Dell UltraSharp 1905FP: Setting the Bar for New 19" LCDs
by Kristopher Kubicki on January 29, 2005 12:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
A Special Note about Gaming and Response Time
Every time we claim that the response time on a monitor is fast enough for gaming, we get four or five emails a few weeks later claiming that the monitor we had recommended was too slow for an individual's taste. Attempting to quantify response times subjectively for everybody is a dangerous practice - comments like "16ms response time is fast enough for anyone" are just opinions and therefore, we don't actively preach them. Given some of our previous works on response time, you should be able to draw enough conclusions to see if the 20ms TrTf response time on the Dell 1905FP is capable enough for your own gaming experience.
It's my personal belief that the transient time between two current generation LCD monitors is practically impossible in real world applications, but everyone has different levels of sensitivity on the matter. In general, through sampling our readers, we have come to the conclusion that readers upgrading from a CRT to an LCD for the first time are more likely to claim one LCD monitor as "slower" than another and at least "slower" than a CRT. However, in the same regard, we have also noticed that a growing number of readers who use LCDs with advertised low response times report no complaints even if that monitor has higher transient response times (particularly gray to gray) than the industry average.
That being said, the Dell 1905FP gaming experience was no different than that of the Samsung 193P. We spoke very favorably about that LCD's gaming experience back in April, so feel free to revisit those experiences.
Conclusions
In our opinion, it was very difficult for Dell to give us anything but a stellar product. Combining the excellent panel from the Samsung 193P with the brilliant user interface and Genesis signal processor was a sure-fire formula for success. To make the pie sweeter, Dell also made the monitor affordable and well constructed. The monitor boasted some cool revisions from the previous generation of Dell monitors, like housing the AC to DC inverter inside the monitor and eliminating the brick.
There is still room for improvement for Dell. We were not impressed with the analog connection on this display, for example. We noticed poorer than typical results when using the analog 15-pin D-sub connector with extremely bad streaking/interference errors. There isn't a large reason to use analog in our opinion, so this is not a huge issue in the long run. The DVI signal quality was superb, as expected on a digital connection.
Also, even though our Dell 1905FP supported pivot functions, Dell did not bundle pivoting drivers or software. Samsung and Dell do a great job of hooking their customers up with all the extra trimmings, but it looks like Dell dropped the ball to Samsung on this aspect. We are also slightly concerned about the exposed backlight issue that we mentioned on Page 2. We did not experience any issues in the lab, but this may be asking for trouble as dust can settle on the backlights over time.
The cost of the LCD is right in the middle of the pack for typical 1280x1024 19" LCD monitors. On the other hand, the primary distribution channel for the monitor is Dell's own website. For those of you who don't know, Dell.com runs incredible coupon and discount deals all the time - so finding a 1905FP for less than the $499 MSRP shouldn't be too hard at all. Once availability increases a bit, we should see much more competitive pricing on the monitor as well.
The 20ms typical response time on this particular monitor felt more than adequate enough while we performed our application analysis on the monitor, but that doesn't mean Samsung/Dell can't push the monitor further. We profoundly appreciate Dell's decision to stick with an 8-bit LCD for their flagship 19" LCD panel even though the current industry trend seems to lean more towards cheaper, "faster" 6-bit panels instead.
In general, our hats go off to Dell as they clearly built another winner.
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TheDotProduct - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
TheDotProduct - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
Gelisob - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
wow, a "that car looks nice, i dont care howmany horsepowers it has, no dont tell me how much gas it takes, so what i maybe can only drive it backwards, it doesn Look that bad" kind of guy :)gg hf :P
blckgrffn - Monday, January 31, 2005 - link
Have you guys looked at newegg? There are a ton of 19" LCD's under 350 - I just picked up one with DVI and 21ms response time 600:1 contrast for $320 - no rebates or anything. I have never heard of CVM, but the monitor looks very nice, IMHO.Later,
Nat
rivethead - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
Does anyone know if the Dell UltraSharp 1705FPT is also a Samsung panel and/or an 8-bit panel?I've asked the folks at Dell this 6 times over the past two weeks. They have no idea. It's been a very frustrating experience for me. Maybe I'm asking the question wrong, but you would think "Is the Dell UltraSharp 1705FPT an 8-bit or 6-bit panel?" is pretty clear enough.
Supposedly it's a 13ms response time monitor, so I'm betting it's 6-bit. I just can't seem to find a 17" 8-bit panel with a response time less than 25ms.....
Sorry if you've already read this question on the "General Hardware" forum.
rivethead - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
Nessism - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
The comments below were stolen from another Anandtech member Sharkeeper :)I find a good test is go here.
http://science.nasa.gov/RealTime/JTrack/3D/JTrack3...
Accept any security messages you get. When the applet loads, maximise the window. It should look like this. Use your mouse to move the position of the globe. All those white pixels are indicating where satellites are in real time. If you orient the orbit lines parallel to the Y axis (up and down) and drag the mouse around you will perform a very good test on pixel update rate. Slower monitors will cause the satellites to disappear in the background as the scene is moved. Faster monitors will show them available at all times.
Nessism comments:
When moving the satellites on my 1905, they change from being a dot to being a small moving line (ghosting image of the dot). I'm not trying to bash this monitor, after all I do own one, just want to make people understand that there are limitations.
Good test.
Nessism - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
I have a 1905 and can assure everyone that it DOES ghost when moving quickly. As stated, everyone has a different sensitivity level...just don't expect this thing to perform like a CRT for fast motion because it does not. If you want a true gamming monitor, check out one of the fast TN monitors like the new Hyundai; they give up viewing angles and color but they are fast.Fast with small viewing angles (TN) or slightly slower with better color and viewing angles (PVA). Take your pick, you can't have both.
OvErHeAtInG - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
Looks like a great deal but I can relate: having a "dell" logo on something I own is just not kosher. :) Good thing I'm not in the market for an LCD.My viewsonic vp181s has a usb hub, I didn't think it was that rare.
Call me bass ackwards, but I think 1280*1024 is just right for 19". Okay my panel is 18.1" but I would like to be able to sit a few inches father away and still read standard-sized text. On a notebook you're going to be sitting closer, so a little more resolution is okay, but those microscopic ones with 12" screens and huge resolutions are over the top. Most people I've seen turn the res down, which is a shame b/c then you're wasting the screen's potential.
Regarding the aspect issue, yes 1280*1024 is a little "squished," there's more vertical pixels. 1280*960 would be the "usual" 4:3 aspect ratio. To anyone thinking this is a drawback, honestly you don't notice that everything's a little shorter, I've been working at that res for some time.
Gelisob - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
Hello all,Some words to all the crt-to-lcd gamers out there, buzzled with anandtech guys politicaly correct statements about gaming on it:D
I happen to have Samsung 193P, so it's pretty much the same panel and so on.
long story short:
1. If you play stuff like mmo's and rts games, you will have no problems, and all gain from picture quality + less strain on eyes (than crt)
2. If you play stuff like CSS, UT2k4, BF1942, you will have serious ghosting. Dunno how come they dont see or recognize it. So shooting stuff wile running AND turning, is not simple, you must stop moving to aim properly.
I offer very simple way to see it, for Anandtech guys too, just fire up bf1942 and move the view left/right fast, with mouse, edges of buildings and vehicles etc jump over the screen, not like OMG wtfbbq is that wall doing here, but its indeed "ghosting", it doesnt exacly get in a way but it disturb seeing clearly and fast, while moving whole picture.
ps. I cant figure out how to set backlight temperature on my 193p, there is no temperature option in the soft, brightness isnt temperature.. can anyone help me find it? thnx in advance