Before I shell out for a ViewSonic VX2025WM...

[Paul Adams]

Is there any reason I should consider something else, or wait a bit?

I am after a relatively cheap but gaming-friendly widescreen LCD monitor - after a bit of research the ViewSonic VX2025WM seems to be a very popular screen, the most obvious downsides being the lack of adjustments (height, pivot, twist) and no HDCP capability.

Some have commented on bleeding in the corners when displaying dark images in a dark environment, but this doesn't concern me a great deal.

I have a couple of Dell 2001FP's which I have been very pleased with, but the new range Dell just brought out are a bit pricey by comparison - and I don't need more USB hubs or multi-input monitors.

What I do want is a widescreen display (1680x1050) that isn't too tall as my desks have shelves which limit the height of screens I can use, and has both DVI and HD15 inputs (or 2x DVI-I).
Built-in speakers would not be used, so quality (or lack thereof) is not relevant.

Primary uses: Windows desktop, games, DVDs

I can live with the limitations I listed above, so is there anything else I should bear in mind before I order one?

[Hottentot]

Yes there is a 22" version out on the 7th. Probably better suited for my poor eyes since I always find TFT text too small at native resolution.

[Noni]

Hello!

I have a viewsonic VX2025M, its a cracking monitor, but a few things you should be aware of.

-Windows looks great, no blurryness!

-Games look good too! But the backlight bleed means that in games which are mostly black will look a little weird in the corners, but MOST games look beautiful!

-DVD's, I watched Oldboy and it looked ok, Kildulthood looked great on here.

I got mine for £240 off ebay, but If I was paying full price I would consider the Dell 2007FPW.

It has all the diffrent HDCP and such inputs, height swivel and all of that, for the price of £285. Also DELL's service is quite good.

VX2025's suffer from dying DVI ports, backlight bleed and some dead pixels.

The viewsonic uses a P-MVA panel which is great, and gives the best black reporduction. The dell uses a I-IPS (something like that) panel, which is the better all round panel.

If you want some pics dont hesistate to ask.

Basically, if I had the choice and was paying full price, I would get the Dell.

[Paul Adams]

Interesting... going to a larger size screen might prove problematic, depending on the dimensions (mainly the height)... I was looking at the 23" VP231WB but that's more than 2 times the cost of the VX2025WM, and might be a tiny bit too tall for my desk.

Would be interesting to see the specs on the 22" one - would this be the VX2235WM?
Nothing comes up on ViewSonic's website, though I can find a couple of online resellers with very interesting sounding prices...

The Dell 2007WFP is too expensive at ~50% more than the ViewSonic - if it comes to needing/wanting to view HDCP content I can use the 2001FP screen I guess.

Sounds like I asked just at the right time about this monitor
Thanks guys.

[ultim8um]

BTW should you buy a monitor without ergonomic adjustability then take a look at this nice add on from Scan... http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=311462

[davidstone28]

In no particular order:-

1. NEC 20WGX2
2. Dell 2007WFP
3. Viewsonic 2025WM
4. Samsung 215T

Other candidates would be the Belinea 102035W and the Philips 200W6CS. From user reports, both seem to have a higher rate of build quality / QC problems than the 4 above. The Belinea uses the same P-MVA panel as in the Viewsonic. The Philips uses a similar S-IPS panel to the one in the Dell.

Everyone goes about the NEC but the glossy screen would drive me nuts. The Dell is pretty good but not exceptional (see my user review in the other thread). Shame you missed out on the £285 deal as they've now reverted to their £400 price. The Viewsonic has got pretty good reviews although it doesn't have native 1:1 pixel mapping athough one user has reported that you can (apparently) overcome this by swapping DVI connections on a dual graphics card. The Samsung has got some excellent reviews across the web though its a bit pricey.

I suspect the 4 above are all much of a muchness, with not much between them with the NEC perhaps having the sight edge due to its slightly more responsive panel and it's 'love it or loathe it' glossy screen.

If I was buying a monitor again tomorrow, I'd bypass the 20" brigade altogether and get a 24" - the increased real estate for watching videos would be a real boon.

[Noni]

The Belinea is nothing special next to the Viewsonic, both use the same panel but the Viewsonic uses it much better.

I would not go for the 22inchers, they are like going from a 17 to a 19.

My choice would be Dell at £285, the service, the egronomics, the inputs and the panel are all great.

Look around on ebay for one.

[Paul Adams]

Quick bit of research on the screens mentioned so far.
Prices are the best I could find from a Swedish source, maximum resolution & frequency is listed, repsonse time where information was available.

On the surface, the Philips looks like the best price/performance win, and has the addition of a USB hub - presumable the white-black-white response time would be 16ms as the ViewSonic.

If the VX2235WM specs are even identical to the VX2025WM, and the screen fits on my desk, then this will be the one I think I'll go for.

I would never buy a screen second-hand, I'll want full peace of mind of a 3-year warranty.
All the prices listed are retail - Dell are the only vendors of their hardware now which I guess explains the price hike.

-----

Belinea 102035W
HTML
PDF
Price: [unable to find source in Sweden]
20.1" / 474 (W) x 433 (H) x 218 (D)
1680x1050 @ 60Hz
Response Time: 8ms (grey-to-grey)
DVI-D / HD15
+Speakers
+USB hub (4)

-----

Dell 2007WFP
HMTL
PDF
Price: 6549:- (£480)
20.1" / 465 (W) x 327.5-505 (H) x 17.5 (D)
1680x1050 @ 60Hz
Response Time: 16ms (typical)
DVI-D / HD15 / S-Video / Composite
+HDCP
+USB hub (4)
+Picture-In-Picture
+Picture-By-Picture

-----

NEC 20WGX2
PDF
Price: 5717:- (£419)
20.1" / 371.4 (W) x 391.5 (H) x 203 (D)
1680x1050 @ 60Hz
Response Time: Undocumented
DVI-D / HD15
+USB hub (4)

-----

Philips 200W6CS
HTML
PDF
Price: 4571:- (£335)
20.1" / 478 (W) x 423.5 (H) x 234 (D)
1680x1050 @ 75Hz (rec. 60Hz)
Response Time: 8ms (on-off)
DVI-D / HD15
+Speakers
+USB hub

-----

Samsung 215TW
HTML
PDF
Price: 6108:- (£447)
21"
1680x1050
Response Time: 8ms (grey-to-grey)
DVI-D / HD15 / S-Video / Composite
+Speakers

-----

Viewsonic VX2025WM
HTML
PDF
Price: 4075:- (£298)
20.1" / 485 (W) x 441 (H) x 201 (D)
1680x1050 @ 60Hz
Response Time: 8ms (grey-to-grey), 16ms (white-black-white)
DVI-D / HD15

-----

ViewSonic VX2235WM
[unconfirmed specs]
Price: 4250:- (£311)
22"
1680x1050 @ 60Hz
Response Time: 5ms
DVI-D / HD15

[Noni]

.

[Cuwtow]

Too early...

[Paul Adams]

Too early...

...for what?
The VX2235WM?
Widescreen TFTs in general?
Prices to become reasonable?

[Noni]

I personally think that the VX2235WM is nice but no change in resolution may put you off. The price is very nice though.

Widescreen TFT's are now huge, everyone is buying them!

Prices are ok for what they are, the TN film old ones are falling to £240 ish.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/20inch_roundup.htm

Have a read of that

[Paul Adams]

Just emailed ViewSonic to ask about the specs & availability of the VX2235WM and got a speedy reply with a PDF document:
"Please see the attached data sheet, the unit will be in the UK in early October"

Lots of vendors are claiming they will have the screen in mid-late August, which might be a bit of a fib if this guy is right...

October is a bit longer than I want to wait, so I'll most likely get the VX2025WM.