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I read a thread about this monitor on this site that gave high marks to the monitor. Nothing against that poster or his review. Just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
I bought the monitor on Feb 3, 2007. Yes, the monitor is really good for viewing, and I still like it. I also like the fact that is has one of the highest resolutions around (1920x1200), perfect for doing development work. However, my monitor developed a fault within 40 days, early March. Every so often it shows a window in the middle saying no signal. Except, the screen is clearly visible and useable right behind this window. Then a few minutes later the screen goes blank and then comes up without the window. And the speakers don't work worth beans either. I can barely hear anything at full volume.
Okay, so I had a defective unit. It is just barely into its warranty, I figured Acer will repair or replace it for me. Well, a half hour on hold later, I get a CSR who suggested initially that the cable was loose. But the screen was quite visible at tht time of malfunction, Then he tested the monitor at 1024*768. Of course the monitor worked right then for the 30 seconds he tested it for, so he seemed to indicate that since the monitor seemed to be working without problems at 1024X768, that is the resolution I should use. When I said I didn't pay a premium to use a low resolution, he said "well, the 1920X1200 mode uses a lot of power and there is not enough power to process the signal, so a lower resolution is preferred." I am not sure exactly what he meant, whether my monitor had a bad PS, or whether Acer designed an underpowered monitor. Hopefully the earlier.
After arguing with him for about 10 minutes, the problem showed up even in the low res mode. It was only then that I finally got an SR# from him, otherwise I was thinking of asking if I needed to keep the monitor powered down for it to not malfunction! But get this - I have to ship the monitor at my own cost, even though it is very much within warranty (1-1/2 month into a 3-year warranty!). No offer to replace the monitor with a good one, no offer to even send a call tag to ship the defective one, or anything. It will take two weeks to fix the problem, plus shipping. How I do my work in the meantime is my problem (I eventually ended up buying another monitor to use in the meantime).
Oh yes, the agent could not write down my email address correctly even after I spelled it out five times, and my email is not a convoluted one either. He may have e-mailed the RMA to whatever email he put down, in any event I did not get anything. Only after I called in again and got a different agent, did I find out that my email was misspelled and I finally go the confirmation emails. And I was originally given the wrong SR# as well. Some customer service!
So, to those of you who are planning to buy Acer monitors, or perhaps other Acer equipment, my advice would that you should start setting aside money to ship them back at your own cost (I was quoted $50 for Fedex Ground with insurance as the cheapest option, and I had already taken off the base as per Acer's instructions), plus money to buy a different display as well for the month you will be out the monitor, if the Acer breaks down.
Yes, the monitor is still nice, when it works. But if it bites the dust, you better be prepared for trouble. And hour-long hold times on the phone (my last on-hold time was 58 minutes before I got to an agent), so don't call from your cell phone! And as for soapbox, yes, I am bitter, I admit, but the above is factual. I have not really said what I would have liked to say, but that would be considered flaming! Plus inappropriate use of a whole host of 4 letter words, so I have heroically refrained
.
I bought the monitor on Feb 3, 2007. Yes, the monitor is really good for viewing, and I still like it. I also like the fact that is has one of the highest resolutions around (1920x1200), perfect for doing development work. However, my monitor developed a fault within 40 days, early March. Every so often it shows a window in the middle saying no signal. Except, the screen is clearly visible and useable right behind this window. Then a few minutes later the screen goes blank and then comes up without the window. And the speakers don't work worth beans either. I can barely hear anything at full volume.
Okay, so I had a defective unit. It is just barely into its warranty, I figured Acer will repair or replace it for me. Well, a half hour on hold later, I get a CSR who suggested initially that the cable was loose. But the screen was quite visible at tht time of malfunction, Then he tested the monitor at 1024*768. Of course the monitor worked right then for the 30 seconds he tested it for, so he seemed to indicate that since the monitor seemed to be working without problems at 1024X768, that is the resolution I should use. When I said I didn't pay a premium to use a low resolution, he said "well, the 1920X1200 mode uses a lot of power and there is not enough power to process the signal, so a lower resolution is preferred." I am not sure exactly what he meant, whether my monitor had a bad PS, or whether Acer designed an underpowered monitor. Hopefully the earlier.
After arguing with him for about 10 minutes, the problem showed up even in the low res mode. It was only then that I finally got an SR# from him, otherwise I was thinking of asking if I needed to keep the monitor powered down for it to not malfunction! But get this - I have to ship the monitor at my own cost, even though it is very much within warranty (1-1/2 month into a 3-year warranty!). No offer to replace the monitor with a good one, no offer to even send a call tag to ship the defective one, or anything. It will take two weeks to fix the problem, plus shipping. How I do my work in the meantime is my problem (I eventually ended up buying another monitor to use in the meantime).
Oh yes, the agent could not write down my email address correctly even after I spelled it out five times, and my email is not a convoluted one either. He may have e-mailed the RMA to whatever email he put down, in any event I did not get anything. Only after I called in again and got a different agent, did I find out that my email was misspelled and I finally go the confirmation emails. And I was originally given the wrong SR# as well. Some customer service!
So, to those of you who are planning to buy Acer monitors, or perhaps other Acer equipment, my advice would that you should start setting aside money to ship them back at your own cost (I was quoted $50 for Fedex Ground with insurance as the cheapest option, and I had already taken off the base as per Acer's instructions), plus money to buy a different display as well for the month you will be out the monitor, if the Acer breaks down.
Yes, the monitor is still nice, when it works. But if it bites the dust, you better be prepared for trouble. And hour-long hold times on the phone (my last on-hold time was 58 minutes before I got to an agent), so don't call from your cell phone! And as for soapbox, yes, I am bitter, I admit, but the above is factual. I have not really said what I would have liked to say, but that would be considered flaming! Plus inappropriate use of a whole host of 4 letter words, so I have heroically refrained
.