audio is lacking... so noise means like distortion, like white lines, etc?

Thats not good... :frown:

 

[Jaskalas]

Audio and Video are typically.. and should be separate. In the case of 2405 it is.

Laggy? Umm... perception is everything when it comes to response time. The 2405 has a good one. Although, I'm not entirely sure you're referring to response time. This could be a question of if you like LCDs in general or not, because if you do I can't see how this one would disappoint you.

As for the strange idea of white lines.... no idea what you're talking about, no LCD should have distortion, ever. If it does, something is either wrong with it or the computer.

I own a 2005 FPW, the smaller version of the 2405 and it was also my first LCD. These dell LCDs do not disappoint me and make me very confident in any future LCDs I buy.

 

[daftpunkit]

I have been using a laptop since 2000 when away from my desktop and I have always loved LCDs just never really used it for editing and gaming. The laptop is a Toshiba Satellite but it is over 4 yr old and DVDs dont look great but are viewable. I just don't like to spend $800 on something like a display which I would rather see in person. Parts are different, but its like buying clothes and shoes off the internet, I'd rather try it on.

The culprit I think is the % of faulty monitors that Dell ships. Like some people here love their 20"+ LCDs from Dell, while others spite them. I think some of the review sites that didn't like the 2405FPW got a defective one.

The list of cons I have seen on reviews aren't evident in the owners of the 2405FPWs on these forums.
One site said the monitor made a high pitch noise that got louder as time grew. Another said during dvd play the picture didnt seem that sharp, like pixelated. Someone on these boards said something like the 2405FPW is great if you luck out and get one that isn't refurbed etc etc cause apparently Dell has some shady selling methods.

I think I will give it a shot and just RMA it if I don't like it. Just 800$ is a lot to a college student but I can spare it by all means. (I want a pretty display vs upgrading the system as of right now)

 

[Willie11b]

Personally I love mine. I bought it for work reasons but have ended up playing games because it is so nice. BF2 looks great and HL2 will actually make you sick to your stomach. Not exactly a rousing endorsement but it looks so good that I get motion sickness after a while on the faster parts of the game. I am definitely not wealthy and buying this was a stretch for me also but was well worth it. Photographs have never looked better. Wait until you flip through some of your pictures.

Another point that you made was that you would rather buy the monitor than upgrade your computer. If you buy this monitor, you will want to have a computer with the capability to push it. Higher resolutions = lower frame rate. If your computer is ageing, you may be disappointed as things will get choppy.

My 2c

 

[Parkre]

Mine is beautiful, I told my gf that and she looked at me as if I cheated on her. In a way, I did because she's not around and I have some digital hottie posing for wallpaper...hehe.. I have not heard a peep, whistle, or toot from mine. not even when it switches res like my old CRT. I play BF2 on it nonstop (literally). It's great.

I do feel sorry for those who got a defective one.

 

[Bowsky]

I love my 2405fpw. The monitor is completely silent and the picture is flawless. It runs games great with no ghosting. There are some slight color problems in darker areas of HL2 but nothing worth complaining about. The monitor has no problems switching to non-native resolutions. Granted, its not as sharp as its native resolution, but it is much better than other LCDs. As for the pixilated DVDs, it depends on what player you are using. Since DVDs are only 480p (720x480), if the image is displayed as is it will appear pixilated on a 1920x1200 screen. However, I use Video LAN and the player does an awesome job playing back DVDs full screen at a very superb quality.

Adding to what Willie11b said, if you do plan on playing games make sure you have a system that can run games at such high resolutions. I have a 6800gt and I find it pretty capable. I can run every game except for F.E.A.R. at 1920x1200 a acceptable frame rates (40+). Although I am not able to really turn on too much AA or AF before taking a larger performance hit.

 

[jdogg707]

THG is a bunch of nonsensical idiots who couldn't pull a honest review out of their a$$'s. Seriously, my 2405FPW is a great monitor. I play games on it all the time and have problems with lag or slowdown, and textures do not lose their sharpness. As for DVD's, I use PoiwerDVD 6 Deluxe and it works great, maybe not the best quality, but then again, DVD's are not HD and therefore will show some signs of this during playback (Then again this isn't exclusive to this monitor, as it is true in any case where a high resolution monitor or TV meets a low resolution source). Get the monitor, make sure you have a video card capable of driving the monitor and the games you plan on playing on it.

 

[daftpunkit]

Sound good so far. Just waiting for the next time it drop to the $800-900 range and I'll jump on it. I have a old 9800Pro, but don't game really anymore, but also might be getting a sweet deal on some OC'd 6800GT for $50 when back on campus. It really sounds like the people who rated it bad just got bad units.

Ebay has the $2405FPW for $850 buyout for 'new'...

 

[jtvang125]

I read that a few people did experience a noise, sort of a buzzing sound, but mine is silent. I usually have music on so even if there is a slight buzz I probably can't hear it. I also play plenty of games on it and haven't noticed any ghosting or lag issues. This could be dependant on the person but it doesn't affect me. Also with the video noise watching dvds, of course there's going to be video noise watching it full screen. What did they expect, it's stretching 720x480 pixels to fill 1920x1200. The only thing that will help is sitting farther away.

I also tried watching 1080p video clips in full screen and it's awesome. So the video noise with dvds isnt a problem with the monitor, just a drawback of the lower resolutions with dvds.

 

[Ronin]

Never heard a peep out of my monitor, and the visual acuity is amazing.

 

[daftpunkit]

What did they expect, it's stretching 720x480 pixels to fill 1920x1200. The only thing that will help is sitting farther away.

Yeah that makes perfect sense. Wonder why THG didn't pick up on that. Fie to them! Fie I say! FIEEEEEE!

 

[racolvin]

My 2405 is the best computer related purchase I've made in years, no question. some developers haven't yet realized that their applications need to scale to higher resolutions dynamically though. I posted a rant about Dungeon Siege II today since it maxed out at 1280x1024 out of the box. Hi-res and widescreen gaming is here to stay and the devs need to just step up. Heck, if they'd just give me a wider field of view that would make me happy ..

but I digress

The 2405 FPW is an AWESOME monitor. No audio noise and no video noise, at least not using DVI. As for response time, the only thing I've noticed is that in Doom3 or Splinter Cell:Chaos Theory, when move my camera on the horizontal, sometimes I get a momentary line across. This same thing occurred on my CRT but it wasn't as noticeable. On the LCD, I notice it. But its only for a split-sec and then you're back to normal

R

 

[Janooo]

There is a long thread on DELL's website about the noise coming out of the monitor. It's known issue. Dell acknowledges it and they work on it. Check it out.

 

[Janooo]

The thread has 17 pages already:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums...d=44518&view=by_date_ascending&page=17

 

[Ackmed]

Sorry, but Toms is laughable.

 

[Busithoth]

The sound bar on mine can get kind of loud, though nothing in comparison to my Klipsch speakers.

Video noise on mine is hard to see. I downloaded some HD wmv movies, and they looked superb.
I think you have nothing to worry about. (except that buzz that people report. It's cause for sending it back)

 

[magnumty]

this monitor rocks , get it!!

 

[Ronin]

Originally posted by: Busithoth
The sound bar on mine can get kind of loud, though nothing in comparison to my Klipsch speakers.

Video noise on mine is hard to see. I downloaded some HD wmv movies, and they looked superb.
I think you have nothing to worry about. (except that buzz that people report. It's cause for sending it back)

You actually use the sound bar? I couldn't see the justification, personally.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

Another happy 2405 owner here - no noise or any issues of any kind... I love it, and I came from a high quality 21" CRT... I'm never going back!