Viewsonic VX2025wm arrived! First impressions and pics

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Mar 1, 2006
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Allright all, I know some of you have been excited to know about the new 20" VX2025wm from Viewsonic. I know I have, especially after my fuck fest with Dell's monitors the last month.

I picked up this badboy from Newegg for $439 which is pretty dang good deal for a new ViewSonic monitor. Here is a link to its main page.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/xseries/vx2025wm/

I swung home during lunch after FedeX dropped it off to my landlord and I went right away to rip open the box. I"ll let the pictures do the talking
After a month of Dell Hell, lets give Viewsonics new girl a try....
box9wl.jpg


Good looking design..me likey!
setup0sw.jpg


Awesome cable managment idea!
cabling7jb.jpg


All other LCD makers, take note
cablecleean8cw.jpg


Some initial gaming impressions *Note, Digital camera washed out screen a bit, its MUCH more darker and truer color then the pic shows*


hl2d7wm.jpg


Good, clean and VERY sharp image
hld27ed.jpg


Far Cry never looked so good. Beautiful greens, *again, camera washed out colors due to sceen and sunlight screwing it up*
farcry0zs.jpg


Backlighting: Tough to tell but blacks really good from what I can see. I need to verify backlight bleeding when its dark out, the makes it impossibe to tell with the sun out. Further updates to come

Sharpness: Razor sharp. Period. My desktop looks so nice and crisp its unreal, even the Dell didn't do it this good.

Ghosting/Blurring: Initial testing shows very light ghosting in very fast movement, mostly in HL2 Deatmatch. The screen may also be still cold from Fedex so further testing is need. So far, so good.

Colors: Something viewsonic has always done well and the VX2025wm is no exception. A few little tweaks with the easy to use Viewsonic menu and easy button interface made colors so real and true. Can't wait to do some photoshop and Priemiere with it!

ScreenDoor: Heard intital impressions here and at widescreen forums about screendoor effect. Quick initial testing through MY EYES shows little to none. I need to more playing with BF2 and fast paced gaming to verify this. So far, nothing to be concered and CRAP loads better then Dells 20005FWP

First inital frowning: No highth adjustment. I knew this from the start when buying it but the monitor sits pretty low in stock form. No rotation ability either. Dissapointing coming from Dells or other Viewsonic monitors. Will probably have to get some kinda stand for it to sit up higher. Portrait and picky LCD people, BE WARNED!!

LCD input lag: Im only putting this in to put to ease the 2405FPW whiners. From my early tests, I can sense no input lag. I will continue testing to verify this.

AntiGlare coating:
Does its job well but does make image somewhat fuzzy, nothing worth bitching about though.

Viewing Angles:
Again, hard to tell with daylight sun but so far, real good side to side and good up and down. Crap loads better then the red hued Dell 2005fpw

Initial quality tests: Pixel buddy confirms, No dead pixels. Wooo hooo!!!!! Thank God!

I will continue testing and give updates as I use the monitor after work tonight. Stay tuned, I think Viewsonic may have a winner!
 
Coldtronius -

Hey thanks for the great first impressions and I'm glad to hear the screendoor effect doesn't appear to be a problem. Maybe I *do* have a viable alternative to Dell after all.

Question -- can you please (pretty please) try non-native resolutions below 1680x1050? Does the monitor internally scale them up? I've had my eye on this monitor for awhile but that's the burning question for me.

How are the internal color adjustments? If I hook an Xbox 360 up via VGA cable, I'll have to max out the color levels to compensate for the VGA cable's "wash out" effect, so I suppose that's important too.

Thanks!
 
Just to let everyone know, according to flatpanels.dk, the VX2025wm has a S-IPS display.

ViewSonic VX2025wm (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

NEC LCD20WGX2 (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 6 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

This is the same LG S-IPC panel that is in the new NEC LCD20WGX2. In the US it is known as the 20WMGX2. To me, this makes this Viewsonic to be a very desirable panel. For one, behardware.com reviewed the NEC LCD20WGX2, and found it to be very good for gaming (http://www.behardware.com/articles/610-1/nec-20wgx-an-ips-equivalent-to-a-2-ms-tn.html), as fast as a TN panel. Also, since it is an IPS panel, you know it will have great color reproduction, so this would be an ideal choice for photoediting and other graphic work (unlike a TN panel). Only problem I see with the Viewsonic is that it does not seem to have HDCP support, unlike the US NEX 20WMGX2 (see http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_vista-ready_hdcp_lcd_roundup/). On the other hands, the NEX retails for like $800, so the viewsonic is nearly 1/2 the price for the same panel.

Differences between the NEC 20WMGX2 and Viewsonic:
- NEC has a feature called Advanced DV which supposedly boosts the contrast ration from 700:1 to 1600:1 by altering brightness based on what is being displayed on the screen
-NEC has s-video, component, and rca inputs
-NEC has a glossy type screen (do not know if this is an advantage or disadvantage, depends on your preference I guess)
-NEC has HDCP

Here is another link to a good NEC review: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_20wgx2.htm

Overall, sounds to me like the XV2025wm could turn out to be a fantastic monitor. I wish it had HDCP.

Ross
 
sanitystream said:
Coldtronius -

Hey thanks for the great first impressions and I'm glad to hear the screendoor effect doesn't appear to be a problem. Maybe I *do* have a viable alternative to Dell after all.

Question -- can you please (pretty please) try non-native resolutions below 1680x1050? Does the monitor internally scale them up? I've had my eye on this monitor for awhile but that's the burning question for me.

How are the internal color adjustments? If I hook an Xbox 360 up via VGA cable, I'll have to max out the color levels to compensate for the VGA cable's "wash out" effect, so I suppose that's important too.

Thanks!


Initiall, when I first started up the screen automatically scalled 1076x768 to fill the entire screen and it didn't look that bad to be honest. I'll do more testing


MAJOR UPDATE:


Unlike Dells' monitors, even connected via DVI, the 2025vm allows full contrast, brightness and color adjustment as well as tempature settings. Viewsonics monitor have always had easy to use interface and the 2025wm is no different. Simply pressing the buttons on the bottom allows full use and adjustment of the monitor. The buttoms are nice and sturdy with good feedback, they don't feel cheap.

The VX2025wm also DOES NOT have HDCP complance. No big deal for me since I don't care about HD or Blue ray playing on my PC but your demands may vary.
 
rek981 said:
Just to let everyone know, according to flatpanels.dk, the VX2025wm has a S-IPS display.

ViewSonic VX2025wm (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

NEC LCD20WGX2 (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 6 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

This is the same LG S-IPC panel that is in the new NEC LCD20WGX2. In the US it is known as the 20WMGX2. To me, this makes this Viewsonic to be a very desirable panel. For one, behardware.com reviewed the NEC LCD20WGX2, and found it to be very good for gaming (http://www.behardware.com/articles/610-1/nec-20wgx-an-ips-equivalent-to-a-2-ms-tn.html), as fast as a TN panel. Also, since it is an IPS panel, you know it will have great color reproduction, so this would be an ideal choice for photoediting and other graphic work (unlike a TN panel). Only problem I see with the Viewsonic is that it does not seem to have HDCP support, unlike the US NEX 20WMGX2 (see http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_vista-ready_hdcp_lcd_roundup/). On the other hands, the NEX retails for like $800, so the viewsonic is nearly 1/2 the price for the same panel.

Differences between the NEC 20WMGX2 and Viewsonic:
- NEC has a feature called Advanced DV which supposedly boosts the contrast ration from 700:1 to 1600:1 by altering brightness based on what is being displayed on the screen
-NEC has s-video, component, and rca inputs
-NEC has a glossy type screen (do not know if this is an advantage or disadvantage, depends on your preference I guess)
-NEC has HDCP

Here is another link to a good NEC review: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_20wgx2.htm

Overall, sounds to me like the XV2025wm could turn out to be a fantastic monitor. I wish it had HDCP.

Ross
does Vx922 and vx924 use the same panel as vx2025? I compared NEC 90GX2 and Vx924 side by side yesterday. the color on 90gx2 was more viberant and vivid. I think vx2025 uses MVA panel and same as vx922.
 
rek981 said:
Just to let everyone know, according to flatpanels.dk, the VX2025wm has a S-IPS display.

ViewSonic VX2025wm (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 8 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

NEC LCD20WGX2 (widescreen) har et 20 tommer 6 ms (g2g) S-IPS (LG.Philips LM201W01) panel.

This is the same LG S-IPC panel that is in the new NEC LCD20WGX2. In the US it is known as the 20WMGX2. To me, this makes this Viewsonic to be a very desirable panel. For one, behardware.com reviewed the NEC LCD20WGX2, and found it to be very good for gaming (http://www.behardware.com/articles/610-1/nec-20wgx-an-ips-equivalent-to-a-2-ms-tn.html), as fast as a TN panel. Also, since it is an IPS panel, you know it will have great color reproduction, so this would be an ideal choice for photoediting and other graphic work (unlike a TN panel). Only problem I see with the Viewsonic is that it does not seem to have HDCP support, unlike the US NEX 20WMGX2 (see http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_vista-ready_hdcp_lcd_roundup/). On the other hands, the NEX retails for like $800, so the viewsonic is nearly 1/2 the price for the same panel.

Differences between the NEC 20WMGX2 and Viewsonic:
- NEC has a feature called Advanced DV which supposedly boosts the contrast ration from 700:1 to 1600:1 by altering brightness based on what is being displayed on the screen
-NEC has s-video, component, and rca inputs
-NEC has a glossy type screen (do not know if this is an advantage or disadvantage, depends on your preference I guess)
-NEC has HDCP

Here is another link to a good NEC review: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/nec_20wgx2.htm

Overall, sounds to me like the XV2025wm could turn out to be a fantastic monitor. I wish it had HDCP.

Ross


Really? Hmmm that monitor sounds tasty but I dunno about forking over $800 for that, I could get a 24" for that size. Wonder when its coming out in the US
 
Wish it had a raisable stand.

I like my monitor higher than the VX series can go. I guess I could get an arm.
 
steveng said:
does Vx922 and vx924 use the same panel as vx2025? I compared NEC 90GX2 and Vx924 side by side yesterday. the color on 90gx2 was more viberant and vivid. I think vx2025 uses MVA panel and same as vx922.

VX922 and VX924 use 6-bit TN panels. TN panels are fast, but only have 16.2 million colors (as opposed to the 16.7 of 8-bit panels) and poor viewing angles. Therefore, TN panels are not ideal for photo editing or other color crucial applications. On the other hand, IPS is ideal for such applications.

Ross
 
rek981 said:
VX922 and VX924 use 6-bit TN panels. TN panels are fast, but only have 16.2 million colors (as opposed to the 16.7 of 8-bit panels) and poor viewing angles. Therefore, TN panels are not ideal for photo editing or other color crucial applications. On the other hand, IPS is ideal for such applications.

Ross
i just suspected that vx2025 use s-ips panel
 
Again, here is further investigation into the monitor


Angle viewing. Not terrible bad, I dunno how many people view their monitor this extreme though

angle16de.jpg


angle23iy.jpg


I still fail to see any real problem with "screen door effect" even close up

closeup1bf.jpg


WARNING ALERT!!
Sadly, Im afraid I ran into Viewsonics continuially problem with corner backlight bleeding. It was the main reason I returned the VP930b. Now it looks like this also suffers the same fate...

bleeding8el.jpg
 
I can notice a little SDE on your pics, but perhaps it's just the way they came out. That backlight bleed doesn't look too awfully terrible, but not real great either. I don't think it would bother me that much,
 
Let's hope that newer revisions of this panel don't have the same bleeding, because I don't think I could stand that. Are you going to RMA?

On another note, it's nice to see an affordable solution to compete with Dell and force them to lower prices. All this competition in the WS area means that us consumers win :D

EDIT: oh, and any inputs besides DVI/VGA?
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
Let's hope that newer revisions of this panel don't have the same bleeding, because I don't think I could stand that. Are you going to RMA?

On another note, it's nice to see an affordable solution to compete with Dell and force them to lower prices. All this competition in the WS area means that us consumers win :D

I dunno, im starting to really consider that NEC 20mgmx2 though its twice the cost.

No, there are no other inputs besides DVI/VGA.

Grrrr, getting so fucking sick of monitor swapping....
 
Coldtronius said:
Grrrr, getting so fucking sick of monitor swapping....
I LOVE IT! i cant believe you hate that! Whats not to like about it? ;)

Yeah, its a real pain in the ass. REAL pain
 
dude you have by far the cleanist gamers desk i have ever seen,

whats the refreash rate at 1600X1200 (or the widescrean version of that) and whats its dot pitch?
 
Whats so bad about backlight bleeding ? Like, you dont usually stay and watch your monitor when its only dark.. I never owned a LCD yet so I dont know how bad it is, but when does it affect you ? I mean, I doubt you can notice this when you play a game, can you ?
 
sorry if this has already been answered, but is there any confirmation this is using the same or similar panel to the NEC
 
I can't see the Dot pitch or the colors mentioned anywhere in the listed specs for this monitor. Can you tell us what the manual says?
 
Jerg said:
Whats so bad about backlight bleeding ? Like, you dont usually stay and watch your monitor when its only dark.. I never owned a LCD yet so I dont know how bad it is, but when does it affect you ? I mean, I doubt you can notice this when you play a game, can you ?
youll know what we're talking about when youtry to play a game like fear with bleeding
 
I guess i'll just live with it. I am so sick of swapping monitors the past month it makes me sick thinking about it. Plus, I gotta new Accord coming soon so i'd rather put the money into that then the NEC, even if it is nicer.
 
sanitystream said:
So Coldtronius, at this point would you recommend the Viewsonic over a Dell?


For almost the same price compared to the Dell 2005fpw, i'd rather go with the Viewsonic by far. However, the 2007fpw model may change that but im not gonna be the guinea pig for Dell.
 
jcll2002 said:
when is that thing sopposed to be released anyway?

Who knows. People here are jumping up and down like rabbits on crack making false release dates Either way, Viewsonic got it right the first time. The NEC does look very nice but after spending that much on a monitor before on a 2405, i'd rather not do it again.
 
How is it with Doom 3?

Do the speakers sound ok?
Is there a volume knob for the speakers?
Can you turn off the speakers?
 
WickedWeasel said:
How is it with Doom 3?

Do the speakers sound ok?
Is there a volume knob for the speakers?
Can you turn off the speakers?


No longer have Doom 3, will have to download demo and see

Don't use internal speakers.
 
WickedWeasel said:
How is it with Doom 3?

Do the speakers sound ok?
Is there a volume knob for the speakers?
Can you turn off the speakers?


They are just standard quality integrated speakers; don't expect much. The volume is controlled through the OSD. You don't even have to hook the speakers up if you don't want to.
 
Okay, Ill be in the market for a new lcd in a couple of weaks, and your review of this moniter was a good read.

I dont want to spend too much more than $400 on one, and this seems like a good choice.

You reconmend it? Will I see a big difference coming from a 19" CRT?
 
MAJOR UPDATE:

After having this montior for a few days I discovered my intial finding of "backlight bleeding" incorrect.

Apprantly, due to the desighn of the panel, the corners have a slight "washed" out look when viewed from the center therebye giving the impression of backlight bleeding as indicated in the photo below

bleeding8el.jpg


However, I found out when I centered my head to the left or the right of the monitor the "backlight" bleeding all but dissapeared.

Left side
leftanle9bh.jpg


Right side

rightangle3jf.jpg


In short, I have very few gripes about this montior. It arrived in perfect shape and has been doing excellent in almost all my games. Sure, the NEC would be nice but for half the price, I think I found my new monitor to last me until SED comes out full swing
 
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