NEC PA vs Eizo CG Series?

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xyeLz

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
134
Hey all,

Sorry for the odd topic but I'm new here (I'm usually all over OCN) and I was hoping some of you here would be able to help me with this one.

I am looking at getting the best monitor possible for my purposes. Trust me, I understand there is no "best" monitor. :)

I have narrowed it down to the NEC PA series, specifically the PA241W and the Eizo CG series, specifically the CG245W. I'll be completely honest, I think NEC makes fantastic displays and I have had nothing but good experience with them in the past. I also think that the Eizo CG245W is the most hideous looking monitor I have ever seen. I do not know where they come off thinking they can justify a $2,800 monitor simply because it has a built in calibrator.

My main purposes for this monitor will mostly be photography and graphic design purposes. Of course I game, but who doesn't - and most of the games I play nowadays are RPG and small world based such as HoN, LoL, SC2, etc. though I also play the occasional FPS and racing game.

I am currently using a Dell U2410 and it's definitely an enjoyable and well built monitor, but I am looking for something more upscale.

I was also wondering if I should go for the 24" or the 30" model. I think the 24" is big enough as it is, and that's why I'm reconsidering getting another 24", but the extra pixels of 30" monitors is definitely tempting. Is it worth it?

Any help would be great! :) Feel free to ask any questions.
 
The answers are pretty much on the surface.
You get the same product from Eizo but pay 2-3 times more.
30" NEC PA301w is available. Only you know if you need it and can afford it.
Just two tips:
Get SpectraView package (PA241w + latest SV calibration kit).
Buy from a retailer with a good return/exchange policy.
 
I have narrowed it down to the NEC PA series, specifically the PA241W and the Eizo CG series, specifically the CG245W.
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Both screens are very powerful and accurately factory calibrated.

The CG245W implements its own "internal" probe (which is well corrected against the spectrum of the screen).Therefore the CG counterpart of the PA241W actually is the CG243W. However: The workflow in combination with Color Navigator is very convenient. There are some nice extra features like a correction of the "internal" probe against a measurement carried out with another probe or the possibility of a "gamut update" that compensates for colorimeterical drifts regarding the color space emulation. An automatic calibration can be scheduled and carried out without computer. This helps to ensure precision until the next calibration/ profilation process.

As already indicated the NEC PA241 is a very powerful screen too. There are many similar features like a high precision programmable LUT, extensive OSD (important if a software calibration is performed instead of a hardware calibration), accurate color space emulation, a compensation function for homogeneity and optional a good SV II hardware calibration workflow (can be continued) - all this with an aggressive pricing (comparable to SX and not CG models).

When comparing Eizo SX and NEC PA there are advantages for the PA screens. The SX models lack some (important) functions of the CGs.

Best regards

Denis
 
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Is the PA series comparable to the CG series?

Is one better than the other?

For example, if you could pick either the Eizo or the NEC with no budget, which would you select?
 
With no budget - the one that will happen to have more uniform panel (color tint, backlight).
 
Aye, so essentially you're suggesting to go for the NEC because it will be of equal or superior quality to the Eizo for half the price - and either one could be better or worse depending on well...shipping?
 
xyeLz said:
Aye, so essentially you're suggesting to go for the NEC because it will be of equal or superior quality to the Eizo for half the price - and either one could be better or worse depending on well...shipping?
Click to expand...

Yes, so that's two people now that have suggested this to you. ;)
 
10e! :D Good to see you here as well.

I knew you must have had a second home with only ~70 or so posts on OCN. ;)

I'll be honest - I think my biggest reason for being skeptical here isn't even the difference between the NEC and the Eizo as I've pretty much set my sights on the NEC. It's more about what new technologies will come out and in how long. My luck would have it that I get the PA241W and then a week later they release a brand new model with an A-TW polarizer, or even just any new model that spanks the pants off of it.

I'm literally about to pull the trigger on the PA, but from what albovin said in an earlier post about the PA231, now I'm comparing the differences between these two!

Once I can become educated enough to make the decision, I will do so. I appreciate your input and hope you will still help me.
 
xyeLz said:
10e! :D Good to see you here as well.

I knew you must have had a second home with only ~70 or so posts on OCN. ;)

I'll be honest - I think my biggest reason for being skeptical here isn't even the difference between the NEC and the Eizo as I've pretty much set my sights on the NEC. It's more about what new technologies will come out and in how long. My luck would have it that I get the PA241W and then a week later they release a brand new model with an A-TW polarizer, or even just any new model that spanks the pants off of it.

I'm literally about to pull the trigger on the PA, but from what albovin said in an earlier post about the PA231, now I'm comparing the differences between these two!

Once I can become educated enough to make the decision, I will do so. I appreciate your input and hope you will still help me.
Click to expand...

Barring a new 24" with an A-TW polarized IPS panel, there are no monitors presently for sale that far outstrip the PA241W-BK-SV. The ColorEdge are great screens but, again, more expensive for dubious advantages if any.

The only monitor I could ever recommend over this one is the original NEC LCD2490WUXI-BK-SV which is no longer available new, and this is only due to the A-TW polarizer.

I recently picked up an NEC PA301W-BK-SV. My first one had some issues with uniformity and some pixel defects, and NEC replaced it without hesitation. My new one is fairly close to perfect. There are some uniformity issues which usually happen more often with 30" panels simply due to their size, but ColorComp at 1 or 2 fixes them with a very slight decrease in contrast.

I feel the 24" panel in the PA241W-BK-SV is probably a little bit better quality in terms of uniformity and less likely to suffer from pixel or construction defects, and yet has all the features (except for one) of the PA301W-BK-SV, I highly recommend it.

The only feature the PA301W-BK-SV has above the other units is the self-calibration where you don't need SpectraView II to calibrate it, but SpectraView II is excellent software and NEC does a great job of updating it constantly to support new screens and colorimeters. That with MultiProfiler gives you an extremely flexible screen that does a perfect job emulating sRGB, Adobe RGB, or working in full gamut.

I use my PA301W-BK-SV in sRGB mode and I absolutely love the results. I will be using this screen for years to come.

Albovin has a quick review of the PA241W and gave it high marks.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1608340&
 
Thanks.

Just one more question.

What differences will I notice when comparing the NEC side by side to my U2410?
 
xyeLz said:
Thanks.

Just one more question.

What differences will I notice when comparing the NEC side by side to my U2410?
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From what I've read it's the same panel in the PA241W and U2410, but here are the major differences:

1) PA241W-BK-SV manages to have higher contrast at the same brightness levels, and can achieve darker blacks

2) The PA241W-BK-SV (especially the SV/Spectraview II version) has better coverage of sRGB in sRGB mode

3) PA241W-BK-SV has a "quick start" feature where it achieves closer to full brightness when first turned on or when it comes out of sleep mode. The Dell takes fifteen minutes to achieve this, the PA241W takes far less.

4) PA241W-BK-SV has more picture modes, and you can adjust the gamma parameters moreso than the U2410. This is useful if you are playing a dark game or watching dark movie content, you can change the gamma a bit to compensate and make things more visible on the dark end of the color scale. You can also calibrate it to different white color temperatures, gamma/gradations and color spaces better.

5) The NEC has ColorComp which can compensate for color and brightness uniformity, the U2410 does not. You can turn it off and on, and change to five different levels

6) The PA241W can be internally calibrated over the life of the screen using Spectraview II. With this you calibrate the monitor, not your video card. Alternatively you can use the same colorimeter (MDVSensor2) that comes with Spectraview II to help calibrate the Dell too.

Will the differences be earth shattering? Probably not, but they will be noticed once you have familiarized yourself with this very capable screen.

I would encourage you to surf on over to www.necdisplay.com and find the user's guide for both the PA series and SpectraView II to understand what you can do here.

The Dell is a decent screen as well, it just doesn't have quite the same capabilities. This is obviously reflected in the price difference.
 
Keep looking for a 2490 or its bigger 26" wide-gamut brother the 2690. They really are something very special indeed and you'll probably be able to find one cheap if you are determined enough. (I was, cost me about €400)
 
I would love to find a 2490WUXi somewhere, but it's somewhat difficult and I don't believe I would find one in pristine condition as I would demand!

What makes that so fantastic other than the A-TW polarizer? Nothing rivals it? Not even the PA series?
 
So should I get a PA241w? Or should I get 2 more U2410s?

Honestly, I do want to get the NEC, but I'm just not sold on it as being a long-term investment. If I spend $1,300 on the monitor, I want it to be the "cream of the crop" for as long as possible.

For example, I bought my GTX580s when they first came out around this time last year and they are still the feared card (other than the 590, but I'm not a fan of dual GPU GPUs).

Same thing with the U2410. It has been around for YEARS and while they make revisions to it, it's still the U2410.

Will the PA241w last like that? Or will they release the PA241w with A-TW polarizer and special edition in the coming months?

I know I'm asking a lot of you gurus, and I'm sorry.
 
I hate you all.

Silent treatment sucks.

I just spent this months paycheck on the PA241w-SV :(
 
NOT HAPPY AT ALL.

NEC arrived today. Not only did FedEx leave it out in the rain (under a small balcony) WITHOUT ANY PLASTIC on the box, but they also completely disregarded the labels on the box saying which say it should be positioned. It was left on it's side.

On top of that, I just hooked it up right now, and trust me I have pictures and a video that you will all see tonight around 10:00 PM EST when I return home, but the top left of the screen has horrible backlight bleeding - the kind that shouldn't arrive with a $1,400 monitor.

Sitting next to my uncalibrated U2410, I would pick the U2410 out of the line-up any day right now.

It's evident to me that this is a manufacturer defect and not "normal" backlight bleeding. I'll post pictures later - but that's ridiculous on both the part of FedEx and NEC.
 
OC.Net is down, but get into the advanced menu and turn off ColorComp first.

From the sounds of it FedEx dropped the ball, but ColorComp can cause what looks like clouding or back-light bleeding when set to maximum of 5, so we want to get that out of the way first.
 
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