my new LCD hotness: the Sceptre x22wg-Gamer (lots of photos)
I bought it off newegg for $350, plus $15 shipping, -$20 mail-in rebate. Weirdly enough, newegg didn't include a printed shipping invoice (which is required) with the monitor, so I can't send in for the rebate until someone at customer service tells me what I should do. Currently it's not in stock and the newegg URL doesn't load correctly (I got the last one, suckers!), so here's the main product page: http://www.sceptre.com/Products/LCD/...22wg_NagaP.htm
Pertinent info:- 22" panel - probably using the same Chi Mei panel that all the other LCDs are using (I'm not curious enough to crack it open). So I assume that means a TN 6-bit panel with FRC to achieve the advertised 16.7 million colors. I didn't notice any dithering patterns or terrible banding, so whatever they're doing must be working.
- VGA, DVI, and HDMI inputs. HDCP is supported on both the HDMI and DVI inputs, as noted here and on another page further in the manual. All three inputs can be plugged in and switched.
- tiny speakers and a USB2.0 hub. I couldn't get the USB hub to be work in WinXP; I kept getting the "USB device not recognized" error message. I didn't bother testing the speakers, but the monitor does have microphone and headphone jacks - if you're a VOIP junkie that might appeal to you. If the USB functionality is a deal maker-or-breaker for you, then you might want to contact Sceptre beforehand to see if there's a particular process for getting the USB hub working. It would've been nice to plug my mouse into the monitor so it doesn't get tangled in the rats nest under my desk, but I've got ports on the front of my computer case so I don't care overmuch.
- clean style - Basically, you couldn't really tell it apart from a Dell, aside from the cheap stand. The buttons are hidden on the back along the ride side of the monitor, and the power LED is a nice subdued blue; it doesn't have any crazy molding or flash protruding from it. The stand is where they really skimped - it tilts about 10 degrees backward (but not forward), and that's it. The vertical viewing area is pretty small, so if you're not already sitting level to your monitor you might want to test this one out at a store.
My comparison monitor is a 21" Mitsubishi 2020U CRT; as far as I'm concerned, it's about as good a benchmark CRT as a college student can get. Both displays were driven by a XFX Geforce 7600GT; no display signal issues to note. I took photos with my Nikon D50 and a 50mm f1.8 lens, but since I was basically playing with the settings as I went, the colors and contrast are all over the place.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0004.JPG
The box it came in was larger than the 1.8ghz eMachine I'd gotten from a friend.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0009.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0023.JPG
Compared to the Mitsubishi, the horizontal viewable area on the LCD is larger (obviously). The CRT is taller and deeper, by an incredible amount - now that I've ditched the CRT it's like I've bought a new table to work on. The viewing area on both displays can only be described as hugegantic - I included the DVD case for Xenosaga III and my SD card for size reference. At any rate, the LCD definitely wins on the weight issue - I nearly threw out my back carrying the CRT from my car to my room.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0014.JPG
cable management is very basic - a notched rubber loop. I ended up not using it at all.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0016.JPG
the LCD has matte coating.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0055.JPG
ah, backlight bleeding. This shot is closest to what I was seeing; the bleeding isn't terrible, but it is definitely noticeable, especially on 16:9 content. For <$400 I'm willing to forgive this, but that's just me.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0069.JPG
This picture makes them look fairly close in contrast levels, but there's really no contest. Compared to the LCD it looked like someone had screwed with my brightness settings on my CRT.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0088.JPG
Colors are off since I couldn't really get a good shot with my camera, but Dream Aquarium looks fantastic on this monitor.
the forums don't like so many img tags so have some urls:
the h264 trailer for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - you can grab it from www.gametrailers.com
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0143.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0197.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0198.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0215.JPG
It looked good - I didn't see any artifacts that weren't part of the compression.
the White Knight PS3 teaser:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0225.JPG
(backlight bleeding!)
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0231.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0256.JPG
Again, I couldn't quite get a good setting that'd show the shadow detail without blowing out the highlights, but the video looked awesome. Black levels were a bit off due to the backlight bleeding, but the action was quick enough and the fireballs bright enough that it didn't really matter to me.
FFXIII trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0296.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0322.JPG
again, no artifacts that weren't already part of the encoding.
Assassin's Creed trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0368.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0402.JPG
Looked as good as the screenshots from the feature article in Game Informer.
Step into Liquid 1080p:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0422.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0426.JPG
The video playback was sharp enough that I could see how terrible the surfer's skin was - hellooo blackheads! Also, I could see the film grain from the IMAX transfer.
Gears of War trailer:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0508.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0518.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0524.JPG
I could see what looked like ghosting in these shots, but when I was watching the video it looked smooth as butter - I'm thinking this might be a motion blur effect from the Unreal engine.
Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle 2006:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0538.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0557.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0563.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0564.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0565.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0576.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0577.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0579.JPG
I think this is hand-animated, so I'm not certain if it's actual ghosting that I captured, or if, again, it's motion blur (maybe a custom 2D graphics engine built for the art project).
an Xvid rip of Before Sunset:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0616.JPG
Looked great, until I noticed the Xvid compression artifacts :(
Monitor test patterns:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0628.JPG
didn't notice any banding.
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0632.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0633.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0634.JPG
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0635.JPG
no dead pixels!
Knights of the Old Republic, patched with UniWS:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0674.JPG
looks sweet, plays fine at 1680x1050. If you spin the camera around your character you can induce some serious ghosting, but it spins so fast I'd get dizzy even on a CRT. So, moot point.
Battlefield 2:
haha I have no pictures because BF2 decided to start crashing as soon as I connected to the master server. Thanks DICE!
Jagged Alliance 2, with the v113 community patch/conversion, running at 1024x768:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0675.JPG
Looks great, the monitor lets you choose whether you want 1:1 pixel mapping...
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0676.JPG
...or stretching to fit the aspect ratio. The upscaling looks all right - definitely not as bad as my old IBM Thinkpad T23, and it's perfectly usable.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic:
http://tubertarian.com/temp/22inchmonitor/DSC_0705.JPG
The Source engine allows me to look at rendered boobies in widescreen glory.
So, basically, the best monitor I've used - a title previously held by my Mitsubishi 2020u. Sure, the black levels aren't great, but overall the image quality beats the pants off my CRT. It's actually better for image editing for me, because the old monitor wasn't showing all the digital noise from the pictures I'd taken at ISO1600.
Plus, it doesn't make me worried that my desk will suddenly cave in.
