2005FPW Blew Up, Need a new Display

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Punchbugy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 18, 2003
Messages
471
Wow, I haven't posted on Hardforum in a long time. Been looking through threads here today, and I'm still impressed with the wealth of knowledge here.

Anyway, I'm looking for some advice on a new monitor. About 5 years ago you guys recommended the Dell 2005FPW to me and it really was a great screen. Yesterday though, it all of a sudden started sparking out the back, making terrible noises, and smelling like fire, so I think it's time for a replacement. ;)

I've been looking through lots of threads here, and various other reviews, and I'm having a real hard time deciding on a display. It seems like every option has a major drawback. So I'm looking for some advice. I'm currently borrowing my roommate's Samsung 21.5", 16x9, TN panel, and I do not like it. The colors are terrible, especially when viewing from anything but straight on. The thing just hurts my eyes. I know the 2005FPW was an IPS panel, so I think that's the direction I'm looking in.

I'm not nearly the gamer I was back when I used to post on this forum. I play a few games of Call of Duty or StarCraft here or there, and watch some NetFlix or Hulu, but most of my computer use is on the boring office stuff these days. I'm an engineer and use SolidWorks and AutoCAD constantly. I'm happy with the 20", but larger real estate would not be wasted, and I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to upgrade. When I do watch movies it would likely be from across the room, so it would also be nice for that. I'm not in college anymore, and have a larger LCD TV in the living room, so size isn't a huge deal. I use Photoshop often as well, but I'm not the most serious photographer. Color representation and picture quality are desirable, but I'm not going to be buying a calibration tool, I'm not that picky. I won't buy a glossy screen though.



I think the Dell U2311H is a my top choice right now. I'm concerned about all of the tinting issues I read about, but it sounds like the newest ones might be better in that regard? Jealous of everyone that got it for $239, as it's back up to $319 now. Also, I'm not crazy about 16x9, but it seems like it's the new standard. It just seems like the ratio is more catered to watching movies than productivity. I'd deal, since by going from 1680x1050 to 1920x1080, and two inches larger, I won't be losing any vertical at least.

The 2209wa looks like it got great reviews and is still available, but at the same price as the U2311H. It's older, but it could be a "safe" option. Same resolution but slightly larger screen than what I have.

Then there's the Dell 2407WFP. I know it's discontinued, but I'm looking at a few new ones on eBay that are reasonably priced. A04, which supposedly has fixed some banding issues, which is good because banding would bug me a lot in SolidWorks probably. I do like the 16x10, and I think this would be a good upgrade from my recently deceased screen. It's not an IPS panel though, PVA? How does IPS compare to PVA?

HP ZR24w looks decent as well. Typical concerns are black levels and build quality? More expenisve than the others I'm looking at. The new 2410 looks good as well, but it's a little more than I'd like to spend unfortunately.

Any other brands I should consider? I'm looking mostly at the Dell screens because I was so happy with the 2005FPW. Maybe I should say screw going bigger and just buy another 2005 used. I know I wouldn't be disappointed, and they're not too expensive used. Maybe I could buy two of them. :D

Thanks for the advice guys. You're the reason I bought my last screen so that's why I came back.

edit: haha, I just saw my signiture, listing the brands of parts I had in my old computer. Hilarious.
 
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I went from a 2005FPW to an HP ZR24W and I'm very happy with the quality of the image. No complaints in that department. I have tried to skimp my way into a 32" LCD/TV as my computer screen, and after 8 unsuccessful attempts, I'm sticking with the HP. Other than the 24" size, which I wish was a few inches bigger, it's a great screen.
 
I owned the 2005wfp, and the 2407wfp-hc. The colors on the 2407 start to shift on the edges but it has better blacks than the 2005wfp and better colors in general. Now I have the 3008wfp. I would definitely find an ips. I usually go with dell because of their great warranty support. Give the 2311 a month and I bet it will drop a lot for christmas.
 
Im in your shoes exactly, and I'm leaning toward the ZR24W. Once I found out that the 2005FPW is an IPS, and started looking at TN panels (yuk), I've decided I'll only be happy w/ IPS.
 
Update, I went with a used but very clean Dell 2407WFP A04. Almost went with the HP ZR24W but this was cheaper and I loved my previous Dell screen. I know it's PVA and not IPS, and I'm not sure about the technical differences, but it looks great. Viewing angles seem fine to me and it doesn't bother my eyes like TN panels seem to. The blacks are not quite as good as they were on my 2005FPW, but they're decent once I messed with the settings a bit. No dead pixels, while my old screen had one :). I'm loving the increased real estate, movies and games are impressive, and SolidWorks is so much better.

I'm definitely glad I stuck with 16x10, 16x9 makes me feel like I'm only using 3/4s of the screen, and I'm wasting the rest.
 
Punchbugy said:
Update, I went with a used but very clean Dell 2407WFP A04. Almost went with the HP ZR24W but this was cheaper and I loved my previous Dell screen. I know it's PVA and not IPS, and I'm not sure about the technical differences, but it looks great. Viewing angles seem fine to me and it doesn't bother my eyes like TN panels seem to. The blacks are not quite as good as they were on my 2005FPW, but they're decent once I messed with the settings a bit. No dead pixels, while my old screen had one :). I'm loving the increased real estate, movies and games are impressive, and SolidWorks is so much better.

I'm definitely glad I stuck with 16x10, 16x9 makes me feel like I'm only using 3/4s of the screen, and I'm wasting the rest.
Click to expand...

I went from a Dell 2407WFP to buying an HP ZR24w .... really since I only had the Dell for 4 years and it took a dump on me, it really turned me off from buying another and since the new 24" Dell are around $550 compared the HP which is $400 it was a no brainer.

I hope you Dell works longer than mine did but mine was a Revision A04 and if you read online there have been issues with the screen going black cause of some kind fuse issue in that generation Dell. I sold mine as is on Ebay for 100 bucks to let someone else fix cause it was gonna cost me to much.

The HP is a Very nice panel for the price... and for the price it cant be beat! I purchased a used one that was damaged in shipping (which I am still dealing with the seller and UPS to get it resolved) but have since found another seller that has the HP's for a great price that I will be getting a new one from this week.

Good luck to us all ! :D
 
FYI I bought mine from Cost Central and it was lightning fast and easy to deal with.
 
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