Gateway FPD2485W - 24" HD LCD

OK, it's been more than 2 hours now and I have still found no significant issues with this monitor. There is a little bit of bleeding on the top right, but it is much less noticible than
the 6 other one's I've "tested". I can only see it if I shutter the windows, turn off all the lights and then look at it from a high angle. There is NO inverse ghosting as far as I can tell. No significant banding either.

I also noticed that this panel runs cooler than any of the ones I've tried before. The screen on this one is barely warm (lower than my palm's temperature), and the hottest part (top edge of the bulge on the back side) is about as hot as a heatsink on a loaded processor (50-60 C maybe). This is definitely an improvement, as I've had panels that would burn me if I kept my hand on them for more than a few seconds. The lack of heat could be the reason why there are no ghosting issues and very little bleeding.

Overall I am very pleased that I have finally gotten a satisfactory unit. It could be that I just got lucky on this one, or Gateway might have finally gotten their GC under control with their March panels. I guess we won't know until more people post their experiences with these latest batches.

PS. Even though this unit came from Best Buy, Circuit City definitely has a better exchange policy - BB makes you wait 15 minutes while they test it and then tries to convince you there is no defect. Circuit City just takes the unit back without questions. I'm kind of bummed that I have to give my money to BB instead of CC.
 
So you see no inverse ghosting at all? Not even a little? Like, you dont see a black trail from your white mouse cursor if you trail it over the gray bar above posts?
 
A good test for inverse ghosting is to go to www.teamxbox.com

On the right and left hand side is a gray background, moving the mouse on that is where I notice a little on my Dec. panel. However it is pretty slight.
 
Tamlin_WSGF said:
If image consistency wouldn't be intrusive for you, I'd advice S-PVA (the gateway you have would be a good option here) or MVA over TN and IPS due to deep black and high contrast.
Click to expand...

Tamlin I thought IPS panels were better for crushed blacks instead of S-PVA. How about the NEC 2690 that you have?


Xeth said:
Overall I am very pleased that I have finally gotten a satisfactory unit. It could be that I just got lucky on this one, or Gateway might have finally gotten their GC under control with their March panels. I guess we won't know until more people post their experiences with these latest batches.
Click to expand...

I had given up on this monitor...I had the Nov and Dec panels and simply couldnt take all of the problems. Hopefully others will get the March panel and post if Gateway finally got it right.
 
ChakkaSol said:
Tamlin I thought IPS panels were better for crushed blacks instead of S-PVA. How about the NEC 2690 that you have?
Click to expand...

IPS panels generally have better black levels then S-PVA's, so you can say they are better against crushed blacks. S-PVA's have generally better black depth though (deeper black).

The NEC 2690 have a respectable black depth also. Painman got it measured down to 0.27 cd/m2 after calibration with spectraview, which is a respectable depth. Though black depth measured variates from review to review and how well they calibrate the screens, as a kind of comparison, the Gateway was measured at 0.3 cd/m2, while the Dell 2407wfp at 0.29 cd/m2 @ Extremetech (link).
The 2707WFP beats them all with a black depth of 0.20 cd/m2 though @ Extremetech. :)
 
My posts here have been aligned with my goal of finding the best 24" monitor under $1K for PC use with a primary emphasis on text quality and secondarily on color quality for photo work. I do like the option of being able to play games down the road either on the PC or gaming console, but I have not tried any of these. Today, however, I noticed the negative ghosting on a test in the Eizo suite where white boxes scroll down the screen at various rates.

In the past, this Eizo test did not show negative ghosting. Today negative ghosting showed up because I cranked up the brightness on the ATI video card (using their Catalyst utility). I always run the monitor brightness almost maxed out at 90, but until today, I had left the ATI card brightness adjustment set at neutral (0). This setting resolved black level detail nicely so I never set it higher. Today, however, I wanted to see if a higher brightness setting would make text look crisper (and it apparently does), and I just hapened to notice the negative ghosting as I flipped through the Eizo test suite. When I turn the brightness back down, the negative ghosting goes away.

It seem to me the monitor employes some sort of "overdrive", probably to speed up the crystal response time, but when a pixel steps from white to black (background), it initially overshoots. When the black (background) is truly black, this overshoot does not show up. However, when the black (background) is a level above absolute black, the overshoot is apparent until it settles to steady state, which appears as negative ghosting.

Anyway, I don't know if the above is helpful, but just in case, I wanted to post my observations and perhaps stimulate further discussion for other people's observation and conclusions about FPD2485W negative ghosting.
 
Wellllllllllllllllllll...I am getting mine cross shipped monday. My DVI refused to work this evening, and no amount of power off/reset, etc., will make it see a DVI signal.:eek: :rolleyes: This is a November model...here goes, hopefully I will get a very new model, this VGA actually looks better than the DVI as far as banding is concerned.


If the replacement is no better, I will be looking for a new display.


Bummer, I really like this display, but tell ya what....if I have to get a new one, I think I will go the 30" route.....
 
TheRapture,
I was considering going the 30" route as well once I had decided I wasn't going to stick with the Gateway. What stopped me from doing this was the fact that none of the 30" screens can display 1080P hi-def movie content over their dual-link DVI connection. They also lack various inputs which might come handy down the road.
You end up paying quite a premium for that extra bit of screen real estate.

I also gave good thought to going with a 1080P 32" tv (maybe the Sharp), but at twice the price of a 24" panel, I didn't think it was really worth it.


Mrgerber,
If colour accuracy is important to you, then (if you already haven't done so) go get a hardware calibration device. The difference the ColourVision Spyder has made to my screen is wonderful. Colours are more vibrant, lifelike and less washed out looking. Blacks are blacker (deeper) yet still hold lots of detail in the darker tones.
A very worthwhile product to have around.
 
Stubwub said:
So you see no inverse ghosting at all? Not even a little? Like, you dont see a black trail from your white mouse cursor if you trail it over the gray bar above posts?
Click to expand...

Now that you mentioned that I do see a little bit of ghosting on that shade of gray, but on any other color or lighter/darker grays it's fine.
 
I got the gateway 24 afew days ago and after using my spyder2 suite monitor looks great! I have ZERO issues with this monitor.
 
grinchy said:
no ghosting here...:)
Click to expand...

No, there is ghosting (unless you have one of Ferris' magic panels ;) ). The issues are whether or not you're noticing it, and if it bothers you or not.

To say that one of these displays has no ghosting is being disingenuous.
 
No problems with my 24" either.. Only thing I could possibly think of is the corner light bleeding that is only noticeable when the screen is all black.

here's my setup,
laboratory800.jpg
 
Yup, It's actually my first and only panel too. I was ready to bring it back to my local best buy as its only around the block, I could walk it if I didnt have car.

But nothing has really made me want to return it, the bleed is somethign I can live with, although it has gotten worse from when I first got it, it still isnt a big deal as I can only notice it when the screen is blank.
 
Was talking to my friend at work today (the one who bought the Gateway off me). Funny enough he loves the monitor. He can see a bit of the inverted ghosting but says it really doesn't bother him that much, neither does the back light bleed that appears until the panel has warmed up.

Both had annoyed me quite a bit.... Just goes to show - different strokes for different folks.

As for me, I'm much happier with the BenQ (especially after colour calibration). The only thing better would be two of them ;)
---Now if I can just find the desk space.........
 
jamiee said:
Was talking to my friend at work today (the one who bought the Gateway off me). Funny enough he loves the monitor. He can see a bit of the inverted ghosting but says it really doesn't bother him that much,
Click to expand...

I wonder if your friend has tried to play a game yet? If so, and the inverted ghosting isn't bothering him, perhaps he sets the brightness lower (or his games/player do) so the background is darker? ... when I did that on the PC Eizo test of moving white squares on a black background, the inverted ghosting wasn't visible. It wasn't until I turned up the brightness with my PC ATI control that it showed up.

neither does the back light bleed that appears until the panel has warmed up.

Both had annoyed me quite a bit.... Just goes to show - different strokes for different folks.
Click to expand...

It is interesting how different people are sensitive to different monitor artifacts. Perhaps your friend just isn't as bothered by inverted ghosting as many others here report. I haven't tried any games to know.

I didn't notice any bleed or non-uniformities in the backlight on the Gateway FPD2485W (Jan 07) nor the LG 246W. It did seem the backlight was brighter on the Gateway, which I came to view as a negative because I have to turn down the contrast quite a bit so my eyes won't hurt, and that results in lost color resolution (depth). Perhaps this is why one reviewer (ExtremeTech.com, I believe) contemplated whether the Gateway is really a 6-bit panel. I think it is 8-bits, but almost 2-bits of pixel depth are lost when it is adjusted to tame the brightness for comfortable computer use. The LG also seems to lose about 1-bit when it is adjusted for my taste, but in the end, it seems the two monitors are fairly close in color quality. The LG may have a little less banding after adjustments for comfortable viewing brightness, but the Gateway brightness settings (OSD and PC control) could be raised such that black crushing goes way and I couldn't achieve that on the LG.

As for me, I'm much happier with the BenQ (especially after colour calibration).
Click to expand...

Yes, I have stopped my tests, and it looks like I will be happier with the LG, but it was a close call. Boy did I like the design of the Gateway and it's sound bar and deep blacks! Not to mention the extra USB ports and nice stand and gorgeous OSD controls. For me, as I have written here, it comes down to the crispness/sharpness of text and the LG has a slight edge on that. Even that was close because I was able to improve the sharpness of the FPD2485W text by maxing out the brightness setting on the monitor, and increasing it some more with the ATI card control panel. When I sat back in my chair, the Gateway text appeared as sharp as the LG. However, for normal, closer computer work, the LG text was just a little easier to read and had less of that 3-D/prismatic/anti-glare effect/5-degree head angle variation (which is apparently characteristic of all S-PVA panels). In the end, I have to go with the monitor that creates the least eye fatigue, and that is the LG for me, by a head.

Now if I could only find a speaker bar for the LG. Or even better, a local dealer for BenQ -- I'm afraid to buy a monitor online with random bad-pixels, backlight bleed, etc. when those worries go away with the Best Buy (or Circuit City) no-questions-asked return policy. Perhaps I should just call it a day and stick with the LG I have, but that BenQ FP241WZ has me curious. (By the way, are we SURE the BenQ uses the same AUO P-MVA LCD panel as the LG? I don't understand why LG would use an AUO panel when they manufacture their own?)

Mark
 
well..just found 1 dead pixel...still have time to exchange it...what would you do? It really only shows up under lighter colors..(light grays/shades of white) it is a green dead pixel..it's not in the center or anything but kinda off to the right and about 3 inches from bottom...not sure If I am capable of living with this TINY green dot....what would you do?:)
 
mrgerber,

I doubt my friend has tried any gaming as of yet because his PC is a bit older. His video card is a ATI 9800 AIW PRO. Though I do know he intends to hook up an Xbox360 to the Gateway at some point.

At the end of the day, if you're happy with the LG; stick with it.
The only reason to consider the BenQ is if you're looking to plug more devices into it. Otherwise the LG is great for PC use and I think out of the box has better colour.
The FP241WZ actually looks quite washed out by comparison. Now after some colour calibration its a whole new ball-game and it looks great. But I did have to go that extra step to get things looking right.

I'm pretty sure both the LG and BenQ WZ models use the AU Optronics panel.
I can't be 100% sure that its the exact same revision of panel though.
 
Ferris23 said:
Dude that is awesome. See, I'm not the only one with a magic panel.
Click to expand...

;)

I think that my eyes are just sensitive to some of the ghosting issues, and I'm in some brighter lighting (sunlight through the window) which doesn't help my viewing situation.

Most of the time, I don't notice it. But in GTR2 the ghosting can be annoying. I've found that the latest NV drivers for my 8800GTX will actually keep the panel at 60Hz instead of 59Hz, and that helps with the image quality issues.
 
Well, Gateway sent me a replacement monitor and it's a Feb. model. The USB hub doesn't work, it has back light bleed in all four corner, and it invert ghosts the same as the December model. When it was cold and turned on right out of the box it didn't have any inverse ghosting. Then after being on for about 30 minutes it started doing the inverse ghosting again.. I think this thing needs to be REALLY cold to not ghost

I'm also wondering if I should contact tech support again and ask for ANOTHER replacement..
 
Yes, of course you should. They sent you a defective unit, why settle for that?

It will cost you nothing and you will gain, hopefully, a fully functional unit.
 
Stubwub said:
Well, Gateway sent me a replacement monitor and it's a Feb. model. The USB hub doesn't work, it has back light bleed in all four corner, and it invert ghosts the same as the December model. When it was cold and turned on right out of the box it didn't have any inverse ghosting. Then after being on for about 30 minutes it started doing the inverse ghosting again.. I think this thing needs to be REALLY cold to not ghost

I'm also wondering if I should contact tech support again and ask for ANOTHER replacement..
Click to expand...


any luck?
 
I'm still waiting on the second replacement.. and now I'm having to try and find out why they charged me 98$ even though I returned the monitor to them within the 7 days they requested. :/
 
This might be old news, and this thread is too monstrous for me to go back and see if someone has already mentioned this...

Some people were having trouble with the "DVI" or "VGA" images staying on and centered on your screen for upwards of 5 minutes after you turned on the monitor or changed inputs. After having this monitor for over a month and having never seen that behavior, it just started happening to me this week. I'd turn on the monitor, the Gateway logo would appear, it would fade away slowly, but a very faint image of the logo would remain on the black screen for a few minutes. Finally, the DVI input would kick in and display on my screen, along with the "DVI" image that appears centered on the screen. That image would remain there for another several minutes before disappearing. It became very annoying very fast.

On a whim, I decided to unplug the monitor from the wall and plug it back in. Surprisingly, that seemed to fix it. The Gateway logo and input images now come and go from the screen as quickly as they used to. So if you're still having this odd problem you might want to try unplugging/replugging in the monitor.

Sorry if this has been brought up already...hope it helps!
 
I got that second replacement just now. Another Feb. version. It still has inverse ghosting but not as bad as the December model. I'll have to see just how bad it can get once the monitor is hotter (it's a cold day today). Atleast the USB hub in this one works.. and it has backlight bleeding on the right corners. The top right one has grown a little since it's been on.

Edit: I give up, this new replacement is as bad as the last one after letting it run for awile. I give up trying to get a good one.. maybe it's impossible to get one without inverted ghosting..
 
Oh! I forgot to post about something. I tried pointing a fan at the back of the monitor like some have suggested and I noticed a drop in the inverse ghosting. It's still there but I cannot see it unless I look close.

I doubt it will work very well once summer hits but it's a temporary fix.. sorta.
 
I had the same issue with my 21" Gateway. The DVI signal box would take forever to go away.

I just shut down the computer and the monitor, killed the UPS for 20 seconds, and brought everything back up.

The issue went away and has not returned.



Jobizzu said:
This might be old news, and this thread is too monstrous for me to go back and see if someone has already mentioned this...

Some people were having trouble with the "DVI" or "VGA" images staying on and centered on your screen for upwards of 5 minutes after you turned on the monitor or changed inputs. After having this monitor for over a month and having never seen that behavior, it just started happening to me this week. I'd turn on the monitor, the Gateway logo would appear, it would fade away slowly, but a very faint image of the logo would remain on the black screen for a few minutes. Finally, the DVI input would kick in and display on my screen, along with the "DVI" image that appears centered on the screen. That image would remain there for another several minutes before disappearing. It became very annoying very fast.

On a whim, I decided to unplug the monitor from the wall and plug it back in. Surprisingly, that seemed to fix it. The Gateway logo and input images now come and go from the screen as quickly as they used to. So if you're still having this odd problem you might want to try unplugging/replugging in the monitor.

Sorry if this has been brought up already...hope it helps!
Click to expand...
 
Gateway is willing to exchange my monitor providing I let them charge a deposit.

Ever since I upgraded CCC to 7.4, I have not had any flickering problem.

Wonder if I should exchange it just in case.
 
Jobizzu said:
This might be old news, and this thread is too monstrous for me to go back and see if someone has already mentioned this...

Some people were having trouble with the "DVI" or "VGA" images staying on and centered on your screen for upwards of 5 minutes after you turned on the monitor or changed inputs. After having this monitor for over a month and having never seen that behavior, it just started happening to me this week. I'd turn on the monitor, the Gateway logo would appear, it would fade away slowly, but a very faint image of the logo would remain on the black screen for a few minutes. Finally, the DVI input would kick in and display on my screen, along with the "DVI" image that appears centered on the screen. That image would remain there for another several minutes before disappearing. It became very annoying very fast.

On a whim, I decided to unplug the monitor from the wall and plug it back in. Surprisingly, that seemed to fix it. The Gateway logo and input images now come and go from the screen as quickly as they used to. So if you're still having this odd problem you might want to try unplugging/replugging in the monitor.

Sorry if this has been brought up already...hope it helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks.... The same thing happened to me. My monitor was all fine and dandy for about 1 month and then this problem.
 
Ferris23 said:
Damn Gateway is selling this puppy for 579.00 now, down 100.00 bucks!

Sweet deal.
Click to expand...

Damn it I just bought one yesterday from B.B. and returned it this morning on account of a dead pixel in the center of the lcd screen.
The one I exchanged for the bad one, is almost perfect:eek:
 
Damn and I thought I was getting a deal @ $625

Well anyways my replacement is on the way from Gateway. I wonder what will happen if I don't return the old one? They say they will only charge my card $98 :D
 
SIG357, I need to know more about the upgrade you did to CCC 7.4. Does this eliminate the flickering on the monitor. Mine flickers a lot during boot up and at signon to windows XP. Let me know what this does and how to obtain. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
 
Stubwub said:
Oh! I forgot to post about something. I tried pointing a fan at the back of the monitor like some have suggested and I noticed a drop in the inverse ghosting. It's still there but I cannot see it unless I look close.

I doubt it will work very well once summer hits but it's a temporary fix.. sorta.
Click to expand...

This is pretty funny but when I relocated my Gateway below one of my AC's outlet, I haven't really noticed the ghosting. I didn't read your post until today. I've had it in it's new spot for about a month now. I'm using it mainly as my 360 and HDTV monitor. And I use it frequently. And yes, I haven't really noticed the ghosting. Might it be a solution?
Has anyone else try it yet?
 
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