OK, down to three! (displays, Samsung and Dell)

[jscheiman]

So after having gone to Best Buy, Circuit City, MicroCenter and a Dell kiosk, I have come down to three monitors. At first I was only interested in the 19" because it's really all I can afford. However, after looking at the extra real estate of the 20" monitors (1280x1024 vs. 1600x1200) I have decided that's the route I'm going. Although there was a 19" Samsung that was gorgeous! (193P) The base really set the whole thing off, of course, they don't offer a simlar look in the 20" size catergory.

Here are my three finalists, one Samsung and two Dell's. I am currently leaning more toward the Dell's due to the great pricing along with the added coupons and discounts.

What are your opinions on these and which would you choose as your own? Thanks for your feedback!

A. Samsung 213T - http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=NB21BSAS

B. Dell 2001FP - http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=320-1578&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=5194&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx

C. Dell 2005FPW - http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=320-4111&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=6198&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx

[alain_r]

Over here in old Europe (Belgium), Dell is running a promo on the 2001FP and 2005FPW: buy two and get the second one at half-price, i.e. 1033 euros + 21% VAT for the pair. Quite compelling if you think the Apple Cinema Display 20" costs 867 euros + VAT. I wonder which resolution is most convenient: 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 ?

[xytras]

I purchased the Dell 2005FPW about 3 weeks ago and literally couldn't be happier. This is one of the most outstanding monitors I've ever used. It's great for gaming, office work, and pretty much everything else that I throw at it. One of the big sellers to me was the amount of video inputs this thing has... it's just incredible. For the $$$... I personally don't think you can get a better monitor.

[jscheiman]

xytras:

What kind of warranty coverage does Dell offer on that monitor? Parts, labor, backlight, etc.?

[xytras]

Dell gives a 3-year limited warranty on it. Not sure what their dead-pixel policy is, but mine didn't have a single dead or stuck pixel.

[Koodari]

jscheiman, if you are in the US then the Dell displays are an obvious solution. With the coupon deals you should get either Dell display for about $600.

Not considering price, I'd take the 2005FPW. It is by far the newest design, so it has better/faster panel than the others, exactly the same found in Apple 20". It's widescreen which I consider a big plus. Movies will be over 20% larger than on 2001FP, over 10% larger than on 213T. 2005FPW has the worst QC reputation of the three. Pixel problems are largely fixed in current production run, but problems with uneven backlight remain. Be prepared to exchange your unit. I'd keep an old display around at least a month or so, most 2005FPW backlight problems seem to surface in that time.

The 213T has reportedly better color than 2001FP, and it looks nicer. If you are going to do gaming, don't even consider it, it's laggy. OTOH people report that the lag does not bother in movies, and the color and additional inch give it an edge over the 2001FP for that purpose.

xytras, have you tried using the SVHS input for anything? I'm looking into 20"+ displays and one of my main interests is getting game consoles to run... I'm mainly looking at the 2405FPW though.

[jscheiman]

Thanks Koodari. I'm not really a gamer, but more concerned about clarity such as with font and color. I do a heavy amount of graphic work and am looking for the best bang for the buck. Of course who isn't?

I do watch DVD's on my Ti PB quite often, so I can see how the wide aspect would be a plus there. I'm guessing I'll end up going the route of the 2005FPW due to the coupons and discounts Dell has out for their products.

I appreciate your opinions!

[xytras]

Koodari, no, I have not tried hooking up anything to the S-Video in yet. I plan on hooking up a TV Tuner to it in the near future, but nothing yet. The only extra input I'm currently using is the VGA-in for a 2nd computer I've got.