TR Forums

wibeasley wrote:

I'm not sure I've even seen a non-TN monitor.

I've been looking at my Dell 2005 FPW for 50+ hours a week for the past 5 years, and didn't realize it was an IPS until today. I feel foolish.

I always knew it was better for graphs than my other monitor and other people's monitors. Subtler color differences were washed out in the other monitors, especially when transparency was involved (which caused problems when I assumed they could see the differences). I never considered it could be an IPS because it was bundled for free with a Precision workstation bought in July 2005.

Let us know what you think when it gets here!

wibeasley wrote:

wibeasley wrote:

I'm not sure I've even seen a non-TN monitor.

I've been looking at my Dell 2005 FPW for 50+ hours a week for the past 5 years, and didn't realize it was an IPS until today. I feel foolish.

I always knew it was better for graphs than my other monitor and other people's monitors. Subtler color differences were washed out in the other monitors, especially when transparency was involved (which caused problems when I assumed they could see the differences). I never considered it could be an IPS because it was bundled for free with a Precision workstation bought in July 2005.

Ignorance is truly bliss in this business.

Flying Fox wrote:

Ignorance is truly bliss in this business.

It was blissful --until other remote clients couldn't see the patterns I was seeing a few years ago. It took us several iterations before we figured it out. In the meantime, they wondered if I was stretching the truth or drawing conclusions that the data didn't support (which is an undesirable reputation for a statistician).

Does it make sense that the semi-transparent (alpha) colors were the ones that had the most trouble? Is that where the 6-bit and 8-bit color distinction is the biggest?

See, a quality IPS LCD panel isn't just for better photos and games -- it's a competitive advantage in the business world, too!

Kurotetsu, your recommendation was great. And thank you everyone else for presenting all the options that were better deals than the U2711 at $950.

I've had the HP ZR24w (24" IPS) for almost two weeks and am very happy with its performance and the $400 shipped price. It came for the last few days of my dissertation and (like so many people in this thread suggested) I love the size and the 1200 vertical pixels. When I zoom out to see two pages, those two pages are actually bigger than the 8.5x11 paper they're representing. That larger perspective helped when I was rearranging pieces of the paper and adding transitions. It was also beneficial when I made several graphics for a 42" plotter.

wibeasley wrote:

I'm not sure I've even seen a non-TN monitor.

I have to make fun of myself for this statement some more. Not only was my Dell 2005FPW an IPS panel, but it turns out that the other monitor (a Sony SDM-HS95P) uses a Fujitsu MVA panel. I'm less surprised by this than the Dell, because when I selected the Sony at BB 5 years ago, I was convinced it was worth the extra money (but I wasn't aware of the reason or the technology).

So now that it's established I have little credibility recommending monitors, here's my feedback about the quality of the picture: It is much brighter and whiter than the 2005FPW at its brightest. I've fiddled with the limited physical controls and the Nvidia software adjustments without success, but that doesn't mean much because I don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I'll learn about color calibration sometime.

wibeasley wrote:

Kurotetsu, your recommendation was great. And thank you everyone else for presenting all the options that were better deals than the U2711 at $950.

I've had the HP ZR24w (24" IPS) for almost two weeks and am very happy with its performance and the $400 shipped price. It came for the last few days of my dissertation and (like so many people in this thread suggested) I love the size and the 1200 vertical pixels. When I zoom out to see two pages, those two pages are actually bigger than the 8.5x11 paper they're representing. That larger perspective helped when I was rearranging pieces of the paper and adding transitions. It was also beneficial when I made several graphics for a 42" plotter.

wibeasley wrote:

I'm not sure I've even seen a non-TN monitor.

I have to make fun of myself for this statement some more. Not only was my Dell 2005FPW an IPS panel, but it turns out that the other monitor (a Sony SDM-HS95P) uses a Fujitsu MVA panel. I'm less surprised by this than the Dell, because when I selected the Sony at BB 5 years ago, I was convinced it was worth the extra money (but I wasn't aware of the reason or the technology).

So now that it's established I have little credibility recommending monitors, here's my feedback about the quality of the picture: It is much brighter and whiter than the 2005FPW at its brightest. I've fiddled with the limited physical controls and the Nvidia software adjustments without success, but that doesn't mean much because I don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I'll learn about color calibration sometime.

Any plans to get another one for an uber large screen real estate dual screen set up?

Flying Fox wrote:

Any plans to get another one for an uber large screen real estate dual screen set up?

'Dreams' might be more a appropriate term than 'plans'. Unless a grant or contract covers the cost of a 30", it's unlikely to happen for a few years. I'm accustomed to having a primary/fovea monitor centered on the desk, and a second monitor to the side. For my typical tasks, I'm ok with different sized monitors. If my wife doesn't grab the Sony, I'll likely get a mid-level ATI Eyefinity GPU to take advantage of it as a third.

Last week I went to OU's new engineering building to use the big plotter. I approached the help desk in the new lab to ask a question. For a few seconds, I was paralyzed mid-sentence when I became aware that all the surrounding computers had dual 30" monitors (perhaps each was a LP3065). I vaguely remember giggling like a girl the first few minutes using them. It was fun.

I had one concern though. They produce a lot of heat. Not as much as my dual 21" Trinitrons six years ago, but nevertheless a lot. The linked spec sheet says 132W is typical. Dells are in the same ballpark. Is there any reason to think that IPS monitors (or a new technology) will produce a significant drop in wasted heat in the next five years? If so, are the new adopter prices likely to be prohibitively high? I know Cyril's reports occassionally refer to upcoming things like OLED panels.

wibeasley wrote:

I had one concern though. They produce a lot of heat. The linked spec sheet says 132W is typical. Dells are in the same ballpark. Is there any reason to think that IPS monitors (or a new technology) will produce a significant drop in wasted heat in the next five years? If so, are the new adopter prices likely to be prohibitively high? I know Cyril's reports occassionally refer to upcoming things like OLED panels.

LED backlights should run significantly cooler than fluorescent backlights.