Dell 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect LCD, $679.15

[i]

As part of Dell's current "Outrageous Deals", they are including the 2005FPW.

Anyone here have comments about this monitor specifically, or wide-screen monitors in general? Are there any compatibility issues with this sort of display?

It's a tempting price. (They've also got a 26" LCD TV at circa $1500 right now that seems like a good deal ... but way out of my price range.) I really wish their standard 20.1-inch 2001FP was included as part of the same sale though. Maybe I'll check again for that one in January.

Oh, and this is supposedly a limited-time thing, and I have no idea when the sale started. I just noticed it last night.

 

[sechs]

People with whom I've spoken are kind of luke-warm on this monitor. Yes it's wide screen. Yes it has slightly better specs than the 2001FP. But what does that get you?

Wide screen has advantages for certain uses, but, for the most part, it's just a 19-inch LCD with some extra screen area tacked onto the right side. Since it's wide, the native resolution is "odd," which may be difficult with which to deal.

 

[P5-133XL]

Very unimpressed with the price. Dell very commenly has discounts on their monitors. This packaged with a discount system is more than the monitor normally goes for as a seperate item.

If you can get a Dellf coupon ( The Dellf promotion continues till 1/5/05) you can get the same monitor for $799-25%=$599. The same coupon works for the 2001FP! Dell just expired (12/10) a coupon that would have given another $45 off.

If you want to play games then you'll find that they mostly have fixed screen resolutions and it never match the wide-screen format forcing you into a lower resolution than you would be getting with the 2001FP.

May I suggest Bens Bargins for monitoring Dell sales.

 

[Fushigi]

I for one really like the wide screens. My laptop has a 1900x1200 LCD. It's great for browsing and having multiple windows up. Or doing facing pages in Word or Acrobat Reader.

That said, I'm not a gamer and couldn't say how the non-4:3 aspect would look in a game setting.

I also don't have any direct experience with the Dell non-laptop LCDs and agree with Mark that the price could be better.

bensbargains.net and fatwallet.com are both worth checking out for deals. I mostly go to Bens. And I'll use pricegrabber to confirm a good price once I've narrowed the product select down to some finalists.

 

[i]

If you're unimpressed with this price, LCDs must have come down in price even more than I thought. Anyone care to guess at an average price for a 20" LCD monitor these days?

Wow ... that 2001FP would have been $554! I can't believe that price for a decent 20" LCD. I hope they have another round of sales coming up.

 

[Pradeep]

Yeah I finally got a Dellf 25% off coupon and combined with $45 offf to get the 2001FP for around $560 for work last week. My boss was like, so you are playing games at work? LOL. She was OK when I told her it saves us $200 tho.

 

[i]

...I finally got a Dellf 25% off coupon...

How did you get one?

 

[Clocker]

You can buy them on eBay for just a few dollars I hear.

C

 

[Pradeep]

...I finally got a Dellf 25% off coupon...

How did you get one?

Just played the game daily till I got one.

 

[Will Rickards]

Here is a second one I just won.
25% off any Dell Flat Panel
Code: 0QK829$34LDP2$

 

[Will Rickards]

Stack with $35 off $400 code 3C6F6ZLZS2NPCM [Exp 12/12, 11:59pm CST, 2500 uses]

 

[Clocker]

Just played the game daily till I got one.

Huh?

 

[P5-133XL]

Clocker,

go to the Dell home site and there is a Dellf contest that anyone is allowed to enter daily. Losers get Dell coupons...

 

[P5-133XL]

Dell Home has the new Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand for $799 - automatic 20% off - $35 off $400 code 3C6F6ZLZS2NPCM [Exp 12/12, 11:59pm CST, 2500 uses] = $604 with free shipping.


20.1" Flat Panel LCD, 1680x1050 pixels and fast 12 ms response time

±88 degrees viewing angles, VGA / DVI-D / S-video / Composite / 4 x USB 2.0

300 cd/m² Brightness, 600:1 Contrast, Height Adjustable Stand

No Dellf coupon required!

 

[i]

I don't get paid until the 15th!

Still, looks like they're discount-happy this month. Hopefully other opportunities will continue to turn up for at least another week.

 

[sechs]

You can buy them on eBay for just a few dollars I hear.

FYI, Dell is cancelling any coupon that they can find to have been sold.

 

[Clocker]

Thanks for the info on that, sechs. I'm going to wait on my purchase untl early next year when I can buy a nice grapics card to go with the 2005FPW's higher resolution.

BTW, there are some websites out there that show you how to configure games that don't automatically support widescreen resolutions so that they do. From what I gather, it's pretty easy to do. Also, HL2 supports widescreen right out of the box. Doom3 does the with the latest and greatest patch (so I have heard). I'm thinking most future games will be supporting widescreen resolutions. I've seen some screenshots and WS looks like the way to go with gaming...IMO

C

 

[sechs]

What on earth do you have that doesn't support 1680x1050?

 

[Clocker]

My Radeon in my config will support that res. but I would not want to try to play any newer games with it at that resolution.

C

 

[sechs]

840x525 isn't a fun resolution?

 

[Clocker]

Maybe that would work for you but I don't think I'd like it on a 20" screen.

 

[sechs]

Maybe you should be considering a different monitor, then.

 

[Clocker]

Do you have a point, sechs?

As I stated, I plan on upgrading my monitor and graphics card at the same time. And...I couldn't really care less as to how you feel about it.

C

 

[sechs]

Do you have a problem with people trying to help you?

This indignant attitude isn't very conducive to... well, to anything.

 

[Clocker]

Re-read this thread and tell me how you were helping me. I stated that I was going to upgrade my monitor and graphics card. You stated I should play at a lower resolution than I wanted. I stated that I would rather not play at that resolution so you indicated that I should consider another monitor. Why would I do that? Do you even know what I have now?

Enlighten me and tell me where the "help" is in there. Your comments are nothing more than another one of your pathetic troll-like attempts to annoy me. So, we can just drop this whole exchange because it's going nowhere.

 

[sechs]

Back off.

I'm tired of you thinking that every comment I make is, in some way, trying to troll you. If you really think that I'm trying to troll you, do something mildly intelligent and ignore the "offending" comments.

You've done a darn good job of making a fool of yourself; no need to bait!

 

[Clocker]

:lol:

So, how where you trying to help me, sechs?

 

[i]

I got one!

My beloved ViewSonic PS790 monitor died on me 2 weeks ago. I wasn't sure what my options for a replacement were going to be ... until I noticed Dell was having another "sale". Their 2001FP was back down to $549.00 with free shipping. I'll be short on cash for a while, but wow this thing is worth it.

After reading through hundreds of user comments, and a few reviews, I decided to take the plunge. I was expecting a large monitor with possibly mediocre image quality. And really slow shipping. I wound up with a large monitor with what I consider to be excellent image quality. I don't have a DVI capable video card (yet), but I'm impressed even with the standard DB15 analog connection.

And it got here in two days! I ordered on Wednesday, and it arrived this morning! I actually asked the UPS guy to confirm the address because I wasn't expecting the unit to even get shipped until next Tuesday!

This display is flawless. No backlight problems, no pixel flaws - not so much as one that I can see. I'm happy with the image at either the native 1600x1200 resolution, or dropped down to 1280x1024. I find both are excellent, but I'm starting to think that I'll switch back to 1280x1024. The fonts are a little hard on my eyes after a while at 1600x1200.

The only thing I've run into is that I haven't managed to get X up and running at 1600x1200 with 24 bit color depth. (1280x1024 works fine at 24 bits.) To get 1600x1200, I have to drop to 16 bit color depth. Trying to run it at 24 bits causes worrying flicker. Could this simply be a limit of my 32MB Radeon 7000 video card? Or perhaps because I'm not using a DVI setup?

Even if it isn't the video card, I'm still extremely satisfied. Great price, great image, and big.

 

[Pradeep]

The 2001FP and 2005WFP are currently available for the insane price of $507, with free shipping.

http://bensbargains.net/index.shtml

 

[i]

The 2001FP and 2005WFP are currently available for the insane price of $507, with free shipping.

http://bensbargains.net/index.shtml

Hah. Of course.

I'm still happy though. Heck ... maybe I need two of these things. Although if they can offer the 2001FP at that price, maybe they're clearing stock in preparation for a new model.

 

[Pradeep]

The Dell 24" WUXGA model will be available for sale on March 1st. But at list of $1199, I don't see it replacing the 20" models. I can definitely see the need for one or more at work tho....

 

[Buck]

I received the 2001FP and I don't like it -- to bright, and I can't get it dark enough. Plus, I'm either stuck with fuzzy fonts at lower resolutions or using 1600 x 1200 (which I can barely read) -- it's going back! My Samsung 192T works much, much better for me. The resolution and brightness are perfect.

 

[mubs]

That feedback was valuable, Buck, thanks for posting it. I'm no Mr. HawkEye myself, and have often wondered if I could tolerate 1600x1200 on a 20". This kind of real-world feedback is so invaluable.

I wonder about the Dell 1905, though.

 

[Buck]

You're welcome mubs. The nice thing is that my Samsung 192T has a native resolution of 1280 x 1024, which seems to work out real nice. If the 2001FP would have the same native resolution (it's only one inch bigger), things would be better. I even tried to compensate by increasing the font and icon sizes -- it was a no go. Personally, that is a major flaw with LCD monitors. They should be able to show all images and text clearly at lower resolutions.

Plus, I still can't get the brightness level low enough on the Dell, and when working with big white backgrounds like Word, Excel, or EditPlus, it literally gave me a headache.

 

[Will Rickards]

I think LCDs can show lower resolutions just fine but there will be black bands around the edges on the unused pixels. It is the stretching to remove the black bands and thus move away from one pixel equals one pixel that causes problems. Does the dell not offer the option to use a lower resolution without stretching? Isn't this a windows option not controlled by the monitor?

 

[Fushigi]

Buck, what kind of lighting is in the room with you and the glowing LCD? I'm wondering if you're trying to use it in a low-light area. I would think your concerns about brightness would be legit if so, but would also caution you against too much low-light viewing as it can promote eye strain.

 

[Buck]

Fushigi, I usually prefer low-light situations, and adjust my monitors to match. For example, I could be in a 190 sq.ft. room with four 60 watt recessed incandescent spot lights, but I have them on a dimmer and turn them at least halfway down. Under those circumstances, I can adjust my Samsung 192T just right, and stare at it for hours without any eye strain. I've used other monitors in the same environment (mostly CRTs) without any problems. But this 2001FP just doesn't dim enough. I then tried it in another room (120 sq. ft.) with two T-8 flourescent bulbs, same problem. The one good attribute to this (and other LCD) monitors is that no matter how much light I turned on, there was never any glare on the screen.

I guess I'm just a low-light type of person. I guess that is why I find it so frustrating that we have so many lights on around our condominium complex at night. All those lights don't make the neighborhood safer! (sorry for the brief rant)

 

[i]

Sorry to hear it's not working out for you Buck.

The only font issue I ran into was easily fixed by re-running Debian's 'fontconfig' package. I can't remember the technical details now, but it allowed me to switch to a font-rendering system under X that is tailored for LCDs, as opposed to the old setting I'd been using that was geared more for CRTs. It made a noticeable improvement. I have absolutely no complaints about font clarity now (and I have a Mitsubishi DiamondScan monitor at work to compare this LCD with).

I find all of this interesting ... it highlights just how subjective monitor perceptions are.

 

[Buck]

Sorry to hear it's not working out for you Buck.

The only font issue I ran into was easily fixed by re-running Debian's 'fontconfig' package. I can't remember the technical details now, but it allowed me to switch to a font-rendering system under X that is tailored for LCDs, as opposed to the old setting I'd been using that was geared more for CRTs. It made a noticeable improvement. I have absolutely no complaints about font clarity now (and I have a Mitsubishi DiamondScan monitor at work to compare this LCD with).

I find all of this interesting ... it highlights just how subjective monitor perceptions are.

Would you like another?

 

[i]

Would you like another?

If it's free, heck yes! :wink: