Gateway 21" LCD for $599

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » December 24, 2005, 5:36 pm

I saw this while I was browsing an Office Depot today.

For $599 it seems hard to beat, but that 16:10 ratio seems odd to me.

They didn't have it set up on a computer where you could try to examine the limits, but the image is quite clear.

Something to ponder anyway...

http://accessories.gateway.com/Accessor ... ProdDetail

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 24, 2005, 7:16 pm

Aruman wrote:I saw this while I was browsing an Office Depot today.

For $599 it seems hard to beat, but that 16:10 ratio seems odd to me.

the Dell 2405FPW 24" LCD is 16:10 as well.

My projector is 1280X720 16:9

A more friendly computer res would be 1280X768 16:10

If you played HDTV on the monitor, you'd have small black bars at the top and bottom of the screen if you were in 1:1 pixel mode which is no big deal. It's nice to have the extra pixels in PC mode.

1680 x 1050 is an odd res although it's the same ratio as a 1920X1200 screen. The Dell 21" FPW monitors have the same res. It's no problem with the current video drivers but if you read the long threads concerning the 21" dell, the main con is the semi non standard resoluion of the monitor as a lot of games aren't going to take advantage of the full screen.

599.00 is good, but if you look hard and find Dell coupons, you can get the 24" dell for 750.00 giving you the Full Monty 1920X1200. It may drop to that price as a standard soon with the 30" Dell going on sale Jan 5th.

valryte · Post by **valryte** » December 25, 2005, 12:44 am

I recommend waiting for the Dell 30 inch to go on sale. You should see some nice prices on the 24 inch monitors. Just keep an eye on sites like SlickDeals and FatWallet for the coupons. Also, Dell is putting out a new version of the 24" monitor as well. You might be able to pickup the older model for a nice price onces the new ones start rolling out as well. I'm currently using a 20" wide screen from Dell, at $346 I couldn't pass up the deal.

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » December 30, 2005, 11:24 pm

One question I do have...

If you are gaming... a square LCD monitor seems to be the way to go... unless games start being produced in widescreen format.

If you use apps and so on, it seems the widescreen versions are the way to go.

I'm torn between the two designs. I'm probably going to get an LCD sometime in the near future.

Any recommendations or suggestions on which way to go... I use my computer for both applications and gaming.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 31, 2005, 12:04 am

Aruman wrote:One question I do have...

If you are gaming... a square LCD monitor seems to be the way to go... unless games start being produced in widescreen format.

If you use apps and so on, it seems the widescreen versions are the way to go.

I'm torn between the two designs. I'm probably going to get an LCD sometime in the near future.

Any recommendations or suggestions on which way to go... I use my computer for both applications and gaming.

Widescreen rocks for games. Very few new games don't support widescreen. EQ, Call of Duty 2, Battlefield 2, Civilization IV etc all support widescreen and playing a game on a square screen will never be preferred by me over widescreen for a game.

For old games, my monitor is set in pixel for pixel mode so the 1600X1200 is placed right in the middle of the screen with no scaling required. It's rare that I have to see a game in that mode though. yuck.

You may run into issues if the monitor doesn't support 1900X1200 as you'll have an oddball res that won't fit 1600X1200 if you need to use that res for a game.

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » December 31, 2005, 4:10 am

EQ supports widescreen?

Do you see more area peripherally or does it stretch what you would see on a square resolution.?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 31, 2005, 6:36 pm

Aruman wrote:EQ supports widescreen?

Do you see more area peripherally or does it stretch what you would see on a square resolution.?

EQ supports widescreen and looks great. I played it in 1920X1200. I think Aslanna also plays EQ in 1920X1200.

Nothing is stretched. You should see the various widescreen resolutions in the EQ options (although it may only show what your monitor is capable of)

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » December 31, 2005, 6:46 pm

EQ looks fine in Widescreen. Due to the aspect ratio (and other technical junk) you will lose some from the top and bottom but it's nothing dramatic and not really noticeable other than at character select. For me the extra screenspace more than makes up for it. The only bad thing at 1920x1200 with EQ is you need a hefty video card. My 9800 Pro struggles at times even with spell particles off.

(Note, that's with the 24" Dell at 1920x1200. In regards to the Gateway display you'd have to check EQ video options to see if 1680 x 1050 is listed.)

masteen · Post by **masteen** » January 5, 2006, 6:40 pm

It's so beautiful... should have sent a poet...

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... ku=3007WY3

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » January 5, 2006, 6:57 pm

I'd actually consider purchasing that if I came across a 30% off Dell coupon.

The Dell™ 3007WFP requires a DVI-D dual-link graphic card that supports WQXGA (2560x1600) resolution.

Hmm.. Don't think I have one of those!

Aruman · Post by **Aruman** » January 5, 2006, 7:19 pm

I don't think I would like an LCD that large. That is getting a bit extreme for home use.

Maybe for work use for some occupations, but not going to be all that mainstream I don't think.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » January 5, 2006, 7:21 pm

Your graphics card doesn't have a little funny white plug near the blue VGA one?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 5, 2006, 8:20 pm

Aruman wrote:I don't think I would like an LCD that large. That is getting a bit extreme for home use.

Maybe for work use for some occupations, but not going to be all that mainstream I don't think.

I think 24" widescreen is a pretty good size for a PC LCD. Less will leave you wanting and more may be a waste in games as you would have to interpolate most games to play in full screen as nothing really runs in 2560x1600. A 30 incher for work/apps would still be stupendous although crazy expensive over buying two 24" LCDs with a decent card to expand your workspace over both.

Remember, these Dell monitors (the 24 and 30 inch models) have component inputs as well. I plugged my DirecTivo HD and Xbox (using my cheapo component switcher) and was able to use it for viewing those sources as well. They are a great value in that respect and I can see them having an extended life as a make-due HD monitor in the bedroom/bathroom/hanging on a wall in the hall or elsewhere if/when you upgrade again down the road. My old CRT monitors just sit there and rot useless. I also still really like spinning my monitor into portrait mode to read comics (if you don't read comics, there's more and more pdf style magazines that this would be useful for as well)

VeeshanVault

Gateway 21" LCD for $599

Gateway 21" LCD for $599

Re: Gateway 21" LCD for $599