[SonOfSylvanus]

Hi. I'm thinking about buying a monitor to plug into my 1.25GHz PowerBook when I am at my desk. I used to have as my second monitor a nice 17" IIyama (something-or-other...Diamond Pro maybe... or is that the name of my razor?). I gave that to my parents several months ago, though.

I really enjoyed having two displays, using one for uni work and one for fun stuff�especially viewing movies.

While I would most like an Apple 23" HD Cinema Display, that's not gonna happen. Anyway, in all honesty it would be too big. I could probably do just nicely with a 17" or even a 15" LCD. (I would snap up the 15" Sony SDM-HS53 if it had X-Black Technology and a DVI input.)

After a mosey through London's premier electrical reseller district (Tottenham Court Rd dontchaknow) I am very interested in the Sony SDM-HS74P/S (X-Black) 17" LCD.

Here's a fancy pic:



Here's a realworld pic:



The cheapest price I can find is �352.52 ($683.15)

The pros of the display IMO are that it looks great; it tilts smoothly up and down like Apple's displays (ahhh... Apple's displays... ahem); it has a 16ms response time for games (and dual inputs for when I buy that Half-Life2-capable PC... ooh yeah...); and the X-Black screen looks awesome (despite some reflectiveness issues). I compared Apple's displays and Sony's X-Blacks side-by-side for quite a while and I think I prefer the X-Blacks�they are so bright. If only Apple would licence X-Black/X-Glass/X-Brite/TruBrite/CrystalView/whatever from whoever owns the patent.

The cons of the display are that it doesn't swivel left and right or adjust up and down (but then, neither do Apple's and neither did my old CRT); it has got not only a Jay Leno chin (� Pscates), but an all around Jay Leno bezel; you have to take off a silly cover on the back of the unit to plug/unplug cables; and it's not widescreen ( what is Sony's fucking problem with widescreen displays ffs?!). Oh,and it's expensive.

The unadjustableness I can live with; the wide bezel doesn't bother me because I won't be using the monitor side-by-side with the PowerBook. Actually, I think I like it. The Jury is still out on the 1280x1024 native resolution. Will this make everything too small? I'm used to "perfect" 100dpi! The price... eh�it's almost Christmas


What are your thoughts? Do you have any user experiences? Can you point me to any decent reviews (the product seems pretty new)? Can I buy in the US, airfreight the goodies to mine and save money?

Thanks

[Koodari]

I think the 1280x1024 resolution on 17" and 19" screens means you have distorted picture. This because native res is 5:4 and the screen is really 4:3. Almost every screen has this 'problem'.

The Sony sounds too expensive for what you get, but I'm not current with the 17" and below screens.

Personally, I have been looking at Dell 2001fp, Benq fp2091 and Viewsonic VP201b. All use the same panel, with 20.1", 1600x1200 (non-distorted), 16ms. All have DVI+VGA, Dell and Benq have SVHS and composite. Though more expensive than the 17-inchers, they are barely over half the price of Apple 20" Cinema Display here in Finland. Great oomph/price ratio. Tom's Hardware Guide and Anandtech have used the 2001fp as a reference point for lots of flatscreen tests.

You also mention the ACD 23", well, there are HP and Benq 23" out there with the same panel and the price is 2/3.

[NosferaDrew]

Where I work they have this monitor for $549.99 ($595.37 with tax) or factory refurbished for $340.80 ($368.92 with tax).

I need to make sure that it's the same model number, brb.

[NosferaDrew]

Slightly different model. The prices I quoted above are for the SDM-HS73B.