I purchased this monitor yesterday at the Orem, UT Super Walmart.
Some comments:
The Good: This screen is gigantic. It's replacing my NEC 1550V (15" LCD), which is a wonderful monitor in itself. I'm planning on moving my 2nd computer to the living room, so I've been on the lookout for another screen. Since I'm a college student, LCD's are the only way to go for me (moving apartment is a pain with CRTs. My room is so small, I'm typing out of my closet. Need the space that LCD's bring).
So anyway, this thing is big. My roommates were impressed. The color's not too bad, the white seems a little washed out, but it might be my viewing angle.
The bad: I've had bad luck; there's 2 burned out pixels already. Fortunately they're near the edges and not too noticeable. There's also a significant amount of ghosting in Counter-strike, although it's possible that it might be because I'm not able to run CS in the monitor's native resolution. I also noticed a bit of smearing on pages with a lot of dark blue, light yellow (it makes the page look kind of green for a split second when scrolling rapidly with the mouse button).
Anyway, I'm still debating whether I want to keep the Microtek. I loved my NEC 1550V LCD, I never noticed any ghosting, and the brightness was just right. Unfortunately it's just too small
(and I need to get a second monitor, which is what the NEC would be for).
So, my question for the board is: Should I return it (bought it on Friday, so still have lots of time to decide), and save up another $100 dollars or so and get a nicer monitor (i.e. Viewsonic, Dell, maybe Planar)? Will the leap in price be worth the jump in quality? Any recommendations?
Some comments:
The Good: This screen is gigantic. It's replacing my NEC 1550V (15" LCD), which is a wonderful monitor in itself. I'm planning on moving my 2nd computer to the living room, so I've been on the lookout for another screen. Since I'm a college student, LCD's are the only way to go for me (moving apartment is a pain with CRTs. My room is so small, I'm typing out of my closet. Need the space that LCD's bring).
So anyway, this thing is big. My roommates were impressed. The color's not too bad, the white seems a little washed out, but it might be my viewing angle.
The bad: I've had bad luck; there's 2 burned out pixels already. Fortunately they're near the edges and not too noticeable. There's also a significant amount of ghosting in Counter-strike, although it's possible that it might be because I'm not able to run CS in the monitor's native resolution. I also noticed a bit of smearing on pages with a lot of dark blue, light yellow (it makes the page look kind of green for a split second when scrolling rapidly with the mouse button).
Anyway, I'm still debating whether I want to keep the Microtek. I loved my NEC 1550V LCD, I never noticed any ghosting, and the brightness was just right. Unfortunately it's just too small
(and I need to get a second monitor, which is what the NEC would be for).So, my question for the board is: Should I return it (bought it on Friday, so still have lots of time to decide), and save up another $100 dollars or so and get a nicer monitor (i.e. Viewsonic, Dell, maybe Planar)? Will the leap in price be worth the jump in quality? Any recommendations?
Jennerstein,
You should return that monitor and get a replacement one. I bought two of the microteks and a friend bought another one and they are simply awesome looking. It appears that you may have recieved a dud.
Also, just an update. I finally got my new processor and its running at 3.06 and with my geforce4400 oced core =290 and memore 665 i get a 3dmark score over 14000+ and i get 200+ frames per second on the dragon and lobby scenes and have yet to see anything bad with the picture like ghosting etc. This monitor rocks. Ghosting ? Where...LOL.
cheers
JohnGer
You should return that monitor and get a replacement one. I bought two of the microteks and a friend bought another one and they are simply awesome looking. It appears that you may have recieved a dud.
Also, just an update. I finally got my new processor and its running at 3.06 and with my geforce4400 oced core =290 and memore 665 i get a 3dmark score over 14000+ and i get 200+ frames per second on the dragon and lobby scenes and have yet to see anything bad with the picture like ghosting etc. This monitor rocks. Ghosting ? Where...LOL.
cheers
JohnGer
Update- I turned on the monitor this morning, one dead pixel. It is on the outbound edge (right side near the bottom.) Not very noticeable, but is has me worrried about losing others. Anyone else having problems?
I personally happen to be using a Radeon 9700 Pro on a 2.26GHz system overclocked to 2.6GHz.
It is NOT the computer. I took two other LCD monitors (Samsung 171MP and some 17" Sceptre monitor) and the ghosting was gone.
This is confirmed by my and two other people's eyes.
It COULD be monitor-per-monitor, or it COULD be you. Some people can't detect ghosting as well as others. Guessing from your comments, however, you are probably 13 years old and have sharp eyes so it can't possibly be that.
Respect that other people may be experiencing problems with this monitor. I have tested two of them side-by-side on the same computer and one had siginifcantly less ghosting.
I wanna bump this thread TTT again to see if anyone else (who hasnt reported in yet) is having any trouble(s) w/ this Microtek monitor.
I haven't had any problems with my monitor. Nothin like the other problems other members are having. No dead pixels or halo or anything. My monitor usually stays on all day until i shutdown at night. Only thing is that my previous monitor is a flat crt, 19 inch Sony CPD-E400, looks a lot better than this monitor when i am games like CounterStrike. But since i can't a higher resolution that a 1200 x 1024 instead of the 1600 x 1200 and a higher frequency than 75 hz like my Sony, i really cant compare them at their highest resolution. I bought this monitor simply because my Sony went dead overnight a month ago and had been using a 15 inch Envision lcd. I cant complain using this monitor for surfing the web and watching videos. But its not better than the Sony i had before for gaming. Only thing better than the CRT monitor is this thing is a lot lighter and smaller. By the way for my settings on my monitor i have a 98 on my Contrast (Red, Green, Blue) and a 23 and my Balance (Red, Green, Blue). Phase is 27. Its bright and very solid and bold on the colors maybe even better than my sony.
someone needs to slap johnger like the monkey he is...
and man, if I can find a walmart with this screen in stock I am all over it. Unfortunately the local one doesn't have it. DOH! keepin' on lookin'
...
and man, if I can find a walmart with this screen in stock I am all over it. Unfortunately the local one doesn't have it. DOH! keepin' on lookin'
...
Ghosting issues vary per monitor and per game. The Dell 1900FP which is just a rebaged samsung 191t looks fine until you play a game with a lot of dark colors (nolf2, bf1942) and then it ghosts horribly. I will, as I have done with many other LCD threads, refer ppl to the extremely in depth post at the ars technica forums here: here
note Max188's post about ghosting. He made an avi file to test the ghosting on monitors (there is a link to it in his post). You run the avi at full screen on loop, and then take a picture of it with a camera. The ghosting is visible across the various color spectrums. The 191t left a trail on practically the whole screen. I would really like to see some of you post scans of how this monitor handles max188's avi file (I fear that it would fare not too well).
On a side note, I am not quite sure why so many are jumping on this deal. Dell has had some amazing LCD deals over the past month (1800fp for $550). That gives you an excellent monitor with none of the problems that anyone is describing. This monitor might be worth exactly what it cost....I hope, nevertheless, that it works out for everyone.
note Max188's post about ghosting. He made an avi file to test the ghosting on monitors (there is a link to it in his post). You run the avi at full screen on loop, and then take a picture of it with a camera. The ghosting is visible across the various color spectrums. The 191t left a trail on practically the whole screen. I would really like to see some of you post scans of how this monitor handles max188's avi file (I fear that it would fare not too well).
On a side note, I am not quite sure why so many are jumping on this deal. Dell has had some amazing LCD deals over the past month (1800fp for $550). That gives you an excellent monitor with none of the problems that anyone is describing. This monitor might be worth exactly what it cost....I hope, nevertheless, that it works out for everyone.
Just and FYI for everyone...my local Wal*Mart, in Kokomo, Indiana still had like 10 units last nite when I put mine in lay-a-way!
Thanks,
mike
Thanks,
mike
Originally posted by: SDOG34
Ghosting issues vary per monitor and per game. *snip* I will, as I have done with many other LCD threads, refer ppl to the extremely in depth post at the ars technica forums here: here
note Max188's post about ghosting. He made an avi file to test the ghosting on monitors (there is a link to it in his post). You run the avi at full screen on loop, and then take a picture of it with a camera. The ghosting is visible across the various color spectrums. The 191t left a trail on practically the whole screen. I would really like to see some of you post scans of how this monitor handles max188's avi file (I fear that it would fare not too well).
*snipped some more*
Reply posted my me, CetlicChrys:
Ok, as requested, I went and downloaded the file, and on my Microtek C893, which is the monitor in question in this thread, bought at Wal-Mart, I ran the .avi and photographed it. While I don't detect any ghosting with my eyes, there's a wee bit in the photo. The photo was taken with a 1megapixel point and shoot camera.
The link to the photo is here:
http://chrys.addr.com/lcd.jpg
I have no dead pixels yet *knock on wood*, and I think there is some variance from monitor to monitor with these, but the 4 I've seen in action were very nice.
AS for why I jumped all over this deal, the cheapest 17inch monitors in the region(Phillips) were $599 and nowhere _near_ as clear as this monitor. And I needed a monitor pronto that I could buy & return in person, as my old 17 inch CRT and literally fried itself. So this 18 inch in my case, saved the day.
Celtic
you bring up a good point about buying a monitor locally instead of buying online.
anyone who's ever had to RMA stuff knows it can be a pain in the a** not to mention that the company who sold you the product in the first place will NOT reimburse you for return shipping charges.
at least w/ buying something locally, you can see if its defective and you'll also be able to tell wether you do or dont like the product. you cant do either one of those things when you're product is coming from across the country.
with that being that, needless to say I would NEVER buy something as expensive like a computer monitor online. as I said above, I wanna be able to have the option of quickly returning the product w/o having to eat any return shipping costs or dealing w/ the whole RMA hassle in general.
and by the way, I'm going on one week now with my Wally World 18 incher and I still havent had any issues.
*crosses fingers*
you bring up a good point about buying a monitor locally instead of buying online.
anyone who's ever had to RMA stuff knows it can be a pain in the a** not to mention that the company who sold you the product in the first place will NOT reimburse you for return shipping charges.
at least w/ buying something locally, you can see if its defective and you'll also be able to tell wether you do or dont like the product. you cant do either one of those things when you're product is coming from across the country.
with that being that, needless to say I would NEVER buy something as expensive like a computer monitor online. as I said above, I wanna be able to have the option of quickly returning the product w/o having to eat any return shipping costs or dealing w/ the whole RMA hassle in general.
and by the way, I'm going on one week now with my Wally World 18 incher and I still havent had any issues.
*crosses fingers*
Well if you buy it @ like BestBuy.com or Staples.com for say you can do an instore return, therefor there is no return shipping charges
Originally posted by: dopey5007
Well if you buy it @ like BestBuy.com or Staples.com for say you can do an instore return, therefor there is no return shipping charges
why would someone like myself buy from their website(s) when I can be there in person within a 30 minute drive?
There are 13 of these in the Petoskey, MI store. PM me if anyone wants one and maybe we can work out a deal.
Or you could pay $70+tax more and get a Dell UltraSharp 1800FP
Diagonal Size: 18.1"
Viewable Size: 18.1"
Display Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Depth: 8.78"
Features: Anti-glare, Hardness 3H
Height: 16.97"
Weight: 17.19 lbs
Width: 15.98"
Image Max H-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Image Max V-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Analog Video Format: RGB
Analog Video Signal: RGB, 0.7 Volts ± 5%, 75 ohm input impedance
Compliant Standards: Plug-and-play, ENERGY STAR®, VESA® DPMS
Connectivity Technology: Cable
Device Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Digital Video Format: DVI-D
Dimensions (WxDxH): 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97"
Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight: 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97" / 17.19 lbs
Dot Pitch: 0.2805 mm Pixel Pitch
Enclosure Color: Midnight Gray
Environmental Parameters: Temperature: 41 °F to 95 °F; Humidity: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Factory Preset Resolution Modes: 720 x 400 @ 70 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 60 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 75 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 60 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 75 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 75 Hz, 1152 x 864 @ 75 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2 (typical), 200 cd/m2 (minimum)
Image Contrast Ratio: 350:1 (typical), 200:1 (minimum)
Max Operating Temperature: 95 °F
Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024
Max Sync Rate (V x H): 85 Hz x 80 kHz (analog)
Min Operating Temperature: 41 °F
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 1 x 15-Pin D-Sub, 1 x 24-Pin DVI-D
Power: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 1.0 (RMS) max
Power Consumption Operational: 50 Watts (normal), 55 Watts (maximum)
Power Consumption Operational ( Standby : 50 Watts (3 Watts or less)
Voltage Required: AC 100-240V 50/60 Hz
Humidity Range Operating: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Diagonal Size / Viewable Size: 18.1" / 18.1"
Compatibility: PC
:disgust:
Diagonal Size: 18.1"
Viewable Size: 18.1"
Display Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Depth: 8.78"
Features: Anti-glare, Hardness 3H
Height: 16.97"
Weight: 17.19 lbs
Width: 15.98"
Image Max H-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Image Max V-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Analog Video Format: RGB
Analog Video Signal: RGB, 0.7 Volts ± 5%, 75 ohm input impedance
Compliant Standards: Plug-and-play, ENERGY STAR®, VESA® DPMS
Connectivity Technology: Cable
Device Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Digital Video Format: DVI-D
Dimensions (WxDxH): 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97"
Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight: 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97" / 17.19 lbs
Dot Pitch: 0.2805 mm Pixel Pitch
Enclosure Color: Midnight Gray
Environmental Parameters: Temperature: 41 °F to 95 °F; Humidity: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Factory Preset Resolution Modes: 720 x 400 @ 70 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 60 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 75 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 60 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 75 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 75 Hz, 1152 x 864 @ 75 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2 (typical), 200 cd/m2 (minimum)
Image Contrast Ratio: 350:1 (typical), 200:1 (minimum)
Max Operating Temperature: 95 °F
Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024
Max Sync Rate (V x H): 85 Hz x 80 kHz (analog)
Min Operating Temperature: 41 °F
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 1 x 15-Pin D-Sub, 1 x 24-Pin DVI-D
Power: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 1.0 (RMS) max
Power Consumption Operational: 50 Watts (normal), 55 Watts (maximum)
Power Consumption Operational ( Standby : 50 Watts (3 Watts or less)
Voltage Required: AC 100-240V 50/60 Hz
Humidity Range Operating: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Diagonal Size / Viewable Size: 18.1" / 18.1"
Compatibility: PC
:disgust:For those in the California Bay Area looking for this monitor, I received another call from 1-800-Wal-Mart following my query to availability of the monitor in the Bay Area. They said the Wal Mart buyer department is sending them to the Mountain View store which is the closest one to me. So you could expect to see some Microteks there hopefully.
Originally posted by: shearo
Or you could pay $70+tax more and get a Dell UltraSharp 1800FP
Diagonal Size: 18.1"
Viewable Size: 18.1"
Display Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Depth: 8.78"
Features: Anti-glare, Hardness 3H
Height: 16.97"
Weight: 17.19 lbs
Width: 15.98"
Image Max H-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Image Max V-View Angle: +/- 80° (typical)
Analog Video Format: RGB
Analog Video Signal: RGB, 0.7 Volts ± 5%, 75 ohm input impedance
Compliant Standards: Plug-and-play, ENERGY STAR®, VESA® DPMS
Connectivity Technology: Cable
Device Type: Flat panel display/TFT active matrix - desktop
Digital Video Format: DVI-D
Dimensions (WxDxH): 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97"
Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight: 15.98" x 8.78" x 16.97" / 17.19 lbs
Dot Pitch: 0.2805 mm Pixel Pitch
Enclosure Color: Midnight Gray
Environmental Parameters: Temperature: 41 °F to 95 °F; Humidity: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Factory Preset Resolution Modes: 720 x 400 @ 70 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 60 Hz, 640 x 480 @ 75 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 60 Hz, 800 x 600 @ 75 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz, 1024 x 768 @ 75 Hz, 1152 x 864 @ 75 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz, 1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2 (typical), 200 cd/m2 (minimum)
Image Contrast Ratio: 350:1 (typical), 200:1 (minimum)
Max Operating Temperature: 95 °F
Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024
Max Sync Rate (V x H): 85 Hz x 80 kHz (analog)
Min Operating Temperature: 41 °F
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 1 x 15-Pin D-Sub, 1 x 24-Pin DVI-D
Power: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 1.0 (RMS) max
Power Consumption Operational: 50 Watts (normal), 55 Watts (maximum)
Power Consumption Operational ( Standby : 50 Watts (3 Watts or less)
Voltage Required: AC 100-240V 50/60 Hz
Humidity Range Operating: 10% to 80% (non-condensing)
Diagonal Size / Viewable Size: 18.1" / 18.1"
Compatibility: PC
lol
all that info and yet its missing the most important factor of all, the response time(s).
Originally posted by: ozziegn
Originally posted by: dopey5007
Well if you buy it @ like BestBuy.com or Staples.com for say you can do an instore return, therefor there is no return shipping charges
why would someone like myself buy from their website(s) when I can be there in person within a 30 minute drive?
Um, coupons?
The best price I can find for the Dell 18" Ultrasharp, is $575 (and that was two days ago with the 20% off). I'm definitely considering returning the Microtek and saving up for the Dell, although I'm fairly pleased with the picture quality (DVD's are kind of grainy, but that might be my Geforce 4 MX420...yes I know yuck!).
As for Counter-strike, I believe any LCD monitor above 15" would have problems, since CS doesn't support 1280x1024. You'd be playing in a non-native resolution.
As for Counter-strike, I believe any LCD monitor above 15" would have problems, since CS doesn't support 1280x1024. You'd be playing in a non-native resolution.
Engineer
Elite Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 39,230
- 701
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It's currently 20% off and if you have a 10% stackable (e-mailed to many) coupon and use something like ebates or F@tcash (3% = around $15.00), it can be had for around $480 after tax (after F@tcash) vs $424 after TAX for the Microtek. I'm probably going to return mine for the $56.00 extra for the Dell, it's almost too hard to pass up. Still thinking.....sigh!
The real problem is that I have the Hitachi CML174B 16ms monitor and it rocks when gaming....and I CAN see ghosting on the 18" Microtek....but I'm not sure how the Dell will do....so I'm looking for a few more reviews/comments on the Dell before I go back to Walmart.
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