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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hoppa - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
i hardly see the point in spending so much extra money going from 17" to 19" if you are not going to be afforded any extra resolution.Thermopyle - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
"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."This sentence is confusing. I assume by transient time you mean response time, but I don't understand what the "transient time between two LCD monitors" means. Then you say the transient time is "impossible". Huh? What is impossible?
The whole sentence makes me want to cry.
KristopherKubicki - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
It is 5:4 not 4:3 - this has been updated.Dell did not have any samples of the 2005FPW for us. I am guessing if they don't have samples for PR, they are probably changing something on the monitor.
Hope that helps,
Kristopher
drifter106 - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
I am somewhat puzzled by this statement...We were not able to get a sample of the 2005FPW in time for this review
I am sitting here looking at one and I know they have been out for some time. I am disappointed that you would make a statement like that. Could a better choice of words been used to substantiate as to why you chose NOT to include the 2005? The last thing I would hope to hear from this site is something that makes me doubt your authenticity.
jd
Fionavar - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
Thanks for the review. I do want to echo someone earlier - where is the long for and much anticipated review of the 2005FPW? This monitor is clogging others boards with discussions and it would WONDERFUL to have something definitive from AnandTech!REMF - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
i wouldn't touch a dell box, but i will happily buy their excellent screens.i wouldn't buy any M$ software, but they make bloody good mice.
even bad companies (subjective opinion) can make great products.
Mojo027 - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
I wish you guys wouldn't rip on the BenQ monitor so much, it's really a great monitor. You should be comparing the FP937 12ms monitor to these models, not the FP931 16ms...However, great article, and I'm sure the Dell models are great.
Gnoad - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
Why? Dell makes quality LCD screens and cheap basic computers for the average person. Just because we can build our own for the same price with twice the performance does't mean they're a bad company.TwistyKat - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
I don't care how great it might be - I would never buy anything Dell.Spacecomber - Saturday, January 29, 2005 - link
Like #11, I too found the sentence he or she quoted ambiquous.I'm glad to hear, as noted in the review, that there continue to be LCDs affordable monitors being produced that are closing the gap between a LCD that produces a full range of color and LCDs that are fast enough for gaming.
It will be intresting to see if Dell can do a good job of keeping up with the demand for this monitor and resist the temptation to raise the price as its popularity grows. Anandtech's reviews no doubt carry a fair amount of clout when it comes to influencing consumers. I'm sure many others also noticed how quickly the NuTech L921G sold out just about everywhere and how the Viewsonic Q190MB went from being a bargain priced monitor to a premium priced model.
My guess is that someone else is putting together the L921G for Nutech. It would be very interesting to know who this and who else they are providing monitors to.