[mac_addict415]

Which display do you think is better?

I can get bother for almost the same price. I understand Dell's monitors are samsungs. But is widescreen better than 18in?

[Mithras]

1. People have had problems getting the 172W to work with Macs. Not sure if that's been resolved or not.

2. The 1800FP has more pixels (1280x1024, versus 1280 x 768) and a larger screen area. It's not really a contest.

But have you considered the 172T? It has more pixels than the 172W, and costs less. People around here love it.

[bwahahax]

The 172T kicks a$$!!!

(Just wish I'd bought the silver one.)

[slffl]

I have to 3rd the 172T. Image quality is awesome. Only problem I've had is when I hook it up to my 17" PB via DVI, it looks like it's missing the color blue. But I still havn't been able to figure out if it's the 17" PB problem or the monitor as I have to other DVI monitor to test it out with.

[mac_addict415]

Two things?

isn't the 172T the same as the dell 17". What is the cheapest you can find the 172T, with DVI. Techdepot has the 172w for 529. And you can get the dell 18" for 456 or something.

[kennedy]

Is the 172T way better than the 172N?

I ask because I continue to compare monitors at the local stores... and they all have the 172N... and none have the 172T. And the 172N is consistently worse looking, in both color and clarity, than the other monitors the stores sell (including Envision, Kogi, KDS, NEC, Sony, and others). Its really not even close.

The Samsung 191 is far more competitive... one of the best 19's on the shelves... but it is also far more expensive.

[bwahahax]

The Samsung 172T is not the same as the Dell 1700FP to which the specs will attest.
I was able to find the 172T for $685 Canadian, the equivilent of $486 American.

The 172T, as you will see, is a much better display than either the Dell 1700FP , the 172N, or the 172W. All the specs not listed are equivilent. I hi-lighted only the ones where there was a difference for one of the models. You can verify this for yourself by visiting the respective websites.

Dell 1700FP
Resolution: 1280x1024
Brightness: 170 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 200:1
Viewing Angles: 160º Horizontal x 160º Vertical
Interface: VGA

172W
Resolution: 1280x768
Brightness: 450 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 400:1
Viewing Angles: 140º Horizontal x 110º Vertical
Interface: DVI & VGA (essentially, you can hook up two different computers, and switch between them with the press of one button)

172N
Resolution: 1280x1024
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 350:1
Viewing Angles: 140º Horizontal x 120º Vertical
Interface: VGA

172T
Resolution: 1280x1024
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 500:1
Viewing Angles: 170º Horizontal x 170º Vertical
Interface: DVI & VGA (essentially, you can hook up two different computers, and switch between them with the press of one button)


As you can see, the Samsung 172T is, hands down, the best display of the bunch.

[kennedy]

Originally posted by bwahahax:
The 172T, as you will see, is a much better display than either the Dell 1700FP , the 172N, or the 172W.

Ahhh, thanks for collecting those... that explains a lot.

From my looking at displays, the brightness spec doesn't seem to be too important... most of the displays are plenty bright for computer usage. The contrast spec seems a much stronger indicator. And even stronger might be the viewing angle... it doesn't just tell you how far from center you can get... but I think it turns out to be a fairly good indicator of the quality of the TFT active matrix. Even viewed head-on, the color richness seems directly proportional to the viewing angle spec.

Do others' eyes see things similarly?

[bwahahax]

Yes. I would agree that brightness really isn't an issue.
Unless you're working somewhere with a lot of sunlight/glare, or for some reason require a really bright screen, 300 cd/m2 is really enough.

I have turned down the brightness on my 172T to 0% for everyday use. However, I do find myself turning it up to play games.

Contrast is very important. And I think this is an area where LCDs can still improve. I compared my display with a 19" KDS Trinitron CRT we have here, and the Trinitron has better contrast and richness of colour.

I found that the screen on my 12" iBook looked drastically different, depending on what angle you were viewing it from. There was even a substantial difference between the top and bottom of the screen when looking at it head-on. With the 172T, I have not experienced either of these things.

Another reason I would choose a Samsung over a Dell, or many other LCDs, is that most now have this really neat (AND practical) folding "Z" stand. It makes it much easier to set-up and adjust the display to meet your ergonomic and work-environment needs.

[willab]

Circuit City has the 172t for 400.

[vmpaul]

Originally posted by willab:
Circuit City has the 172t for 400.

That's a good price. Really, I just did a search and there was nothing close to $400.

What's their dead pixel return policy?

[bwahahax]

That I don't know about. Although, I remember reading up on LCD dead pixel return policies where they compared all the manufacturers. It's out there somewhere.

Mine did come with one dead pixel. And I was so sure, before I bought it, that a dead pixel would bug the $hit out of me.

Honestly, I don't even notice. It's located in the center of the the upper-right quadrant, but never seems to get in the way. The finger prints and little pieces of dirt that cling the screen are MUCH more noticable.

Just my opinion.

[kennedy]

Originally posted by willab:
Circuit City has the 172t for 400.

Are you sure it is the 'T' and not the 'N'?
I am looking at a Circuit City ad right now... $399 after rebate for the 172N. I visited my CC just a week ago... they only had the 172N... I was hoping to at least see the oft-recommended 172T, but no such luck.

[slider]

Originally posted by Mithras:
1. People have had problems getting the 172W to work with Macs. Not sure if that's been resolved or not.

Who has been having trouble with the 172W? I know that someone was having trouble with the PowerBook DVI to the 172W, but that was the only problem I had come across. Who else has been having problems? My folks are getting a new G5 this fall and I was recommending the 172W. The have poor eyes and would not use the highest resolution plus my dad really like the wide screen he saw in the 17" iMac because he uses a lot of spread sheets and really liked the layout. That is why I thought the 1280x768 would be perfect for them.

[willab]

Originally posted by willab:
Circuit City has the 172t for 400.

Sorry that's the 172n.

[Cadaver]

The Dell 1800FP uses the uncommon BGR subpixel arrangement, vs. the much more common RGB. This results in MacOS X's font-smoothing algorithms for LCDs to not look right (blurry) on the 1800FP. The smoothing algorithm for CRT displays will look fine, but not as sharp as it would on any other LCD.

Unless Apple (or someone else) patches OS X's text anti-aliasing, I don't recommend the 1800FP. I have one on my PC, and while Windows XP's (post-service pack 1) ClearType supports the BGR subpixel configuration, MacOS X does not.

[kennedy]

Originally posted by Cadaver:
The Dell 1800FP uses the uncommon BGR subpixel arrangement, vs. the much more common RGB. This results in MacOS X's font-smoothing algorithms for LCDs to not look right (blurry) on the 1800FP.

Very interesting. How can you tell if a particular monitor uses BGR rather than RGB? What other monitors use BGR?

[Lizard7]

The 172t is fantastic. It's amazing how it fits into such a tiny box. Very handy when moving.

[cSurfr]

I was a big fan of widescreen until I got my Ti 550. Rarely with the exception of Quake 3 or other FPS's could I find a game to support the wide res. Also keep in mind that the widescreen samsung doesn't come close to the same res as the 17" iMac or Powerbook display. In fact I don't think I've found a widescreen display that does that res with the exception of the Silicon Graphics 1600SW which I think is 1600x1080 or something crazy like that, plus you need the multilink adapter to get if to work with the mac. Which makes the cost over 400.00 more.

cs

[Eug]

I have to 3rd the 172T. Image quality is awesome. Only problem I've had is when I hook it up to my 17" PB via DVI, it looks like it's missing the color blue. But I still havn't been able to figure out if it's the 17" PB problem or the monitor as I have to other DVI monitor to test it out with.

Something is screwed up there. Works fine with my TiBook's DVI. DVI connection on monitor or PB? Cable? As you can see in the pic, there is lots of blue on mine. Thx for giving me an excuse to post this picture again...

isn't the 172T the same as the dell 17". What is the cheapest you can find the 172T, with DVI. Techdepot has the 172w for 529. And you can get the dell 18" for 456 or something.

In Toronto you can walk into the store today and buy one for CAD$659 (US$483).

I would steer clear of the 172W because it's a smaller screen with lower resolution, it costs more, and some systems/apps have problems using the non-standard resolution.

essentially, you can hook up two different computers, and switch between them with the press of one button

That's what I do actually. The 172T is connected to my PC (under the desk), but when I want to use my laptop with it (as in the picture above) I just use the second cable and switch inputs. The only bug is though switching to VGA. Once in a while it just likes to stick with DVI. To switch back sometimes I have to unplug the DVI, shut off the monitor and then let it select VGA. No biggie though, since it takes all of 10 seconds.