Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP Flat Panel A real eye opener!
Written: Dec 31 '03 (Updated Jan 02 '04)
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Pros: Great quality picture, height adjustable, USB ports
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Great monitor and I would recommend anyone considering purchasing a Dell computer to select this as your monitor of choice.
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| opinionated3's Full Review: Dell UltraSharp 1901FP 19-inch Flat Panel Monitor ... |
The company I work for recently needed to replace an older PC in our Engineering Department and I am responsible for setting up all the workstations on our network. My boss decided to go with the Dell Precision 360 Workstations and Flat Panel monitor. The model of the monitor that he chose with the Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FPFlat Panel Monitor and boy was I impressed with this monitor.
The Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP Flat Panel Monitor is an excellent replacement for our aging Viewsonic 17" CRT monitors. The 1901FP is a 19" Flat Panel monitor that is a combines a .29 dot pitch, 600:1 contrast ratio and multiple preset resolution settings that allows you to customize the screen settings through your operating system. The recommended setting 1280 x 1024 dpi (dots per inch). Dell included additional preset resolutions that are available to be selected through your display settings in your operating system. These additional setting are 720x400, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024.
Installation
Installation involved a little more than just pulling the monitor out of the box. This was because this flat panel monitor was packed in two separate parts and I had to snap the display panel in place on the base. The base itself looks like a post with what looks like a squashed ring for the base. The post will telescope to vary the level of the display and it allows the panel to be rotated into a Portrait position. Once I had the monitor assembled, the rest of the installation was easy. I attached the digital video cable that was included in the package to the back of the monitor and attached it to the back of the computer on the digital input connector on the video card. Dell also included the analog video cable so if you don't have a video card that has the digital output connector, you would use this cable to attach to the back of your computer. The drivers were already installed by Dell on the workstation, but if you were setting this up on another computer you can use the CD that is included. The monitor's drivers are compatible with Windows and Mac The monitor went through an automatic adjusting procedure and it set itself up.
How big is it?
I have been used to the 17" CRT monitor and when I setup this monitor on Engineers desk I was rather shocked. Instead of surrendering a bunch of desktop space, this monitor only took up 9" and it was amazing. I was really amazed the difference between a 17" CRT and this 19" flat panel. The 17" CRT only has 16" of viewable area and this 19" flat Panel has a full 19" of viewable area. The screen itself has a ½ inch bezel around it instead of the usual 1 inch bezel like most CRT's. So when you are looking at the screen the picture looks almost edge to edge. This is also because of the midnight blue color blends well with the true black flat panel screen.
Special Features
Dell added a couple special features to this 19" flat panel display and it is definitely a eye opener. In most cases if you wanted to raise the level of your monitor you would have to place it on some sort of pedestal, but with the Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP that isn't necessary. This special feature is built into the pedestal of the monitor. As I told you in the installation process that I had to install the monitor panel into it's place on the pedestal. This is because this special pedestal allows the panel to be tilted up and down and also you can rotate the panel into what is called a portrait position. To help accommodate this, Dell as added another feature that allows the post to be adjusted up and down approximately 5".
Dell also added an extra bonus with this monitor; four USB 2.0 ports. You will find them on the left hand side of the monitor and it includes the cable that plugs into the back of the monitor and connects to your PC.
User controls
The Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP has four very easy to use control buttons and they are located on the lower right hand corner. The power button has the indicator light built in and it uses two different colors to indicate the status of the monitor, amber to indicate that it is on but doesn't have a video signal and green to indicate it is on and receiving the video signal from your computer. With the four buttons you turn the power on/off and the three others are used to control the settings for the picture. The three buttons are marked with directional arrows, down arrow, up arrow, left arrow and right arrows. The arrow buttons are used in conjunction with the OSD or on-screen display to change the settings.
Pros
1) Excellent picture quality
2) No glare
3) The on-screen menu makes it easy to select and adjust the settings.
4) Telescoping pedestal
5) USB ports
6) Very small foot print, takes up very little desktop space.
Cons
So far I haven't found anything wrong with this monitor and I think Dell came up with a great monitor to pair with this workstation.
What do I think?
I think Dell hit a home run with this monitor, it combines the sleek and slim design to save valuable desktop space and the great picture quality. I have seen some decent LCD displays in the past including the one I am using, but none I have seen match the clarity of this Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP. I also like the fact that it the trade mark Midnight Blue that gives the picture the illusion that is going all the way to the edge instead of having the usual inch wide gray color bezel of a lot of flat panel displays. I would say if you have the opportunity to chose what monitor you are going to order with your next Dell computer, I would recommend you seriously consider this monitor. You will not be disappointed.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 800.00
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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