Viewsonic VP201B 20.1" 16ms LCD "Mini-Review"

sandman78

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Viewsonic VP201B "Mini-Review" by S@nDmAn

vp201binbox.jpg


SPECIFICATIONS SUMMARY:
Specifications:
Panel Type: TFT active matrix UXGA LCD
Native Resolution: UXGA (1600 x 1200)
Pixel Pitch: 0.255 mm
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 400 : 1
Response Time: 16ms (typ)
View Angle: 176° / 176° (Horizontal / Vertical)
Input Connectors: 15-pin mini D-sub , DVI-I
Features: Ultra-slim 0.67" bezel; HDTV 720p ready; Pivot, height and wall-mount versatility
Dimensions & Weight: 17.6" x 18.9" x 10.5" (WxHxD) / 18.7 lbs
Manufacturer's Warranty / Phone No.: 3 years parts, labor and backlight / 800-688-6688

VP201B LINKS:
GamePC.Com Review<--Really good review of the VP201B
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=vp201b&page=1

Viewsonic VP201B Product Page
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/proseries/vp201b/

Various VP201B Multi-Panel setups shown at Viewsonic's website:
http://www.viewsonic.com/multipanelsetup/

NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-116-285&depa=0

ZipZoomFly.Com
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=231772
(Free 2 Day Shipping)

Mwave.com
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA19579

***There are actually two different models of the VP201. They are the exact same monitor, except the VP201B has a black bezel and the VP201S has a silver bezel.***

QUICK POINTS:

STAND- (Adjusts in all directions, so you can get it exactly like you want it)
STAND - (Cord Management loops on back of stand help hide cables)
BUTTONS - (very soft to touch, almost hard to realize when you’ve pressed them)
MONITOR DRIVER - (simple install takes seconds and installs advanced controls in Display Properties)
EASY SETTINGS - (NEVER had to make a change to settings, worked right out of box)
RESOLUTIONS - (1600x1200 is amazing, but has great quality even at “non-native” resolutions)


***MY PREVIOUS MONITORS: 19” Viewsonic E790B, Phillips 170/B2 17” LCD, 19” Optiquest V95, 17" NEC CRT, and a few others. Just wanted to give you an idea as to what I have owned in the past.

Sorry I am just now getting this mini-review up, but one of the main reasons I waited was because I wanted a descent video card running the LCD. I just got my BFG 6800GT OC installed, and it along with the VP201B is simply AMAZING. One thing I want to get out of the way is that I DO NOT notice “the screen door” effect. That’s not to say it’s not there, I just don’t see it. I also want to tell you that I am the most “picky” person in the world. One hold up on the system I just built was that I went thru THREE different atx cases until I had the one I wanted. I actually went so far as to build the system in 2 of them. I first started with an Antec case (that I was going to use to get by until the new Silverstone came out, but ended up returning it), a Cooler Master Black Praetorian (still have it), a Silverstone “Nimiz” SST-TJ03-B (WAY to big, too deep actually, returned it for refund), and finally ended up using a black Cooler Master Wavemaster. So I hope that gives you an idea as to how “picky” I am. If the VP201B was not up to “par”, I would tell you in a second, and I would also already have 2 new monitors here trying them out to see which one I was going to go with.

When you open the box, you find that Viewsonic packaged the monitor very well and they have a screen protector covering the LCD. After you get all the packaging off, the first thing you notice is how good looking the monitor is. Even better than in the pictures. I have looked at MANY other LCD’s and I personally think that some of the manufacturers who try to have a “ultra thin bezel” end up with monitors that are semi-cheap looking. The monitor comes out of the box with the monitor sitting about as high on the stand as possible. I was very happy to see that it would go down, because the screen was extended too high for me. You can adjust the monitor easily, and in all sorts of directions. The LCD comes with a DVI cable, Analog VGA cable, and a USB 2.0 Cable for the built in USB 2.0 hub.

The VP201B has a native resolution of 1600x1200, but it handles lower resolutions amazingly well. When I first powered on the PC and got the correct input, the monitor auto detected the resolution of the BIOS Screen, and optimized itself for that resolution. When it does this, you see a little “wave” go thru the screen and then “blink” it’s done. Pretty nifty :D. It also has a message that will pop up in the middle of the screen anytime you are not using a 1600x1200 resolution that tells you “For best quality use a 1600x1200 Resolution.” It gives you the opportunity to disable that message, which I did. As far as settings go, I didn’t have to change one thing. Any setting you normally would change, it changes for you automatically!

The monitor’s quality is amazing. The desktop is so clear and the colors are very “rich.” The colors on the screen almost look wet. One of the first things I did was pull up the [H] Forums, and the black and maroon color blew me away. It’s just something you have to see for yourself. I know some people are weary of using 1600x1200 because the last time they saw that res. it looked “too small”, etc.. Well with the VP201B, you can see text, icons, half way across the room at 1600x1200. If you can’t, you don’t need to have your driver’s license. LOL

It takes about 5 seconds to install the driver off the CD, and I was impressed with all the features that were added in Display Properties. All the options to rotate the monitor are right there and easy to use. I don’t see myself ever using that feature, but at least it’s there if I ever want to.

The first FPS thing I ran on the monitor was 3DMARK 2001SE. I ran it first because I have seen it so many times on CRT monitors and I thought it would be something good to judge the quality, etc.. As soon as 3DMARK started, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe I was looking at an LCD. You almost want to take your hand and stick it behind the LCD to confirm that it is an LCD. I never saw any ghosting or any “shadowing.” I installed Call of Duty and Far Cry next, and was anxious to have control of the movement, so I could TRY to make the thing ghost. No luck. I couldn’t get it to ghost at all. I ran all games at 1600x1200 with all settings at max. My new 6800GT was excellent. I would HIGHLY recommend this video card. It compliments the VP201B extremely well. I also ran Far Cry, Call of Duty, & Battle Field Vietnam at 1024 X 768 so I could see how "non-native" resolutions looked. The VP201B did an excellent job scaling to these resolutions. The quality, while not as good as 1600x1200, was excellent for “non-native” resolutions. This surprised me. I didn’t think the non-native resolutions would look half as good as they did.

Here are a few PICS that I took with a 3 mega pixel camera. So the quality isn’t that great. There are links to 1600x1200 HIGH resolution versions under each picture. Beware of the links 56K users.

The first two pictures have "Call of Duty" on the screen, and the last 4 pictures are of "Far Cry".
--==EDIT==-- I added 9 photos after the Far Cry images, that were taken while playing UT2004 at Non-Native Resolutions.--==END EDIT==--

vp1small.jpg

CALL OF DUTY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> CALL OF DUTY-PIC1 @ 1600x1200
vp2small.jpg

CALL OF DUTY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> CALL OF DUTY-PIC2 @ 1600x1200
vp4small.jpg

FAR CRY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> FAR CRY-PIC1 @ 1600x1200
vp5small.jpg

FAR CRY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> FAR CRY-PIC2 @ 1600x1200
vp6small.jpg

FAR CRY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> FAR CRY-PIC3 @ 1600x1200
vp7small.jpg

FAR CRY @ 1600x1200
HIGH RES--> FAR CRY-PIC4 @ 1600x1200

--==EDIT==-- THIS SECTION ADDED TO ORIGINAL REVIEW on 7/20/04

Since I was getting requests and PMs to take some PICS at lower “NON-NATIVE” resolutions, I installed UT2004 and took some. I took 3 pictures at every resolution. I did 3 resolutions total, consisting of: *800x600, *1024x768, & *1280x1024.
NON-NATIVE Resolution PICS:
800x6001small.jpg

UT2004 @ 800x600
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC1 @ 800x600
800x6002small.jpg

UT2004 @ 800x600
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC2 @ 800x600
800x6003small.jpg

UT2004 @ 800x600
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC3 @ 800x600
1024x7681small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1024x768
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC1 @ 1024x768
1024x7682small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1024x768
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC2 @ 1024x768
1024x7683small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1024x768 ( Stupid BOT!! I'm trying to take some photos! :D)
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC3 @ 1024x768
1280x10241small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1280x1024
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC1 @ 1280x1024
1280x10242small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1280x1024
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC2 @ 1280x1024
1280x10243small.jpg

UT2004 @ 1280x1024
HIGH RES--> UT2004-PIC3 @ 1280x1024

All the pictures were taken with Unreal Tournament 2004 on the screen. You will see “PAUSE” in the middle of the screen, because if I didn’t pause it, the pictures came out blurred. Just like the first section of photos, these were taken with a little 3 Megapixel camera. So it goes without saying that these photos don’t do the monitor justice. I resized the original pictures down to 1600x1200 for the “High Res” links, and the small photos that you see here in the actual thread are only 400x300.
--== END OF EDIT ==--

In conclusion, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I planned on going with a dual monitor setup, so I wanted to try this monitor out and see how I liked it before ordering the 2nd one. With that said, I will be placing my order for the 2nd one this week. Especially since I see the VP201B has dropped $100.00 in the past week, bringing the final price to $899.00 If you are looking for “jaw dropping” quality and an overall AWESOME monitor, look no further than the VP201B. You can’t go wrong with it.

I hope you found this "mini-review" helpful. Please understand that I am NOT saying this monitor is better than another monitor, etc... I just wanted to post this to help people who are interested in the VP201B and haven't seen much information for it. If I didn’t cover something that you are interested in, please post what is and I will do what I can to help you out. Please note that the PICS were taken with a 3 megapixel camera, so they don’t even come close to showing the actual picture quality.


S@nDmAn
 
I first posted this little review on page 3 of another thread, so I decided to post it in it's own thread so people would have a better chance of seeing it.
 
Nice review. Ive been waiting for someone to get one of these. So much talk about the dells when this one seems to have the exact same specs, and imo looks alot better. I prolly wont be picking up a LCD until late in the year. Unless a 12ms 20" is released, I will be purchasing one of these viewsonics.

Have fun with your new lcd :cool:

vToe
 
is it sunny in that hole they have you in, or whats with the :cool: :cool:

I think the Viewsonic and the Dell actually use the same base panel?
 
Hey I have a request.. some ingame pics in lower res, just wanna see how well it scales it over the pixels.. if possible in a number of different resolutions, 800x600 and up..
 
endorph1n said:
Hey I have a request.. some ingame pics in lower res, just wanna see how well it scales it over the pixels.. if possible in a number of different resolutions, 800x600 and up..

Ok, will do. Check back this evening and I should have them up.
 
How did you turn off the on screen display for the resolution settings?l
 
ehZn said:
I think the Viewsonic and the Dell actually use the same base panel?

Yeah, that has been talked about here on the forums and on many other forums. Except the other day in a forum, someone posted that LG/Phillips makes the panel for the VP201 and that BenQ makes the 2001FP's panel. Your post reminded me of that, so I thought would do some digging and so far here is what I have come up with so far.

Anandtech reports in their review that the Dell 2001FP uses an lcd panel made by LG/Phillips model# LM201U04.
Here is a link to the Anandtech page that says the 2001FP uses an LG LM201U04 Panel.(a little below half way down page)--> http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=1918&p=2
HOWEVER, I went to Dell's site and searched forever and finally found some interesting information. DELL says that BenQ does in fact make the 2001FP. It even gives BenQ's address. Below is a link to the page that shows it.(the BenQ info. is under the "FCC Declaration of Conformity" section in the document) http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2001fp/en/tco99.htm

I also haven't found any information verifying who makes the panel in the VP201B, but everyone has believed the VP201B to have an LG lcd. I think I am going to email Anandtech and ask them how they came up with LG as the manufacturer of the 2001FP's lcd panel. It's just interesting that the user on the forum posted that "BenQ makes the lcd in the Dell", and then I find that BenQ info. at Dell's site. Does anyone know if BenQ and LG work together? I thought they were rivals, but I may be wrong. Anyway, I was bored and this got my interest. If I find any more info, I will post it.

BTW, this evening I will post some pics of games running at "non-native" resolutions. It will probably be sometime after 6:00.

***Here are links to both the VP201B and the DELL 2001FP's Specifications. You can open both in seperate windows and compare the specs. If they use the same lcd panel, the specs. should be the same. I think the viewing angles are different, but maybe you can find something I overlooked.
VP201B---> http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/proseries/vp201b/
DELL 2001FP---> http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...sku=320-1578&category_id=4009&c=us&l=en&cs=19

note: I DID NOT post the 2001FP's SPECS to start a "VERSUS" thread.
 
bucken said:
How did you turn off the on screen display for the resolution settings?l

It gave me the option to. It said something like "Hit 1 to disable this message in the future". It might not have been that exact message, but it was something very similar.
 
Why would Dell have that kind of documentation in their User's Guide?

I'm assuming this is the User's "Manual" that comes with the Dell 2001FP monitor???

Well does this mean that the BENQ FP2091 and the Dell 2001FP are the same?

Heck they both have "FP's" in them!!!
 
ectobuilder said:
Why would Dell have that kind of documentation in their User's Guide?

I'm assuming this is the User's "Manual" that comes with the Dell 2001FP monitor???

Well does this mean that the BENQ FP2091 and the Dell 2001FP are the same?

Heck they both have "FP's" in them!!!

I think the reason Dell has the BenQ information on that page, is because the "FCC Declaration of Conformity" section has to do with "legal" issues. I believe a company has to list any parts that were imported, etc... I'm sure if Dell had a choice, they wouldn't give that information out.

I didn't even know about the BenQ FP2091 monitor, so I don't know if it and the Dell are the same.
 
Well a lot of lcd sellers, Dell in particular, do not really develop and manufacture their own panels. What they do is take the base technology from, say LG or BenQ or Samsung, etc., repackage and rebrand it as a Dell. Hence you have a "Dell" lcd that really isn't.

The retail power of a big seller like Dell also allows them to undercut prices. Not that I mind having lower prices, but sometimes I wish they made it more obvious who the base panel comes from.
 
Hey sandman what happened to my request? :p

I think its no news that there are certain companies behind the companies we see.. for example.. what makes a compaq a compaq computer? I know my friends presario has a Asus based motherboard for example, very little they actually produce themselves.
 
endorph1n said:
Hey sandman what happened to my request? :p

I think its no news that there are certain companies behind the companies we see.. for example.. what makes a compaq a compaq computer? I know my friends presario has a Asus based motherboard for example, very little they actually produce themselves.

Here's a little insight into the world of prebuilt computers: all they do is put parts together, start it up, load some software, and sell it at an inflated price because everyone is either too lazy or unable to do it themselves. It's really one of the most successful scams I've ever seen.
 
endorph1n said:
Hey sandman what happened to my request? :p

I JUST EDITED THE "MINI REVIEW". There are 9 NEW Images. 3 for each "NON-NATIVE" RESOLUTION that I tried.

Sorry for the delay, but some stuff came up, and then taking the photos and getting them resized, thumbnail'd, uploaded, inserted, labeled, etc.. took a little while. Enjoy.
 
Thanks for being thorough, even from the limited perspective, it is very useful and informative. Now I just need to save up for a few of these....
 
endorph1n said:
Thanks again :) non native res doesnt look bad at all, from what I can see

This monitor really suprised me on how well it does with Non-Natv. resolutions. Just like someone in another thread said, a user's video card won't be top of the line forever. So it is likely that I might run some future games at a lower resolution, so I'm glad the monitor does well at the lower resolutions. Of course, if that DOES happen in the future, I will probably just get a new video card.:D The good ol' never ending cycle.
 
UPDATE - I just read this thread:--> http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=782053 and if that is what the "Screen Door" effect is, then the VP201B does not even remotely look like that. LOL--> I thought it was something like those Posters where you have to look a certain way or whatever to see it. I guess I had the wrong impression of what the "SD Effect" was.
 
I am having a hard time deciding between ordering a second VP201B or getting the HP 23" 16ms lcd. What do you guys think? Dual 20" monitors, or (1) 23" monitor?
 
I'm trying to decide between one Viewsonic and one HP. I'm trying to decide whether I would actually use the HP to it's full advantage.
 
bucken said:
I'm trying to decide between one Viewsonic and one HP. I'm trying to decide whether I would actually use the HP to it's full advantage.

My problem is that I have heard about how great dual monitors are, etc... , yet I don't know if it is something I'm going to like UNTIL I actually do it. Oh well, I don't think I can go wrong either way. I would really like some input from some dual monitor people. :D

As far as your decision, you can't really go wrong either. The HP is at an awesome price and so is the Viewsonic. I will tell you that the Viewsonic seems to be a great monitor so far. I don't know if there is anything I can tell you to help you make your mind up, but if you have a question, just ask.
 
bucken said:
I'm trying to decide between one Viewsonic and one HP. I'm trying to decide whether I would actually use the HP to it's full advantage.

If you had it, you'd find a way to use it. here's another way to choose: which one would be better for your videocard and framerates? This is the reason I would settle for a 710T, when I'd rather have the VP201B... The X800 Pro will be just too slow at 1600x1200 in games that I will care about (IE, CS Source, HL2, D3, STALKER)
 
IdiotInCharge said:
If you had it, you'd find a way to use it. here's another way to choose: which one would be better for your videocard and framerates? This is the reason I would settle for a 710T, when I'd rather have the VP201B... The X800 Pro will be just too slow at 1600x1200 in games that I will care about (IE, CS Source, HL2, D3, STALKER)

http://www.halfliferadio.com/

says CS:Source running at 1920X1200 on a 9800XT... so it sounds like the X800 should be more than plenty.
 
YOU WILL GET 100 FPS with a 9600 on like a 1024x768

cs source will not be the demanding CS, It is just a port over as it it take no where neer the computational power than standard HL2 or Cs 2 will

Dont worry about it we will see on the 10th I am happy i get to beta test

I mean running on a decent resolution at 1920 that is a little excesive how do yuo see the HUD

i run ay 640x460, even if I had a x800 or 6800 series I would still run at 640x480 on my 19"
 
Hey Sandman78,

I have read the review over at GamePC and your review here and I am curious about the quality of Quake 3 on the VP201B or S. I feel as if Quake 3 is still the acid test for LCDs that claim they can act as gaming monitors. I, like Sandman78, am very picky and want the absolute best possible LCD gaming experience. I have also looked at the Samsung 172X which has a SUPPOSED 12ms pixel response time. Hmmmm...

Anyways, I really appreciate your screenshots but would love to know what your impressions are of the monitor running Quake 3. If you could provide screenshots of this as well I would be incredibly grateful. Thanks a lot :)
 
Sandman,

What a great informative review. Thanks a lot! I'm considering refunding my 2001fp to get one of these viewsonics. I have a few questions...

How deep is the black? How deep is the black on the screen compared to the black when the screen is off? (not so good on the 2001fp)

Is the backlight uniform? (big issue with 2001fp)

Dead pixels?

Where did you buy it from?

Thanks,
Mike
 
FearTheMike said:
Sandman,

What a great informative review. Thanks a lot! I'm considering refunding my 2001fp to get one of these viewsonics. I have a few questions...

How deep is the black? How deep is the black on the screen compared to the black when the screen is off? (not so good on the 2001fp)

Is the backlight uniform? (big issue with 2001fp)

Dead pixels?

Where did you buy it from?

Thanks,
Mike


Hi Mike,

Based on Sandman's review, I ordered a VP201s and it arrived today, making Monday clearly the best day of this week. :D I'm upgrading from a 19" Sony Trinitron CRT whose only real fault was that I had no desk space left. After a few hours of use, I am extremely happy with the purchase, and have no regrets! To answer your questions:

1.) The black is as deep as it seemed on my CRT, and perhaps a bit darker. It seems similar to the "off" state, although since the screen flashes once as I turn it on, it's difficult to get a good comparison.

2.) Using the calibrator at MonitorsDirect, I examined the backlight. I did notice a few places where the backlight was a bit brighter, in nearly the same location as your thread . To be honest, it's invisible to me unless I turn all the room lights off and stare at a completely black screen. Perhaps yours is a much worse case than is standard.

3.) Zero dead pixels

4.) NewEgg (took a risk based on their 8-pixel policy. Love their fast shipping, though).

Two other thoughts:

1.) If you have an ATI card, don't forget to check that "Reduce DVI frequency" box in the advanced properties. Otherwise, the monitor flickers. Seems to be a common issue among all 1600x1200 DVI monitors.

2,) The whole screen-door issue is barely noticeable. To read some threads, you'd think that half the monitor consisted of black lines! It's really not a big deal, and is invisible from more than 6 inches back.

Well, I hope this helps. I'm really happy with my VP201s!

Jeff
 
shaferja said:
Hi Mike,

Based on Sandman's review, I ordered a VP201s and it arrived today, making Monday clearly the best day of this week. :D I'm upgrading from a 19" Sony Trinitron CRT whose only real fault was that I had no desk space left. After a few hours of use, I am extremely happy with the purchase, and have no regrets! To answer your questions:

1.) The black is as deep as it seemed on my CRT, and perhaps a bit darker. It seems similar to the "off" state, although since the screen flashes once as I turn it on, it's difficult to get a good comparison.

2.) Using the calibrator at MonitorsDirect, I examined the backlight. I did notice a few places where the backlight was a bit brighter, in nearly the same location as your thread . To be honest, it's invisible to me unless I turn all the room lights off and stare at a completely black screen. Perhaps yours is a much worse case than is standard.

3.) Zero dead pixels

4.) NewEgg (took a risk based on their 8-pixel policy. Love their fast shipping, though).

Two other thoughts:

1.) If you have an ATI card, don't forget to check that "Reduce DVI frequency" box in the advanced properties. Otherwise, the monitor flickers. Seems to be a common issue among all 1600x1200 DVI monitors.

2,) The whole screen-door issue is barely noticeable. To read some threads, you'd think that half the monitor consisted of black lines! It's really not a big deal, and is invisible from more than 6 inches back.

Well, I hope this helps. I'm really happy with my VP201s!

Jeff

Thanks for the post. The backlight is pretty annoying. I have a week to decide wether I want a refund or extange or live with this LCD. It's up in the air for me.
 
is it grainy at all?
when you look closely are there faint horizontal lines (NOT black.. faintly dark) over areas of the monitor? please look and tell me if you can see any horizontal stripes anywhere - particularly over light blues and medium-dark grays
 
eabandit said:
is it grainy at all?
when you look closely are there faint horizontal lines (NOT black.. faintly dark) over areas of the monitor? please look and tell me if you can see any horizontal stripes anywhere - particularly over light blues and medium-dark grays

Yes, it is slightly grainy on colors such as light blue or medium-gray. Although, the faint lines are actually lighter in color, not darker than the desired shade.

Jeff
 
shaferja said:
Yes, it is slightly grainy on colors such as light blue or medium-gray. Although, the faint lines are actually lighter in color, not darker than the desired shade.

Jeff
so basically this monitor would still be no good for someone who works with graphics?
wtf? doesn't anyone make a flat panel monitor 20" or larger that does not have this horizontal line problem?

and why was this not mentioned in the review? this faint horizontal line problem is a really bad thing on these monitors...
 
Actually I have not heard anything about the screendoor effect on the Viewsonic 16ms 20", despite the fact that I think it is based on the same panel. I think Viewsonic's build and production quality >>> Dell, but I doubt that even needs to be stated.
 
I use a VP201b monitor here at work and I absolutely love it. I've wanted to get one for home, but I've been wondering about how good it would be playing games. Thanks for an awesome review that has certainly helped to make up my mind!
 
FearTheMike said:
What a great informative review. Thanks a lot! I'm considering refunding my 2001fp to get one of these viewsonics. I have a few questions...

How deep is the black? How deep is the black on the screen compared to the black when the screen is off? (not so good on the 2001fp)

Is the backlight uniform? (big issue with 2001fp)

Dead pixels?

Where did you buy it from?

Thanks,
Mike

My VP201B only has a "light area" the size of a dime or so in the very upper right corner, but that is it. I had to really look hard to notice it. My laptop's lcd (Dell Inspiron 8200) has light areas all over the place, and I was happy to find that the VP201 didn't.

I had ZERO dead pixels, and i ordered from NewEgg. I didn't realize there 8 pixel policy until after I had ordered it. I was VERY nervous until the monitor arrived and I saw that it didn't have any dead pixels.:D I might even order an LCD from them again. Their service is so fast and easy. Plus getting an RMA from them is a piece of cake.(had a few pieces of hardware that didn't work right) It took me FOREVER to decide on the hardware for my last / current system. I finally got mad at myself for being so indecisive, and placed my order for everything.:D Good luck on whatever you decide to go with.

shaferja said:
Based on Sandman's review, I ordered a VP201s and it arrived today, making Monday clearly the best day of this week.

I am glad you like your new monitor! Plus I'm glad someone else can now help me answer questions in this thread.:D

shaferja said:
Yes, it is slightly grainy on colors such as light blue or medium-gray. Although, the faint lines are actually lighter in color, not darker than the desired shade.

Could you PM me, or post it in here, the best way for me to see this? I am just curious what you are talking about.

eabandit said:
and why was this not mentioned in the review?
Sorry, but I'm not totally clear on what you are talking about, but I specified in the last paragraph that if there is something you have a question about, to let me know. One user requested PICS of games at "Non-Native" resolutions. It toom me a day or so, but I ended up taking 9 pics for him and edited them into the review. If there is something else you are wondering about, I will be glad to do what I can to help.

catalyst2211 said:
I've just got my VP201B. Keep ya guys posted later

Great! :D Please do keep us posted.

ehZn said:
Actually I have not heard anything about the screendoor effect on the Viewsonic 16ms 20", despite the fact that I think it is based on the same panel. I think Viewsonic's build and production quality >>> Dell, but I doubt that even needs to be stated.

I am still not 100% sure on this, but I think they might not be the same panels like everyone thought. The Dell is made by BenQ http://support.dell.com/support/edo...fp/en/tco99.htm , and I believe that the Viewsonic uses an LG panel. But again, I'm not completely sure on who makes the Viewsonic's. I'm sure you already saw it, but I posted a rather lenghty post about this on the 1st page of this thread.

Cheapdog said:
I use a VP201b monitor here at work and I absolutely love it. I've wanted to get one for home, but I've been wondering about how good it would be playing games. Thanks for an awesome review that has certainly helped to make up my mind!
Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you found it helpful. Please keep us posted on how you like it.

S@nDmAn
 
I just spent like the last hour researching this and everything I've found says that both the Dell 2001fp and the VS vp201s BOTH use the LG Philips 20.1" LM201U04 S-IPS panel.

Hence, it comes down to it that VS is just better than Dell in terms of quality and workmanship with the rest of the panel.
 
sandman78 said:
I am still not 100% sure on this, but I think they might not be the same panels like everyone thought. The Dell is made by BenQ http://support.dell.com/support/edo...fp/en/tco99.htm , and I believe that the Viewsonic uses an LG panel.
Confusing issue for certain. BenQ is the manufacturer of the complete display for Dell. However, the actual LCD panel is the same LG Philips 20.1" LM201U04 S-IPS panel in both the 2001FP and VP201 as ehZn posted. BenQ is an assembler, not a panel mfg.

In practical terms what this means is that characteristics specific to the panel, like "screen door" effect are identical on both displays, while issues related to individual electronics like scaling may differ. The BenQ displays have a different DSP chip than the Viewsonic from what I've been told, which would explain why people that have tested both indicate that the Dell scales to lower resolution marginally better. This is much more noticable with text than with game screens.

In either case, these panels are great for gaming and general business use, but not up to graphics professional standards. Fast refresh (16ms) and highest quality still seem to be mutually exclusive features.

Look for the really big advances to come over the next couple years as LCD display makers transition from the cold cathode flourescent backlighting currenly used to LED arrays. The LED's are much brighter, whiter, result in more even lighting, and they have what is effectively an infinite service life. Should take care of the horizontal line issue as well as some of the light leakage issues as the assembly process will be much less subject to the kinds of variations we see now.

oc
 
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