Dell 20" LCD for 850.00

[Dyltone]

http://tinyurl.com/48nx
Should I?
Free Shipping + tax would make it an even $900.00

I've read online reviews and such, but I still can't make up my mind. The sale ends tomorrow so I need some information quickly.

Quick info:
Manufactured by BenQ
.25 Refresh (not sure of the up/down breakdown)
.255 Dot Pitch
.240 Brightness
350:1 Contrast
20.1" viewable
25 LBS ???
4 inputs (DVI, RGB, S-VIDEO, Composite)
I will be using it mostly for FPS (gaming) and web stuff


Please please please help...

 

[Dyltone]

Come on people... Time is running out. Please give me some of your expert opinions... Will I be happy with this monitor? Will it ghost very badly in FPS? Is 850.00 too good of a deal to pass up?

Let me know

 

[FiL]

it's not that no one wants to help you, it's just we've never seen or heard of this monitor at all.

 

[Dyltone]

Did you look at the link in my first post? What do you think of the specs? What do think the gottcha's could be on this monitor? Why is it 10 lbs heavier than the 19" version? Is the 4 inputs a really great thing or is that something that no one will ever use? Every personal review I've read absolutely loves the monitor, but they could all be crazy people! 😉

Thanks in advance.

 

[darius]

The Dell has 350:1 contrast, 30 ms response time and a super wide border 🙁 One good thing is the 1600 x 1200 res and price. If I'm going to spend this much I would prefer a faster response but color reproduction is the most important in my book. New 16ms models in 19" and 20" in April. The current models should go down in price. I will wait.



<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by darius on 02/27/03 12:50 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Dyltone]

Where did you find that .30 ms refresh? Everything I've read shows a .25 ms refresh...

Anyone else?

 

[darius]

On this forum. Is it really 25ms? not that its much better anyway. My friend just got two of the Dells 20" LCDs so I should have some good reliable info on them as used in real world. He is in to graphics and video editing. He also has the Apple 22" cinema screen on his Mac so I can get some good info from him. Anyway since there are better faster screens about to be released I would assume that the current models will go down in price. I bet thats what Dell is doing now with the sales. Making room for the new models. I will wait.

 

[Dyltone]

Has your friend already received them? What does he think? Has he used the multi-input yet? I'm probably going to order the monitor tonight unless someone can come up with some other monitor that will be available in the next week or two at about the same price with better performance...

850.00 for a 20"er is about as good of a deal as I can hope for. I hope it works well with fps.

 

[darius]

My friend is in UML training right now so I can't get a hold of him. If he did not get it he will soon. I think he ordered it last week. I can email him for details and maybe he will email me back tonight. It is a great deal but the specs don't seem to be as great as I would like in investment as large as a 20" LCD which will be for a couple of years.

 

[Dyltone]

Alright... I did it. I should have it about March 10th, then I'll post a full review. I'll also answer any questions to the best of my ability.

 

[vfriestad]

I have gotten the opportunity to purchase this one really cheap through my employer and would really appreciate your experiences before I make up my mind.
I will use the monitor for gaming (plus office apps).
In the specs it is stated that max vertical viewing angle is about 80 degrees, whereas THG recommends 140 or above(!)
Any comments to this?

Fighting for peace is like f***ing for virginity

 

[Dyltone]

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this monitor! Absolutely NO flaws! The text is perfect at any resolution and I have seen no Ghosting while playing any FPS. I've played Unreal 2, Unreal 2K3, Wolfenstein and America's Army.

The VGA input and the DVI input look identical so if you don't have a DVI, don't worry about it.

I couldn't be happier with this monitor. I found a better deal than the one I originally posted and got a credit for the difference from Dell. The Dell Small Business site had it for 768 + tax with Free Shipping.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[vfriestad]

Thank you for the reply.
I'll take your word for it and accept the offer.

Fighting for peace is like f***ing for virginity

 

[Dyltone]

Make sure you reply back when you get it. I want to hear your impressions as well!

You'll be very happy!

 

[vfriestad]

I should get it within 2-3 weeks.
Will (try to remember to) post once I have used it some.

Fighting for peace is like f***ing for virginity

 

[Dyltone]

I actually forgot to answer one of your original questions... Sorry but here you go.

The Max viewing angle for this monitor is 80 degrees. This figure is misleading because it's acutally 80 degrees up, 80 degrees down, 80 degrees left and 80 degrees right. That means it's actually a 160 degree vertical and 160 degree horizontal viewing angle. So Tom's recomendation of 140+ is fine. I can actually read text and view pictures at any angle. If I turn the monitor sideways, the picture gets slightly lighter at almost 90 degrees so for that, it's almost as good as a CRT.

Hope that helps.

 

[El_Kabong]

I've got two of them on my desktop, and I am really very impressed with them. I use them for a mix of networking stuff (a dozen SSH windows and a couple browsers) and gaming. My gaming machine is a dual xeon 2.6 with an ATI 9700. Quake3 and UT2003, both maxed out at 1600x1200x32, look spectacular.

An LCD is still not going to give the black levels that a CRT is.. but there's no way I'm going to give up the desktop real estate I got back by getting the tubes off my desk.

The price amazes me. I paid 1200 for my first one, and 1000 for the second. And that was not long ago.