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Thread: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

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    Theoretical Element Spud1's Avatar
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    Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    This may be an odd question..but does anyone know why there seems to have been a flood of 18.5" monitors on the market recently? More importantly..why on earth would anyone buy one?

    They all seem to have a low resolution of 1366x768, with relatively average viewing angles/contrast ratios and well..nothing special about them. All of this for the same price or MORE than a standard 19" widescreen monitor (with 1440x900), and even more than the crazily high res Viewsonic 19" @ 1680x1050.

    All I have managed to find out so far is that they are supposedly great for watching movies due to their 16:9 aspect ratio (compared to 16:10 on most widescreen monitors iirc?)..but is this really a benefit?

    I don't know..was just confusing to me why there were so many on the market at the moment

    Anyone got one and any experience of using one?

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    Nothing runs like a Deere cotswoldcs's Avatar
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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    I've noticed this too and can't see the benefit myself either. I think 20" widescreens are still the best option for a desktop computer at present. It would be interesting to hear views from someone who has used one however.

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    Studmuffin Flibb's Avatar
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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Only one Ive seen was a 18.5" for £65 delivered, are they all that cheap?

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Quote Originally Posted by Flibb View Post
    Only one Ive seen was a 18.5" for £65 delivered, are they all that cheap?
    No - they range from around that sort of price to over £100..which is why its odd lol..

    I only noticed as I was looking for a 3rd/4th monitor pair around the £70-£100 price range..and the majority of monitors I found were these 18.5" ones.

    Ended up going for the Viewsonic 19" widescreen with the 1680x1050 resolution as it worked out as £70 per monitor delivered..should arrive today

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spud1 View Post
    No - they range from around that sort of price to over £100..which is why its odd lol..

    I only noticed as I was looking for a 3rd/4th monitor pair around the £70-£100 price range..and the majority of monitors I found were these 18.5" ones.

    Ended up going for the Viewsonic 19" widescreen with the 1680x1050 resolution as it worked out as £70 per monitor delivered..should arrive today

    £70!? Where? Im looking for a monitor with that res and that price, any good?.
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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Did spot a cheapy on hotukdels, but after a quick search heres a slightly more ££ one

    http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/cata...3?cidp=Froogle

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Quote Originally Posted by Hicks12 View Post
    £70!? Where? Im looking for a monitor with that res and that price, any good?.
    OCUK..just picked it up now actually, about to plug it all in etc etc

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...id=276&subcat=

    OK so that price excludes vat and delivery..but neither are an issue for me so didn't think about it earlier..still, £85 is still a great price for that monitor (inc VAT) imo.

    Looks nice..can update you later on when its up and running and settled in a bit, will post some pics etc if you want.

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    how can this be happening. technology advances. we must proceed and not fall backwards. this is ridiculous.
    Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2 GB DDR2, 500GB SATA-II 7200RPM, nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512mb, BenQ E2200 HD, BenQ G2412HD, Logitech S510 Wireless set, Creative GigaWorks T3 Speakers.

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Why would anyone go for anything less than 20in widescreen!

    I've had my 20in Dell for about 5 years now, and its going strong. Can't fault it.
    Doo Doo Doo Da Da DA...

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Not everyone wants 20" + monitors!

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    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spud1 View Post
    All I have managed to find out so far is that they are supposedly great for watching movies due to their 16:9 aspect ratio (compared to 16:10 on most widescreen monitors iirc?)..but is this really a benefit?
    This is basically the main reason for them. Also the 18.5" means you actually get 96dpi which a lot of people prefer over higher desity displays.

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    I luckily inherited the use of one of these 18.5" widescreen heaps courtesy of a new PC at work... a HP somethingorother.

    For office work it's beyond useless - I now have a sneaking suspicion I know what it's like to have the viewpoint of a Dalek stuck in a postbox. 18.5" WS / 1366x768 is to useful as chocolate is to bridge building. After a spot of moaning, not much to be fair, it's now laying unused and has been replaced by an infinitely more usable Samsung 20" (2023 IIRC) 1680x1050 panel.
    I can't fault the HP's image quality (i.e. good enough) although it's still yards behind my own personal BenQ FP241.

    These silly 1366x768 panels may be more at home at home although I personally would steer clear and get a 1680x1050 (at the very least) panel.

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    The only 18.5" 1366x768 I have experience with is an Acer, and the image quality was appalling - it had the vertical artifcating that is usually typical of a TFT running outside its native resolution - very odd. Needless to say it went back and (I believe) has been replaced by something better...

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    I unboxed and put an LG one on display at work yesterday, build quality was ok, but I could not work with so little screen space, even a 4:3 17 would be more useful.

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    I did also notice some 23 in monitors now - again the 16:9 ratio. May give one of them a try some time.
    Doo Doo Doo Da Da DA...

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    Re: Where did all the 18.5" monitors appear from?

    Quote Originally Posted by cotswoldcs View Post
    I've noticed this too and can't see the benefit myself either. I think 20" widescreens are still the best option for a desktop computer at present. It would be interesting to hear views from someone who has used one however.
    Thats way too small! Bigger is better!

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