Works Great also with Linux - Superb Monitor - Exceptional for Price
Written: May 12 '06 (Updated May 12 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clarity, Focus, Resolutions Supported, Brightness and Contrast, Low Price, ViewSonic Name, Reputation, Excellent Color, Quality
Cons: Very slight vertical Moire pattern, possibly just on mine.
The Bottom Line: BUY!!! The ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series CRT monitor is an excellent buy in terms of cost, quality, features, usability, warranty, and reputation.
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| lookingagain's Full Review: ViewSonic G90f 19 inch CRT Monitor |
Monitor Comparison:
I have two CRT monitors in use as comparison to the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series. One is a 19" ViewSonic PF790 Professional Series, and the other is a high-end commercial 20" Sony GDM-20E20 costing just under $1,000 retail list price when new, which is extremely nice in color purity, resolution, stability and quality. It is now several years old. I am mentioning these only as benchmarks against which I am comparing the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series.
The PF790 ViewSonic has served me quite well for over three years which I attribute to the quality of ViewSonic monitors. I have always liked it and frankly it has always looked almost as good as the expensive Sony in some aspects, sometimes very similar. I really like the ViewSonic brand, particularly for the reasonable price for such high quality and the three year warranty.
Recently, my PF790 ViewSonic developed a minor dynamic focus problem. Characters, for example, still looked fairly good, but had a blurred edge, usable, but very annoying. However, a little later my PF790 ViewSonic also developed an intermittent power on problem when returning from power saver mode. It was out of the three year warranty, so it seemed more cost effective to me to simply replace the PF790. I have a background in electronics, but monitors can be tricky to repair, and with the cost of parts and finding them, in my case it just seemed replacing the monitor would be better than repairing it myself or having it done. And, good CRT monitor repair shops are often very hard to find, and if you add in shipping and the CRT bench service charge you've almost bought another monitor! Hence, when I bought the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series, my decision for having purchased a five year warranty with expedited 48 hour replacement from ViewSonic when I registered it on the ViewSonic web site which I discuss further on in this review. To me, for me, an excellent deal.
Searching:
I decided to go monitor surfing for a new one. I was probably biased toward another ViewSonic, but I read numerous reviews, epinions.com in detail, as well as, the news groups. My preference was for a CRT instead of an LCD. I've had numerous laptops, and have read reviews and examined numerous standalone LCDs, etc. For me, I have found the CRT gives better warmer color performance and I also wanted a 19" or larger monitor. Also, I did not really want to spend much over $350, but would not sacrifice quality and reliability for less cost. I am also probably partial to CRT monitors as I've used them for years, find them less harsh than LCDs and easier on my eyes, and I have plenty of room for a large monitor, so footprint size and weight were absolutely not an issue. For what I wanted, I had decided LCDs were currently too expensive. I just could not see any benefit to an LCD monitor for me, none at all.
Results:
Basically, my results indicated that for a reasonable price, quality, reasonable reliability, and an excellent warranty, three years, the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series was tops for me. And, I was able to obtain one from mwave.com for only $209, and the cost to ship was only $27. My experience with mwave.com in buying the ViewSonic G90f was superb.
I use Linux, SuSE Linux 10.0, so I had to also ensure Linux drivers were in this release of SuSE for an easy install under YaST (a SuSE install utility). Everything was there, and my ATI Radeon VE graphics card supported the ViewSonic G90f with many choices for resolution and frequency. As an IMPORTANT NOTE: ViewSonic recommends 1280 x 1024 (VESA) 75HZ as optimal for the ViewSonic G90f. However, I am using 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) 91HZ. This was my closest choice. I tried a number of resolution settings and I clearly found that for overall performance, for me, using 1280 x 1024 was PERFECT! My fonts were a little small, so I simply increased the font size defaults for my system settings (Linux), browser (Firefox) and email tool (Thunderbird). I predominantly use the Internet, spreadsheets and word processing, as well as, graphics for editing pictures. My monitor gets a real workout every day for hours. I do not do any gaming. Just FYI: I also use the power saver mode, and it is also on a large Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) with excellent surge protection.
I have literally spent the past couple of days playing on and off with this monitor and my system for optimal settings for me. I am very fussy and it drives me over the edge when a monitor is close to performing well, but just not what you expect or paid for. I GIVE THE VIEWSONIC G90f GRAPHIC SERIES MY HIGHEST RATING. I am able to make this monitor perform exactly as I wish and need. In terms of cost and performance I just simply do not see how one could do better for a reasonably priced monitor. I have compared it numerous times to my $1000 monitor, and the ViewSonic G90f looks exceptionally good, especially given the low price for the G90f! It also looks the same as my ViewSonic PF790 when new! I have also used the settings in the control panel on the ViewSonic G90f a lot, and I'm very familiar with all of the settings from having the ViewSonic PF790. "If" I wanted to be really picky, I found I can not get rid of a slight border of Vertical Moire pattern on the left of the display. I can almost eliminate all of it, but not 100%. However, given the superb performance of this monitor I can very easily live with this absolutely minor problem. Some of my friends looked at it and told me to "get a life!" They did not have any issues with this slight Moire pattern at all, particularly given the overall quality of the G90f and especially the reasonable price from mwave.com
Many monitors, although the same manufacture and the exact model, have slight variances and personalities. So, returning a monitor for something absolutely minor, does not always mean the monitor is really defective, and there is no guarantee that the replacement might not have a different 'something' that bothers you more.
Recommendation:
BUY!!!!!! I highly recommend the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series. HOWEVER, I do not recommend it for everyone. If you are a graphics illustrator and/or need an exceptionally high quality resolution monitor and perfect in absolutely every way, this probably is not the monitor for you. However, most people needing that superior level of performance would not generally be looking in this price range. I can make no comment with respect to gaming. I just did not try it for that.
I'm a senior computer professional and I absolutely find the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series hard to beat for many users, and at this low low price. I love this monitor and I did not mind the low price at all! And, it displays very sharp, clear and crisp characters.
Warranty:
The ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series has a three year warranty. Now, if you have to return the unit this does not mean you get a new monitor back two years later or whatever. It will be refurbished.
I extended the three year warranty to five years, and also got the 48 hour expedited return service for all five years which includes round trip shipping charges. It was $82 extra directly from ViewSonic when I registered the monitor at their web site. I was still well under my $350 budget. I just do not have time to go through monitor searching or fooling around with shipping and the cost of shipping. For me, this is a great deal. Whatever, ViewSonic has a lot of extended warranty options on their website viewsonic.com and many would probably be happy with the standard three year warranty included with the G90f. The three year warranty in itself is great.
I really wish I had gotten the five year warranty when I purchased my ViewSonic PF790. Well, I did not make that mistake with the ViewSonic G90f Graphic Series. The five year warranty is a nice insurance plan if you really like your monitor as this insures you'll have it or a repaired/refurbished monitor for at least five years. At least it gives me comfort for the next five years knowing my shipping and repairs/replacement monitor are already paid for and I just have to call ViewSonic. I really hate chasing around too often looking for and at new monitors, etc. Every five years or so is fine for me!
Conclusion:
I hope this review was helpful to you. This was my experience.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 209.00
Operating System: Linux
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Epinions.com ID:
lookingagain
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
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