There was actually a price $400+ price drop on the NEC LCD2690WUXi-BK.
However, even with that price drop it is still an expensive monitor. Before the price drop Newegg.com was selling for $1,575; that was actually one of the lower prices online about 2 weeks ago. They are now selling it for $1,250.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002169
I actually ordered mine from Provantage.com when it was $1,156. They bumped it up slightly to $1,165.
http://www.provantage.com/nec-display-solutions-lcd2690wuxi-bk~7NECL08X.htm
Dell is still selling for the old price of $1,500+:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A0950281
This monitor is really meant for graphics professionals. I am not one, but I am a videophile and I simply want the best monitor for color accuracy that I can afford. I'm guessing this monitor costs more than you are willing to spend.
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In your situation you may want to consider a reasonably priced 24" monitor that uses a MVA or PVA panel. The following is a list of all 24" LCD monitors sold at Newegg.com:
List of 24" LCD monitors @ Newegg
Many of the less expensive monitors are using the TN panel; similar to the Gateway that you bought. All monitors under $570 as of (Oct 18, 2007) uses TN panels with the exception of the following monitors:
* Westinghouse L2410NM Glossy Black 24" 8ms ---> $380 after a $50 rebate
* DoubleSight DS-240WB Black 24" 6ms ---> $420 after a $100 rebate
* DoubleSight DS-245W Black 24" 6ms ---> $480
I never heard of Doublesight so I'm not sure how reliable their monitors are.
Westinghouse just shouts out to me as "CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP" in more ways than one.
My recommendation is the Planar PX2411w for $580. I currently have a 4+ year old Planar PX191 19" LCD monitor that I am still very pleased with. No problems at all. Back then they simply had
the best warranty out there. They actually had 1 dead pixel return policy. If you had to RMA a Planar LCD monitor back to them within the warranty, they would ship out a replacement monitor to you using 2-Day express delivery. You would then return your defective monitor back to Planar using the same packaging and pay no postage whatsoever. Now Planar is simply has a very good warranty policy since they no longer have that 1 dead pixel policy.
Planar PX2411w
Before stepping up to looking at 26" LCD monitors using Si-IPS panels (actually there were only two: Planar PX2611w and the NEC 2690WUXi) I was considering the BenQ FP241W and FP241WZ; they were at the top of my list. Newegg only carries the FP241W. If you are looking for a monitor with lots of different video input connections, either one of these monitors is for you. It is selling for $650 after a $50 mail-in rebate.
BenQ FP241W
I guess by default a lot of people in the 24" LCD market look at the Dell 2407WFP-HC that is currently selling for $670. However, Dell is known for having sales every now and then.
Dell 2407WFP-HC
Lastly there is the NEC 2690WUXi's "little" brother, the 2490WUXi. Unlike all other 24" LCD monitors, this one uses a S-IPS panel and is geared towards the graphics professions. The price reflects this too. At $1,150 it is not for the faint of heart.
NEC 2490WUXi