Dell UltraSharp 1905FP: Setting the Bar for New 19" LCDs
by Kristopher Kubicki on January 29, 2005 12:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
Application Analysis
The core of our LCD benchmarking comes from real application analysis. We play with a lot of monitors and it gets easier for us each time to pick out problems with an LCD just by using the right application. Here are a few quick looks at some demanding full screen applications. We already ran ColorVision's OptiCal software, so all of our monitors are calibrated and adjusted to the same curves.
High Definition Video – We played the WMV9 1080p version of "Under Sea Adventure" to give our monitor a little taste of high definition video. We don't get the full experience, of course, because the monitor is not sized correctly to fit a 1080p signal; there is some cropping. Like the Samsung 193P from the 19" LCD roundup, there was a slight issue with red shift noticeable on blue images.
Click to enlarge.
The Matrix Reload, The Matrix - We use the Matrix series to test full motion video on our LCDs. Since the Matrix isn't the best movie to test color reproduction, we typically only look for motion blur on gray-to-gray transitions or other imperfections in the signal. We noticed no imperfections in the screen regularity; and zero artifacts using the DVI connector. We very briefly used the LCD under the analog connector and did notice problems across the letterbox. Occasional artifacts would crop up near the letterbox borders, but this is undoubtedly due to interference issues with the analog cable.
WarHammer 40K, Dawn of War - When looking for a monitor's response time, we generally only consult first-person shooters for reference. However, those of you who have played a fast-paced game of Warcraft III or NeverWinter Nights will know that scrolling around for hours puts a severe tax on the monitor. We did not notice any significant problems while scrolling on our 1905FP - the game seems perfectly playable to us.
Max Payne 2 - The extreme light and dark transitions in Max Payne still provide us with the sufficient criteria to benchmark transient response time; specifically, we can focus on the light and dark extremes. Again, we get an occasional red shift here and there. Since the monitor does let us adjust the color ever slightly, we modified the color preset a nudge toward blue and green. This compensated for the red issues in most cases.
Halo, Unreal Tournament 2004 - Halo and UT2K4 have very similar results, but now, we are looking for fast motion and color correctness at the same time. After adjusting the color toward blue/green, we had to set it back when playing Halo and UT2K4. Fast motion was on par with what we expected for this game; we certainly didn't notice any motion blur, but if the Dell 1905FP is your first LCD, then you will notice a difference immediately.
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Golfxcellence - Friday, February 25, 2005 - link
I bought this monitor based on the review. This is my first LCD. My photos look wonderful, text is very readable, but any sort of mpg video is very very poor compared to my crt. Is this normal? if it is, it may have to go back.Thanks for any comments or suggestions to fixing the problem.
Garry
oasked - Monday, February 21, 2005 - link
*******This monitor has serious ghosting issues.
Get something else instead.
Even the cursor blurs. I bought one based on this review - BIG MISTAKE.
Even my mates 25ms monitor has less ghosting than this.
It does look good, but its deceptive.
******
ahc11 - Friday, February 4, 2005 - link
I am having a problem with this monitor that I cnanot solve:Basically, what happens is that the monitor goes into power save mode and turns orange. When I click the OSD button on it, it says "please move mouse/keyboard".
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know
neurocyb - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - link
NEC makes an 18 and 20" displaywhy have these not been included in reviews??
TheDotProduct - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
rivethead:#########################################
Arrrgh! It shouldn't be this difficult. All I want is a 17" 8-bit panel from a good manufacturer with a response time of 16ms or less.
#########################################
Dam straight you are thinking along the exact same lines as me!
Well common Samsung/Sony/Viewsonic/Benq/Dell give us what we want! We will even pay you for your bother ;-p
rivethead - Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - link
Good luck in your search for information on the UltraSharp 1704FPV.I've tried to get information from every source I can think of (I even tried re-sellers on e-bay).
I've come to the following conclusion:
1) No one at Dell knows if their LCDs are 6 or 8-bit.(at least the CSRs and Tech Support people who I've talked to)
2) If it's this hard to get a simple question answered, I'm not sure I want to buy any Dell product.
I know that Dell makes a 17" LCD they call the "173". I'm betting it's the same panel that's in the Samsung 173. So after reading this review, now I'm wondering what panel is in the 1704FPV and 1704FPT? Another Samsung product? Which panel?
Arrrgh! It shouldn't be this difficult. All I want is a 17" 8-bit panel from a good manufacturer with a response time of 16ms or less.
I will say this: having these Anandtech reviews certainly is a help. Thanks!
rivethead - Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - link
Benmohr - Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - link
Enjoyed reading the article and all the comments. However, having recently bought a new Sony A Series VAIO Laptop with an X Black screen, all I can say is WOW!!!!!! The Dell, and for that matter, most screens dont even come close. Why????Thresher - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
Time for a review of the 2005, don't ya think?TheDotProduct - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
I too want to know about the 1704FPV. Is it 8 or 6 bit? (sorry about the empty posts by the way)