IT'S TIME TO STRIKE: The Ultra-Amazing Dell 2000FP 20" LCD now just $1124 SHIPPED! Hurry!

[Mani]

I've got two of these bad boys and let me tell you, they kick ass. I think one guy complained of ghosting but neither I nor anyone else I have known who have owned them have seen this even in lower resolutions... it's possible he got a bad panel.

People have been talking about how these mystical low-response-time flat panels are just around the corner for more than a year now, and they probably still will be a year from now. The fact of the matter is, the industry isn't trying to get low response time panels nearly as fast as they are pushing for things like higher yields, better contrast ratios, better viewing angles, brightness, etc, since gamers are the only users who care about response time and we are a very small percentage of FP buyers. Even if these great panels do come along, 25ms rise-fall is low enough that you won't notice ghosting/blurring anyway.

i haven't seen Sony LCDs... I have seen all of the Apple Cinema Displays, and really, they're incredible. The sharpness of those displays is unbelievable. I haven't seen any side-by-side comparisons with the Dell. (Plus, the Apples just look fantastic... APple really knows how to design hardware.)

Well, if you call the bezel great design. Seriously though, apple doesn't have a thing to do with the design of the panel itself, they just buy it from a 3rd party manufacturer, same as Dell.

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: Mani
I've got two of these bad boys and let me tell you, they kick ass. I think one guy complained of ghosting but neither I nor anyone else I have known who have owned them have seen this even in lower resolutions... it's possible he got a bad panel.

People have been talking about how these mystical low-response-time flat panels are just around the corner for more than a year now, and they probably still will be a year from now. The fact of the matter is, the industry isn't trying to get low response time panels nearly as fast as they are pushing for things like higher yields, better contrast ratios, better viewing angles, brightness, etc, since gamers are the only users who care about response time and we are a very small percentage of FP buyers. Even if these great panels do come along, 25ms rise-fall is low enough that you won't notice ghosting/blurring anyway.

i haven't seen Sony LCDs... I have seen all of the Apple Cinema Displays, and really, they're incredible. The sharpness of those displays is unbelievable. I haven't seen any side-by-side comparisons with the Dell. (Plus, the Apples just look fantastic... APple really knows how to design hardware.)

Well, if you call the bezel great design. Seriously though, apple doesn't have a thing to do with the design of the panel itself, they just buy it from a 3rd party manufacturer, same as Dell.

Oh man...you have that awesome setup and then you ruined it with...an Extigy?!?!

Just messing with ya...that looks awesome...I really want one (well, two) of these monitors, but I keep getting such differing stories about how well they handle games I just don't know. I wish I could see one first.

 

[canadianpsycho]

Originally posted by: Mani
I've got two of these bad boys and let me tell you, they kick ass. I think one guy complained of ghosting but neither I nor anyone else I have known who have owned them have seen this even in lower resolutions... it's possible he got a bad panel.

People have been talking about how these mystical low-response-time flat panels are just around the corner for more than a year now, and they probably still will be a year from now. The fact of the matter is, the industry isn't trying to get low response time panels nearly as fast as they are pushing for things like higher yields, better contrast ratios, better viewing angles, brightness, etc, since gamers are the only users who care about response time and we are a very small percentage of FP buyers. Even if these great panels do come along, 25ms rise-fall is low enough that you won't notice ghosting/blurring anyway.

i haven't seen Sony LCDs... I have seen all of the Apple Cinema Displays, and really, they're incredible. The sharpness of those displays is unbelievable. I haven't seen any side-by-side comparisons with the Dell. (Plus, the Apples just look fantastic... APple really knows how to design hardware.)

Well, if you call the bezel great design. Seriously though, apple doesn't have a thing to do with the design of the panel itself, they just buy it from a 3rd party manufacturer, same as Dell.

Poor guy can't afford artwork or furniture though.

Seriously though, sweet setup.

 

[MontyBurns]

Wow, and to think I felt guilty about dropping $1200 on ONE....

 

[gotsmack]

I have the 18.1" planar and just jumped on the 19" planar. I think 1600 X 1200 would go best on a 23.1" I'll buy one of those when they fall under the $1500 mark

 

[MontyBurns]

Gotsmack: You obviously haven't seen the 2000fp in action.

And when 23" monitors fall below the $1500 mark, you'll be in a nursing home.

 

[TypedefEnum]

Let me chime in here...

I had the Apple Cinema (22") up until 2 weeks ago. I bought it from Frye's, knowing they have a very good return policy, and the fact I used the phrase "up until..." should give you an idea as to what eventually happened.

As far as the panel itself is concerned, it's awesome. I loved the thing to death. Unfortunately, the panel that Apple uses is dated, and sucks for games. The un-official response time is 60 ms, as it's based on an LG panel (cannot recall the exact model #, but I looked it up).

Having said that, I got the FP2000 when the last Dell deal came, and haven't looked back since. I've had this baby for the past 2 weeks, and it's what I would call a "Gamers LCD." It does it all, IMHO. Awesome clear text, excellent response time for gaming, VGA/DVI support, picture-in-picture, Composite/S-Video support, etc.

I had never used dual monitors until I got this thing in, and I've been using the old CRT for that purpose. I'm an engineer, and I can't believe I've been without it for this long!

Anyhow, seeing the 25% off deal pop-up this past weekend was too good to pass on...So, I bought a 2nd FP2000. If you're looking for a display that's about as complete as you're going to get, the FP2000 is it. At roughly $1100 (after the discount), it's virtually impossible to beat the deal, though it's now over.

So, now I have a perplexing situation...I'm using a GF4 that only has support for a single DVI adapter...I want one with 2. Other than the Gainward, there aren't too many alternatives...though the Matrox part is somewhat viable.

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: TypedefEnum
Let me chime in here...

I had the Apple Cinema (22") up until 2 weeks ago. I bought it from Frye's, knowing they have a very good return policy, and the fact I used the phrase "up until..." should give you an idea as to what eventually happened.

As far as the panel itself is concerned, it's awesome. I loved the thing to death. Unfortunately, the panel that Apple uses is dated, and sucks for games. The un-official response time is 60 ms, as it's based on an LG panel (cannot recall the exact model #, but I looked it up).

Having said that, I got the FP2000 when the last Dell deal came, and haven't looked back since. I've had this baby for the past 2 weeks, and it's what I would call a "Gamers LCD." It does it all, IMHO. Awesome clear text, excellent response time for gaming, VGA/DVI support, picture-in-picture, Composite/S-Video support, etc.

I had never used dual monitors until I got this thing in, and I've been using the old CRT for that purpose. I'm an engineer, and I can't believe I've been without it for this long!

Anyhow, seeing the 25% off deal pop-up this past weekend was too good to pass on...So, I bought a 2nd FP2000. If you're looking for a display that's about as complete as you're going to get, the FP2000 is it. At roughly $1100 (after the discount), it's virtually impossible to beat the deal, though it's now over.

So, now I have a perplexing situation...I'm using a GF4 that only has support for a single DVI adapter...I want one with 2. Other than the Gainward, there aren't too many alternatives...though the Matrox part is somewhat viable.

I have a Gainward 4600 with dual DVIs, and it is one sweet card. If you're talking about the Matrox Parehelia (if that's how it's spelled...sorry, don't follow Matrox stuff) I believe that only has 1 DVI connector.

 

[vetteguy]

Has anyone checked out fleabay lately? There are a bunch of 2000FP's and a TON of the 19" Planars for sale...hmm...looks like someone's trying to make a few quick bucks off an AT hot deal.

 

[strawdog]

Originally posted by: vetteguy

Originally posted by: TypedefEnum
...
snip

I have a Gainward 4600 with dual DVIs, and it is one sweet card. If you're talking about the Matrox Parehelia (if that's how it's spelled...sorry, don't follow Matrox stuff) I believe that only has 1 DVI connector.

.. No, the matrox has multiple connectors,
see the product spec page

 

[JKing76]

A 20" LCD is too small for 1600x1200? Nonsense. I run my current 19" CRT (so 18" effective) at 1600x1200 just fine. And the 15" LCD on my 8100 laptop runs 1600x1200 crystal clear.

As soon as FFD makes it to the Dell 2000FP (or whatever is the equivalent then), I'm snapping one up regardless of price.

 

[mrVW]

I don't think the Gainward can do TWO at 1600 x 1200. Only one.

The Matrox can do two at 1600 x 1200.

However, it sucks the Matrox can't do 3 DVI - there is always some limit in these...

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Originally posted by: JKing76
A 20" LCD is too small for 1600x1200? Nonsense. I run my current 19" CRT (so 18" effective) at 1600x1200 just fine. And the 15" LCD on my 8100 laptop runs 1600x1200 crystal clear.

As soon as FFD makes it to the Dell 2000FP (or whatever is the equivalent then), I'm snapping one up regardless of price.

It's all subjective.
Not everyone can comfortably stare at tiny text, icons, and images all day long.
I can't go higher than 1280x960 on my 21" CRT (19.8vis) without it looking too tiny, so I opted for the 19" Planar LCD and I only lose about 3/4" (no big deal, worth it for the desktop space savings).
My dad has a 22" Viewsonic monitor (20"vis) and he refuses to go higher than 1024x968.
I have a friend with a 19" monitor (18.1"vis) and he refuses to go higher than 800x600, he even has his icons set to "gigantic".
My wife's brother wants 640x480 on a bigscreen TV as he likes everything huge but doesn't care about screen real-estate.

Some people just like to have gigantic text, icons, and images.

 

[MontyBurns]

The Planar cheerleaders just seem to have a lot of animosity toward this monitor for some reason.

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: MontyBurns
The Planar cheerleaders just seem to have a lot of animosity toward this monitor for some reason.

Well that's what I kind of thought, I'd just like someone to be able to tell me WHY this monitor sucks, other than "Planar ownz joo!!! W00t w00t!!!"

Yes, I know there have been some good reviews, I'm just messing around. But when faced with this kind of decision I like to have as much info as I can OTHER than just brand-hating gossip.

 

[MontyBurns]

One undisputable fact is that the 2000fp rocks. I researched it for a month before I bought, and all you'll find on the net are glowing reviews.

As for planar vs. 2000fp, well, it's somewhat apples and oranges. For one thing, they're different monitors at different resolutions. For another, they're about $500 apart in price. I don't seem them targeted at the same people at all.

I don't think anyone has suggested the 2000fp sucks. I, and others, have said it's the best monitor we've ever used. I'm not sure what's NOT to like about it, except for the whopping price tag.

I haven't heard anyone allege that there's any ghosting in games on a 2000fp (because, well, there simply is none.) However, the Planar thread has several people complaining about ghosting....

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Originally posted by: vetteguy

Originally posted by: MontyBurns
The Planar cheerleaders just seem to have a lot of animosity toward this monitor for some reason.

Well that's what I kind of thought, I'd just like someone to be able to tell me WHY this monitor sucks, other than "Planar ownz joo!!! W00t w00t!!!"

Yes, I know there have been some good reviews, I'm just messing around. But when faced with this kind of decision I like to have as much info as I can OTHER than just brand-hating gossip.

If you have a 21" CRT monitor now, just put the thing on 1600x1200 and see if you can live with it.
If you can, this monitor is awesome. I would personally rather have had 20" of screen real-estate than 19", but 1600x1200 is just way too tiny. Like has been said before, this would be great for CAD or tiny detail work. 1280 monitors are really a lot more practical for regular use and web browsing, IMO. In 1600x1200 on a 21" monitor, web images look like thumbnails.
LCDs look terrible at anything other than their native resolution too, so it's not practical to buy this and run it at 1280.

 

[Dug]

So Dug which 19in LCD would you recommend?

The samsung 191t is the best 19" I've seen. Actually the Samsung 171p is the best LCD out there, but its only a 17".

 

[blues008]

Hey Dug,

Have you heard about the Samsung 172T that is coming out soon? The specs look like the 171P but without the Porche design so it'll be cheaper.

 

[Dug]

Have you heard about the Samsung 172T that is coming out soon? The specs look like the 171P but without the Porche design so it'll be cheaper.

I have heard of it. Should be out soon, but the price hasn't been announced yet.
The 171p is $866 at the cheapest place. So I don't know how much cheaper the 172t will be.

I personally wouldn't spend the money on a 171p when you can get 191t for a little more. Almost the same specs and you wouldn't really notice the difference unless you had both side by side trying to scrutinize it. The 2" does make a difference.

 

[vetteguy]

I just tried with the 25% off coupon, and it said it's expired, but it defaulted down to 20% off...so it looks like this particular deal is a little cooler now.

 

[MontyBurns]

yeah, as it says in the first post, coupon expired yesterday.

so, no down to 20% off... which is what I got it for.

 

[toshiba3020]

Good deal. Worth the price, glad I only paid $950 though.

 

[SigEpUCI]

These screens rock! I got 2 of them with a Matrox G550 Dual DVI Booyahka! Grab em while you can!

 

[Scrith]

I've been using the Dell 2000fp at home for about 9 months now (mostly for gaming) and I absolutely love it. There is very little ghosting and the 1600x1200 resolution is fantastic (my video card is a PNY ti4600 connected to the monitor using a DVI cable).

A MAJOR FEATURE of this monitor that nobody seems to mention, and that I haven't seen on any other LCD monitor like it, is that it has FOUR inputs (DVI, VGA, s-video, and composite video), which enables you to run PICTURE-IN-PICTURE if you use one of the video inputs over your DVI or VGA. With this feature I routinely keep TV running in a corner of the monitor while surfing the web, or during those long periods between battles in EverQuest.

Absolutely a must have monitor if you have the money...there simply is nothing like it. And from Dell...quite a surprise.