Viewsonic VP171

[1lexicon]

Well, I finally decided to buy a Viewsonic VP171. After searching through specs, reviews, and becoming impatient to get a new LCD I decided to go with my initial choice. It is a ViewSonic VP171. I even ordered online. Although, I sure hope it doesn't have dead pixels or the dark at the top problem that I noticed on some other ViewSonic models at local stores. I just could not find that particular model locally so that I could actually see the display with my own eyes. It supposedly has the pivot feature that will come in handy when browsing the web. Additionaly, it has a 16 ms response time. Does anyone else have this monitor? If so what do you think about your monitor. I hope I haven't made a huge mistake in buying this monitor. I haven't received it yet so I'm crossing my fingers that I will like it.

 

[kinetic_tw]

This is one of the best LCD panels on the market right now. It's received stellar reviews just about everywhere I've seen. Check out this thread on [H]ardOCP for more consumer reviews.

<A HREF="http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=173fe18e794da109ac30ab0d6d283d16&threadid=625882" target="_new">http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=173fe18e794da109ac30ab0d6d283d16&threadid=625882</A>

Which online reseller did you order it through?

 

[1lexicon]

I bought the viewsonic VP171 from Newegg.com. I could have bought it for a few dollars less at googlegear.com but the reviews of the cheaper online sellers weren't as good as newegg's consumer reviews. I bought a used computer from Dell one time and their customer service was horrible. It might be different if you buy a new product from them but after my experience with them and their used computers I would only buy from them if they had a great deal and I didn't expect good customer service. Also, I live in a state that would require sales tax if I ordered from Dell so I avoid that company. Anyway enough of my bashing of Dell (many people are quite happy with the company, I just don't happen to be one of them). I ended up paying $507 including shipping. I would have liked to have spent less but I am glad I paid extra to get a monitor with the pivot function. I really like that aspect of the lcd. In addition, I was concerned about a viewsonic because some of the models I saw in local stores were darker at the top than the bottom. Although, none of the models avaialable locally were the VP model. I do discern that the color at the top of the monitor is slightly darker than at the bottom. Although, it isn't as bad as the contrast in the stores between the top and the bottom of the screen. Further, that might not occur if I were using the dvi input. I don't have a dvi output video card YET so I can't say. Even though it is slightly darker at the top of the screen I am still quite pleased with my purchase. I was also concerned about the native resolution being 1280 X 1024 because on my old CRT I usually had the resolution set at 800 X 600. Well I can see the text just as well on this monitor at it's native resolution as I could my old CRT at it's lower resolution. Maybe because I can put the LCD monitor closer to the keyboard. One thing though is that the base takes up more room on my desk than expected. There is an add on you can buy to wall mount the LCD. That wouldn't work for me because of where my desk is located. Oh well. It does still take up less desk space despite my misperception of all the extra available space I would have. Further a plus to this monitor is it comes with a dvi cable. Some of the other 16 ms response time monitors do not include the cable so if the cable is important and not included the price might work out to be the same as a less expensive monitor without the pivot function and DVI cable. Anyway, I'm a happy camper with my purchase. I love the pivot function. I am hoping to find an adjustment that would provide more uniformity in the screen brightness. I haven't checked out viewsonic's web site yet to see if that issue is addressed but it could perhaps just be my video card (NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX 400). In addition the stores I saw the Viewsonics other monitors were discount stores that probably didn't have very good graphics cababilities on their computers.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by 1Lexicon on 08/04/03 04:13 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[mis3]

Great. I, too, am looking for a LCD.
I am now using LG Flatron 915FT Plus. This is 19-inch CRT and it's great.
I am also concerned about the text size of the LCD because of the native resolution 1280 x 1024. In my CRT, I adjusted the resolution to be 1152 x 864 and when I adjusted it to 1280 x 1024, the text size was too small for my liking.
Now I have to decide on either a 17-inch or 19-inch LCD....

 

[flamethrower205]

Text will seem small, no doubt. LCD's are much sharper than many monitors tho (given that you run it at the standard res for that lcd) so it'll be easier to read. At work standing 3-4 feet away from my 18" lcd is no issue for me to read text (I was programming). 19" should be fine, and 17" will seem to small methinks.

It's not about good or bad, it's about which gets you rich and laid faster.

 

[1lexicon]

The native resolution text (1284 X 1024) is smaller than an 800 X 600 resolution from a 17" CRT but larger than the text of a 17" 1280 X 1024. I tried the resolution at 800 X 600 and it actully looks fairly good. I noticed a bit of distortion but if I wanted to set it about 4 or 5 feet away I would probably go with that resolution. The problem with setting it at that resolution is if you want to use the pivot function then web browsing would require you to use the slider bar to see all of the columms. I think most web pages are set up for 1024 X something. If you set it at 800 X 600 resolution and then pivot your resolution is then 600 X 800. I have the monitor in the pivot mode most of the time so that resolution wouldn't work on this monitor in the pivvot mode. If you can afford a 19" and are not able to tolerate any distortion then go for 19". Also, the weakness I noticed in the stores on viewsonic monitors is also present on this monitor (to a lesser extant). If at all possible I recommend at least looking at a monitor even it it is a different model, made by the company you are considering, to see if you notice any problems. I was also considering a BenQ but could not find any models locally to look at first. At the stores I notice that most of the sony LCDs looked blurry and somewhat dark.

 

[flamethrower205]

Good reason why they look blurry is that they are hooked in through a device that splits the signal and thus degrades it while running at non native resolution. 800x600 is rather large on a 17", 1024x768 is good size to big imo. It does really depend on what he/ she sees, after all our vision and tolerance is different. I would say a 19" should be fine.

It's not about good or bad, it's about which gets you rich and laid faster.