Perfect Fart
Written: Feb 10 '01
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Pros: OK price/performance if you get a good one
Cons: Geometry, blurry text at 1280x1024, 2nd tier components
The Bottom Line: So, if you are upgrading from a cheesy 15 or 17 then this will be ok (not great) to run at 1024x768 @85 Hz. I am returning the PF790 tomorrow.
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| lpn's Full Review: ViewSonic PF790 19" CRT Monitor |
I am a programmer and at work I have a 21' Hitachi running 1280x1024 @ 85Hz. We have several PF790 at work but, as I later figured out, they mostly run it at 1024x768 resolutions.
So I got one of these for home use to run at 1280x1024 @ 85Hz. The first thing I noticed is poor geometry. The BR, BL, and TL corners have horizontal bows that are ~0.5 inches long and ~1/16 inches deep, and at the Top-Right corner the bow is ~1.5 inches long and ~1/8 inches deep. Now, this is unacceptable in my opinion. There were several other irregularities that I was able to correct, but not the horizontal bows.
The second issue is that this monitor emits more glare than others in its class. I set the contrast to 78 and the brightness at 22. This didn't fix it completely, but may be good enough for many undiscriminating home users.
The third issue is that text is quite blurry, and is not up to standards for professionals who look at code for hours.
Now, if the monitor is set at 1024x768, the text looks ok, but the other issues are still present.
In summary: It seems that ViewSonic uses "B" grade Sony Trinitron (the PF790 uses this tube) and Mitsubishi DiamondTron tubes coupled with inferior electronics. The coupling of the imperfect elements necessitates the wealth of geometry tweeking options. Infact, most decent 21 inch monitors have about half this amount of geometry tweeking options because they are made to higher quality standars and are not needed.
I now have a Sony CPD-G500 21 inch display that is far supperior in quality (and price, ~ $950). I picked up a brand new one (sealed box) from someone who received it as a gift for x-mas for $575.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
lpn
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Member: Peter
Location: Tarzana, CA
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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