Poindexter

I've been using a 20.1" Samsung 213t and one of the original Compaq 17" LCD's for years. I love the Samsung, and the Compaq is so faded it is a joke, but it served its purpose as a place to have my Photoshop tools and music player stashed.

A while ago I came across two threads talking about Dell Monitors on POTN and PlanetAMD64 saying how nice they were. PlanetAMD64 is all about the top of the line computer hardware and POTN is a pretty large Canon Photography forum. I've always wanted a 30" Apple monitor, but those suckers are $$$$ ......and I want two

Anyway, to make a short story long (I'm good at that by the way) I came across a thread on POTN showing a new 24" Dell Ultrasharp for $629 and decided I would pick one up (I think Dell has sold them for less before, but not that much less). I'm in the process of re-arranging the house and making a bigger office, so the timing is just right. Especially since my trusty old Samsung is going to another computer - the main computer needs new viewing pleasures.

I didn't go through with that deal because I flipped over to the 22" Dell monitors and picked up two of those for less than what the 24" cost! No, I didn't get the Ultrasharp versions, but I use two of the 19" versions at work, with a lower contrast ratio and resolution (obviously), and love those.

The moral of the story, if you're looking for more real estate to handle your 8+ Mega Pixel files there are some great deals to be had.





I also posted this thread to see what others are using as their PPing monitors.

bluextc

is there a big difference between regulard Dell wide screen and Ultrasharp?

I have a 20 inch apple and it is sweet.... my friend has regulard 20 inch dell and it doesn't look bad at all compared to my apple. I don't know how much better the Ultrasharp is than the regular. are you sure it's not just another marketing tactics?

anyways great buy on 2 22inch dell. i'd love to have 2 wide screen side by side..but i will probably upgrade to a 30inch apple when i upgrade my PC from FX-57 to a dual core. i'm just riding out my PC til more dual core options come out and prices drop a lil. I bought my FX chip when dual cores just started coming out.

Poindexter

I haven't been able to notice a difference between an Ultra and a regular .....aside from a price hike.

Guess I need to invest in some sort of monitor calibration tool too.

Liebernoodle

I currently use a 19" ultrasharp from dell. I think it's very nice!

As for the difference between the regular and ultrasharp, the only difference i've ever noticed is when playing fast-moving 3d games. For reasons I can't explain, when playing a first-person shooter on a regular lcd, the game sort of "ghosts" when moving fast. What I mean by that is that when the scene moves in-game, it takes a split second for the monitor to catch up to it sort of creating a blurry effect that makes it harder to play. With ultrasharps, I don't see this problem. Maybe the ultrasharp has a faster refresh rate or something?

As for things like photoshop, I don't think it makes a bit of difference. Unless you're playing games, save the money and get the regular is my suggestion.

kent-k

i use two 19inch dell ultrasharps. but mine has spreadsheets and boring stuff like that on them. the ultrasharps had better warranties too, IIRC.

e3opian

Liebernoodle: It is referred to as "ghosting" as you described, but its a function of an LCD's response time (in ms). LCDs have no real "refresh rate" even when used over an analog interface. This is why LCDs cause far less eye strain when used for extended periods of time.

Liebernoodle

Gotcha.

So do ultrasharps have a better response time? I suppose I could go look at dell's website, but meh. lazy

Poindexter

I'm curious about that too. I do game, and some of the newer games coming out are capping the frame refresh rate to make the graphics look better (or so I hear).

On top of that, I'm running 2 7800GT's in SLi so I think I can fully take advantage of those monitors.

BryanH

Still using a Dell 21" Trinitron here. It's a beast. Not as sharp/contrasty as my laptop screen but it'll do.

NFRs2000NYC

I dont know. I still cant find an LCD that is sharper and more accurate, with less bleed-over than my NEC Multisync CRT. Yes, they take up space, but I just cant give it up. You can always go with a Silicon Graphics monitor though



or if you have the room.....