Dell 2005FPW
The 2005FPW uses two very interesting selling points. It costs less than 700€ US $600 (the EU price is only supposed to be a temporary promotional price) and it’s the only 16/10 monitor of this test (all others are 4/3). This unusual format should first of all attract movies fans, but also users who want to enjoy a kind of multi-display with only one monitor. The screen is so wide that it’s tempting to put two text pages side by side to copy and paste parts of text from one to another, or two Excel tables etc. (see verdict below), etc.
NB : the Dell monitor price is 697 € / US $561.75, and said to be only available for European customers until the 22/02. According to the manufacturer this corresponds to a 20% price reduction.
Ergonomics
Analogical, DVI; vertically adjustable, satisfactory panel incline angle, HUB USB (!), two ports on the right side of the screen (for webcam, USB key…), cable guide on the back, thin body. This isn’t just a list of features but a lesson in ergonomics to its competitors. This monitor also features an S-Video and composite input to connect your DVD player, for example. You will be able to fully enjoy the PIP function
Picture In Picture, (accessible via a control in front of the computer) putting a game, some text, or current work on the left and a video recorder on the left. It’s useful to spot the end of commercials when viewing your favourite program or even watch a movie while you are working (may harm productivity!). Of course, some of you may be unhappy about the quality of the composite signal and would have preferred component signals etc. But let’s just say it’s a great start.
All these features are included in an excellent design and crystal clear OS. It’s really great, intuitive, clear, complete etc…We really fell for this screen!
In addition, the monitor features an IPS LG-Philips panel. There’s so much to be excited about. Let’s hope that it will be at least as good as the Philips…
Color quality
Tests at 6500KThe 2005FPW is very, very bright. The white is at 353 cd/m²! It is maybe because Dell’s engineers put more effort in video quality than for other possible uses, and that they wanted to have a perfectly visible image even in a well lighted room. This choice (we feel that it wasn’t the best) also has a huge disadvantage. IPS technology tends to produce a less deep black than VA technology, and with this screen this effect is amplified. The black is at 0.76 cd/m². This figure is far from the impressive 0.20 cd/m² of the Sony SDM-S204H.
Intermediate colors, however, are perfect. This is another positive for movies.
How to interpret the graph?
The X axis is 0 to 100, 0 is black and 100 is white.
When Delta E > 3 the desired colors is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
When 1 < Delta E < 2 colors are accurate. When Delta E < 1, the result is perfect.
The spectrum graph is here to show how many colors the monitor is able to display, not if they are accurate:
Tests at 5000KBecause this screen is not an ordinary monitor, and it might be interesting for graphic designers who want to work on an image and have a colour palette in their work space, we have tested it with a color temperature of 5000K. Brightness is reduced to 297 cd/m², and the darkness is slightly deeper at 0.67 cd/m². Intermediate color shades are still very good.
It’s important to know that only a few CRT monitors are able to reach under 0.5 cd/m² for black.
Viewing angles
The picture is perfect until 120°, and good until 150°. Beyond this the image whitens, but we don’t find anything wrong here.
Interpolation
The result is so good that you probably won’t notice you aren’t in standard mode.
However, if the lower sharpness and distortion effect disturbs you, activate the window mode via the OSD. As we mentioned before, the OSD is so pleasant that we don’t mind using it again.
Games
Here it’s a little disappointing : the 2005FPW is less reactive than the Philips monitor. It’s better than VAs but afterglow is still noticeable. It is low enough to use with FPS games from time to time. For other games which don’t require too much jumping around it’s perfect.
Another unfortunate downside is with standard settings the picture isn’t wider on this screen, it’s less high. We could have imagined the same height but with a wider picture, but this isn’t the case. Horizontal framing with standard settings remains identical. So the picture is cut on the bottom and top. This result is obvious in the Far Cry screenshot.
Far Cry standard setting 1650 x 1080 - Far Cry 1280 x 1024However, don’t despair. A lot of games, most of them FPS, offer the possibility to manually change the user’s viewing angle, via the console and FOV command + the viewing angle. With standard settings players see at 90° (picture above). This is the result with a 110° viewing angle.
FarCry 1680 x 1050 with 110° FOVThe result shows that we could even increase the angle to 120° to have the same vertical framing as a picture in 1280 x 1024.
Useful, a US forum Widescreengamingforum.com, has listed all games which have identical problems with wide monitors. So check first if the game you want is affected before buying.
Video
There is a twinkling effect, but it’s negligible as soon as we back away from the screen. Viewing angles are wide, reactivity is enough for video, and the panel format is ideal. It’s great for movies!
Verdict
It is a little less reactive than the Philips but has impressive ergonomics. Also, you can really use it like two monitors:
It is possible to simultaneously display two text pages.
Take a look at this manufacture’s dead pixel policy by clicking here! PS: some forum readers mentioned a lack of uniform brightness especially visible in the corners. Our model didn’t have this problem.
