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Hardware Headache. Finding the right 20" display

S

Scosglen

n00b
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
5
I've spent the better part of the last day browsing through 19-20" displays and reading up about different kinds of TFT displays. I consider myself relatively tech savvy but never have I had such a conflicted and annoying experience as researching LCD hardware.

To put it simply I'm looking to upgrade from a 6-ish year old no-name Magnatron CRT. It's gigantic and I'm sick of using it. I use my computer for digital painting and light gaming, although the painting is far more important than the gaming part, so I need a good quality display that doesn't have atrocious response time/input delay.From my research it looks like some kind of IPS panel is what I need, although finding one at a sane price is proving unbelievably annoying.

The current champion in my research is the NEC 20WMGX2. The main issue with this display is of course the very high pricetag (cheapest I can find is $570 tax and shipping free at superwarehouse.com), which is about $250 more than I wanted to spend. Is this high premium REALLY worth it to get an AS-IPS panel for someone like me who needs an accurate picture? I'm willing to spring for it if it's worth it but I need to be sure that there aren't more cost effective dispalys.

I was looking at the much less expensive Dell 2007WFP but the whole "panel lottery" BS is a huge turnoff and given that none of my local brick and mortar stores stock them it doesn't seem worth it.

I keep reading very good things about the hp w2007, but I was sorely disappointed to see that it's a TN panel, which is probably the worst kind for what I want to do with it. Even though it's a TN panel, is the picture fidelity really *that* much worse than IPS? It's less than half the price of the 20WMGX2 but is half as good?

Thanks for any insight on any of these products, please feel free to add suggestions of your own as well.
 
I recently bought a brand new Dell 2007WFP A03 S-IPS on ebay for $402 total. Totally blows my 5yr old 17" away.

Really this and the NEC you mentioned are the only two 20" that are recent.
 
You are about 2-3 months late to the 20" widescreen shopping game. The NEC 20WMGX2 and the Dell 2007WFP were both discontinued a while back. Just as recently as early November you could have scored a brand new 20WMGX2 from Newegg for $399 AR (and the rebate really does come) and Dell still had the 2007WFP available mostly with S-IPS. Most makers have moved on to cheaper to produce TN panels which is why I'm hanging on to my NEC and Dell (yes I have both) until they die of natural causes.

I know this doesn't help any, but it sounds like you may have to shell out some bucks to get the quality you seek.:(
 
The NECs are still around. You can always get a Dell 2005 fpw on e-bay for around $200, which is a garunteed IPS (same panel as the 2007 fpw) but make sure you get a used one not a refurb. Make sure there is a return policy for it as well, some people claim "no dead pixels" or "perfect screen" when they have no idea what those are. Original packaging is best too, since most idiots have NO idea how to package a LCD.
 
vick1000 why do you say not to get a refurbed one?

Theres a couple 2005FPWs on eBay and I've been thinking of picking one (or two) up.
 
I winced and paid $600 for my first 20WMGX2 - then after an hour of using it I wondered why price was so cheap. Newegg get them every so often for 350 as an open box. That means there is no warranty but you have 15 days to send it back with no re-stock fee. The used ones are going for 350 on ebay and you know what a horror show that can be. Newegg open box has been ok for me so I would say keep an eye out.
 
Well it looks like I'm in a tough spot at any rate. I appreciate greatly all the comments made so far.

I saw a 20WMGX2 open box on newegg for the past few days but I thought it would be too risky. It's gone now but I may have to keep my eyes peeled for another.

I suppose the question now is, how much of a time pressure am I under to make up my mind. Are the 20WMGX2's going to completely disappear if I don't get one soon? Everything I read seems to say that the LCD industry is giving up on affordable quality displays for amateur-professionals in favor of cheap crappy TN panels for the masses, which makes me afraid if I don't pounce on this thing now I may be stuck with my CRT for years to come.

Is this thing just going to get more and more expensive as supplies dwindle? Is there any chance at all another comparable alternative could be put on the market in the near future?
 
I can able to find new 20WMGX's listed off Pricegrabber at Best Buy for business:

http://www.bestbuybusiness.com/bbfb...089&srccode=cii_5784816&cpncode=11-43920811-2

This place too (they say "In Stock" but who know)

http://www.superwarehouse.com/p.cfm?p=730005&CMP=KAC-Pricegrabber

Not sure if they actually have them in stock but its woth a check. I don't think many new ones will be for sale on rebate for $399 like they were at Newegg during the fall.

20" S-IPS seem to be almost over. The only "improvement" I am aware of is the LED backlighting and random tweaks of existing tech. Nice to see the newer 30"s still using S-IPS anyway.

Keep an eye on Newegg open box. I wouldn't buy a open box mobo from Newegg but a display doesn't bother me. For 350 you wont gind anything new thats better. Its not going to be sold broken unless maybe a pixel or something and you can check that out for 15 days. The NEC's are built pretty well so if it works good its not anything I would worry about breaking any second. My main concern would be that the remote be included since its more than just a channel changer since you can calibrate with it and not have to mess with the bezel buttons.
 
gtrfvb said:
vick1000 why do you say not to get a refurbed one?

Theres a couple 2005FPWs on eBay and I've been thinking of picking one (or two) up.
Click to expand...

Just because a refurb means something was wrong with the item to begin with, and there is no telling what it was that was fixed. If you were to get one and something went wrong, I doubt you would get a 2005 fpw to replace it with from Dell or the person you bought it from.
 
If I were to buy an OEM 20WMGX2, would I be losing any functionality that I couldn't get with the bezel buttons? I can pretty easily replace the cables that it would be missing.

Random question about DVI cables, are they like HDMI cables where retailers try to gouge you ridiculous rates for 'premium' cables when you can buy the same thing for a tenth of the price, or can I not just go to best buy and pick up the cheapest male-male DVI cable I can find?
 
Scosglen said:
If I were to buy an OEM 20WMGX2, would I be losing any functionality that I couldn't get with the bezel buttons? I can pretty easily replace the cables that it would be missing.

Random question about DVI cables, are they like HDMI cables where retailers try to gouge you ridiculous rates for 'premium' cables when you can buy the same thing for a tenth of the price, or can I not just go to best buy and pick up the cheapest male-male DVI cable I can find?
Click to expand...


You could probably just call NEC and tell them it did not come with one, I bet you they would ship you one for free. LG did that for me on a W204T, came 2nd day air too. As a monitor you would still have access to the controls, but as a TV it would be very inconvenient, and the bezel controls are a little flimsy.
 
Alright. I've gone and ordered the open box NEC from newegg for $329. I fully anticipate that it will probably have scads of dead pixels, unsightly scratches or dents or backlight bleeding, but I should still be able to get an idea of how it looks, which is important since there is no way in hell I'm going to find one on display in a store.

I'm treating this almost like a 'rental' where I can see if this thing is really worth nearly $600 to buy new compared to some of the cheaper panels I've browsed in my local B&M's. It's peace of mind I can live with if it ends up costing me $40 worst case when it's all said and done if I decide to return it. Best case I could potentially get one in really good condition and keep the huge discount.
 
You should get a good idea about the clarity and black levels, maybe even the screen uniformity.

The big thing with this monitor is the clarity and even black levels. Of course colors are great and the Opticlear helps with contrast too, but the clarity is in a class by itself.
 
If you get a lemon from Newegg, I've got a 20wmgx2 I'd be willing to part with (only used for about three weeks, no dead pixels, no other issues). I'll probably be throwing it up on ebay in the next few days.
 
Little update on my situation. The open box newegg arrived today and I am stunned by the condition. I was expecting loads of dead pixels and scuffs/scratches but the monitor itself is in almost perfect condition and after a quick cleaning with a microfiber cloth the screen is flawless. There is only ONE dead pixel and it's down near the taskbar in a place where It couldn't possibly bother me. The picture is crystal sharp and it's beautiful even when simply browsing the net. Oddly enough I got two VGA cables, two cable cables, and two of the speaker bars along with the monitor when I expected it to come with no accessories at all. I'm a little bummed about missing the remote but at $350 shipped I am still extremely pleased with this monitor. I might contact NEC to see if I can somehow get a replacement remote. The glossy screen doesn't bother me at all and even when the screen is all black it isn't as bad as a CRT's glass screen.

Should I leave this thing at factory defaults or would it be in my best interest to use a calibration guide somewhere to tune it perfectly? Does anyone have any suggestions for tuning guides?
 
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