IBM : Why the E74 might not be the Best monitor to Buy....
Written: Nov 06 '00
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Pros: Deep rich colors, pretty flat screen, Stealth Black... wooo....
Cons: $327.42! OUCH! Pretty rich for a "value" lined monitor...
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| duenor's Full Review: IBM E 74M (Pearl, White) 17 in.CRT Conventional Mo... |
This article addresses : EXACTLY why the IBM E74 monitor is a middle-class monitor with a snobby pricetag, HOW MUCH you should expect to have to pay, and All the Tips and Details that might influence your viewing experience...
---Quote from IBM regarding the E74:
``By offering new monitors with higher addressability, smaller pitch, and
FD Trinitron technology, IBM continues to offer the most advanced desktop
solutions for every customer segment at competitive prices,'' said Monica
Weissmann, Segment Sales Manager, Visual Products, IBM Canada Ltd.
September 1999
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Introduction
IBM is probably THE most recognizable name when it comes to computers. Nearly twenty years after the fall of the computer giant from the Monopolist of all PCs, IBM has risen once again, this time as a superb and innovative designer of hard disk technology (among other things).
Recently, IBM made an attempt to advance its share of the now very lucrative Monitor market. With all the new 3D accelerators and excellent DVD/SVGA cards out, consumers need a good monitor - at a good price - to take advantage of their new equipment. In response to this, IBM last year new models in it's P , G , and E series. The E74 is one of these.
Doing It
E74 Specifications :
Manufacturer: IBM
Description: 17In/15.9V 1024X768 @ 85hz E74 69Khz Mpr II Stealth Black ( may also come in the standard white / beige )
Category: Monitors
CPU: PC
Media Type: Monitors
Manufacturers Part Number: 6332J1N
User display controls
Brightness, Color point adjustment, Color point recall, Color preset selection, Controls lock/unlock, Contrast, Digital Control, Horizontal centering, Horizontal position, Image rotation, Keystone, Moire control, On-screen display, Pincushion adjustment, R.G.B. control, Vertical centering, Vertical position
Dot Pitch: 0.27mm
Size: 15.8
Speakers: None
Weight: 40lb category
I ordered the E74 from Evergreen Networks, and paid approximately 300$,not including shipping.
Installation was very simple; the monitor was packaged well, and was immediately detected by Windoze 98. Drivers were easily installed, and the ATI Rage PRO, Matrox Millenium, Matrox G400, and Trident iMAGE 950 all displayed equally well. My Voodoo2s in ScanLineInterleave mode (side by side) worked well with all primary video cards equally well.
That done, I decided to compare its visual quality against that of both my 140$ Philips/Maganvox 107S
( review : http://bored.epinions.com/cmd-review-73A9-10244A6C-3A027BB1-prod2 )
and 249$ Viewsonic GS733.
( review : http://bored.epinions.com/cmd-review-7C29-1CB73006-3A06E831-prod5 )
Brightness / Contrast was compared at 3 settings : 10, 50, and 100.
I found the color intensity to be not quite as bright as either the 107S or GS773, but they -were- much deeper, which is quite in accordance with IBM monitors. (a side note - if you really like color depth and truly flat screens, get IBM G-series ApertureGrille monitors)
Windoze looked rather sleepy compared to the other twos' vibrant displays, but in FPS games the color depth really gave me a kick. Display performance in business apps (adobe, explorer, word, corel draw) was negligibly different. DVD playback came out somewhat richer than the 107S, but interestingly enough I seemed to get a lower frame rate in Unreal Tournament with the E74 than either the GS773 or 107S.
All in all, a very good monitor, but nothing truly remarkable.
Which, of course, begs the question : why does this monitor cost 299$? IBM's two biggest claims to fame for the E74 seem to be Trinitron (made famous by Sony) tube technology, and "a smaller pitch". First of all, Trinitron tubes are in a LOT of monitors, even some relatively unknown ones that you might find at your local retailer for about 179$ (17"). Secondly, most people in the know would agree that any pitch below .28 is good, and anything between .25 and .28 pitch is pretty much indiscernable even to the knowledgable eye. Most people can't detect pitch difference above .28, period. Basically, a .01 drop in dot pitch to .27 really isn't all that special.
Still, my E74 came in Stealth Black. How cool is that?! So I will refrain from griping too much...
I welcome any comments and will try to respond as promptly as possible.
Best Regards
Kevin C.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 327.42
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
duenor
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Member: kevin c
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 3 members
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