Sony GPD-FW900 Widescreen CRT

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ohnnyj

Gawd
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
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575
Hello all:

I know Sony no longer makes CRTs but I remembered this one from a while back when I was looking for a CRT (and opted for the G520 for less money). This is a widescreen 24" CRT and I think it looks awesome. Has anyone tried one of these?

Here is a link: click me

The whole reason being that if I were to get a new display I know I probably don't want to get an LCD from all the comments I have heard that they are not yet up to speed with CRTs in gaming and graphic design. Do any other companies (i.e. NEC, Viewsonic, etc.) make widescreen CRTs for computers?

Thanks.
 
But that is a TV, the GDM-FW900 from Sony is a CRT for computers which can ouput at much higher resolutions.

Thanks though.
 
This is a 24" Sony CRT which is pretty new that i have in my bedroom, when looking indise it seems pretty packed

Please excuse the mess

DSC00594.JPG
 
unearth01 said:
This is a 24" Sony CRT which is pretty new that i have in my bedroom, when looking indise it seems pretty packed

Please excuse the mess

DSC00594.JPG
Click to expand...

That's a 24" tv not the 24" monitor. I'm also intrested since last time I saw them they were around $1,900. $1149 ain't bad.
 
wow, this thing seems freaking awesome...

too bad it's a 16:10. and price is kinda high too...
 
That thing looks sweet ... if you have a desk that can support the 95lb beast. ... and a room capable of keeping up with the BTU's (heat) I bet that thing puts out.

There are 3 used for sale from $650 over on AMAZON.com
 
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I also saw some refurb A stock over at a site called azatek.com for only 899. I am seriously thinking of picking one up.
 
These are just about the best CRTs you can get. I have been using the older version for 7 years now, and been debating what LCD to replace it with for the last three of those years. That can give you an idea how good these monitors really are. BTW, the GDM-FW900 is roughly equivalent to a 22.5" LCD in screen size, but the resolution can go as high as 2304x1440 no problem. Getting one of these to replace my older version would be an upgrade, but I am dead set on a very high end LCD with greater than 1920x1200 resolution and screen size. Besides, I'd like to recover some desk space. ;)
 
But I am looking at gaming and graphics design quality of which most people say LCDs still have a ways to go to catch up.

One thing that bothers me, though, is the fact that this is a five year old model now effect its image quality? Will monitors being produced now have better quality given that they have advanced technologies since then?
 
ohnnyj: said:
One thing that bothers me, though, is the fact that this is a five year old model now effect its image quality? Will monitors being produced now have better quality given that they have advanced technologies since then?
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That is a legitimate concern when it comes to CRTs. AFAIK, These monitors were last produced more recently than 5 years ago. If age is a primary concern, maybe you should go to a retailer where you can actually look at the monitor before purchasing? You really don't know what you will be getting online.
 
I recently bought a used FW900 on eBay, which is due to arrive tomorrow. While I don't have a camera to take pictures of it, I can tell you how it looks for games, movies, and general use after I play with it for a while :)

Also, this is designed to be a professional graphics design monitor. It supports up to 2304x1440@80hz, and has a .23 dot pitch at the center to .27 at the edges. In all of the reviews and testimonials I've read none noted any difference in quality at the edges however. All of them said it looked amazing, and being a Trinitron and aperture grille, I can understand why.

At any rate, I'll know for sure tomorrow :)
 
Hey thanks for the info and please do give us an update on the quality of the monitor.
 
this looks to be the ultimate gaming monitor...

should i assume viewable screen size is 23"?

hope to hear what you hve to say when you get it. looks spectacular though, i didn't even know it existed.
 
iamtherat: said:
should i assume viewable screen size is 23"?

hope to hear what you hve to say when you get it. looks spectacular though, i didn't even know it existed.
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It has been around for at least half a decade, but Sony 24" CRT monitors were around for about twice as long. The actual size measured diagonally is 22.5" but I guess you could round it off to 23". :D
 
Its a real shame that sony stopped making crts. They made the best and it sucks that we are almost forced into getting lcds


I am looking into getting the CPD-G520P now
 
I know what you mean, I happen to have a G520 right now and it is absolutely awesome. I have had it for over three years and it has never given me any problems and I think it still outputs as good as it did the day I bought it.

And ditto on being forced into LCDs, it's a real shame.
 
There's also this one from HP, it's also a 24" widescreen CRT for cheaper still than Sony's version. Anyone know if it uses the same tube?
 
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Clank: said:
There's also this one from HP, it's also a 24" widescreen CRT for cheaper still than Sony's version. Anyone know if it uses the same tube?
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No, it doesn't unfortunately.

That is a clone of the GDM-W900, which was the precursor of the GDM-FW900. I have a Compaq P1610 which also uses this earlier tube. The tube of the GDM-W900 maxes at 1920x1200@ 72Hz, although I have run mine at 75 and 85Hz in the past. The dispay is still a good one, but the newer version has a higher max resolution and is much sharper, especially at the edges where the original tube noticeably starts to blur.

In an age when CRTs have been relegated to specialized use and even the bargain basement PC has a LCD, these monitors with their enormous size seem somewhat anachronistic. Moreover, let's not ignore their emissions, which will not go unnoticed. If you must choose between the two, get the FW900, it's worth twice the cost of the earlier model even in a time when super-sharp flat panels are the order of the day.
 
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Well, I have had the Sont FW900, the best CRT monitor I've ever had. Now I have switched to an Eizo CG21. If you can pay the extra (actually a lot) cash, it's worth it every penny. Tried the HP 2335 but after sending back two units I gave up.
 
liquidik: said:
Well, I have had the Sont FW900, the best CRT monitor I've ever had. Now I have switched to an Eizo CG21. If you can pay the extra (actually a lot) cash, it's worth it every penny. Tried the HP 2335 but after sending back two units I gave up.
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Personally, I'd rather have the Sony FW900. After using a 1920x1200 resolution for 7 years now, I'd never go back to 4:3. There's nothing like widescreen resolution. Moreover, for the price you paid the Eizo CG21, you could have purchased the 30" ACD, or the Samsung 243T and have a lot of spare change. Not to knock your choice, it is an excellent professional display, but why this model and not the aforementioned monitors, especially since you had a widescreen before?? To me, the cost just doesn't seem justify the feature set. :confused:
 
I'm working on hunting one of these down... I've got a 21" now, and just can't resist the temptation of a wide screen CRT. It's too bad they don't seem to make them anymore. Assuming I get one, it might be the only monitor I'll ever have that I'd pay to repair if it breaks.
 
I just bought one (refurbished) from azatek.com and it should be here next week. These were originally $2,500 monitors back in the day (like 2000-2001) and I got if for $899 and they indicated that this is A stock quality which is like new.

You cannot find these new as Sony does not make CRTs anymore. They have one model available on their site which looks like a G520.

Here is a link to the one I bought.
 
I got mine yesterday, and spent most of the day tweaking it. The short response is "FRIGGIN' SWEET!" Here's some more info for you :)

The quality is outstanding. Playing Half-Life 2 at 1920x1200 on 24 inches of flat screen goodness must be experienced to be truly appreciated. It looks stunning.

I watched a couple of movies, and they were very nice as well. Not quite the same as watching them on a nice HDTV, but still much better than the non-flat CRT I had before. Anamorphic widescreen DVDs provide a nice big picture :)

Getting the geometry settings and convergence just right took several hours though. And the converence on the bottom of the screen is still a little off. Not a major issue, but annoying. The monitor also has two thin wires behind the glass that support the aperture grille. Under most circumstances they aren't visible, but with a solid white background you can see their shadows on the screen. Again, a minor problem.

I said earlier that reviews said text remained sharp at the edges of the screen. It does retain most of its clarity, but you can tell that text near the edges isn't as sharp as the center. My noticing this may have something to do with my inability to get the convergence spot-on, though.

Also, the picture from this monitor when I first fired it up was heavily green tinted. I was a little worried at first, but then I tried the Image Restoration feature. The monitor automatically recalibrated itself, and the colors balanced out perfectly. Pretty impressive.

If you can find one, and you can manage the size and weight, its definitely a top-notch monitor. Just make sure that it isn't too badly abused though; mine has a couple very small nicks in the glass surface that weren't mentioned in the eBay listing. That kinda pissed me off :mad: But I never notice them when gaming or watching movies, so it's not a big problem.

Oh, and there's one other downside. I'm sore as hell from lifting this monster onto my desk ;)
 
Thanks for the update I was wondering how it was going to look. What is the manufacturer's date on the back of the monitor? And those two lines that you are seeing are called dampening wires and I believe all trinitron tubes show the same, it is required to keep the display crisp throughout the display.

Do you have any pics?
 
I don't have a camera, so no pics I'm afraid :(

According to the monitor's OSD (no WAY I'm moving this thing to look at the back) the date of manufacture is 2000-45. Dunno what the -45 is about though :)
 
Probably some kind of month code. I have seen some people with these monitors and it says 2000, December but I am not sure what 45 would relate to (maybe week number?).

And 95lb isn't that much :).
 
WOOT!
I just won an HP A7217A on eBay for $478 shipped. 24" widescreen 2304x1440 @ 80Hz here we come. 2048x1536 works nicely with no AA on my 6800GT, and It's only 5% more pixels than 2048x1536, so I should be able to run HL2 at that res if the game will let me.
This thing is also going to be f'n sweet for programming. 2 code windows side by side is possible on a 21" @1600x1200, but with the 24" I should be able to do 2 IDE windows. Then I've got my 2 19" side screens...

I was planning on just spending a couple hundred on a cheap used 21-22" for a 2nd monitor @ work, but then the bug got me and now it looks like now my existing 21" Hitachi is going to the office. The bums won't budge on a second monitor. I guess they're worried people will start complaining too much if some of us have dual 21" screens on our desks, plus the boss in charge of hardware buying doesn't get the 2 screen thing. I figure since they'll be picking up my cell phone tab once the Treo 650 GSM model comes out I can spring for a 2nd screen. We're waiting on the GSM model since it works in Europe (co is based in the UK) & has a 320x320 screen, which is much better for running ssh than the 160x160 screen on the 600.

APPOLO: BTW: According to the specs & pics the A7217A really looks like it's a GDM-FW900. All the specs were the same when I pulled them from HP's web site. 121 kHz max Hsync, 2304x1440@80Hz max res, etc.
 
The Sony G and F series were the best tube monitors available. Even today, nothing touches them imho. I've used the newer NEC/Diamondtrons at my previous work and was underwhelmed comparrng it to the Sonys from years ago. Contrast, uniformirty, geometry, color and everything a tube should have, these had. However, they weren't the most reliabl - the F series in particular had some reliability issues. Regardless, I've yet to see a monitor that can beat the F520 and presumably, its widescreen counterpart, the FW900.
 
I think that Sony developed the underlying tube for a number of manufacturers including Sun and HP. I think the only thing different about them is the bezel design of which I think the original Sony looks the best imho.
 
zandor said:
APPOLO: BTW: According to the specs & pics the A7217A really looks like it's a GDM-FW900. All the specs were the same when I pulled them from HP's web site. 121 kHz max Hsync, 2304x1440@80Hz max res, etc.
Click to expand...
The specs yes, but not the pics on Amazon's site that Clank linked. The enlarged photo revealed an identical monitor to my own Compaq P1610 (GDM-W900 clone), with the only difference being the logo. Do you have a photo of the monitor you won?
 
APOLLO said:
The specs yes, but not the pics on Amazon's site that Clank linked. The enlarged photo revealed an identical monitor to my own Compaq P1610 (GDM-W900 clone), with the only difference being the logo. Do you have a photo of the monitor you won?
Click to expand...

Yep. It looks like a GDM-FW900 in Beige & matches up with the drawing in the manual pdf from HP. Flat screen, usb in the base, and it's even got that goofy rolling thing on the bottom holding the screen adjustments. I think Amazon just screwed up the image.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5159072076
 
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DSC01111.jpg


here is mine, I've had it for 4 Years now and whoever comes to my house is stunned by its size and how amazing all games look on it. It is an awesome monitor, the only problems I ever had was with some tremors the sceen has now and then. I run it on an X800Pro at 1360x768 using powerstrip. After 4 years I decided it was time to move on to something less bulkier and I am receiving my 2005FPW in 4 days. My problem is that on the sony I would play all games at 1600x1200, now I dont know how I will get Call of Duty to play on the native resolution that is 1650x1050... :confused:
 
idlebones said:
My problem is that on the sony I would play all games at 1600x1200, now I dont know how I will get Call of Duty to play on the native resolution that is 1650x1050... :confused:
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since Call of Duty is based off the Q3 engine, you should be able to modify it for custom widths/height
 
needmorecarnitine said:
since Call of Duty is based off the Q3 engine, you should be able to modify it for custom widths/height
Click to expand...
Just hack the config files. I did a lot of that back when I had a Parhelia. Running games in 3072x768, 2400x600, etc. on 3 screens.
 
I've had the Sony GDM-FW900 for 3 years now... it's been awesome, and still is.

And i paid over $3k CDN for mine at the time (about $2200USD).
 
I should get mine today. It s currently at the local warehouse waiting for my arrival.
 
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