ViewSonic VG800 - Low Cost High Performance?

Benchmark

For comparison purposes, we ran a combination of CheckScreen and DisplayMate on the ViewSonic VG800 18.1” LCD against the previously reviewed Samsung 191T LCD. Below is a table with the tests performed and notes we made during testing.  Our test machine is composed of an Inno3D GeForce4 4200 using the VGA 15 Pin D-sub, remember there is no DVI on this model.  We ran all of the tests at 1280x1024 pixels with a refresh rate of 60Hz.  Before the final benchmark, we calibrated the monitor as per the instructions included with DisplayMate; any changes to the LCD during the initial calibration run are noted in the observations.

Surprisingly, most of the benchmarks on the VG800 were right on par with the 191T, which should make ViewSonic happy.

As expected, we saw a large amount of streaking and ghosting on the unit.  Again, this is another telltale sign of the absence of digital inputs.   Unlike the Daewoo L700C monitor we saw last month, the VG800 really has a tough time with streaking; Max Payne was almost painful to play.  Likewise, Photoshop did not quite look right as almost all of our images had unusual artifacts in Adobe’s grey background.  These were products of severe streaking. 

On the positive side, the monitor had very little trouble with screen uniformity.  Darks were really crisp on the monitor, and we could not detect the backlights at all.  If this monitor had a digital connection and slightly lower response time, it would be excellent for gaming. We plan on obtaining revised versions of the VG800 for the future so that we can see how ViewSonic has progressed in their development of an affordable performance monitor.