review: my new 22" LCD hotness, the Sceptre X22wg-gamer (tons of photos)

[tu2]

I bought it off newegg for $350, plus $15 shipping, -$20 mail-in rebate. Weirdly enough, newegg didn't include a printed shipping invoice (which is required) with the monitor, so I can't send in for the rebate until someone at customer service tells me what I should do. Currently it's not in stock and the newegg URL doesn't load correctly (I got the last one, suckers!), so here's the main product page: http://www.sceptre.com/Products/LCD/Specifications/spec_x22wg_NagaP.htm

Pertinent info:

• 
  * 22" panel - probably using the same Chi Mei panel that all the other 22" LCDs are using (I'm not curious enough to crack it open). So I assume that means a TN 6-bit panel with FRC to achieve the advertised 16.7 million colors. I didn't notice any dithering patterns or terrible banding, so whatever they're doing must be working. Again - colors look just as good as any CRT or 8-bit LCD panel I've seen.
  
  * VGA, DVI, and HDMI inputs. HDCP is supported on both the HDMI and DVI inputs, as noted here and on another page further in the manual. All three inputs can be plugged in and switched.
  
  * tiny speakers and a USB2.0 hub. I couldn't get the USB hub to be work in WinXP; I kept getting the "USB device not recognized" error message. I didn't bother testing the speakers, but the monitor does have microphone and headphone jacks - if you're a VOIP junkie that might appeal to you. If the USB functionality is a deal maker-or-breaker for you, then you might want to contact Sceptre beforehand to see if there's a particular process for getting the USB hub working. It would've been nice to plug my mouse into the monitor so it doesn't get tangled in the rats nest under my desk, but I've got ports on the front of my computer case so I don't care overmuch.
  
  * clean style - Basically, you couldn't really tell it apart from a Dell, aside from the cheap stand. The buttons are hidden on the back along the ride side of the monitor, and the power LED is a nice subdued blue; it doesn't have any crazy molding or flash protruding from it. The stand is where they really skimped - it tilts about 10 degrees backward (but not forward), and that's it. The vertical viewing area is pretty small, so if you're not already sitting level to your monitor you might want to test this one out at a store.

My comparison monitor is a 21" Mitsubishi 2020U CRT; as far as I'm concerned, it's about as good a benchmark CRT as a college student can get. Both displays were driven by a XFX Geforce 7600GT; no display signal issues to note. I took photos with my Nikon D50 and a 50mm f1.8 lens, but since I was basically playing with the settings as I went, the colors and contrast are all over the place.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0004.JPG
The box it came in was larger than the 1.8ghz eMachine I'd gotten from my friend.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0009.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0023.JPG
Compared to the Mitsubishi, the horizontal viewable area on the LCD is larger (obviously). The CRT is taller and deeper, by an incredible amount - now that I've ditched the CRT it's like I've bought a new table to work on. The viewing area on both displays can only be described as hugegantic - I included the DVD case for Xenosaga III and my SD card for size reference. At any rate, the LCD definitely wins on the weight issue - I nearly threw out my back carrying the CRT from my car to my room.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0014.JPG
cable management is very basic - a notched rubber loop. I ended up not using it at all.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0016.JPG
the LCD has matte coating.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0055.JPG
ah, backlight bleeding. This shot is closest to what I was seeing; the bleeding isn't terrible, but it is definitely noticeable, especially on 16:9 content. For <$400 I'm willing to forgive this, but that's just me.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0069.JPG
This picture makes them look fairly close in contrast levels, but there's really no contest. Compared to the LCD it looked like someone had screwed with my brightness settings on my CRT.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0088.JPG
Colors are off since I couldn't really get a good shot with my camera, but Dream Aquarium looks fantastic on this monitor.

the h264 trailer for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - you can grab it from www.gametrailers.com
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0143.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0197.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0198.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0215.JPG
It looked good - I didn't see any artifacts that weren't part of the compression.

the White Knight PS3 teaser:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0225.JPG
(backlight bleeding!)
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0231.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0256.JPG
Again, I couldn't quite get a good setting that'd show the shadow detail without blowing out the highlights, but the video looked awesome. Black levels were a bit off due to the backlight bleeding, but the action was quick enough and the fireballs bright enough that it didn't really matter to me.

FFXIII trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0296.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0322.JPG
again, no artifacts that weren't already part of the encoding.

Assassin's Creed trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0368.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0402.JPG
Looked as good as the screenshots from the feature article in Game Informer.

Step into Liquid 1080p:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0422.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0426.JPG
The video playback was sharp enough that I could see how terrible the surfer's skin was - hellooo blackheads! Also, I could see the film grain from the IMAX transfer.

Gears of War trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0508.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0518.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0524.JPG
I could see what looked like ghosting in these shots, but when I was watching the video it looked smooth as butter - I'm thinking this might be a motion blur effect from the Unreal engine, or a result of the WMV encoding. Whatever.

Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle 2006:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0538.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0557.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0563.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0564.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0565.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0576.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0577.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0579.JPG
Maybe someone knows how this was animated, 'cause I don't. If it was hand-animated then that might be ghosting I captured with the camera, but if it was some one-off graphics engine whipped up for the art project I don't know what the ******.

an Xvid rip of Before Sunset:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0616.JPG
Looked great, until I noticed the Xvid compression artifacts

Monitor test patterns:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0628.JPG
didn't notice any banding.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0632.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0633.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0634.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0635.JPG
no dead pixels!

Knights of the Old Republic, patched with UniWS:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0674.JPG
looks sweet, plays fine at 1680x1050. If you spin the camera around your character you can induce some serious ghosting, but it spins so fast I'd get dizzy even on a CRT. So, moot point.

Battlefield 2:
haha I have no pictures because BF2 decided to start crashing as soon as I connected to the master server. Thanks DICE!

Jagged Alliance 2, with the v113 community patch/conversion, running at 1024x768:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0675.JPG
Looks great, the monitor lets you choose whether you want 1:1 pixel mapping...

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0676.JPG
...or stretching to fit the aspect ratio. The upscaling looks all right - definitely not as bad as my old IBM Thinkpad T23, and it's perfectly usable.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0705.JPG
The Source engine allows me to look at rendered boobies in widescreen glory.

So, basically, the best monitor I've used - a title previously held by my Mitsubishi 2020u. Sure, the black levels aren't great, but overall the image quality beats the pants off my CRT. It's actually better for image editing for me, because the old monitor wasn't showing all the digital noise from the pictures I'd taken at ISO1600.

Plus, it doesn't make me worried that my desk will suddenly cave in.

 

[videopho]

Two weeeks ago I had a choice between the Viewsonic 2235wm and the Sceptre for $299.99 + tax.
On the papers the Sceptre seems to have a better specs eg. hdmi/hdcp etc. but based on several reviews (here @ AT' site) I opted to go with the Viewsonic simply because I was able to take a look at it and feel it in-store (Costco).
Since I now have the Viewsonic for over a week and I think it's just okay for what it is and somehow I think the Dell 2005fpw (I own two) has the better text display and overall 2d colors displays.
I have not gamed enough in the Viewsonic to tell you but with 5ms response I'm afraid the Viewsonic will have an edge over the Dell's.

The Sceptre looks like a nice monitor and I'm glad you like it.

 

[Hyperlite]

i assume since you didn't make a big deal out of it that the pictures exagerate the backlight bleeding...

 

[Waylay00]

I hope so...anyways, congrats on the monitor. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a good 22" LCD monitor without some backlight bleeding. My Samsung 225BW has some, but I really don't mind it, especially after I stole it for $289.99.

 

[smthmlk]

i just got the westinghouse lcm-22w2 22" widescreen lcd (apparently the same panel as the one the OP is reviewing), and it's pretty badass. Comparing it to a couple viewsonic VA series (19" and 20" widescreens) and a hynudai l70n.. the lcm-22w2 is much better overall than the others I have to compare it to. Price was good, but not as good as the sceptre the OP got, but this westinghouse has component/s-video/etc hookups in addition to dvi & dsub (but no hdmi). Great panel they're using in these (if they're the same). Thanks for the review.

 

[tu2]

the backlight bleed is very noticeable, and I don't meant to downplay it... but for the price I'm willing to live with it. Someone with more exacting demands and deeper pockets might disagree. Backlight bleed seems like a problem with all the 22" monitors that use the Chi Mei panel.

I definitely wouldn't do any professional work on it, but for my purposes the monitor's the tits.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: tu2
I bought it off newegg for $350, plus $15 shipping, -$20 mail-in rebate. Weirdly enough, newegg didn't include a printed shipping invoice (which is required) with the monitor, so I can't send in for the rebate until someone at customer service tells me what I should do.

Go to Newegg's site, log into your account and look up previous orders. There's an option for a printer friendly invoice. Then, just print it out on your printer.

 

[tu2]

I had a second go-around with the photos. Color's still a bit off, as is the contrast, but they're better.

http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0011.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0022.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0051.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0066.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0101.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/2ndround/DSC_0119.JPG

[edit]
woah i just checked this thread on my laptop and the bleeding looks a lot worse on a different monitor :laugh:

i think i give up

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: tu2
[edit]
woah i just checked this thread on my laptop and the bleeding looks a lot worse on a different monitor :laugh:

i think i give up

LOL

Nice panel, OP. I'm gonna try and snag me one of those Westinghouse LCM22W2's on black friday to upgrade from my 19" Proview.

And pictures ALWAYS make backlight bleeding look worse then it really is. Well, except for my Dell laptop's panel, ugh.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: Raduque

Originally posted by: tu2
[edit]
woah i just checked this thread on my laptop and the bleeding looks a lot worse on a different monitor :laugh:

i think i give up

LOL

Nice panel, OP. I'm gonna try and snag me one of those Westinghouse LCM22W2's on black friday to upgrade from my 19" Proview.

And pictures ALWAYS make backlight bleeding look worse then it really is. Well, except for my Dell laptop's panel, ugh.

i didn't realize the westy had component. that might sell it for me.

 

[CoastalEddy]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite

Originally posted by: Raduque
Nice panel, OP. I'm gonna try and snag me one of those Westinghouse LCM22W2's....

i didn't realize the westy had component. that might sell it for me.

The 22" Westinghouse is only available at Best Buy and they want $499.99 for it. If you need 3-RC component connections you can get a VGA to component cable for $2.86 and a DVI to component cable for $5.04 at Monoprice.com.

The Sceptre sells for $339.99 (with rebates) at Newegg and, as of Nov 15, for just $329.99 at Costco. The Sceptre is the only 22" monitor with a HDMI port. All new DVD players and the new PS3 coming out have HDMI ports. The Sceptre has VGA and DVI ports, too, and you can run 3 screen inputs simultaneously and cycle between them just by clicking the monitor's "source" button. I've owned the Sceptre x22wg for a month and I'm with tu2 - it's AWESOME.

 

[Doomguy]

Originally posted by: CoastalEddy

Originally posted by: Hyperlite

Originally posted by: Raduque
Nice panel, OP. I'm gonna try and snag me one of those Westinghouse LCM22W2's....

i didn't realize the westy had component. that might sell it for me.

The 22" Westinghouse is only available at Best Buy and they want $499.99 for it. If you need 3-RC component connections you can get a VGA to component cable for $2.86 and a DVI to component cable for $5.04 at Monoprice.com.

The Sceptre sells for $339.99 (with rebates) at Newegg and is the only 22" monitor with a HDMI port. All new DVD players and the new PS3 coming out have HDMI ports. The Sceptre has VGA and DVI ports, too, and you can run 3 screen inputs simultaneously and cycle between them just by clicking the monitor's "source" button. I've owned the Sceptre x22wg for a month and I'm with tu2 - it's AWESOME.

You can't just use a VGA to component cable. The signals are 100% incompatible. VGA is an RGB signal, component is a color difference signal. You would need a $150 video transcoder.

 

[CoastalEddy]

Originally posted by: Doomguy You can't just use a VGA to component cable. The signals are 100% incompatible. VGA is an RGB signal, component is a color difference signal. You would need a $150 video transcoder.

True. But new VGA to Y, Pb and Pr component video transcoders can be had for $75. But even at $150 additional, the Sceptre (and indeed many of the other 22" widescreen LCDs) are still cheaper than Best Buy's Westy. The Westinghouse sold for $399.99 at Best buy when it first came out. One would hope Black Friday's price might be closer to that.

 

[xtremeskier97]

Originally posted by: Doomguy....The Westinghouse sold for $399.99 at Best buy when it first came out. One would hope Black Friday's price might be closer to that.

Closer? Not really...it's actually FURTHER away from the original price....cuz it's going to be $199.99 on Black Friday

 

[jax1492]

thanks for posting the review helped me decide to get one

 

[Skyguy]

I scooped up a Samsung 22" wide at Circuit City on Black Friday for $250 (with rebates). I'm very pleased with it, great color rendition, no ghosting, sharp text. I have it set against a 19" Dell 1907FP and the Sammy look better.

These 22" LCDs are proving to be a great buy if you can find a good price!

 

[Noema]

Cool. And Jagged Alliance 2 ROCKS. I also have it installed in my system.

I wish I lived in the US so I could get nice goodies for such low prices. $350 for a 22" WS LCD seems insane to me, considering less than a year ago I got my Viewsonic 17" for about that amount down here.