Which 30"?

Edit - Just wanted to make a note here about my experience AFTER my purchase - in case anyone else comes across this thread. two things you need to know about if you care about visual clarity & details:

• IPS Glow - This is kind of like backlight bleeding, maybe it is just that, but it's so prevalent in IPS panels that manufacturers make certain polarizers (A-TW polarizers) to mitigate this effect. As of this edit, there are zero 30" IPS panels on the market with this feature. You will have "IPS Glow" on your 30" - period
  
  
• "Dust/Dirty/Sparkle/Glitter/Film" on the Screen - Whatever you want to call it, this is the side-effect of the anti-glare coating used on the ALL current 30" IPS panels. They all have it. Some are worse than others. I have no idea which is best, but I can tell you first hand the Dell 3008WFP is awful. Some might say it's fine for general computing & gaming.. probably watching movies too - I wouldn't. IMO it's very distracting for detailed photo/vidoe editing.

here's a link to [h] where I got this info when people tried to help me understand what I was experiencing. If you see anything other than a Dell 3008WFP in my signature, then it's because I sold it because I couldn't stand looking at the thing... I'm probably going to get a NEC LCD2690WUXi-SV and do a side-by-side. One will be sold.


...original post follows...

NEC LCD3090WUXi
Dell 3008WFP
Dell 3007WFP HC
Samsung 305T
Gateway XHD3000

i was stuck between the NEC and the Samsung, but the Samsung is so much less expensive. Now I'm stuck between the 3008WFP and the NEC. The NEC is my favorite, and I would get it if it were ~$1600. $2100 is just too much. I can get the Dell 3008WFP for $1450... is that the way to go?

3008WFP is a nice monitor, dells higher end monitors have always been fuggin amazing.


my choice would be between the 3008WFP or the 305T tbh.

Dells are frikken amazing

I am VERY happy with my 305T. The display itself is quite good, my complaints are with the other stuff though.

There's no cable management whatsoever and they didn't even try to hide the DVA port.

As far as I know there's no OSD. There are only three buttons. Power, brightness up, brightness down. My Sony had different profiles for different settings, it was nice.

It has height adjust and decent tilt. The color quality is better than my old Samsung or my Sony P234-B.

Kai_Force said:

Dells are frikken amazing

Click to expand...

ya ima agree with that... dell 30inchers have always been tip top notch.

yesterday, i ordered the 3008WFP. gah, i kinda think i could end up with some buyers remorse on this one. already, today i was thinking of ordering the LCD3090! that way i could do a side by side.. then either return/sell the other. sheesh. lol

I have a Gateway XHD3000 and lemme tell you, you'd be lucky if you get one that works 100%.

so the higher end dells are gauraunted to not have TN panels? (the ultra sharps i assume?) as i may be getting 30' or dual 24's

I believe the only 30" 2560x1600 panels made at this time are IPS.

Mr.Guvernment said:

so the higher end dells are gauraunted to not have TN panels? (the ultra sharps i assume?) as i may be getting 30' or dual 24's

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend a single 30" over dual 24"s

MadMan007 said:

I believe the only 30" 2560x1600 panels made at this time are IPS.

Click to expand...

Samsung 305T = S-PVA
Dell 3008WFP = S-IPS
NEC LCD3090WUXI = H-IPS.
The 3007WFP-HC = S-IPS.
Gateway XHD3000 = S-PVA

Couple of questions about 30"ers.

Which e-tailer is the best for buying LCD's?

Do any games support the 2500x1600 30" resolution yet?

Well I think a lot of them do.

100% sure CS:S does. Playing it right now.

I think GTA: SA did too

UT3 pretty sure
Grid 99% sure
Team Fortress 100%
Latest Hitman did.

Most games I'd say.

It's really, really, really, really, really demanding on your system though.

I believe most of the newer games do support the 2560x1600 resolution as it has become quite popular with benchmarks.

I have just been using www.dell.com and www.newegg.com to check out monitors as I'm in the market for a 24 incher.

i was getting 60fps in cod4 @ 2560x1600 using a single 9800gx2 (& Q6600 @ 3.6GHz). it was pretty sick actually. there are a few spots that dip down to ~25fps, but it was all perfectly playable imo... not for multi player tho.. i cranked the res down to 1280x720 for multi. higher res might be possible for multi, but i haven't played with it enough to find the optimal res for multi yet.

the only thing i'm not liking on my dell 3008 is this weird grainy-like "film" i see with light colors (eg like whites etc..). it's hard to describe, but it made me brush the screen b/c it almost seemed like there was dust on it. can't tell at all on darks.

however, regarding the darks, backlight bleeding is more noticeable when sitting close (within 6'). mine fans out in even 6" radius from the lower corners. can't see it from over 6' away. i tested this by turning the contrast all the way down to make my screen entirely blank. brightness was on 35. in actual use, i have not been bothered by backlight bleeding at all.

i'm hoping the grainy/film thing just needs proper calibration. ...which i hope to do tonight with my spyder2 pro

* should mention i've only used the dvi port so far, and have not tested any movies

subverb said:

Samsung 305T = S-PVA
Dell 3008WFP = S-IPS
NEC LCD3090WUXI = H-IPS.
The 3007WFP-HC = S-IPS.
Gateway XHD3000 = S-PVA

Click to expand...

i hear there's a 30" double sight coming too: DS-305W

Panel seems to be "LG-IPS". their 26" LCD was using the same panel as the NEC LCD2690WUXi, but not sure if they share the same 30" panels... definitely worth waiting for more info

tom10167 said:

I strongly recommend a single 30" over dual 24"s

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i am thinking over all real estate (image / web work), but i guess the higher res of the 30' is nicer?

Mr.Guvernment said:

... i guess the higher res of the 30' is nicer?

Click to expand...

i'm not so sure yet. see my posts above about the grainy look. if calibration doesn't help it, then i'll be scratching my head wondering if that "grain" is simply an artifact of resolutions/displays of this size.

leftheaded said:

i'm not so sure yet. see my posts above about the grainy look. if calibration doesn't help it, then i'll be scratching my head wondering if that "grain" is simply an artifact of resolutions/displays of this size.

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Hey Leftheaded,

I am very interested in purchasing this monitor but I'm worried about the "grain" issue you described.

It sounds like the "sparkling" issue I saw on the Dell 3007 a few years ago. It had a funky glitter on bright, white screens, and was the main reason I didn't buy it.

Could you please keep us abreast of your findings and any/all things you discover - both pro and con?

Also, could you please PM me with details on how to pick this monitor up for the $1450 price you wrote of earlier?

Thank you in advance.

I don't like newegg's dead pixel policy, unless it has something like 7 or more dead pixels on it newegg won't take it back for that reason. I guess you could lie and be like "oh um I wanted a different one", but that's iffy.

If I'm spending 1000+ on a monitor, it better damn well not have any dead pixels