New Monitor is Here
Posted on October 28, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 20 Comments
Just in time for me to leave for World Fantasy. Life is like that sometimes.
For those of you into geekation about these things, the monitor is one of these. It’s my second Dell monitor, the first being the one that recently explodinated on me. But then it outlived its warranty and was excellent right up until the moment it went kerplooey, so I can’t complain overly much, and this particular monitor got mostly very good reviews — when it first came out there were some color calibration issues, but they seem to have fixed that, as the color on the one I have is fine. I briefly considered getting a 27-inch monitor, but I have a small desk, which means I would have ended up very likely frying my eyeballs right out of my head, and also it cost twice as much. I believe in buying the best you can (and then running the object into the ground), but my inherent streak of cheapliness kept smacking me around every time I looked in the 27-incher’s direction. Seeing this monster sitting on my desk, I really do think I made the right decision.
And now, as noted, I’m off to the World Fantasy Convention. I leave it to my daughter to break in the new monitor with multiple games of Left 4 Dead 2 and to give me a full report when I get back. Additionally, while I do intend to update from the convention, don’t expect huge numbers of updates. Best to keep up with the Twitter feed, which the astute of you will note is back up in the sidebar.
See you a bit later.
I *love* my Dell 24″ monitor. I got mine 4 years ago as a compromise with the wife (I consented to getting a dog, she consented to me blowing $600 on a new monitor, A rare win-win for me, as I wanted a dog anyway, mua ha ha). Of course, given that yours went kerplooey recently now makes me inordinately nervous. Enjoy the new screen real estate once you return from WFC, and have a great trip!
Just got the same one myself a few weeks ago. Loving it! :) Glad to see I have excellent taste…
Previously espied the addition of the twitter feed. Thanks.
Is there a new Merrimack to go along with the new Monitor?
Monitors are to computer systems like speakers are to stereos: if the monitor/speaker isn’t good, nothing else matters.
I love that last phrase tacked on there, as if the possibility that it would fry your eyeballs wasn’t quite enough of a reason on its own.
(Hey! Where’s the comment preview button?)
You could have gotten a Samsung 27″ 1080p HDTV for under $450, but it wouldn’t have the swivel portrait mode. Of course they came out with those about two months after I bought the 26″ monitor to use as a TV in my bedroom.
Like the new look, and especially appreciate the “Top” link at the bottom of the page – that should be handy at the end of those 500 comment posts…
Hey, I have exactly that monitor! Two of them, in fact. Love it.
MINE! Err, I mean, I have a U2410, too. (Waited for it to go on sale at $499 at Dell Canada: no way was I paying the list price of $700).
It’s got a bit of a pink to green cast on the edges, but I don’t do print colour correction on huge images, so it’s fine, really. And it has faded significantly over the past few weeks, so that’s even better.
Ooooo, Aaaahhhh
I’m confused. You are content with one monitor?
That’s the monitor I would’ve gotten if HP hadn’t come out with the ZR24W, which is available for around $400 at various places online. Both are darned good monitors for a good price. Back in the day, I had a $1400 21″ CRT. I ran that thing into the ground.
I hope it works well. When I first arrived at the University I work for about 12 years ago everyone had Dell’s. They got a great discount from the company and they made a great product. We bought tons of Dell equipment. No, nobody I know has any Dell equipment. The discount is still there, but we sure don’t buy any of it.
@Scorpius: I cannot abide dual monitors, either. It must be one and only one or my head explodes.
Looks like this is an S-IPS panel, I got the Dell 2209WA which preceded your model and is just shy of 1080p (1680×1050), with no HDMI input. I like the 178 degree viewing angle, color depth is supposed to be better than the TN ones, and I don’t find the response time to be noticeably slow in gaming. I expect you’ll enjoy the new beastie, good luck with it!
Like Kyril i have the 2209 , and he is right, the S-IPS panels look a lot nicer to me than the cheaper TN panels you see in the vast majority of other monitors. In particular I find it better when editing my photos, movies look better (i have used mine as a tv before) and my eyes just feel better after a day in front of it that, say my girlfriends 24 inch 1080p Samsung TN panel.
I once had a Dell monitor that survived a mad enraged individual pulling it from the computer, throwing it to the floor and jumping up and down on it. With only one tiny scratch on the corner. Although always saying we should have written to them to tell Dell how well their monitors hold up to abuse, we never got round to it…
I’ve just managed to score one of these for my setup at work. I’ve replaced one of my two monitors with it and I have to admit, it’s sweet.
I received the 27″ last Tuesday. At 2460×1440, I really like it. It’s hard to get higher resolution than 1080P nowadays. My 24″ (not a Dell) is really bad and strained my eyes since I got it, now used as secondary. I had to keep brightness at 100%, the new one is around 25%. No eyes burned or head explosions up to now. Of note, I jumped on a 24 hour special rebate of 490$ (so about about 740 CAN$).
A good monitor is better than a big but crap monitor. I have a top end Dell 27 (with sidecar 25 inch monitors) – but once purchased a less expensive 27 inch. The contrast ratio on the less expensive one is just “not right” – fine for playing games, but not up to scratch when I need to sit in front of it to write for any lenth of time.