20.1" widescreen LCD $379 Costco

Status
Not open for further replies.
Russ said:
How are you gonna run many games at 1600x1200 with a 6600GT?
Click to expand...
I have several that run at 1600x1200 just fine, the most recent being Guild Wars.

However my requirements for 1600x1200 go beyond gaming. I may game anywhere from 1-4 hours per day, but spend 8-12 hours per day staring at Windows or Linux desktops and writing code. 1600x1200 is the *minimum* resolution I like to work in. At work I have dual displays, one 1920x1200 and the other 1600x1200. At home I work at 1600x1200 now (a 19" Dell CRT with a 2001FP ordered and on the way) and plan to pick up a 2405FPW when they drop in price again, to mimic my office layout. For someone who slings code for a living, vertical resolution is far more important than horizontal. ;)
 
The pictures of the Sceptre look like I got my seasonal [and longer hopefully] job at UPS to late :(

EDIT
How well does it tilt up and down? The pictures posted seem to show it being fairly static. . .
 
kohan69 said:
no box, just receipt. SAVE receipt, cuz in 2 years, the monitor instore pricce will be $120, so they'll only give you 120 if u have no receipt.

SAVE receipt for full refund
Click to expand...

Sorry if some one responded to this, but:

You dont even NEED the receipt. When you check-out at Costco they scan your card, they keep a record of everything you ever bought, ever, ever ever. I returned a tool set after 4 years. She looked up the year it was purchased and sifted through all the all the canned hams and packs of 4000 dryer sheets I bought that year and found the tool set. Bango, cash in hand. Dont ever let a lost receipt stop you from making a Costco return. You should always get what you paid for it, unless there are special rules for electronics.
 
{NcsO}ReichstaG said:
Bump for Screenshots of the ViewSonic 21" :p
Click to expand...

Did you want screenshots of games on the LCD, or just pics of it. Here's pics from Viewsonic's site:

va2012wb_us_eng_front_lrg.jpg
va2012wb_us_eng_back_lrg.jpg
va2012wb_us_eng_side_lrg.jpg


As for gameplay, I have a pretty decent 4MP camera but they came out looking like crap anyway. Trust me, its the camera. Ignore the lines going down the screen if you can, and send tips for taking these types of pictures. :p You may be pickier then me, but I think games look pretty damn good on this. Great color, etc. Can't wait to install FEAR that's been sitting on my desk since the day it came out. :(

HL2: Lost Coast, all highest detail for 6800GT (6xAA/16xAF). I didn't move, but that guy kept walking back and forth to throw you off. :D

1024x768

1280x960

1600x900 Widescreen

1600x1200 Widescreen

1680x1050 Widescreen
 
can you see any banding? is it a true 8bit panel? the sceptre has a higher contrast ratio, i'm gonna go to my local Costco in frederick MD and see if i can compare the two.
owners of both the sceptre and the viewsonic, please let us know what the highest possible refresh rate is w/DVI.
 
shiznit said:
can you see any banding? is it a true 8bit panel? the sceptre has a higher contrast ratio, i'm gonna go to my local Costco in frederick MD and see if i can compare the two.
owners of both the sceptre and the viewsonic, please let us know what the highest possible refresh rate is w/DVI.
Click to expand...

I'm not completely up to speed on all the LCD terminology/factors, but I felt fine with the viewsonic because it appeared to match the dell WS LCD I was planning on getting, including contrast ratio, and I figured viewsonic was a little more established then spectre. I don't know how to find out the 8bit part because viewsonic doesn't have a ton of info on their site. In terms of banding, honestly its not been bad at all. Then again, I'm not picky. I'll take minimal banding along with all the other nice things that come with this. I wish real life pictures came out a little better.
 
OldPueblo said:
I wish real life pictures came out a little better.
Click to expand...
That's probably the banding issue you're seeing. I don't know who makes your Viewsonic's panel or what the color specs are, but 6-bit panels are common and cannot accurately reproduce natural color gradients -- they only produce 262,000 colors, the rest are dithered -- and thus look pretty crappy with photos. It's not as noticeable in games although some or more sensitive to it than others.

Even 8-bit panels, which accurately produce 16.2M colors, tend to not do as well as CRT's with photo work. Nothing beats a good CRT for true color reproduction and contrast, which is why a lot of serious digital photogs won't work with LCD's. For my needs, I'm happy to have an 8-bit LCD. I"m pretty sure the Dell 2005FPW is an 8-bit panel. If your ViewSonic uses the same panel, it *might* be 8-bit too, but I'm thinking they use different panels. Perhaps yours is 6-bit?

The problem is most monitor mfgs don't clearly specify color-depth. They just say something like "displays 16M colors" which is misleading without saying whether they're dithered or not. You usually have to first track down who made your panel (most LCD mfgs don't make their own panels, they use OEM LG's or Hitachi's or whatever). I can't recall if ViewSonic makes any panels or not -- maybe their new 3ms panels -- but I'm virtually certain that they use OEM panels in some of their monitors.
 
Thanks for the pictures! So, are you overall impressed with the ViewSonic? Would you recommend buying it? Or should I get the Sceptre?
 
OldPueblo said:
Here's some more info that might point to it being 6bit:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=1746202
Click to expand...
Ah, yep. A good comparison.

People get too caught up in response time and assume lower is always better. Not so. With different mfgs measuring response time differently, you'll find 16ms panels easily looking better than 8ms in gaming and photo work. And being 6-bit just kills it for me. Dell 2005FPW for the win here, no doubt.


I recommend the Dell over that specific Viewsonic even for gaming because

#1. Better Viewing Angles
#2. Better Colors (8-bit as opposed to 6-bit)
#3. Better Stand (Tilt, Swivel, Pivot, Vertical...)
#4. Better connections (S-video, Composite and a USB hub)
#5. Fairly reliable Warranty/Customer Service
Click to expand...

Also, this probably explains why the 3ms ViewSonic panels they brag so much about haven't unseated the Dell UltraSharps and high-end Samsungs as gaming monitors, as least as far as I can tell. Personally, I've never been a fan of ViewSonic, because they make pretty crappy CRT's.
 
{NcsO}ReichstaG said:
Thanks for the pictures! So, are you overall impressed with the ViewSonic? Would you recommend buying it? Or should I get the Sceptre?
Click to expand...

I think I wouldn't be any happier with the Spectre. I might think in the back of my head woohoo I have these extra specs, but to be honest I doubt I'd even see the difference. So yes I'd recommend it.
 
So the sceptre is really an 8-bit panel and the ViewSonic is 6 bit?God, if only Sceptre was hdcp compliant, i would get it. if a hdcp crack is not released for viewing content requiring hdcp..and i get the Sceptre, I will be a little screwed if i want to watch a HD movie on it.

BUT, as I asked before, that will only happen if I get Blu-Ray or HD-DVD right? Initially they will be too expesnive to get..anyway so i don't care....
Normal DVDs won't require though Hdcp right?
 
{NcsO}ReichstaG said:
So the sceptre is really an 8-bit panel and the ViewSonic is 6 bit?
Click to expand...
I'd be surprised if the Sceptre is 8-bit, I don't remember seeing anybody in this thread say so. We were talking about the Dell 2005FPW being 8-bit. I'd be surprised if the Sceptre uses the same panel as the Dell. It's possible but if I had to bet I'd say it was 6-bit, just because Sceptre tends to be a budget brand -- a decent budget brand, but still a budget brand. ;)
 
OldPueblo said:
Just checked this and if I stare really hard then I might see banding. Its really not obvious at all.

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/monitor_gradient.htm
Click to expand...

You should try checking some color gradients to be sure, though. Smooth grayscale is much easier to reproduce than color gradients between hues, so a 6-bit monitor would show itself there. If you don't have any stock gradients, you can use Photoshop or Gimp or any paint/image software that can generate gradients.
 
{NcsO}ReichstaG said:
So the sceptre is really an 8-bit panel and the ViewSonic is 6 bit?God, if only Sceptre was hdcp compliant, i would get it. if a hdcp crack is not released for viewing content requiring hdcp..and i get the Sceptre, I will be a little screwed if i want to watch a HD movie on it.

BUT, as I asked before, that will only happen if I get Blu-Ray or HD-DVD right? Initially they will be too expesnive to get..anyway so i don't care....
Normal DVDs won't require though Hdcp right?
Click to expand...

lol, do what i'm about to do: buy the sceptre and use it until HDCP becomes an issue and then return it to Costco for a full refund.
 
shiznit said:
lol, do what i'm about to do: buy the sceptre and use it until HDCP becomes an issue and then return it to Costco for a full refund.
Click to expand...
I wonder how Costco ever makes a profit :rolleyes:
However,
My benefit > Some large Corporation
 
shiznit said:
lol, do what i'm about to do: buy the sceptre and use it until HDCP becomes an issue and then return it to Costco for a full refund.
Click to expand...
Seems to be the best option with all the DRM / HDCP on the horizon.

These fellows, albiet in Germany, have some rather interesting devices to help out the whole issue . . . .
http://www.spatz-tech.de/
 
agreed, 1440x900 is too low. i'm going to get this screen and when 1920x1200 becomes affordable (for me at least) i will return it for a full refund.
 
I bet that's just a re-branded Dell with a "body kit" (if you will)... still and all, a great deal... looks like a nice monitor. I have a Sceptre X23s and have enjoyed it for almost 3 years now... it's about time to upgrade... 25ms is starting to bug..
 
revenant said:
I bet that's just a re-branded Dell with a "body kit" (if you will)... still and all, a great deal... looks like a nice monitor. I have a Sceptre X23s and have enjoyed it for almost 3 years now... it's about time to upgrade... 25ms is starting to bug..
Click to expand...

Dell doesnt make monitors, they rebage them from LG Phillips and other makers.
 
Bleh? said:
Dell doesnt make monitors, they rebage them from LG Phillips and other makers.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and not only that, but there's more than one 1680x1050 panel being made, too. That was proven by the 6-bit (ViewSonic) vs 8-bit (Dell) revelation. Don't assume things are equal on first appearances alone. ;)
 
Now that everyone has me all curious, I've tried to dig up more on my Viewsonic. Might as well learn all about what I own. I found this info in the manual:

Recommended and supported
1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
1280 x 1024 @ 60, 75 Hz
1024 x 768 @ 60, 70, 72, 75 Hz
800 x 600 @ 56, 60, 72, 75 Hz
640 x 480 @ 60, 75 Hz

HDTV
720 x 400 @ 70 Hz
1280 x 720 @ 60 Hz (720p)

It seemed fine in modes other then those, but I think I'll go back and see if these modes "stretch" just a little nicer then the others (1600x1200, etc). Still no info on who makes the panel, etc.
 
OldPueblo said:
It seemed fine in modes other then those, but I think I'll go back and see if these modes "stretch" just a little nicer then the others (1600x1200, etc). Still no info on who makes the panel, etc.
Click to expand...
Yeah, as I was saying earlier: the monitor only has 1680x1050 physical pixels. It cannot, under any circumstances, display 1600x1200. If your OS or game is telling you differently, then something is getting scaled or cropped to 1600x1050 or some variation thereof. There are only 1050 vertical pixels in the panel.
 
Malatov said:
.....Personally, I've never been a fan of ViewSonic, because they make pretty crappy CRT's.
Click to expand...

i guess my 5 yr old 19" PF790 that looks as crisp and bright as the day I bought it is a fluke, huh? :rolleyes:
 
topcat989 said:
i guess my 5 yr old 19" PF790 that looks as crisp and bright as the day I bought it is a fluke, huh? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Perhaps. Or perhaps the 6 or 8 or so ViewSonics I've had the displeasure of owning/using have been flukes, who knows.

My company bought me a supposedly "Pro" level CRT a couple years ago, the P220f 22" FD Trinitron model. Had to send the first one back for terrible corner discoloration problems. The 2nd one was better but still has convergence problems and looks nowhere near as sharp & bright as the Dells and other FD's I've used. And this their high-end "Professional Series?" So yeah, I think they make pretty crappy CRT's.

YMMV, obviously.
 
Lets not forget the hell monitors go through during shipping. When I order Dells for work, we usually have 1 of the 25 in our batches that either looks like ass or was obviously damaged in shipping.

I've had overall negative experiences with ViewSonic as well. I owned a CRT of theres that literally blew up after a year of use (but it did look nice while I had it). I've also had many go bad at work, but they were at least 3 years old, but still they were outlasted by a group of AOpen A70s we bought at the same time.
 
And just to even it out, I've got two 17" Viewsonic CRTs that have lasted years and years. Ons is going a little dim, but I've more then put it through hell during the 7 years I've had it. As stated earlier, YMMV.
 
Well, I bit the bullet and purchased this LCD. I've never owned an LCD before. So far i'm pretty impressed with its colors and everything.

the corners seem brighter than the rest of the screen.

also, it seems the monitor doesn't update fast or something, it's kind of hard to explain. I'm coming from a 19" CRT. It seems like the mouse is kinda gittery.. not smooth.

counter strike source is the only game i've tried so far, and at 1680x1050 it wasn't smooth either... kinda choppy/jumpy/jittery..

it looks like the refresh rate is stuck at 60Hz. is that normal? thanks for any info..

edit: also a good example of what i'm talking about is scrolling down a website. what i do is click the middle mouse button to bring up the directional mouse icon and move the mouse down a little so the screen scrolls down at a medium speed. it doesn't cleanly scroll down, it kinda jumps down...
 
best CRT is the Sony 21" period.

IBM or other companies may use the sony tube too
 
are there any programs or tests i can run on this thing to see what it's capable of doing?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top