Dell Ultra Sharp 1905fp 19 in. LCD monitor
Written: Feb 05 '05
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Pros: Large Ultra Sharp screen, 4 USB ports and height adjustable base.
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this to everybody!!!!
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| opinionated3's Full Review: Dell UltraSharp 1905FP 19-inch Flat Panel Monitor ... |
As a computer technician for medium size manufacturing company I am responsible for deploying computer workstations throughout our company. I recently deployed a brand new Dell Optiplex workstation and flat panel monitor.
This workstation is now being used in one of our Graphic Departments. The monitor that my boss chose turned out to be one of the best monitors I have ever seen. The Dell Ultra Sharp 1905fp Flat Panel Monitor is what he chose when he ordered the computer.
Ordinarily we would use 21" CRT monitors for all of our Graphic Artists, but many of them have to share desk space with their iMac. This meant we needed to have a solution that would take up as little space as possible. That is why we chose the Dell 1905fp and it turned out to be a perfect choice.
Unpacking and Installation
The nice thing about flat panel monitors is the packaging, it comes packed in a small compact box unlike the 17" CRT monitors we use that come in a larger square box and usually weigh 40 lb or more. It is nestled inside a plastic bag with a sheet of mylar plastic film protecting the screen. Then it is placed within two form fitting pieces of Styrofoam and placed in the box. Along with the monitor inside the box is a plastic bag containing the power cord, analog video cable, DVI cable, USB cable, CD and setup guide. Dell included a couple of extra nice features in this monitor; four USB ports. Two of these ports are located in the back where all of the cables hook in and two are located on side of the monitor for easy access. To enable these four ports you must connect the USB cable to your computer. The included CD contains the software driver that is specific to the monitor and it can be loaded if necessary. I normally just use the Windows drivers for all of our monitors and it isn't necessary to use the CD.
The monitor and the base are packed separately and for very good reason; the video panel is very large and weighs quite a bit for a flat panel. The base is different from most flat panel monitors that I am used to; it has a pivoting head that attaches to the back of the video panel and it also raises and lowers to adjust the height of the monitor. Once I had the video panel installed onto the base I noticed one more special feature of this monitor; the video panel rotates up to a vertical (portrait) position.
Size and Style
When I opened the box and pulled out the monitor I was very impressed with style of the monitor, it had a very thin bezel that is similar to the other Dell Ultra Sharp flat panels that we got with the workstations we bought from Dell. They are very sleek in design with a thin half inch bezel all the way around it doesn't make the screen look small like a couple of our other LCD panels that have much larger bezels. The video panel may have a thin bezel but it is thicker than most flat panel monitors and it is mainly because Dell chose not to use an external AC adapter, instead they built the power supply inside the monitor. You just simply plug in a standard computer power cord that is included in the box.
Computer Setup and Onscreen Display
Now that the computer is running it is time to go through the display setup in the Operating System. This is accomplished in Windows OS by accessing the control panel and clicking on the display icon. This brings you to a popup menu that allows you to customize your display settings. By clicking on the Settings tab you bring up the menu that allows you to alter the display settings like display resolutions and color options. This monitor is able to work with the various resolutions that you may select through your OS.
Note: 1280x1024 is the optimum setting for this monitor.
The Onscreen Display is a very handy feature of this monitor and it so easy to access and operate. There are four buttons (1, down arrow, up arrow and 2) that control the OSD system and they are located on the lower part of the front bezel. You access the OSD by pushing the down arrow button and the menu will pop up and allow you access to the settings. You scroll through the settings using the up and down arrow and by using the up and down buttons to make the appropriate adjustments. The settings that you can control through the OSD are; Contrast, Brightness, H- Position, V- Position, Language and Track. The power button is located to the right of the four OSD buttons and there is a little LED indicator light right next to the power button.
Final thoughts
I think that Dell hit a homerun with this monitor and it has been a great performer for us. When I setup the monitor on the desk of the guy that was going to be using it all he could say was "Cool". Then I pointed out the special features of the monitor; height adjustment and the screen rotation he was really impressed.
Then he turned on the computer and the monitor popped to life and his eyes lit up. The screen quality was pure delight and I haven't heard a single complaint yet. I think one of the big reasons that the Dell Ultra Sharp 1905fp monitor is so good is the combination of the thin Midnight Gray bezel and extremely high contrast ratio (800 : 1) and the 250 nits brightness. I think if it had wider bezel like the one I have on my desk it would detract from the experience.
Even though we will never use the USB ports that are built into the monitor I am sure it would come in handy for someone that would be considering this monitor. If your video card happens to have a DVI connector you will be able to use it with this monitor since Dell included both 15 pin SVGA and DVI ports on this monitor. It will automatically detect which video signal that is coming from your computer and setup the monitor accordingly.
Depending on what resolution setting you chose for the video the monitor will be able to work with it and that is because Dell included most of popular resolution setting; 720x400 pixels @ 70.1 Hz, 640x480 pixels @ 59.9 Hz, 640x480 pixels @ 75 Hz, 800x600 pixels @ 60.3 Hz, 800x600 pixels @ 75 Hz, 1024x768 pixels @ 60 Hz, 1024x768 pixels @ 75 Hz, 1152x864 pixels @ 75 Hz, 1280x1024 pixels @ 60 Hz, 1280x1024 pixels @ 75 Hz
I would highly recommend this monitor to everyone that is looking to replace an aging CRT monitor. It has the best screen quality that I have seen and you will not be disappointed.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): unknown
Operating System: Windows
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