Inspired by this thread:
What about their flat panel LCDs? The price is right, and I really would like to get ride of my MASSIVE CRT. The thing is huge, takes up too much desk space, and generates a lot of heat.
Trouble is…the picture and color quality on the CRT is awesome!
But what about Dell flat screens? I notice for the 19 and 17 inch models, there are basically two choices…the regular and the “ultra sharp.”
Anyone have the ultra sharp one?
I just bought the 19” ultra-sharp for my wife about two weeks ago.
It’s great! Very sharp, great color, set up is essentially automatic, and the price was great, I think I paid about $270.
I looked around on the web a bit first, and found a couple of test reports in the last few months that rated the Dell as a good unit.
One thing to Note: Make sure you look at the native resolution for whatever you buy, because you do want to use that setting, as they really do look better there than at any other. Most of the 19” models I looked at had a native resolution of 1280 x 1024, which was higher than my wife had been running on her old 19” CRT. So even though this unit has a larger displayable area, and has a better picture in every respect, her text and icons are a little smaller than they were. If that’s a concern, make sure you can look at the monitor in lower resolutions before you buy to make sure it looks ok at the lower, non-optimal resolutions. For whatever it’s worth, the Dell I bought still looked very good at both 1280 x 960 and 1024 x 768, just a little less sharp (and you really did have to look close) as it did at 1280 x 1024.
I bought a Dell 24" flat panel a couple months ago. I run it at 1920x1200.
It’s wonnnnnderrrrfulll… I had it about 2 weeks before Mr. Athena broke down and bought one for himself.
We got 17" monitors standard with our 2 year old Dells. They’ve worked out great. No complaints.
I’ve always liked their ultrasharp flats. No idea about the cheaper models.
Got ultrasharp 19" a few months ago and it is great. Even has four USB ports. Much better than I expected, sharp, good color, no dead pixels.
I’ve put in a 20" one for a client just the other week. Very nice.
But the colour isn’t as good. Put a decent CRT beside a top-range LCD and the CRT will win every time. But unless you’re an artist, you don’t need it, and your eye will adjust.
24" Dell widescreen here too.
Got it 2 weeks ago, upgrading from a 21"CRT (an old Radius Pressview 21sr, from the 90s)
The LCD is bigger, brighter and the colours are better (the Radius may have been top-of-the line in 1996, when it cost $4000, but time took its toll.)
I’m in complete love. It’s beautiful.
It even turns 90 degrees for easier reading in some circumstances.
1920x1200 is great. I was going to get a cheaper 19" lcd, but I couldn’t find one fore a decent price that could do 1600x1200. Then this bad boy went on sale and I couldn’t be happier.
It depends on what you want. For 95% of people, flat panel monitors are great, and Dell makes good flat panel monitors. I have a Dell flat panel monitor and it has no dead pixels and does a great job.
However, I am an amateur photographer and I do a decent amount of picture editing. I knew flat panels were not as good at true color representation, but I just couldn’t bear to buy another huge CRT. Sometimes I am a little frustrated when editing, but most of the time I am very pleased.
Yes, the contrast and color reproduction is not quite as good as a quality CRT, but it works for most people.
(As always, there are exceptions. If you are willing to spend 1000 dollars on a nice flat panel monitor I’m sure its color reproduction will be first class, but I was not assuming this was the situation)
You and I are twins. I bought my 24" to replace my dying 21" CRT. And I went with the 24" because the 19" ones only go up to 1024x768 for some weirdo reason, unless you spend a ton of money. So instead, I spent a ton of money, and got the 24".
And I’m in love, too. My old 21" is next to me, and it seems like a huge ol’ box with very little screen real estate compared to the 24" screen-o-perfection.
