Dell UltraSharp 1905FP: Setting the Bar for New 19" LCDs
by Kristopher Kubicki on January 29, 2005 12:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
A Special Note about Gaming and Response Time
Every time we claim that the response time on a monitor is fast enough for gaming, we get four or five emails a few weeks later claiming that the monitor we had recommended was too slow for an individual's taste. Attempting to quantify response times subjectively for everybody is a dangerous practice - comments like "16ms response time is fast enough for anyone" are just opinions and therefore, we don't actively preach them. Given some of our previous works on response time, you should be able to draw enough conclusions to see if the 20ms TrTf response time on the Dell 1905FP is capable enough for your own gaming experience.
It's my personal belief that the transient time between two current generation LCD monitors is practically impossible in real world applications, but everyone has different levels of sensitivity on the matter. In general, through sampling our readers, we have come to the conclusion that readers upgrading from a CRT to an LCD for the first time are more likely to claim one LCD monitor as "slower" than another and at least "slower" than a CRT. However, in the same regard, we have also noticed that a growing number of readers who use LCDs with advertised low response times report no complaints even if that monitor has higher transient response times (particularly gray to gray) than the industry average.
That being said, the Dell 1905FP gaming experience was no different than that of the Samsung 193P. We spoke very favorably about that LCD's gaming experience back in April, so feel free to revisit those experiences.
Conclusions
In our opinion, it was very difficult for Dell to give us anything but a stellar product. Combining the excellent panel from the Samsung 193P with the brilliant user interface and Genesis signal processor was a sure-fire formula for success. To make the pie sweeter, Dell also made the monitor affordable and well constructed. The monitor boasted some cool revisions from the previous generation of Dell monitors, like housing the AC to DC inverter inside the monitor and eliminating the brick.
There is still room for improvement for Dell. We were not impressed with the analog connection on this display, for example. We noticed poorer than typical results when using the analog 15-pin D-sub connector with extremely bad streaking/interference errors. There isn't a large reason to use analog in our opinion, so this is not a huge issue in the long run. The DVI signal quality was superb, as expected on a digital connection.
Also, even though our Dell 1905FP supported pivot functions, Dell did not bundle pivoting drivers or software. Samsung and Dell do a great job of hooking their customers up with all the extra trimmings, but it looks like Dell dropped the ball to Samsung on this aspect. We are also slightly concerned about the exposed backlight issue that we mentioned on Page 2. We did not experience any issues in the lab, but this may be asking for trouble as dust can settle on the backlights over time.
The cost of the LCD is right in the middle of the pack for typical 1280x1024 19" LCD monitors. On the other hand, the primary distribution channel for the monitor is Dell's own website. For those of you who don't know, Dell.com runs incredible coupon and discount deals all the time - so finding a 1905FP for less than the $499 MSRP shouldn't be too hard at all. Once availability increases a bit, we should see much more competitive pricing on the monitor as well.
The 20ms typical response time on this particular monitor felt more than adequate enough while we performed our application analysis on the monitor, but that doesn't mean Samsung/Dell can't push the monitor further. We profoundly appreciate Dell's decision to stick with an 8-bit LCD for their flagship 19" LCD panel even though the current industry trend seems to lean more towards cheaper, "faster" 6-bit panels instead.
In general, our hats go off to Dell as they clearly built another winner.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
66 Comments
View All Comments
UncleMike987 - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link
A really great monitor, a fantastic display, which surprisingly had no ghosting in games when using the DVI connection.But when I plugged this into a VGA connection on a Radeon 9000 AGP card, and the image was pretty dire. Several vertical bands, each of which blurred an entire column of the display. Okay, it could've been the video card, but it looked fine on a CRT monitor. You've been warned !
The worst thing about this monitor is the price.
Dell's pricing policy in the UK is madness.
One of my work colleagues bought this monitor recently, and was charged £299+vat+delivery.
Two weeks later, the same monitor from the same Dell website cost £243 INCLUSIVE of VAT and delivery, so I bought one for work and one for home. And love it.
And now, two weeks later, Dell's website is back selling it at £354 inc.
Seriously, how can you recommend a product whose price is springing around so much ?
At £243 inc for a quality brand 19" DVI monitor, it's a steal. Buy one now. But don't pay much more than this. With Dell's never-ending and never-static list of special offers and "Must end in 2 days"-style discounts, it's worth holding on for a week or two to save yourself a lot of money.
Btw, speakers aren't included - but you can buy a matching Dell Soundbar thing to clip on the bottom of the display for £30+vat. Dell's website gives no indication of how powerful these speakers are, so it's hard to know if to recommend them.
Mike
Bristol, UK
KristopherKubicki - Monday, April 25, 2005 - link
chrisjs is correct.Kristopher
chrisjs - Sunday, April 24, 2005 - link
I am fairly sure that the 1905fp DOES NOT SUPPORT HDCP.I just had my local friendly cable co install a SA 4200HD and, when I connect it to my 1905fp the LCD simply displays "cannot display this video mode"
I hoped it just needed to be configured, but the message continued when I went into to box's automagcic HDTV configuration screen. So I'm pretty sure now this LCD doesn't support DVI/HDCP, only normal DVI.
Visor4 - Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - link
Hi abbetaka,I hooked up my Denon DVD-1910 to the monitor using Dell's DVI cable. The video kept switching on and off. I'm assuming this is because Dell uses an 18-pin DVI cable, whereas the DVD player requires a 24-pin cable. When the video was visible, picture quality was excellent (the same as playing a PC DVD player like WinDVD, although my Denon has better deinterlacing). Unfortunately, the red drift artifacts were still visible.
I just received an exchange unit, and much to my dismay it has the same defect. I think it's time to call Dell again, return both these units, and pick up a 2001FP before they disappear.
Visor
abbetaka - Thursday, April 7, 2005 - link
The article states, "According to the technical documentation, the Genesis gm5321 is HDCP capable – so you should be able to hook up a DVI-HDCP receiver or DVD player to the monitor without worries."... Has anyone confirmed that HDCP does work on this? I took the link to the gm5321 document, and it says...
Ultra-Reliable DVI[tm] Input (gm5321)
* Operating up to 165 MHz (up to UXGA 60Hz)
* Direct connect to all DVI-compliant digital transmitters
* High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)
Note: HDCP function is available in gm5221H version only.
... That's the only mention of gm5221 in the whole doc though. Does it mean the gm5321 doesn't do HDCP at all? Or just that gm5221s other than the -h don't? Or.. ..? I'm not sure how to interpret it.
I'm considering getting a DVI outputting DVD player but I don't have a TV and would rather not go to the trouble if this LCD won't do HDCP.
Anybody? Bueller?
Thx...
Visor4 - Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - link
This artifact definately shows up in other movies and media. It's hard not to miss.I suspect that I have a defective monitor, and even Anandtech's review clearly shows this bleeding effect on the Matrix screenshot:
http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2...
Look at Keanu's right inner ear (well, the left inner ear from our point of view) and the right (left) part of his upper lip. Notice how there's a very strong hue of red on those parts? That's an example of what I see, but mine is more exaggerated when people and objects are moving.
Does anybody else see this artifact when watching movies? I have Dell sending me another 1905FP as an exchange so I'll verify if the entire line has this problem. If so, I think I might pick up a 2001FP while they're still available and see how an IPS panel performs compared to this VA panel.
Visor
Visor4 - Sunday, April 3, 2005 - link
Hi Kristopher,Could you please explain what "red shift" means? I just received a 1905FP, and while I was watching a Sex and the City episode I noticed a red drift/shift type of artifact. It was as if the red colour was lagging behind everything else. It was easiest to see under their noses, like they were all getting nosebleeds. Other than that, I haven't really seen this "drift" in other media. I'll keep watching and let everyone know.
Thanks,
Visor
goldsheet - Saturday, April 2, 2005 - link
Recently bought one for $317 (after 40% off coupon) and am quite satisfied for business applications. Video and gaming not a priority for me.falcc - Monday, March 14, 2005 - link
I just recieved mine as well. It was 20% off so it was a fantastic price when you compare it to the Samsung. Movies aren't great on it but I'm quite happy with the quality in games. I've come from a CRT and this is my first LCD. When I first played HL2 on it I wasn't overly pleased but after adjusting the brightness etc. it is now great.tscholz - Thursday, March 3, 2005 - link
Just bought this monitor, everything looks perfect. There is very little ghosting, and the contrast is very good. Like #54, video is very blocky when playing DivX/XviD/whatever. But I think this because of the lack of blooming in LCD screens, artifacts of movies are more visible. Can't see any other way a monitor can affect video playback.The reason i bought it, was in part bacause of this article, and that is uses the same panel as the Samsung 139P. But while being as good as the Samsung 139P, it costs less.