Viewsonic VX2025wm arrived! First impressions and pics

Hmm, this does seem to be a very good monitor. Comp USA (False Rebate USA) as I like to call them, seems to have a growing list of Widesreen LCD's with new ones being added every week. Im waiting to see someone hook up an Xbox 360 to this monitor since that is the only reason I am looking into Widecreen LCD's. Highly intrested in a well constructed/ well speced WS LCD myself, but it definitly would not hurt saving some money on an alternative option. Such as the WS Sceptre Naga III monitor at the same size. Gonna continue to google the Viewsonic model to see if anyone has a review up for it hooked up to an Xbox 360.

-DarkLegacy
 
The 100$ Comp USA rebate is directly threw Viewsonic. You really cant go wrong as far as quality with viewsonic I am very happy with mine just waiting to give oblivion a whirl ;)

PDF Rebate
 
I may have missed this in a previous post, but is it feasible to get a component-to-DVI converter and connect a 360 to it? Has anyone tried it?

If this works, I'm sold and will purchase immediately.
 
Oblivion 1680x1050

VSO1.jpg

VSO2.jpg

VSO3.jpg
 
steveng said:
where did you find vx2025 for 505? the lowest I can find is $499 at www.pccyber.ca

I bought mine from Monitor Depot On-Line which went for $488:
http://www.monitordepot.com/TheWeb/md/home/md_main_frm.htm

I didn't order on-line but I went there and picked it up --- only 20 minute drive from where I live.

A shipment of 60 units of monitors arrived last Wednesday. By Friday there were 40 left and by Monday when I finally decided to buy this particular model, there were only 14 monitors left. Heck, I bought one for myself and for my brother since I was sure it would sell out either that same day or the following day.

Now as for the monitor itself, well I have to credit the topic starter Coldtronius for helping me decide which brand and model to buy since I also had a certain budget I wanted to spend for an LCD monitor.

I'm very happy with it, this being my first widescreen lcd monitor. I've even left the see-through plastic laminate that protects the screen, lol.
 
|MaguS| said:
So... Would you guys recommend this LCD or the Sony/HP FW900 CRT? Both about the same price...

I want to go widescreen and can't decide on a monitor, I currently am using a 19" CRT. :eek:

I was in the market for a new monitor and I was going to buy either this or the NEC 20". I saw a 20" screen in person and it felt small height wise coming from a 21" CRT so I'm plunking down on the FW900. 22.5" viewable, perfect blacks, zero lag, accurate colors.

Not so good when it comes to text however. It really depends whether your using the machine for work/text or games/photography.

Although this is a LCD dominated thread, if you want a monitor for gaming I'd say go for the HP FW900, $479 shipped from Azatek.
 
I rather have a LCD that Sony though nice, is a big mother and weighs allot also give off major heat.

This veiwsonic is a very nice LCD I am very happy with it, it does have some backlight bleeding but most lcd's do. Doesn’t bother me at all. Games look great on this thing no ghosting

I remember going from crt to lcd for gaming I was more impressed with the lcd back then I had a 19 in viewsonic. Just the room on my desk was insane

I use to have two 21inch crt's for gaming and graphics and I will never go back to crt's except for my TV I bought a 30 Panasonic crt I just don’t like LCD TVs for some reason
 
I just got my VX2025wm this evening. Purchased it through NewEgg. I could see no bad pixels, used Pixel Buddy to inspect it. Again there is some lightness in the corners, but as Coldtronius describes it's not like the backlight bleeding that I've seen with other LCDs. Response times are a big improvement over my previous Samsung 191T+, or 192MP. I did some brief tests with a 3D screensaver, called Latice, and while I could detect a touch of ghosting it really isn't that bad.

I don't currently play allot of games. But AoE3 recognized 1680x1050. I had read previously, in this thread that WoW, works with this aspect ratio. So I'll reinstall UT2004, I'm pretty sure it will work fine as well. If any game has issues with ghosting it will be a FPS. (I'll post back here after I test it further.)

I played about 30 mins of Gladitor and didn't notice the twinkling that others have mentioned. So my best guess is that I'll be happy with a second one of these, for the system in my bedroom. ;) The 192MP that I mentioned is serving in that spot now, and it has "real" backlight bleeding... :p

Overall, I'm definately happy with my $420 purchase. Too bad UPS didn't just drop it outside my door and run. It would have been an incredible temptation to make them buy me a second one. :eek: Doh! did I say that!?! :eek:
 
From the initial review and all the replies, it seems like I may have something wrong with my set up, defective monitor or maybe need to upgrade my vid card.

I recieved my vx2025 about 10 hours ago and yes, it sure is sweet. Only one problem, looks grainey, light screen door effect and general lack of sharpness. Even dvd movies look like theres something between me and the image. Think I just got a bad one or is this just the way it is?

For the last 3 years I have been using a Dell 19inch P992 Trinitron CRT and loved it, except for being bulky & heavy.

I have a decent vid card, nVidia 6800gt OC (BFG) set to native res now and and image quality was awesome on my CRT. I know that LCD's arent quite as good as CRT but I dont think I can deal with the grainey look this monitor has.

Am I alone here or am I just too used to the old CRT? Anyone have an idea of what is wrong?
 
I have to agree with this.

I bought a 20” Philips TFT and I own a LG CRT. I’m not too keen on the grainy look of TFTs, movie playback is not as enjoyable. The TFT is much sharper for regular desktop stuff, but when it comes to image quality and color reproduction my CRT wins hands down. I’m even considering selling off my TFT
 
xoshiex said:
Anyone have an idea of what is wrong?

Are you using VGA or DVI? VGA definitely will not give you as clear of a picture as DVI will. If you are using DVI have you tried switching to a different cable? The cable that came with my NEC was bad and caused all of the images to look smeared.

Your 6800GT should have no problem as long as you use DVI.

Good luck, hope your monitor situation works out
 
I also have a BFG 6800 GT OC.

Have you adjusted the color correction through the nVidia display panel: Digital Vibrance, Imaging Sharpening?
 
xoshiex said:
From the initial review and all the replies, it seems like I may have something wrong with my set up, defective monitor or maybe need to upgrade my vid card.

I recieved my vx2025 about 10 hours ago and yes, it sure is sweet. Only one problem, looks grainey, light screen door effect and general lack of sharpness. Even dvd movies look like theres something between me and the image. Think I just got a bad one or is this just the way it is?

For the last 3 years I have been using a Dell 19inch P992 Trinitron CRT and loved it, except for being bulky & heavy.

I have a decent vid card, nVidia 6800gt OC (BFG) set to native res now and and image quality was awesome on my CRT. I know that LCD's arent quite as good as CRT but I dont think I can deal with the grainey look this monitor has.

Am I alone here or am I just too used to the old CRT? Anyone have an idea of what is wrong?

I agree that is sounds like your using the VGA line. To be sure, you can select the input through the monitors OSD. Make sure it's set to digital.
 
Ok, I made the plunge. Just got back from CompUSA, where I got as good a deal as I'll find for some time. I paid $499-$5 (coupon)-$100 mfg rebate for a total of $394 before taxes.

I'll set it this new Viewsonic VX2025wm and provide my own review in this thread. Note that I am a VERY discerning (picky) consumer when it comes to PC gear and monitors in particular. I've stuck with my Dell CRT because I had not yet found an LCD that met my high standards. I've seen the Dell 2005FPW in person and just wasn't blown away by it enough to warrant buying it. We'll see how this VX2025 does-- if it has any backlighting, screendoor effect, or response rate problems I will NOT hestitate to return it to CompUSA.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to really set this up and test it until next week.

Until then...
 
I am using the supplied DVI cable, the monitor is set to Digital.
As for the Digital Vibrance its set to Off & Image Sharpening is to the far left. If I move the Digital Vibrance it makes the reds appear more orange and moving Image Sharpening makes the words on the buttons and shadows look out of whack.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate the ideas.

I called ViewSonic about it and spoke with a complete n00b; needless to say, their escalations office is calling me back in 12-48 hours.
I just want to find out if I got a bad one or if I am being too sensetive. This monitor is now at CompUSA so I think I'll just swing by there and take a look at their floor model and see if it looks grainey, similar to mine.
 
xoshiex said:
I am using the supplied DVI cable, the monitor is set to Digital.
As for the Digital Vibrance its set to Off & Image Sharpening is to the far left. If I move the Digital Vibrance it makes the reds appear more orange and moving Image Sharpening makes the words on the buttons and shadows look out of whack.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate the ideas.

I called ViewSonic about it and spoke with a complete n00b; needless to say, their escalations office is calling me back in 12-48 hours.
I just want to find out if I got a bad one or if I am being too sensetive. This monitor is now at CompUSA so I think I'll just swing by there and take a look at their floor model and see if it looks grainey, similar to mine.


You may be sensative to the "Anti Glare" coating that this LCD has. It causes images to be somewhat grainy, though nowhere near as bad as the 2005FPW I used to have. Nothing you can do about it either.
 
Hey all -

I was just glancing through today's ad for Fry's Electronics, and they show the VX2025wm for $499 - $100 mail-in rebate for a total of $399. Limit 1 per customer.
 
sanitystream said:
Hey all -

I was just glancing through today's ad for Fry's Electronics, and they show the VX2025wm for $499 - $100 mail-in rebate for a total of $399. Limit 1 per customer.
Save $5 more and get it for $394 at CompUSA.

Coupons here and here. There is no barcode, but I just bought this VX2025wm at CompUSA 2 hrs ago and will end up paying $394 (before taxes). They accepted this coupon, but YMMV.

21-day return policy with no restocking fee. Not sure about Fry's, as we don't have them here...
 
xoshiex said:
I am using the supplied DVI cable, the monitor is set to Digital.
As for the Digital Vibrance its set to Off & Image Sharpening is to the far left. If I move the Digital Vibrance it makes the reds appear more orange and moving Image Sharpening makes the words on the buttons and shadows look out of whack.

For my setting, I have Digital Vibrance almost between the first two dots; Brightness I left at the default setting (100%); Contrast at 115%; Gamma at 0.91; Image Sharpening all the way to the left.

But that's just me and my personal preference.
 
fry's is 30 day return no restocking.

the compusay by me is 15% restocking on all products. i will never buy anything from there
 
Hi Coldtronius
Nice review! But I have one question, I'm playing a game which only can be runned under 800 x 600 res. If I run this game on vx2025wm what will it looks like? The monitor will stretch the pictures to fit the whole screen in distorted way? Or it will leave the black bars around the 800 x 600 picture?
Thank you!
 
Well I bought this monitor today at Fry's, unfortunately I'm taking it back tomorrow. Here's why:

1) As a PC monitor, the VX2025wm is great. If that's all you want it for, this is a fine monitor, everything is sharp, no backlight bleeding, no screen door effect, good colors, and games still play fine even below the native resolution of 1680x1050. It's a keeper in this regard.

2) BUT... as an Xbox 360 monitor it doesn't cut it. The problem isn't really the monitor at all, it's the damn 360's VGA cable. For some inexplicable reason, Microsoft's VGA cable severely washes out colors, gamma, and contrast. I knew this going in and had my fingers crossed. You see, on my old Dell CRT I could over-compensate for this "wash out" by maxxing my individual color levels (R,G,B) to 100. That took care of the problem, and everything looked fine.

Unfortunately, the factory default for VX2025 is *already* at 100 for R,G,B, so there is no room for over-compensation. It ships at the limit for colors. Which means games are *severely* washed out and desaturated. I tried Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and the beautiful outdoor scenery looked very bland and boring. Shadows are gone, there's no contrast, everything just looks kind of lifeless. Sunsets no longer "popped", as if the world is drained of life.

No kidding -- my girlfriend knows absolutely nothing about computers, and when she walked in to see my new $400 toy playing Oblivion, her first comment was: "That looks dull".

She's right. That's the best way to sum it up: an Xbox 360 hooked up to this monitor is very dull and there's no easy way to fix it.

The only solution would be to run the Xbox's component output (720p) through a VD-Z3 transcoder to retain the proper color saturation, and then the VD-Z3 woud convert it to VGA. That would theoretically work. Unfortunately, I don't have a VD-Z3, they're back-ordered for several more weeks, and there's no guarantee the sharpness and clarity would be acceptable after the various conversions.

The more realistic solution is to find an LCD monitor that has more allowance for maxxing out the RGB levels and overcompensating for the crappy VGA cable. (Anybody know of such a monitor?)

Sigh. The Viewsonic is so nice in every other regard.

So it's back to Fry's I go (thank goodness for 30-day no questions asked return policies!)
 
jekyll917 said:
But I have one question, I'm playing a game which only can be runned under 800 x 600 res. If I run this game on vx2025wm what will it looks like? The monitor will stretch the pictures to fit the whole screen in distorted way? Or it will leave the black bars around the 800 x 600 picture?Thank you!


The Viewsonic will just stretch the 800x600 to fit the screen. There are no black bars. You need to get a Dell 2005/2405 or Gateway if you want internal re-scaling and aspect ratio control.
 
well, just received my 2025, and am on the forums now with it..Blacks look great, don't notice any significant backlight bleed..haven't tested it for dead pixels yet, just messing around with it at the moment..but I don't notice any...i must say, coming from a 17" CRT, this thing is massive..there is a little bit of screendoor effect, i think this is just the antiglare coating...makes things look kinda sparkly, but it's not like super bad..after an hour i pry won't even notice it
 
sanitystream said:
2) BUT... as an Xbox 360 monitor it doesn't cut it. The problem isn't really the monitor at all, it's the damn 360's VGA cable. For some inexplicable reason, Microsoft's VGA cable severely washes out colors, gamma, and contrast.
i've got one of these monitors on it's way right now. my 3sexy is hooked up to my 50" Sony LCD RP, and it looks absolutely perfect. i plan to use the Viewsonic with my PC mainly, but i was entertaining the idea of picking up a VGA cable for the XB so i can run them both in my studio at the same time. if i get around to trying this, i'll post results here, along with side by side pictures of my TV and LCD for comparison.
 
ok, i've played around with it a little bit..I do have some backlight bleed, the classic "x" pattern, but didn't really notice it till it went to a black screen..played fear and WoW and didn't even notice it...I took some pics, but it's like 5 am and i don't feel like uploading them now...
 
sanitystream said:
The Viewsonic will just stretch the 800x600 to fit the screen. There are no black bars. You need to get a Dell 2005/2405 or Gateway if you want internal re-scaling and aspect ratio control.
Thanks! If it could do the scaling...then I think it would be the one for me....is the scaling thing relate to the monitor self property or maybe some software can help?
 
There was an awesome deal on this last night at Amazon. $339 and $10 shipping. No rebate. Sold out in about an hour but maybe it will come back.

FatWallet
 
jekyll917 said:
Thanks! If it could do the scaling...then I think it would be the one for me....is the scaling thing relate to the monitor self property or maybe some software can help?


Some monitors have the ability to scale an image using internal circuitry, but the Viewsonic doesn't. It just stretches everything that's below native res, so a 4:3 image (like 1024x768) is going to distort on this monitor. It's possible your video card could compensate for this, I'm not sure.
 
sanitystream said:
Some monitors have the ability to scale an image using internal circuitry, but the Viewsonic doesn't. It just stretches everything that's below native res, so a 4:3 image (like 1024x768) is going to distort on this monitor. It's possible your video card could compensate for this, I'm not sure.

I haven't tried it but I've read a few posts that teh Nvidia software will scale and keep the proper ratio. Don't know about ATi.
 
Here's a few pics...notice i am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination

Backlight: The camera shows this being like twice as bad as it really is, so is really not a fair estimation of backlight bleed..
IMG_0132.jpg


Gradients:
IMG_0128.jpg

IMG_0133.jpg



WoW@1680x1050
IMG_0127.jpg
 
Coldtronius said:
You may be sensative to the "Anti Glare" coating that this LCD has. It causes images to be somewhat grainy, though nowhere near as bad as the 2005FPW I used to have. Nothing you can do about it either.



I think this is correct. I went to CompUSA and the floor model has the same issue I saw, leading me to believe the coating is to blame.

Oh well, just something i gotta get used to. Overall, having a widescreen monitor makes video games better and enhances surfing the net. I will be keeping my vx2025.
 
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