new monitor!
So i got my new monitor today.
I was really happy to find a DVI cable included in the box, after reading that it didnt come with one and after trying to get the salesguy at futureshop to gimme one for cheaper than $50 and failing.
it was neat to see a wipe cloth included too
can you see the difference?
both monitors were hooked into the same videocard, both running at 60Hz. and THAT, my friends, is why i needed a new monitor.
that being said, this one has .... some issues, and i think i'm going to have to find a suitable replacement.
the first one i noticed was a stuck pixel, which really isn't such an issue. i can take it in to get it exchanged, no problem. still, a tad inconvenient.
but that's not the dealbreaker.
the top of the screen is darker than the bottom, unless i look at it from an upper angle, in which case everything shows up much too washed out/light. in short: the viewing angles suck. this also means that what shows up as one colour in one half of the screen isn't the same colour as in the other half. so sure, i'm using DVI and the colours are accurate. but from which angle? even head on, i can see a gradient on the left side of my LJ's background (where it's solid orange, for those that've never looked).
there's also the issue that this monitor is only actually 6-bit (16.2M 252144 colours [edit: shame on you all for not correcting me! :x]), versus the superior 8-bit (16.7M). instead, there's dithering to give the illsuion of 8-bit. this might not be such an issue for some people, but in my case i actually noticed the colour banding before i even read about the 6-bit/8-bit thing.
that's my biggest issue with this display. $430, and it doesnt even look right. however, as i just found out, it's an issue with TN panels. basically, a TN panel will have a better refresh rate (less ghosting) but at the cost of colour accuracy (6-bit) and viewing angles (darker at the top). the other kinds of displays (PVA, IPS, etc) usually are 8-bit and have more acceptable viewing angles, but at the cost of refresh rate.
yes, i get a nice fast screen. yes, it's big. yes, its got two inputs and came with everything i wanted. yes, it's light and will be easy to move with back to ottawa (or elsewhere). yes, it has a long warranty.
but no, it doesn't accurately display things the way they appear. and that's the dealbreaker.
what this means to me: i'm essentially fucked if i want to keep my costs down and get a widescreen LCD monitor that doesn't blow. my brother's suggestion: spend the $500 - $800 and get something that'll be worth looking at for the next 5 or 6 years. and what that means to me: TVs are fair game now too.... oh what the fuck, no.
I was really happy to find a DVI cable included in the box, after reading that it didnt come with one and after trying to get the salesguy at futureshop to gimme one for cheaper than $50 and failing.
it was neat to see a wipe cloth included too
can you see the difference?
both monitors were hooked into the same videocard, both running at 60Hz. and THAT, my friends, is why i needed a new monitor.
that being said, this one has .... some issues, and i think i'm going to have to find a suitable replacement.
the first one i noticed was a stuck pixel, which really isn't such an issue. i can take it in to get it exchanged, no problem. still, a tad inconvenient.
but that's not the dealbreaker.
the top of the screen is darker than the bottom, unless i look at it from an upper angle, in which case everything shows up much too washed out/light. in short: the viewing angles suck. this also means that what shows up as one colour in one half of the screen isn't the same colour as in the other half. so sure, i'm using DVI and the colours are accurate. but from which angle? even head on, i can see a gradient on the left side of my LJ's background (where it's solid orange, for those that've never looked).
there's also the issue that this monitor is only actually 6-bit (16.2M 252144 colours [edit: shame on you all for not correcting me! :x]), versus the superior 8-bit (16.7M). instead, there's dithering to give the illsuion of 8-bit. this might not be such an issue for some people, but in my case i actually noticed the colour banding before i even read about the 6-bit/8-bit thing.
that's my biggest issue with this display. $430, and it doesnt even look right. however, as i just found out, it's an issue with TN panels. basically, a TN panel will have a better refresh rate (less ghosting) but at the cost of colour accuracy (6-bit) and viewing angles (darker at the top). the other kinds of displays (PVA, IPS, etc) usually are 8-bit and have more acceptable viewing angles, but at the cost of refresh rate.
yes, i get a nice fast screen. yes, it's big. yes, its got two inputs and came with everything i wanted. yes, it's light and will be easy to move with back to ottawa (or elsewhere). yes, it has a long warranty.
but no, it doesn't accurately display things the way they appear. and that's the dealbreaker.
what this means to me: i'm essentially fucked if i want to keep my costs down and get a widescreen LCD monitor that doesn't blow. my brother's suggestion: spend the $500 - $800 and get something that'll be worth looking at for the next 5 or 6 years. and what that means to me: TVs are fair game now too.... oh what the fuck, no.