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HELP! I am going nuts!

S

spayez

n00b
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
6
Ok, here is the deal...

I am a college student. I play games, use outlook, word, surf the web, run benchmarks when bored, and just normal 24/7 computer use. I am literally glued to my computer screens.

I spent my entire 3 1/2 weeks off from school looking for the right monitor upgrade. I had/have (will sell soon) 3x 23.6" Benq x2410 120hz. I can't stand 3d, and I like portrait mode a lot more than landscape, so an IPS panel seemed like the prudent choice. btw, I am pushing all these with 2x670 4GB's.

I ended up buying 3x Dell u2711 Open Box for $524 each. They arrived literally brand new and have no issues, but, prior to seeing these pop up on the Egg open box, which lasts for like 10 seconds, I had already bought 4 used NEC 2490 WUXI's for $130 each of ebay, so with shipping around $580 for all 4. I bought 4 for the price of 1 Dell 27.

The U2711's arrived a week earlier, so I set them up, and they look great. Now the NEC's arrived, and I removed 1 U2711 and replaced it with 1 NEC, so I can see the difference side by side. Horizontally they are the same size due to the 16:10 1200. Vertically there is a noticeable difference.

Picture quality wise, the Dell looks more vibrant, but almost fake. The NEC seems more life like, but for some reason the whites seem a little on the yellow side, but that might just be my eyes, since in movies and games, it looks great. I will buy a calibrator soon, but, since buying anything takes me ages to complete, it may be a while. I actually enjoy the hunt, almost as much as buying the actual item, so once I buy something, I feel like the adventure of reading countless reviews, and forums is over.

Oh, and I bought 4 NEC, in-case 1 was bad, so I would not be stuck, since they were sold as-is. 1 actually has a thin line on the bottom, so that was a smart move.

Anyways, I really don't know what to do now. I could return the Dells, but only if the Egg pays for return shipping, since if I have to pay for shipping it would not be worth it. I could also just list them on Craigs, and since they have the 3 year warranty, which is transferable, I should be able to at least get what I paid, or even make a little profit, since the cheapest you can find them is around $700 on sale, which right now, I do not know of any place selling them for less than around $800. I really got a good deal at $524.

Should I keep the Dells, and sell the NEC's which I could sell for around $250 each and make a nice little profit, even if I have to sell 1 of them for parts, because of the line, or should I keep the NEC, and return or sell the Dell?

I sit in a Perfect Chair by Human touch, literally in 0 gravity position, so my head is roughly 3-4 feet away from the screens. Even though the 27's are bigger, the 24's are actually easier to read, but movies and games looks bigger on the 27's, but not by much, since it's in Portrait mode, not landscape.

What would you do?

Even, if you do not own either monitor, I would still like to know what you think. Please help me make this difficult choice. It's not even about the money anymore, since after calculating the p/l there is really only about a $500 difference after all is said and done.

Right now I am typing on the NEC, and it is a lot easier to read, than the Dell. I know I can increase the DPI, which I have done, but doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a higher resolution screen?

Oh, I was also thinking of keeping hte NEC's and using 1 Dell in Landscape for movies, but Nvidias accessory display technology sucks. It simply will not work properly. I am almost even thinking of selling my EVGA 670 4GB's and buying 2 7970's for around $330 off the Egg open box, since they always pop up, but eyefinitey always caused me more issues, than surround.

Ok, I am writing a novel now. Please help!
 
More...

I am testing them side by side, and so far the biggest advantage is real estate.

I can see roughly 1/3 page more in Word, and practically most sites I have a lot more view, with less scrolling with the Dell.

The NEC has a thinner bezel which makes it much better for surround, since the U2711 bezel is really big.

All this started because I was tired of my Benq not being even in portrait, since unlike the new model, the menu makes the bottom of the bezel stick out, so Portrait is very uneven. I also wanted better viewing angels, since I am sitting below my monitors, reclined.

Before I knew it, I bought 7 monitors...I knew before buying them, I would not lose anything, and I just read the Eggs return policy, so it looks like I could return them and get shipping paid for...

I am so confused.
 
First off congrats on being a college student with enough disposable income to buy 7 24"-27" monitors. Now some sound advice: Quit spending all your time staring at the screens and go out and let loose a bit. You are way overthinking this. Keep one, keep em all, keep a mix of both. Enjoy them but go find a keg somewhere and relax. :D
 
I'd keep the NECs since they are so much cheaper for you (student)... And with 3 of them, the desktop viewing areas shouldn't be that much of a concern.

Then once you have money later, you can just buy nice 3x30" or whatever to your liking.
 
It is a sad situation. Even if you can afford a good expensive multimedia monitor you still can't get one, because noone makes it....
 
If it was me, I'd keep the NECs, but part of that decision is based on the fact I have a 2490, so know what it looks like. I also like colorcomp, hardware calibration, and the A-TW polarizer (assuming yours is 1st gen)... really good with angles and no glow.

And also the fact that heavy AG coating at the high dot pitch of a 27"er would bother my eyes. I wouldn't be good with the dpi of the 27"er as far as reading text either, as I even increase dpi for the NEC 2490 (I'm probably a rarity here, as I like big text).

But only you can decide which you like best.

For the NEC with the line on the screen, I suggest contacting the eBay reseller and ask for an exchange or partial refund. A good reseller would offer one of those options, if he listed the monitor in good condition with no defects. An ex: the NEC 2490 I got from eBay has an issue (minor burn-in/screen retention), but only noticeable with certain lighter backgrounds, and I got half of my money refunded -- after refund, ended up costing me $90 shipped.

If your 2490s are the touchscreen variety, I suggest you remove the glass screen, as it just adds an extra layer/glare for no reason (unless you want the touchscreen capability).

If you decide to sell the Dells or NECs on eBay, see what the going prices are for completed sales, and then knock off at least 10-15% for fees. The 2490 market has sort of been saturated, so unless yours are in great condition with very little usage, I don't think you'd clear $250/each.

The yellow tint on the NECs may be due to usage, as whites tended to drift yellow on some of those. The first 2490 sent me w/ 40K hours definitely drifted yellow. My current one with 9.5K doesn't have the yellow tint.

Did you check the backlight hours used on your NECs? It'll give you an idea how much life they have left too and may help you make a decision.
 
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Try a mix -- use a Dell in landscape with two NECs on either side. I have a similar arrangement, and find it rather useful.
 
I run 3 Dell 3007wfp's and came from 5 Dell s2309w, so I kind of know your situation. I like my 30"rs way more than the 23"rs they replaced. I'd keep the 27"rs if I were you.
 
Well, after more testing, I found problems with every single one. Each had a line on one of the sides, which were pretty obvious, but it took around a minute or so to get warmed up before the lines showed.

In this condition, I would have to just list them for free on CL, just to get rid of them.

I did speak to the eBay seller, and they were very professional and gave me a full refund, but after giving me a refund, he sent me an email asking me to mail them back. I replied and told him that I would have no problem mailing them back, if he paid for the shipping, since not only were they damaged, he had the wrong model listed, so he sent me 3/4 wrong models, with only 1 correct original model...damaged and absolutely not as described. btw, after reading the listing again, they were not listed as-is, so that was a good thing.

I am waiting for his response.

Thank you all for your help, and I think it's only proper I answer a few of the questions above.

First, I am not just a student, I am also a Mortgage Broker, but taking online classes to finish my degree, so I can go to Law school.

The monitors had around 5K hours or less, except the original model, which was around 17K. It's really a pity, since I really like them more than the Dell. The bezels were so much better for surround, and in Portrait the horizontal size was exactly the same as the 27" Dell.

The picture actually looked more lifelike than the Dell too, but the Dell did look better overall due to the higher res.

I actually wanted to buy a 30" in landscape with 2x20 in portrait, but surround does not work in that configuration.

I do really need to get out more. I literally spend 95% of my time at home glued to the computer, but I do have a 3.83 GPA, and make decent money, so sacrificing a few years of distractions, seems worth it. At 35, I really don't feel like messing around anymore. I had enough Kegs and bottles in my 20's to last a lifetime. lol Thank you for the advice though, since you are ultimately right.

Oh, and one other thing, the NEC screen is so nice. When I press just a little on the Dell, I can see distortion in the screen, but the NEC is built like a tank. it weighs more than my 27" Dell!

I really wanted the NEC to work, and I tried everything, but no matter how much I changed the settings, nothing could make those lines disappear. I could hide the line on 1 of them with my taskbar, but the other 2 would still have issues. It's really sad, since they just look so nice.

I was even thinking of returning the Dell and buying 3 New NEC PA241's, since you can find them for around $650 now direct from NEC, but I think I need to just cool it with this monitor bug, and be happy with the sweet deal I got on these 27's.

Anyways, thank you all for your help, and if you have any more comments, or questions about my experience with these monitors side by side, please do not hesitate to ask.
 
Shame about the 2490s. I haven't seen tons of monitors, but the 2490 is the best monitor I have seen to date (compared to Dell 2412, two NEC VAs, and an Eizo VA). It also has a better image than my 46" Sony TV. Blacks stink on the 2490, but blacks stink on just about all IPS screens.

As for the line, does it appear on all color backgrounds, or just certain colors? Is it screen retention, or just a thick straight line?

If the reseller already refunded your money, he may eventually just say to keep them. With broken/defective monitors it sometimes costs more in shipping than the monitors are even worth. I am curious what model you ended up getting, if he listed them incorrectly... maybe some were 2nd revisions? 5K hours is nice, 17K is a bit elderly, but still usable.

Unfortunately even if you decide to get a NEC PA241 direct from NEC, it won't have the A-TW anymore. Only the 1st gen 2490s had that.
 
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