The Dell UltraSharp 1901FP LCD Monitor - Sets the Price/Performance Standard for LCD Monitors
Written: Oct 12 '03 (Updated May 23 '04)
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Pros: Four USB ports, Pivot display, DVI and analog inputs, excellent overall performance
Cons: No hard copy manual, only "supported" with Dell systems (it'll work fine with others)
The Bottom Line: If you're looking at 17" LCD's, consider a step up to this one, its well worth the extra cost.
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| nc10's Full Review: Dell UltraSharp 1901FP 19-inch Flat Panel Monitor ... |
The Dell UltraSharp 1901FP 19-inch Flat Panel Monitor is one of the more attactively prices LCD monitors in Dell's lineup, with a list price of $650, but recently has been priced as low as $487 (before tax) at Dell's Small business website in recent weekend sales (which I took avantage of). Dell's 18" monitor is usually only a few dollars cheaper than this model, while the 20" LCD model lists for over $1000. The specs on this model are pretty impressive for a 19" LCD monitor priced in the $500-$600 range (Dell seems to change discounts almost daily), and it offers a few extras you might not expect, pivoting screen, DVI and analog inputs, and 4 USB ports. The key specs and features are:
- Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2
- Image Contrast Ratio: 600:1
- Image Max Horizontal View Angle: Left/Right: 85°
- Image Max Vertical View Angle: Up/Down: 85°
- Optimum Resolution 1280 x 1024 pixels at 60hz
- Power consumption 55 watts typical, 75 watts maximum
- Response time 25 milliseconds
- 15 pin analog video connector and DVI white connector (both cables included)
- Wt. 16.2 lbs, overall height 16.73" to 23.35", fully extended in portrait mode
- 4 USB ports (cable included)
- Height adjustable stand
- Portrait/Lanscape pivot option
In the box you get the monitor and display stand in two pieces, a power cable (the power adapter is built into the monitor, so their's no power block to take up space), 24 pin DVI (white), 15 pin analog (blue) video cables, driver/manual cd, a large single sheet Dell installation guide (but no paper manual), and USB cable.
Setup/Controls
The monitor stand and display stand are shipped as two pieces, and the LCD screen connects very easily and firmly onto the top of the springloaded collapsable stand (the screen can also be attached to a VESA mounting arm). After connecting the display and stand, I connected the 1901FP to my son's computer, a 2.4 ghz Dell 4550 desktop system with a Geforce 4 420MX video card (w/ analog video connector), using the included video and USB (for the USB ports) cables. I then turned the computer on, reset the video card's resolution to match the monitor's native resolution (1280 X 1024 @ 60hz) and eventually pushed the "auto adjust button" once I realized which button it was.
It took a few minutes to identify the "auto adjust" button. There are only 4 buttons on this monitor, a "plus" and a "minus", an on/off button, and an OSD (menu) button. Since most of these buttons have dual functions, I was at the point where I had to read the manual (on the driver cd) to determine that the "plus" button was also "auto adjust". Although the multiple uses of the very small buttons on this monitor can be a little confusing, they're simple enough that it won't take too long to get where you want, and OSD (On Screen Display) options and menus are easy to understand and use.
I then wanted to try out the "Pivot" feature of this monitor, by rotating it 90 degrees. Mechanically, this worked fine. I pushed the unlock button on the monitor stand and raised the display enough to allow it to pivot. I'd also read that Nvidia's video drivers supported monitor rotation, accessed by selecting the NV Rotate option, but I couldn't find this option to rotate my display anywhere in the driver properties. A bit more reading indicated I needed to download an updated driver from Dell's website, which I did. Apparently even the latest version of Nvidia's drivers on Dell's website did not include NV Rotate, so I then went directly to Nvidia's website and installed the latest version (45.23). NV Rotate was now an option in the driver properties, making easy to tell the video card that the display was to be rotated 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Dell claims the Pivot feature can be used with all the ATI and Nvidia cards it includes in its systems, though like me, you may need to update your drivers to take advantage of this feature, and its not immediately clear where and how to do this.
I also plugged the USB mouse into one of the monitor's four USB ports (two are on the side of the monitor for easy access, say for using a USB flash drive, and two are on the back, more difficult to access and a better fit for permenent items, like a mouse). The high speed USB port worked perfectly with the wireless mouse as soon as I plugged it in.
Features and Performance
Display Design and Misc Comments
The Dell 1901FP offers a lot of features only seen in more expensive models, DVI input, USB ports, optional speakers, a user friendly stand that allows many viewing options.
The display stand has a Cable holder on the lower back of the stand, through which all cables can be routed to help keep your desktop neat. The stand allows a lot of flexibility in how you orient your monitor, with these options:
- a display which can be tilted forward 5 degrees, or tilted backwards as much as 20 degrees
- In its lowest position in landscape mode, the bottom edge of the display sets about 4" above the top of your desk, while the top about 12" higher, just under 16.5" above your desktop, a fairly accomodating foot print for a 19" monitor. This 19" monitor should fit under the bookshelves or hutch on about any computer desk, though you likely won't be able to pivot the display. From the low position, you can push one button to unlock the telescoping display and raise the monitor as much as 5". Fully extended in landscape mode, the top of the monitor will be about 22.5" above the desktop, and about 23.5" above in portrait mode.
- The monitor can also rotate/swivel either 45 degrees left or right
- The screen itself can pivot,landscape mode or portrait mode.
Dell sells an add-on Soundbar ($39), which attaches to the bottom of this monitor, if you need to add speakers to your system. The Soundbar also includes two headphone jacks.
On the back of the monitor is one USB in connector for routing the USB data to and from your PC, along with two USB connectors for mice, keyboards and other permanently attached devices. There are two more readily accessible USB connectors on the side of the monitor for devices you connect/disconnect often. All are USB 2.0 capable.
The display has a Kensington Lock Slot for attaching a security device (http://www.kensington.com/html/1356.html).
Another Dell LCD monitor that I own, a 17" E171FP was actually manufactured by Samsung, as are several Dell LCD models. I believe this model is manufactured by LiteOn, as least they are listed as such in the FCC Statement of Conformity included with this monitor. LiteOn is not well known for monitors, but they are well known as the OEM of many optical drives.
Viewing angles
Viewing angles left and right are listed as plus/minus 85 degrees and are outstanding. I've not found anywhere I can stand or sit and not see the monitor, and haven't seen an LCD monitor with better viewing angles. Combined with the adjustments provided by the stand, the lock slot, and large size, this monitor might be a great choice for public viewing/data access applications.
Response times
Though the 25 ms response time of this monitor is not "state of the art", its good enough for most applications or games you would use at home or in the office. This monitor has been installed on my son's computer, and we have not noticed any "ghosting", meeting expectations for a monitor with response times rated at 25 ms. The computer is used for web browsing (IE6), word processing (MS Word), watching TV (ATI TV Wonder VE tuner card), watching DVD's (Power DVD), instant messaging (AIM) and a few games (Elite Force 2 being the most recent). I've read a few reviews and comments in message lists that indicated some users have noticed slight ghosting in games with lots of action and fast panning across wide areas, but most find this monitor acceptable for gaming, and we've noticed no problems.
Display
The first point to note about this monitor was that it had no bad pixels, a concern with LCD monitors since manufacturers won't replace an LCD unless it has 3 or often more bad pixels. I've not found Dell's bad pixel policy documented anywhere, and I've "read" in message forums and reviews that Dell handles bad pixels on a case by case basis.
Text and graphics are sharp and clear. I created a MS Word document with two repeating lines of text, in Times New Roman font in sizes 5 to 16. Font size 6 was readable, but the text was a little fuzzy, both when the monitor was in landscape and portrait mode. Font size 7 and above was clear. Text in the corners and edges of the screen looked as sharp as text displayed in the middle of the screen. On a 19" monitor, with the resolution at 1280 X 1024, icons and fonts on the desktop are easily discernable and I see no need to change the font size. Having used 1024 x 780 resolution on the 19" CDT this monitor replaced, the desktop area now seems huge. Viewing DVD's or high quality images on this monitor is a treat. Colors are bright and accurate.
I ran the Nokia Monitor test utility (http://www.construnet.hu/Nokia/Monitors/TEST/monitor_test.html) through its tests, checking for problems. Focus was sharp on all parts of the screen, and I did not note any convergence, moire, geometry, color, resolution, or readability problems over any parts of the display.
Support
Dell only claims to provide support for this monitor with Dell systems, though I did try it with a non Dell (home built) system with a Stratitec Geforce 4 440MX video card and it worked fine. Dell offers a 3 year warranty with this monitor, along with a wide range of support options, active message forums, toll free phone support, and online downloads of the manual and monitor driver. When I needed help to determine how to set up the pivoting feature of this monitor, I found the answer, in about 30 minutes by searching through the 1901FP posts on the Dell forum, a couple of which eventually pointed me to the Nvidia website for driver updates.
About 7 months after we started using this monitor, it developed an area of "dead pixels" on the very bottom of the screen, a semicircle about 1" wide, with a few streaks of dead pixels running left or right. I called Dell on Friday evening. Unbelievably, we received a replacement the following Monday, along with the prepaid shipping label to return my monitor. I couldn't have asked for better warranty service, though I hope most who buy this monitor will never need to try the warranty service.
Conclusion
Some of this monitors features (viewing angles) are near state of the art. Others would be categorized as consistent with mainstream peformance, and none are below average. Overall, combined with the low price and extras like USB ports and DVI compatibility, this monitor is an excellent value, and anyone considering a 17" LCD monitor in the $400-$500 price range should consider spending a few dollars more on this unit, especially since it's often on sale for prices ranging from $480 to $560.
Want to see a bigger picture of this monitor?
Image URL for this monitor:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/images/products/large/320-0699.jpg
Thanks for reading!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 487
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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