What's the BEST LCD Monitor I can get for ~$650?

[Arkelna]

After staring at the order screen for the last hour, I finally took the plunge and pushed the submit order button. Should have the L2000C next week. Now I need to figure out how I'm going to eat for the next week and a half!

498.82 @ EWIZ

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Zebo

I trust X-Bit...

Based upon what? Do you have a link to instrumentation and methodolgy used?

Here's how they do response time: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/response_2.html

Also here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-guide_2.html

But due to Tom's bad measurement of the VX924 I never had it in my Guide, and probably never will unless it's retested.

I'm gonna have to read both again before delaring toms "bad" could be xbit is "bad" Toms instruments seem way more advanced. In any case the NEC is as fast as those overdrive TN.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Arkelna
After staring at the order screen for the last hour, I finally took the plunge and pushed the submit order button. Should have the L2000C next week. Now I need to figure out how I'm going to eat for the next week and a half!

498.82 @ EWIZ

Top Romen? Potatos?

Woot! It was only $480 two day ago when I checked! Meh $20 is'nt a deal breaker..

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Zebo
I'm gonna have to read both again before delaring toms "bad" could be xbit is "bad" Toms instruments seem way more advanced. In any case the NEC is as fast as those overdrive TN.

I meant bad as in THG's measurement of the VX924 that reported undesirable results from that monitor, not that their testing equipment was faulty. Due to the discrepancy between THG and X-Bit I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

 

[Arkelna]

Found Some more reviews.

http://www.biosmagazine.co.uk/rev.php?id=443

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editor...es/archive/c0604/31c04/31c04.asp&guid=

 

[Zebo]

Arkelna - Whats up with the L2000C?

 

[Arkelna]

I was supposed to get it on Friday, but no one was home when they shipped it so they rescheduled for Monday and I was out of town! So I'm going to be picking it up tonight. Hopefully nothing goes wrong and I'll finally be able to have a look at it.

 

[Arkelna]

I finally got the LC2000C last night! I was able to set it up but didn't have much time to really do alot with it. First impressions are really good. Didn't find a single dead pixel which is a HUGE plus. The desktop icons and text were nice and clear. I quickly booted up FarCry just to take a quick look and it looked beautiful. The colors and the resolution really makes the game look good. I didn't see any ghosting in the 3 minutes that I played, but I'll run more stuff at it later. I noticed that the brightness was set kinda high by default so I had to lower it, but that is the only adjustment that I've made so far. There are three 'quick' settings button that can be changed at any time IE Movie, Custom, etc but I haven't really looked at any of them in great detail to compare. I also loaded up World of Warcraft and the game has never looked so good. Right off the bat I can tell that this is going to make a great gaming monitor. I like the fact that the monitor can be rotated in any direction, but haven't installed the software that came with it to see how well it works in practice. I'll put more info up as I spend more time on it. Like I said earlier I'm no LCD expert as its the first I've owned, but I'm already liking it over my old triniton 17" CRT. I'll try posting some pics later and anything yall want to know.

 

[Zebo]

Yey!

Ok just a couple Q..

1. Set desktop background to black - it's it all black? No bleeding in corners? With lights off is it truly black or grey?

2. Lights off still - Look at monitor at various angles - up to 90 - does image start to fade? And at what apporx angle would you say fade takes place? Side to side and top and bottom?

3. Maybe do some of xknights tests

Originally posted by: xtknight
Zebo: Just a couple more things if you don't mind... If nothing else these are just a couple more images you can enjoy on the LCD.

Basically you just want to see if any look washed out anywhere from the backlight, and if you can clearly see every element distinctly.

• Backlight test
  http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/venice-ccfltest.jpg
  
  The wall in the rightmost side of the picture shouldn't be washed out. Under the arch, the floor should be a deep vibrant orange.
  
• Contrast test #1 (light texture)
  http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/venice-contrasttest.jpg
  
  The surfaces (on the big building with the Corinthian-like columns) should have a clearly distinct texture on them (lightish and darkish spots).
  
• Contrast test #2 (dark elements)
  http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/mg-darktest.jpg
  
  First, the bricks in the darkest foreground wall should be at least visible to a certain extent. The bottom part of the tree should have a difference in brightness to the adjacent walls.
  
• Earth tone test
  http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/byzantine-earth-tonetest.jpg
  
  In this pic, just make sure nothing is washed out and that the wall textures are clearly visible.
  
• Overdrive test
  http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/blur1.bmp

Move this pic around in a circle-like fashion and see how much it blurs and streaks. Also note any discolorations (bright fringing on colors). This is very likely the worst you'll see of your LCD in terms of transitions. Don't be afraid to say it's a disaster. It sure is on my VP930b.

Compare it to this, which should have very little blurring or discoloration: http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/noblur1.bmp

Sorry, a lot of tests, I know, but hopefully you found something out from it.

Just need to know before we go recommending a 20" sight unseen. It's really hard to find a good 20 4:3 ATM so your opinion is mucho appreciated...

motion blur is extremly subjective at what point people start to notice - but if youre not noticing it right after coming off a CRT that's a very good sign...:thumbsup:

 

[Arkelna]

Thanks for the tests, I'll run thru them the best I can and post what I see. I did find an excellent free (30 days) program called "Passmark MonitorTest" (http://www.passmark.com/products/monitortest.htm) and quickly ran a couple of the tests just to check it out. Unfortunately I had to go to school and still haven't had alot of time with the monitor but that'll change tonight. But on the little bit that I did test, I did notice that on ALL of the scale Black-Red(and others) that you could clearly see color banding(Not good at all). Running the same test on my work LCD (Dell 17") was drastically better as I didn't see anything near the color banding that I saw on the L2000C. The black background test was definetly solid black (excellent) didn't notice any extra brightness around the corner or edges at all. (Lights were on when I ran that test) Much better than when I ran the test on the Dell LCD. I didn't run the motion blur test yet, but I did play some more WOW and I still haven't been able to notice any, I'm not sure how sensitive I am to it, but I have noticed bluring on my work LCD before and that was even before I ran the motion blur test from that program. I definetly prefer the picture and color of the LCD to my old CRT. (And I still haven't done any changes except for brightness) I know I mentioned that the monitor didn't well in the color banding area, but I haven't noticed it outside of the testing...granted I've only used it for a couple of games so far, but not noticable to me in game...yet. Thats all I've tested so far, I'll post more test results later. I'll be able to post some pictures eventually, but my digital camera isn't working right now for some reason!

 

[SHAGVIRUS]

Originally posted by: Arkelna
Thanks for the tests, I'll run thru them the best I can and post what I see. I did find an excellent free (30 days) program called "Passmark MonitorTest" (http://www.passmark.com/products/monitortest.htm) and quickly ran a couple of the tests just to check it out. Unfortunately I had to go to school and still haven't had alot of time with the monitor but that'll change tonight. But on the little bit that I did test, I did notice that on ALL of the scale Black-Red(and others) that you could clearly see color banding(Not good at all). Running the same test on my work LCD (Dell 17") was drastically better as I didn't see anything near the color banding that I saw on the L2000C. The black background test was definetly solid black (excellent) didn't notice any extra brightness around the corner or edges at all. (Lights were on when I ran that test) Much better than when I ran the test on the Dell LCD. I didn't run the motion blur test yet, but I did play some more WOW and I still haven't been able to notice any, I'm not sure how sensitive I am to it, but I have noticed bluring on my work LCD before and that was even before I ran the motion blur test from that program. I definetly prefer the picture and color of the LCD to my old CRT. (And I still haven't done any changes except for brightness) I know I mentioned that the monitor didn't well in the color banding area, but I haven't noticed it outside of the testing...granted I've only used it for a couple of games so far, but not noticable to me in game...yet. Thats all I've tested so far, I'll post more test results later. I'll be able to post some pictures eventually, but my digital camera isn't working right now for some reason!

First off, good luck on your purchase...I purchased the gatewat 2185w from best buy..My first lcd experience..The wow factor coming from a crt was like W00000!! BUT after a few tests i decided to take it back..

#1 Lcd had 0 dead pixles.
#2 Had a slight 4 corner backlight bleed...
#3 Too much motion blurr in World of Warcraft,Farcry.

I really wanted this Lcd to work BUT for the price tag 600.00 it was not worth it.

---------------

Can you test your monitor in W0W like this..

Set res to native..crank up terrain distance to full..pick a mountian range in the backround..then slightly move in a circle...Do you get that mountian range to blurr? That sealed the deal on taking my Lcd back. I forced the 75hz on this particular lcd...still did not run right..tried Vsync on in both driver setting and in game..vsync off on both...combo of both....still same result..

Also seemed that this lcd that i purchased did not like SLI mode..i had take off sli because i was getting a studder when playing...Never got this with my crt, even after i pulgged it back in 10 min later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824179014 my friend has this lcd...i did not notice any blurr (maybe a touch) at all playing W0W,CSS, COD2...does anyone know why this is? both in native res...basically same pc's..

 

[Arkelna]

Tested out the mountain range blur test in WOW and didn"t notice any bluring or smearing. If anything the LCD is definetly fast. I haven't been able to finish all of the tests that Zebo posted, but as soon as I have the chance I'll post everything.(been really busy with work/school so its been kinda hard for me to do anything lately)

 

[Zebo]

Sounds like a winner.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Gateway FPD2185W - 21" Widescreen

FTW

 

[roisin]

Arkelna: if you have the time, could you run this test: http://www.prad.de/download/pixperan_english.zip

and try to take a picture like this: http://www.baddass.dsl.pipex.com/images/nec_20wgx2/pix1.jpg

you would need to set the camera to manual and use at least 1/100sec time, or just give me a subjective opinion how does that car running across the screen look? blured?

thanks

 

[farp96]

I wonder why most websites like Newegg and Zipzoomfly list the 20WMGX2 as "More than 16 million colors" rather than 16.7 million if it were a true 8 bit panel? Actually almost every website I found selling it listed it as such..