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jbr · Oct 1, 2004, 08:41 AM

How would this display serve as a screen in a dual monitor set up? Would my aluminum G4 (1.25 gHz, 64 MB VRAM) run it at it's native (1600 x 1200) resolution? Does it have enough horsepower to run it for game playing?

James

iREZ · Oct 1, 2004, 10:25 AM

Although it's a Dell and I hate Dell, I have to admit that their FP's are pretty exceptional. It would be fine with the PB that you have, you should be able to drive both monitors together for productive purposes, but if your going to game make sure you only run the Dell and not your PB screen. When both screens are running it cuts your VRAM in half, but when only the FP is being run, then it gets all 64MB instead of 32MB. It could run it native resolution of 1600 x 1200 too. Have fun.

typ993 · Oct 1, 2004, 11:05 AM

I've been using the older version of this monitor (2000FP) for a couple years now with my TiBook 1GHz. No problems at all. Love the multiple inputs. Got my Mac hooked up to the DVI port, PC hooked up to the analog video, and I'll soon have an Xbox going into the S-video port.

I don't play games on it with my TiBook ('cause it's underpowered for games), but it works just fine with my fast PC. No ghosting of images that I can tell.

I'd get it. Dell's monitors have great bang for the buck.

RealMac · 07:35 PM

[removed way-too-big (800px) inline image. Please observe the inline image posting rules. --tooki]
I got my brand new 2001fp today. Here it is alongside my PowerBook G4. A Power Mac G5 is on the way also.

jbr · Oct 1, 2004, 09:12 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear my powerbook will handle this display. I'm strongly leaning toward getting it now (Dell Home has it for 20% off with free shipping). Nice to see the pic too (this is what my setup would be, (including the icurve). I admit I also have this irrational hesitation to get anything Dell. IREZ, how do you run it without the pb screen to enable all 64 mb of VRAM)? RealMac, How's your initial experience with it?

MrForgetable · Oct 1, 2004, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by jbr:
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear my powerbook will handle this display. I'm strongly leaning toward getting it now (Dell Home has it for 20% off with free shipping). Nice to see the pic too (this is what my setup would be, (including the icurve). I admit I also have this irrational hesitation to get anything Dell. IREZ, how do you run it without the pb screen to enable all 64 mb of VRAM)? RealMac, How's your initial experience with it?

clamshell mode.

RealMac · 01:28 PM

Originally posted by jbr:
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear my powerbook will handle this display. I'm strongly leaning toward getting it now (Dell Home has it for 20% off with free shipping). Nice to see the pic too (this is what my setup would be, (including the icurve). I admit I also have this irrational hesitation to get anything Dell. IREZ, how do you run it without the pb screen to enable all 64 mb of VRAM)? RealMac, How's your initial experience with it?

So far, my initial experiences with it have been quite positive. I didn't really want to buy anything from Dell, but the price was right. For me, I got the display for $731.50 including tax and shipping.

Would you rather pay $1299 for a widescreen apple display with a slightly lower resolution, or $~800 for something that offers the same brightness, response time and a slightly better dot pitch. I think the Dell display has a 2 yr warranty vs Apple's 1 year too.

jbr · Oct 5, 2004, 08:14 AM

Thanks for the advice. I decided to buy it, got it for $708 shipped (including tax).

James

riotge@r · 07:34 PM

Originally posted by jbr:
Thanks for the advice. I decided to buy it, got it for $708 shipped (including tax).

James

Good deal. I bought mine for about the same on eBay. I use two. One at home for my PC and one at work. Great LCD.

[removed WAY huge (799px, 200KB!!) inline image, well in excess of the maximum we allow. --tooki]

amazing · Oct 6, 2004, 10:32 AM

Originally posted by jbr:
Thanks for the advice. I decided to buy it, got it for $708 shipped (including tax).

Great price! Please report back when you get it, like how easy to setup, your satisfaction level, etc. And don't forget that you always get some cool stickers to plaster over any logos...!

Riotge@r: I love that photo! Is the desk always that clean?

Fiete5401 · Oct 6, 2004, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by RealMac:
I got my brand new 2001fp today. Here it is alongside my PowerBook G4. A Power Mac G5 is on the way also.

What about the fans of the PB? Are they runnig all the time?
I'm going to get a 15" PB and maybe the Dell UltraSharp 2001FP too. I currently have a 12" PB with a 19"-CRT attached to it (closed lid) and the fans are running 95% of the time I' using it.

shortyes · Oct 6, 2004, 06:59 PM

Question, how does the PB behave once you plug in a LCD monitor? Planning on getting a LCD for home use.

I am use to a PC laptop with a docking station that I plug the laptop in and it basically becomes a desktop PC. I just push a button and the LCD lights up and I use a keyboard and mouse while the laptop is closed on the docking station.

SplijinX · Oct 6, 2004, 07:17 PM

Check out the current deal, probably won't last too long:

http://slickdeals.net/#p5279

Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD for $674 shipped and 1901FP 19" LCD $490 shipped.

jbr · Oct 7, 2004, 01:47 PM

Initial reaction to this new display is very positive. It was a snap to set up. It comes in two pieces, the base and the display. The display snaps right onto the base with an audible click and it's ready to go. I spent a lot of time fixing my rat's nest of cables, connected the DVI and it worked perfectly. It came with the VGA cable attached and the DVI cable in the box. Also came with an extra USB cable. Power cord has a brick but the cord is in two pieces (brick to outlet and display to brick. Both are quite long and easy to locate near the back of desk so they're unobtrusive.

The display itself is huge! I've just started using it and am not at all used to this much space! Plus I'm running my powerbook as a display adding even more space. The text is very crisp and easy to read (the display is set at 1600 x 1200). Haven't done any graphics stuff yet or games but colors look great on web pages. The display is perfect with zero stuck pixels. It's very nice having the space to not need to scroll on web pages and text documents.

The base is also extremely adjustable making it very easy to find a good ergonomic setting for it. It also flips up into portrait mode but I don't think my videocard will support that mode.

I haven't tried clamshell mode yet, I've just run it in dual display mode. The powerbook has handled it so far perfectly.

I'll add more after I've had more time to play.

riotge@r · Oct 8, 2004, 01:37 AM

Riotge@r: I love that photo! Is the desk always that clean?

It gets cleaned up once a week.

RealMac · Oct 11, 2004, 09:33 AM

Ok, here is a pic that is in compliance with the inline image rules..

jbr · Oct 11, 2004, 08:59 PM

OK, more tidbits. Clamshell mode works perfectly. I do need to pause for 3-5 seconds after closing my pb lid before switching on the display but if I can restain myself that long it's fine. When I go into clamshell mode I open the powerbook lid after it starts as a precaution to not overheat it (probably not an issue but easy to do and I'm a bit paranoid).

Games can be played in windowed mode on the dell display and are 1:1 which improves their performance and appearrance (I've only played NOLF which has a max resolution of 1280 x 1054 - I set it to play in a window rather than full screen which would be 1600 x 1200 but interpolated = playing in the window looks and plays better).

shortyes: clamshell mode is with the pb lid closed (actually I open it after starting it up in this mode) and running just the dell display. I also run it in dual monitor mode giving me extra screen space. In both cases I'm using an external keyboard and mouse.

Fiete5401: the fans on the pb don't seem to be running much more than usual, nothing unusual. I do have it set up on an iCurve. It stays nice and cool as usual.

amazing: the display looks much better than I thought it would. The dell logo doesn't really bug me, I think the display is so bright and huge I barely notice the bezel. Plus I tend to keep my office fairly dark with just some spot desk lites for written work which helps to obscure the dark bezel on the dell even more.

FWIW: I'm loving this display. Dual monitor mode is great.

James