Gateway's FPD2185W: a 21in widescreen 2005fpw killer!

Colin12 said:
I finally bit the bullet and bought one last night at a local bestbuy.

Now, unlike most of the over sensitive posters, instead of ripping the monitor out of the box and running benchmarks, I decided to just enjoy it (you know..what youre supposed to do?) and played a few games.

Awesome. HL:LC looked simply amazing. Unreal:Tournament was simply stunning.

I never noticed any tearing, ghosting, etc..

I watched about 6 episodes of Rome in HD and it was just as epic as the games were.

Xbox: Spectacular. Nothing quite describes playing 1080i football! Using component input is really simple and only requires one button to chage the input. This is really a minature TV!

I don't plan on doing any testing to the monitor because frankly if you cant see a problem (IE not specifically looking for one) then you don't need to worry about it.

Very, very happy with my purchase.
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Colin I agree. I also have had this monitor and I could see some people having problems with it if they didn't have the right hardware for the job. I have the right videocard to make this monitor work fine. Also I had it running component through xbox and the quality was superb as 720p looked amazing with none of the problems described by other posters. Sadly I've sold my xbox just a few weeks ago otherwise I would post some crisp screenshots. 0 tearing, 0 ghosting, super crisp text, 0 backlight problems or dead pixels on my pannel. 5Starts out of 5. :D
 
Is my system enough to run this monitor?

AMD 3700 san diego
Dfi mobo
2 gig ram pc4000 mushkin
Ati x800xl(the only thing that really worry me is this)
74Raptor
X-fi music

If i have to i will upgrade the x800xl to some thing new. BF2 is going to be hard to run at native resolution on my system.
 
Deak69 said:
To those asking about 75mhz...

This monitor will run 75mhz 1680 x 1050 res only using DVI input. If you can't access that res in windows, you might have to play with your video card settings/software.

I am running ATI Radeon X850XT using Catalyst 5.10 drivers and the Catalyst control centre..

75mhz runs great! It also ran great using my recently replaced Radeon 9800 pro

75mhz was only available after selecting it on the displays manager tab of the catalyst control centre
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First of all I don't understand this whole DVI-I versus DVI-D debate. Anyhoo I am using a DVDI cable and there is no indication in the packaging about which one is it. I am extremely satisfied with the image quality I am getting with an X850Pro AGP. But I would like to move up to 75HZ not that I feel there is any room for improvement. The only way I can get it to go to 75 is if I use the "force" option is the display manager tab! Is that how you are doing it... Does it make a noticeble difference. I was told this moniter only does 60hz on DVI. Would forcing a non native res make it worse?
 
Kasher_Khan said:
First of all I don't understand this whole DVI-I versus DVI-D debate. Anyhoo I am using a DVDI cable and there is no indication in the packaging about which one is it. I am extremely satisfied with the image quality I am getting with an X850Pro AGP. But I would like to move up to 75HZ not that I feel there is any room for improvement. The only way I can get it to go to 75 is if I use the "force" option is the display manager tab! Is that how you are doing it... Does it make a noticeble difference. I was told this moniter only does 60hz on DVI. Would forcing a non native res make it worse?
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I forced my monitor to 75hz and I really didnt notice THAT much of a difference. But then again, I tend to learn back when I am on the computer :cool:
 
s0ulcal12 said:
Is my system enough to run this monitor?

AMD 3700 san diego
Dfi mobo
2 gig ram pc4000 mushkin
Ati x800xl(the only thing that really worry me is this)
74Raptor
X-fi music

If i have to i will upgrade the x800xl to some thing new. BF2 is going to be hard to run at native resolution on my system.
Click to expand...

That videocard is fine. Many videocards including mine require leg work to get the monitor running correctly. E.G. You have to put the monitor at the native resolution of 1680x1050. DVI is a must as vga just doesn't give you the HD quality you need. On top of these prerequisites you have to go into the cards driver options and choose to treat the Display as a HDTV. Then the true quality comes out. If you have a really weak videocard (which you dont) then the 1680x1050 will really strain the videocard to the limit and you may notice what some people have called tearing. If your using this monitor on that videocard make sure you go into the drivers or CCC and set it up as a hdtv display. etc...
 
ok thanks for the advice. My monitor gets here on November 26. Probably wait to see what ati does with the 580 before doing anything else.
 
yup, i've caught "tearing" on my 9700pro once or twice, or maybe it was because I have vsync disabled (havent changed all my settings over from previous Samsung 2200nf yet).... not near it to check for a couple days so...
 
LED technology will put lcd to shame. Lasts twice as long and big improvement colour wise. I have crt for now NEC 2141SB still happy with it.
 
I was in a store today with the display on 3D aquarium screen saver. The big sticker said it rotated to 90º and so I rotated it.

It doesn't work anymore :)
Once I rotated it, the power button unlit and the unit wouldn't power on anymore even though I checked the cords were connected.
 
I bought one last night. My Mitsubishi 930SB is dying; the display frequently shrinks vertically into a small, horizontal line in the middle of the screen, and I have to turn it off and on to get it back to normal. Also, the screen often jitters and spikes, as if there's interference. (There's no interference, I've tried it in different locations on different machines. It's pretty much done.)

Funny thing is, I told myself I wouldn't upgrade if the Mitsubishi wasn't dying, because I loved this CRT. But after seeing this LCD, and widescreen in general, I'm disappointed I didn't get to sell my old CRT to put money towards it. It looks just so damn pretty.

And I only have it hooked up via VGA. I'm waiting for my DVI cable in the mail. I don't think I can give an appropriate assessment until then, but I'm mightly impressed.
 
Night_Hawk-19 said:
LED technology will put lcd to shame. Lasts twice as long and big improvement colour wise. I have crt for now NEC 2141SB still happy with it.
Click to expand...

CED > LED
 
STEvil said:
CED > LED
Click to expand...

When will these technologies but out anyway?
I wish there'd be more selection of these large widescreen monitors. So far, the Gateway is the only one I've seen in stores in Canada.
 
Spare-Flair said:
When will these technologies but out anyway?
I wish there'd be more selection of these large widescreen monitors. So far, the Gateway is the only one I've seen in stores in Canada.
Click to expand...

Where in Canada are you? I'm in Toronto.I've seen the following lcds out on display at the following stores: the 21" HP at costco and staples, the 20" acer (same lcd as apple and dell) at costco, the 23" (F2304) HP at some best buys, the 23" (FP231W) Benq at some best buys and the odd future shop, the apple lcds at the apple store.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
On top of these prerequisites you have to go into the cards driver options and choose to treat the Display as a HDTV. Then the true quality comes out. If your using this monitor on that videocard make sure you go into the drivers or CCC and set it up as a hdtv display. etc...
Click to expand...

Expound on this topic Lord...

I see nothing in my Nvidia 81.94 drivers that seem to describe what you're talking about ("treat the Display as a HDTV".) I have the FPD2185w with a 6800nu driving it


this FPD2185w is looking great btw.
 
i want to buy this monitor this week. can anyone recommend the cheapest place to acquire it? retail is 599 i guess but i don't have any friends at best buy, etc. newegg and ZZF don't have this screen either. i can order direct from gateway or go to the store and pick it up, but i'd rather pay less if it's an option.

thanks
jeff
 
I saw one of those @ Costco & wasnt very impressed @ the picture quality but I liked the outside appearance & it cost 50% more to buy than Dell's 2005FPW. :mad:
 
Battle_Rattle said:
Expound on this topic Lord...

I see nothing in my Nvidia 81.94 drivers that seem to describe what you're talking about ("treat the Display as a HDTV".) I have the FPD2185w with a 6800nu driving it


this FPD2185w is looking great btw.
Click to expand...

I have updated from 81.85 to 81.95 and it's not found the same way. To find it, i right clicked the desktop, properties, settings and attached the 2nd display which by the way nothing is connected other than the gateway. I went to advanced, geforce tab and clicked on nview display settings. There is only one monitor below. When I right click it there is an option that says treat display as a hdtv. It seems the newer drivers automatically have it set up and it no longer makes a difference either way. that's good as the extra leg work could be tiresome to many people. Here is a pic,


Either way the extra work isn't required with newer forceware drivers. It seems nvidia is on top of things. I'm not sure about ATI automatically setting it up for you so I would check the driver settings and CCC to see if there is a way to have it treated as a hdtv
 
I'm on my second one of these monitors and now am sending this one back to Gateway for a full refund. There is a serious uneven backlight issue with these monitors which stinks as it's quite a nice monitor other than that. On both models I've got, the left side of the screen is always brighter than the rest of the screen.
 
did you install the ez tune software or do any of your own callibrating. I haven't had this problem, nor my buddy. It's very possible for this to happen though. In these very forums many people go through 3 or 4 dell widescreen monitors before they get one that works right without any dead pixels or backlight issues.

When I installed the tune software I noticed problems with the backlights whereas 1 of the 4 lights was less bright than the other 3. I dunno how this is even possible with software but it is that way. I currently have it without the ez tune software and it works perfectly. Any of the bennefits from the software are provided to me by nvidia nview. color pivot using hotkeys etc...
 
denaps said:
i want to buy this monitor this week. can anyone recommend the cheapest place to acquire it? retail is 599 i guess but i don't have any friends at best buy, etc. newegg and ZZF don't have this screen either. i can order direct from gateway or go to the store and pick it up, but i'd rather pay less if it's an option.

thanks
jeff
Click to expand...

I just got mine from Gateway.com. What I did was just tell them that I couldn't pay anything more than $600 shipped to my house including a dvi cable, otherwise I was going to order the Dell. They told me they couldn't do it, but they called me back an hour later. Luckily, I didn't have to pay tax. FYI, the monitor doesn't include a dvi cable.

gateway.jpg
 
rhoel said:
I just got mine from Gateway.com. What I did was just tell them that I couldn't pay anything more than $600 shipped to my house including a dvi cable, otherwise I was going to order the Dell. They told me they couldn't do it, but they called me back an hour later. Luckily, I didn't have to pay tax. FYI, the monitor doesn't include a dvi cable.

gateway.jpg
Click to expand...

how did u get that price?? i went on gayway and its listed for $599 w/o shipping and w/o the dvi cable
 
vaxick said:
I'm on my second one of these monitors and now am sending this one back to Gateway for a full refund. There is a serious uneven backlight issue with these monitors which stinks as it's quite a nice monitor other than that. On both models I've got, the left side of the screen is always brighter than the rest of the screen.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that mate... mine is totally uniform and dark
 
Alright, I've never been a monitor-sensitive user in the past. But i now want a new one. I currently have a Viewsonic VG150B.

I have a BFG 6800 OC
2.8 GHz P4
1GB Rdram

Now, here's what i need to ask: What kind of DVI connector do I have? And what kind of cable do i need to get? I've never actually used DVI before, so i am clueless.

Currently my max resolution is 1024 X 768. How much of an impact will this monitor's native resolution have on my systems performance during games? Because I like my games to look pretty, damnit!

What do I need for HD? I know nothing about it....

How does stretching to fit a resolution work? Can i set the monitor to only stretch as far as it can w/o distorting the image, and then have black bars on the sides? How would I go about setting this?


EDIT: Just to be clear, im lookin to buy this gateway.
 
SystemERRor said:
Alright, I've never been a monitor-sensitive user in the past. But i now want a new one. I currently have a Viewsonic VG150B.

I have a BFG 6800 OC
2.8 GHz P4
1GB Rdram

Now, here's what i need to ask: What kind of DVI connector do I have? And what kind of cable do i need to get? I've never actually used DVI before, so i am clueless.

Currently my max resolution is 1024 X 768. How much of an impact will this monitor's native resolution have on my systems performance during games? Because I like my games to look pretty, damnit!

What do I need for HD? I know nothing about it....

How does stretching to fit a resolution work? Can i set the monitor to only stretch as far as it can w/o distorting the image, and then have black bars on the sides? How would I go about setting this?
Click to expand...


Alot of questions there...

Go here for DVI cables http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html

Go here for widescreen gaming topics http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/

Also, find out out what your monitors native resolution is... if it's not offered then go into your card settings and make a custom resolution (right click on desktop>> properties>> settings>> advanced>> "GeForce 6800" tab" >> "screen res. and refresh rates" .. LCD's should be run at their native resolution
 
SystemERRor said:
Is the gateway worth it, even if i could get the dell 2005fpw for 400ish?
Click to expand...

I own and love my gateway but I don't think it is. The dell can be had for slightly under 400.00 and the gateway at 600.00 $599.99. The gateway IS better than the dell 2005 in mine and my buddies optinion who has both (lucky bastard) side by side. However it's not $200.00 Better. I got mine on employee discount from a family member at Best buy for about $490.00 w tax and everything. It is $90.00 better in my opinion.

But*** if your looking at a dell for $400 and a gateway for msrp $599.99 +tax get the dell.
 
But the Gateway is 1" bigger, has HDCP and some have been getting it for around $550.

.... but the 2005FPW was selling for $335 shipped the other day. Very hard to beat if offered again.
 
This is my first experience in the forum:

With all the Hoop La about the new Gateway 21" Wide Screen I wanted to share my experiences with the Gateway and the Dell 2005FPW.

Both companies have rotten customer service.You can not understand the help support staff nor do they have an interest in your problems with their product.

I have used a Dell 2005FPW for 6 months and have experience no negative issues with it. Not one dead pixel etc; being a photograper (hobby) I am very fussy about image quality, clarity and accuracy of color. The Dell had proven to be a clear winner over the competion at that time 6 months ago.

I recently saw the new Gateway 21" it just wowed me, great specs etc.nice color but the picture detail did go black when viewed straight on which is how we view a monitor not bobbing your head from side to side to see different detail.

Keep in mind I am not a gammer but use my monitors for crital color rendition and detail.

Also understand there are no industry standards for contrast ratio or brightness. You are on your own with company specs. What really matters how does the monitor perform for you.

As mentioned the Dell 2005FPW has performed perfectly (which is made by LG), I bought the Gateway one week ago (made by Samsung) at BB for $499.00 it looked great out the box though it had poor text rendition. The DVI Cable took care of that. When I hooked up the DVI Cable I Iost the ability to rotate the screen (EZ Tune was rendered useless), I also had a buzzing in the right hand bottom corner of the screen which made me concerned about the power supply. I had to crank the brightness level to 89 to get rid of the noise.

I spent two days on the phone with Gateway before they admitted to me that they have had a problem with DVI Cable and using the Portrait Mode, also they said they have had many complaints about buzzing power supplies. Their suggestion was you will get use to the noise, if not return it.

Gateway has no patches for these problems and with a one year warranty I did not feel great about products long term viability. I took their advice and returned it.

That day I went on line dell.com and bought a second 2005FPW and negotiated a price of $375 no tax, no shipping charges, and all cables included and a standard 3 year warranty.

The Dell has been out long enough that all the bugs are worked out. If both monitors were the same price I would still choose the Dell because it has proven it's self over the year. The Gateway may have the newest technology but if it does not work what good is it....
 
Lord_Exodia said:
I own and love my gateway but I don't think it is. The dell can be had for slightly under 400.00 and the gateway at 600.00 $599.99. The gateway IS better than the dell 2005 in mine and my buddies optinion who has both (lucky bastard) side by side. However it's not $200.00 Better. I got mine on employee discount from a family member at Best buy for about $490.00 w tax and everything. It is $90.00 better in my opinion.

But*** if your looking at a dell for $400 and a gateway for msrp $599.99 +tax get the dell.
Click to expand...


But which one will be a better investment? I plan on having this same monitor for years to come, so I need to pick one that will be the best 3-4 years from now.
 
Based on Gateways track record, financial statements and the fact they are no longer doing buisness in Europe my bet goes to Dell... Also understand I am no Dell lover. I would not own a Dell or Gateway Computer which sounds snoby. It is not meant to; but you can build computer for much less money and with superior components.
 
porsche said:
This is my first experience in the forum:

With all the Hoop La about the new Gateway 21" Wide Screen I wanted to share my experiences with the Gateway and the Dell 2005FPW.

Both companies have rotten customer service.You can not understand the help support staff nor do they have an interest in your problems with their product.

I have used a Dell 2005FPW for 6 months and have experience no negative issues with it. Not one dead pixel etc; being a photograper (hobby) I am very fussy about image quality, clarity and accuracy of color. The Dell had proven to be a clear winner over the competion at that time 6 months ago.

I recently saw the new Gateway 21" it just wowed me, great specs etc.nice color but the picture detail did go black when viewed straight on which is how we view a monitor not bobbing your head from side to side to see different detail.

Keep in mind I am not a gammer but use my monitors for crital color rendition and detail.

Also understand there are no industry standards for contrast ratio or brightness. You are on your own with company specs. What really matters how does the monitor perform for you.

As mentioned the Dell 2005FPW has performed perfectly (which is made by LG), I bought the Gateway one week ago (made by Samsung) at BB for $499.00 it looked great out the box though it had poor text rendition. The DVI Cable took care of that. When I hooked up the DVI Cable I Iost the ability to rotate the screen (EZ Tune was rendered useless), I also had a buzzing in the right hand bottom corner of the screen which made me concerned about the power supply. I had to crank the brightness level to 89 to get rid of the noise.

I spent two days on the phone with Gateway before they admitted to me that they have had a problem with DVI Cable and using the Portrait Mode, also they said they have had many complaints about buzzing power supplies. Their suggestion was you will get use to the noise, if not return it.

Gateway has no patches for these problems and with a one year warranty I did not feel great about products long term viability. I took their advice and returned it.

That day I went on line dell.com and bought a second 2005FPW and negotiated a price of $375 no tax, no shipping charges, and all cables included and a standard 3 year warranty.

The Dell has been out long enough that all the bugs are worked out. If both monitors were the same price I would still choose the Dell because it has proven it's self over the year. The Gateway may have the newest technology but if it does not work what good is it....
Click to expand...

As for DVI and EzTune not working, I have no problem with this and have not read if other users are seeing this .. (anyone else?). Did you have the most up to date drivers for your video card installed? What card do you have? It could have been a video card driver issue. The only issue I know of with DVI is that it will not auto-detect the input the first time it is powered up, it will default to VGA, pressing the input button on the side resolves it and is no longer an issue after sucessive boots. As for buzzing, did it ever go away while the monitor was on or only initially? I haven't heard it from mine. On pricing, I've seen that other users have been able to negotiate deals by calling Gateway direct or wating for a BestBuy 10% off deal.

Tim-in-CA
 
I just recieved my Dell 3 days ago and it is great.Also it has the 3 year warrenty. I was a little nervous at first because when i purchased the 2005 monitor i thought it had the same specs as the 2405 but it doesn't. the 2405 has a contrast ratio of 1000/1 where the 2005 is 600/1. so i thought thats why they are selling it so cheap but when it arrived and i hooked it up i was very satisfied, i kind of wish i had the 2405 instead because of its larger size not that i think that it would have a better picture because the quality of the 2005 is very Good,Hope this helps in your decision
 
The Dell does not experience the same issues as the Gateway. My drivers and video card are up to date. If you read the 12 pages of threads many people have experienced the same problem... I was hoping they were being just overly fussy until I experience the same issue.

When Gateway admitted that the problems are real I decided I did not want to be their test bed.

People are going to choose what ever they want to and rationalize it in the manner they want to; but when you put all pro's and con's on the table the Dell wins. Remember contrast ratio and brightness levels are meaningless.

More photographers, engineers, designers anf professsional community's use Dell's over Gateway...What is it that they know thaat we are not aware of....Is not just price!
 
porsche said:
The Dell does not experience the same issues as the Gateway. My drivers and video card are up to date. If you read the 12 pages of threads many people have experienced the same problem... I was hoping they were being just overly fussy until I experience the same issue.

When Gateway admitted that the problems are real I decided I did not want to be their test bed.

People are going to choose what ever they want to and rationalize it in the manner they want to; but when you put all pro's and con's on the table the Dell wins. Remember contrast ratio and brightness levels are meaningless.

More photographers, engineers, designers anf professsional community's use Dell's over Gateway...What is it that they know thaat we are not aware of....Is not just price!
Click to expand...

Actually, i read though all 12 pages of the thread and you seem to be mistaken. The problems were not reported by everyone. Every single person saw the monitor differently.

Some people heard buzzing in the monitor, others didnt and one person, i believe, said it went away.

Some people noticed problems with colors changing, others couldn't even tell without actively looking for it (and moving their head)

You make it sound like the Gateway monitor is a deathtrap...

I really dont hear everyone complaining about problems with the DVI input, or the screen rotation.

And when you say that both companies CS groups don't care about the customers: have you even seen how many people have been able to get replacements monitors (multiple times) from Dell because the backlight was uneven or there was a dead pixel?
 
Everyone's experience with this and pretty much any monitor will vary. In this very forum if you real the dell 2005 and 2405 feedback some people mention that they had to return it 3x or more to get one without backlight issues or dead pixels. I guess it's the luck of the draw. I have a gateway FPD2185w which is flawless. Using DVI and have 0 problems with it. Someone in my shoes would love this monitor as I do. I can definitely understand if the buzzing noise and backlight problems present themselves how this monitor could be annoying to someone. If you get your hands on a good one and at a good price it's hard to beat.
 
I agree everyones experience is different, and if I had a flawless Gateway I would have kept it. They offered no resolution no replacement monitor just return it because we have similar complaints from others.

They should of responded by saying we will ship you another...at least Dell does that.
 
Anyone familiar with the Lemons gateway was selling the gateway media center 610 models? the all in one computer with the computer monitor speakers and everything all in one unit with a 17" widescreen. Well they were advertised for months with alot of hype and i was unfortunate enough to get the one of the first lemons, which after about a month they quit selling . Hmm
it included a wireless mouse and keyboard which never worked
no big deal
constantly had to reinstall sound driver to get speakers to work
tv tuner was so fuzzy couldn't watch it
and finally at the end of the warrenty the monitor went black and then would blink on and off repeatedly finally just scrapped it and salvaged the parts i could out of the piece of junk and read many people had the same problemb and problembs with the power supply so if i were to get a gateway (anything monitor or anything) i wouldn't get the beta versions and let it sell for a little while and make sure they don't pull them off the shelf in a month because of returns
 
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