17" or 19" LCD

T

TSS Modder

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I currently have a coupon to get 25% off any Dell monitor.
My question is: should I get the 17" (1704FPV) or the 19" (1905FP)
I'm not really on a tight budget, but the more I save the better.
This is only going to be used as a second monitor at this point, but maybe eventually become the main monitor for some system in the future.
The 17" has a 1000:1 contrast ratio; both have DVI and USB hub; both have at most 20ms response times.
I'm a little tied up because I want the biggest I can get, but I also want performance. The 17" seems to tie everything together: great price, great performance, good features, etc, while the 19" is just massive. This whole thing is mainly size.
I guess taht it might be better to get the 17" because of the value and performance, and the fact that both have the same desktop space. (1280x1024)
But whats your opinion? The 17" or the 19"?
also, if someone could get the response time for the 17", cause I don't remember if its on the site or not.

EDIT: response time on 17inch is 25ms. anyone think that it might affect performance (probably movies and possibly games, but not anytime soon, esp. since im hoping to get an iMac G5)? all this is going to be is a second monitor.
 
I would never go for a 17". I had one before and sold it.
Am getting a 19" now.

The reason is the dot pitch which is simply too small on the 17". Search back in the forum history for some posts from me about this subject. This is usually not the common opinion - most users opt for the smallest dot pitch they can get.

Personally I don't like it. I want my LCD to be able to display fonts just as large as my old 17" CRT, and the dot pitch on the 19" is just fine.

Some might also tell you that you can use Win XP's setting that allow to enlarge the font. It still doesn't do the trick, though, as some applications and web sites force a specific font size and if you change it you will get weird results.

Just my 0.02$ ...
 
im really considerin buying the 17inch just for the price.

buy searching for discounts i can get the 17in for 256$ shipped. 256$ for a performance LCD on the cheap.

i think thats incredible. im still looking for reviews on the 17inch. if anyone has any first-hand experience w/ it and can give me a short 'review' thatd be much appreciated.
 
The first and second monitor there have a bunch of differences.
the 19" one has a 6-bit screen, 16ms repsonse time and is not DVI
the 17" is an 8-bit screen, 25 ms response time and is DVI

6-bit vs 8-bit color is the ability of your LCD to show 262,000 colors vs 16.7 million colors respectively. 8-bit panels typically have a better contrase ratio and over-all picture quality while to achieve faster repsonse times, they typically have to use 6-bit panels (the technology isnt all there yet).

So besides screen size, your looking at a trade-off between a good quality color (esp because it is also digital) LCD (17") vs a less quality color LCD much better suited for gaming (19") that is more expensive.

I myself am going over the same debate on what to buy, if any (may wait a year).
This is me: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1464610
Check out the 2nd page near the mid-bottom where I review my choices and their basic specs.

I would use the LCD for gaming, and I am trying to decide if the 25ms repsonse time would bother me enough to pay an extra $150 for the Samsung 710T instead of the cheap but quality 1704fp from Dell. I have a Samsung 152N with 25ms response time that does not bother me in Counter Strike...
 
i know the diff between 8- and 6-bit panels. btw, the 19, according to dell, is 20ms, not 16, and it does have DVI (not sure where you missed that). aside from the 6/8-bits and the diff response times, they are pretty much identical.
 
TSS Modder said:
i know the diff between 8- and 6-bit panels. btw, the 19, according to dell, is 20ms, not 16, and it does have DVI (not sure where you missed that). aside from the 6/8-bits and the diff response times, they are pretty much identical.
Click to expand...

Sorry, must have been looking at the wrong 19" one, since im pretty sure they have two 19" Dell branded models
 
hey no problem. yea im pretty sure they have 2 diff models.

anyways.... anyone else wanna give me some feedback on these two monitors before i buy the 17" tomorrow?
 
The other thing i found out today about the Dell 1704fps is that it is a PVA panel (made only by Samsung, so its a Samsung panel). PVA is a improvement opon MVA panels. The thing to know about these is that the manufacturer is telling you a response time at its best. At certain grey to grey transitions, the repsone time can be very bad, so I would expect a lot of ghosting with the 17". Before you buy, I suggest you read these articles entirely:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-guide.htm <---this one especially
http://anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=1855l

Also, check out the reviews of other monitors as it could teach you valuable things as well
www.tomshardware.com
www.xbitlabs.com
www.anandtech.com

I went on the Dell forums and asked what type of panel the 1704fps is, I suggest you do the same about the 19" and any other Dell monitor.
In general,
*TN panels have the best response time with the worst color quality
*MVA (PVA) panels are best for color but horrible for response time (can be very bad). PVA is better quality for color.
*IPS panels are the best for over-all (and what I would like to find as a casual gamer and user of photoshop etc)

I asked the Editor of the Video section of anandtech about best monitors (specifically 8-bit monitors under 25ms). He responded as follows:

ME:
Hey, I have been reading the anandtech articles on various 17" LCDs. I was
wondering if you knew of any 17" LCD's that had a sub-25ms response time but
still had 8-bit color?

HIM:
Any panel based on the LG.Philips S-IPS technology does, I believe.
Samsung's newer LCDs are based on 8-bit panels as well, but they are just
starting to show up here and there.

Unfortunately I am traveling right now but hopefully when I am back on
Monday I'll get a chance to find exactly what you are looking for.


This guy is obviously awesome, I want to see what he suggests as a really good alla round monitor (that hopeully isnt too expensive)
 
thanks for all of the info. its nice to know that im buying a samsung panel. ill check out those links tomorrow. its gettin late here on the east coast so im gonna head to bed. again, thanks, cause thats gonna be a big help. :)
 
No problem.
Also as a counter point to my problem with the MVA/PVA panel I found this on anandtech:
http://anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=1974&p=3
It's a review for their 213T, which is hella expensive and comparable to the Dell 2001fp.
This is the quote on the page that interested me:

"The PVA technology is exclusive to Samsung, and there just aren't that many people who make 21.3" TFT panels. Even though the LCD sports a 25ms TrTf response time, our experiences with other Samsung produced panels indicates that the more important gray to gray response and color replication are better than average."

So, maybe this Dell 17" monitor will not have bad ghosting. Really wish I could test one of these out somewhere. I almost want you to buy it so you can tell me how it is.
 
well im probably going to be ordering it w/in the next couple of hours right now. one of my buddies is coming over the 29th for a mini online LAN party, so im going to check out the monitor on his PC. if you want, i can post a few details after i test it.
 
W O W!!!! this monitor is AMAZING. the colors are incredible, and its so bright!! i though that my lappy's LCD was really nice... then i plug in the 1704FPV and blows my lappy outta the water and then some.

i got it just in time, because i had a website to update for a client (and she's an artist: www.adriennestein.com), and the new monitor gives me the true colors. they're absolutely incredible!!

unfortunately when my buddy came over, we didnt have a spare HDD, so we werent able to play any games, so I can't give any details on ghosting.

I'm watching Elf on the monitor as we speak, and it looks DARN nice!! though it is a 25ms response time, i think that it holds up pretty well.

as for backlight leakage, i really cant see any. it all looks really good.

the quality of the monitor is very nice. looks good, performs well, and has great value. i managed to get it for 250$ shipped w/ a 25% coupon from Dellf.

if anyones interested in a coupon, i have a few coupons left if anyone wants one. theyre valid until the 5th of this month, so that only leaves 4 days.
 
I ordered a 1704FPV yesterday. I used a Dellf 25% off but it was $293 after tax. I had to use a $25 off coupon to get it down to $267. How did you get yours so cheap?

Also, how long did it take for them to ship it and for it to get to your house? My estimated ship date is Jan. 6th.
 
wish i could see one of those monitors in action so i could tell if i want to get it or not
 
i just bought the BenQ FP931 for my mom's computer....i love it so much i bought my own and it should be here early this week. i play hl2 on it over 100fps in net_graph3 and no ghosting....i have the brightness at 43 cuz it's so bright.....i love it so far......it's only a 6-bit panel but i've found no problems with it...no bad pixels or anything...i love this thing.....for a week i'll be running both of them before i go back to school
 
Techmasta said:
I ordered a 1704FPV yesterday. I used a Dellf 25% off but it was $293 after tax. I had to use a $25 off coupon to get it down to $267. How did you get yours so cheap?

Also, how long did it take for them to ship it and for it to get to your house? My estimated ship date is Jan. 6th.
Click to expand...

maybe the monitor was around that price, not sure..... i was probably talking about when i had a 35$ off stackable coupon, but i used it to late, so it didnt work.

it didnt take long for the monitor to get here. i ordered it the 24th, it shipped out the 27th, and i received it on the 30th. so over all its pretty fast...

nikefido said:
wish i could see one of those monitors in action so i could tell if i want to get it or not
Click to expand...

trust me, its an INCREDIBLE monitor. if you can get a good price, its the BEST monitor for the price. Only 290$ shipped, and it is beautiful!! if you want, i can PM you a 25% coupon, cause this monitor is the best bang for your buck right now.
 
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