Newbie needs Help on monitor selection
Whether you believe it or not I am a TFT newbie, I've still got my 19" CRT beast weighing my desk down. I am interested in getting a mac mini to have as a cheap desktop to compliment my tiny ibook and I was thinking of buying the
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20" performance LCD Flat Panel Monitor. 250cd/m2 brightness, 400:1 contrast, 16ms response time. Midnight grey TCO99
heres is the actual link: http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna...tegory_id=4009
I realize it is an old model however it is on special offer at what seems to be a bargain of £385 (make your own conversions).I also realize that if I opt for just 1" lower (19") I can get one for about £200 or so but nevertheless amuse me.
So I have a couple of questions for you, any help would be great btw:
1)can someone explain simply in practical terms the numbers and specs of tfts? eg: 250cd/m2, 400:1 and so on ? the only thing I know is that 16ms is quite decent a response time as for the rest of the numbers I simply assume they should be as high as possible right? so are this monitors specs decent enough for the present times and the price? not really a gamer...think CAD, Adobe suite and movies
2) I also wanna share the monitor with my windoze setup (sorry but I need it for apps and stuff not available on macs as of yet ) and at this point this "antique" setup boasts an ATI radeon 9000 Pro graphics card. What I wanna know is will it be compatible in DVI terms (not even thinking of VGA hookup, it sucks!) ie. I read somewhere that it really helps if you get the right "Kind" of DVI eg: DVI-I or DVI-A or DVI-D. From what I can gather generally Dell monitors are DVI-D and my ATI is a DVI-I output. So is there a Problem or do I need a DVI-D-to-DVI-I cable or something like that? or am I talking nonsense?
3) Speaking of cables...I think dells here don't come with a DVI cable.Do I need a special "Dell" cable DVI? or are DVI cables as compatible as usb cables? ie: "Universal" in a way.
I sincerely hope this is easy enough to follow. I apologize if I have posted this in the wrong section It seemed the logical one.
If this is too confusing or annoying to answer just run through a detailed chack list of "what you need/must have in order to hook up a TFT via DVI?"...kind of card, cables, drivers whatever
Thanks in advance for any replies and for your patience.
P.S Feel free to suggest a better spec screen and price if you got any...don't really mind the brand.I'm in he UK btw so consider that if for example you suggest sites to buy from or whatever.
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20" performance LCD Flat Panel Monitor. 250cd/m2 brightness, 400:1 contrast, 16ms response time. Midnight grey TCO99
heres is the actual link: http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna...tegory_id=4009
I realize it is an old model however it is on special offer at what seems to be a bargain of £385 (make your own conversions).I also realize that if I opt for just 1" lower (19") I can get one for about £200 or so but nevertheless amuse me.
So I have a couple of questions for you, any help would be great btw:
1)can someone explain simply in practical terms the numbers and specs of tfts? eg: 250cd/m2, 400:1 and so on ? the only thing I know is that 16ms is quite decent a response time as for the rest of the numbers I simply assume they should be as high as possible right? so are this monitors specs decent enough for the present times and the price? not really a gamer...think CAD, Adobe suite and movies
2) I also wanna share the monitor with my windoze setup (sorry but I need it for apps and stuff not available on macs as of yet ) and at this point this "antique" setup boasts an ATI radeon 9000 Pro graphics card. What I wanna know is will it be compatible in DVI terms (not even thinking of VGA hookup, it sucks!) ie. I read somewhere that it really helps if you get the right "Kind" of DVI eg: DVI-I or DVI-A or DVI-D. From what I can gather generally Dell monitors are DVI-D and my ATI is a DVI-I output. So is there a Problem or do I need a DVI-D-to-DVI-I cable or something like that? or am I talking nonsense?
3) Speaking of cables...I think dells here don't come with a DVI cable.Do I need a special "Dell" cable DVI? or are DVI cables as compatible as usb cables? ie: "Universal" in a way.
I sincerely hope this is easy enough to follow. I apologize if I have posted this in the wrong section It seemed the logical one.
If this is too confusing or annoying to answer just run through a detailed chack list of "what you need/must have in order to hook up a TFT via DVI?"...kind of card, cables, drivers whatever
Thanks in advance for any replies and for your patience.
P.S Feel free to suggest a better spec screen and price if you got any...don't really mind the brand.I'm in he UK btw so consider that if for example you suggest sites to buy from or whatever.
Comments
I don't know what your market is like and you don't specify price range, but obvious, good alternatives also from Dell are 2005FPW and 2405FPW. 2005FPW might cost a little more, or not; the biggest difference to 2001FP is widescreen so your movies are >20% bigger even if the nominal monitor size is the same. The 2405FPW has very good all around capability, but is so much bigger it necessarily costs a lot more.
From other makers, Samsung makes the 213T which is getting old and slow, but is bigger and is supposed to have better color than 2001FP so with the right price it would be better for you. Viewsonic makes VP201b, Benq makes their own 20"; both have the 2001FP panel.
I'd be very surprised if that size class monitors wouldn'tt ship with DVI. In any case it's standardized component. DVI connectors and signals:
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html
You really don't need to look hard at the numbers, apart from size and resolution. The rest are.. fickle.
Instead, read reviews. I'd guess the 2001FP is probably the best publicized display in the last five years. Look at reviews that have the same kind of tests your use is (graphics, movies).
Keep'em coming people
Cheers!
Originally posted by tzallas
Thanks alot for both the replies so far...its really set down the inherent panic; especially the DVI and 1" fiasco.(always had trouble with the d@mn resolution "maths")
Keep'em coming people
Cheers!
the dell monitors have dvi input and analogue and s video as well as composite - what's the problem?
I'm Probably gonna go with the 20" Dell its got that extra inch AND higher resolution than the respective 19".Price isn't too bad for uk standards.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
make that fine.
There is an edit button in the top right hand corner of each post so you can edit your own posts.
(I fixed it - JL)
If you just compare the specs agains say the 20" Apple LCD it does make you wonder if the Aluminium casing costs considering the Dell has better specs.
Haven't seen results or comparisson on retouching tho.
Dobby.
Originally posted by dobby
I read the new Dell 20" is meant to be a really good.
If you just compare the specs agains say the 20" Apple LCD it does make you wonder if the Aluminium casing costs considering the Dell has better specs.
Haven't seen results or comparisson on retouching tho.
Dobby.
MacUser did a recent test for professional monitors for design and the cheapest was a Formac followed by the Apple 20" and this was before the price cuts. The Apple monitors are the professionals choice.
Originally posted by tzallas
P.S Feel free to suggest a better spec screen and price if you got any...don't really mind the brand.I'm in he UK btw so consider that if for example you suggest sites to buy from or whatever.
I use a 17" Formac TFT (DVi connection) for print design work and it's amazing. Good accurate colour, sharp detail and it's easy on the eyes.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
tzallas, the Dell 2005FPW that I purchase came with both a DVI and a VGA cable. The DVI cable works fine with my G5.
See now you should not have mentioned the 2005fpw (20.1" tft Wide)...its driving me crazy!!
Is the Widescreen worth the purchase? is it really worth those extra £50?
I mean Its the same specs give or take. Is it just that you have larger viewable screen for 16:9 vidz/DVDs ?
In a few words....Apart from a better viewing experience for movies are there any other benefits?
Btw thanks for all the suggestions! I've seen the Formac monitors and they look fantastic in appearence and specs. 2nd after Mac Alu-monitors. Problem is the formac really stretches my budget and I can't afford it.
Then if I could, I'd just get a Mac Aluscreen anyway.
P.s. does anybody know if my archaic ATI Radeon 9000 Pro graphics card CAN support the wideformat resolutions of the 2005fpw?
2005fpw is reported to have lots of backlight problems. Dell is good about warranty and all, but you should be aware of that you might have to exchange the display before you get a good one.
2005fpw also reportedly has a little better colors.
Personally I would pay £50 more for the widescreen. It's good with movies, it's good for text / vertical pages if you rotate it (OS X support coming in Tiger, rumors say), and it's easier to fit two windows side to side, although they are a little shorter.
2001fp is better if you run things that are 4:3 (duh!) or the aspect does not matter. It has 9% more space than 2005fpw. I guess that would be a big consideration for graphics and CAD?
According to a thread on the MacNN Peripherals board, the very early 2005FPW models did have a lot of backlight bleeding in the corners but that problem seem not to be present on later models.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
<<2005fpw is reported to have lots of backlight problems. Dell is good about warranty and all, but you should be aware of that you might have to exchange the display before you get a good one.>>
According to a thread on the MacNN Peripherals board, the very early 2005FPW models did have a lot of backlight bleeding in the corners but that problem seem not to be present on later models.
Reports in places like Arstechnica say that the early models occasionally had a zillion broken pixels, but the panels got fixed and the new ones no longer tend to have pixel faults. The backlight stuff was still current a month ago, when I last checked into it, not just on the "early models".
Originally posted by Gon
tzallas,
2005fpw is reported to have lots of backlight problems. Dell is good about warranty and all, but you should be aware of that you might have to exchange the display before you get a good one.
2005fpw also reportedly has a little better colors.
Personally I would pay £50 more for the widescreen. It's good with movies, it's good for text / vertical pages if you rotate it (OS X support coming in Tiger, rumors say), and it's easier to fit two windows side to side, although they are a little shorter.
2001fp is better if you run things that are 4:3 (duh!) or the aspect does not matter. It has 9% more space than 2005fpw. I guess that would be a big consideration for graphics and CAD?
Thanks for the heads up...I just thought it was the same real estate of screen but shaped differently (if you know what I mean).....but if you say the 2001fp has got 9% more physical space, then it gives a hell of alot more bang for my buck since it is also cheaper.
All I need is space for the stuff I wanna do, no matter what the shape (almost all apps now can customise your workspace, palettes etc). It would be cool for the movies but I mean I've got a 19" crt 4:3(18" viewable) and its good enough for me now so the 2001fp should be better no matter what. And the possibility of having to change monitors back and forth with the 2005fpw,(although as people just said its apparently fixed, or getting there)untill I get one that works sounds a real pain.
Plus I still don't know if my ATI Radeon 9000 Pro can support the 2005fpw.For all I know it might not so I could forget about the widscreen altogether.
Thanks for all the replies!
tzallas.