Dell 2007WFP Good buy still?

[Moshiiii]

Hello,
I'm about to checkout at Dell Outlet.com.
I've got a Dell Refurbished UltraSharp 2007WFP 20-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor in my shopping cart and plan to checkout with a total of $309.23 shipped.
I'm planning to hook this lass up to my macbook pro.
Are these refurbished dells still the best bang for your buck?
I don't mind buying refurbished, my 32" tv is refurbished and i love it.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

Yes, its a gorgeous monitor and a steal of you get an S-IPS panel. Its still nice if you get a PVA panel. I'd go for it.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

I agree, it's still a great monitor. Lord knows that if Apple ever releases new displays they'll probably be at an ungodly price compared to the Dell...and truthfully, I notice zero difference (besides the aesthetics, which isn't worth $250-300 in my opinion).

 

[suneohair]

Yeah I wish Apple would drop the price on the 20", at least to $450 - $500. Preferable lower.

I recently bought a refurb 2007, I lucked out and got an S-IPS panel, no dead pixels, and neglible backlight bleed.

Dell started to use internal codes for the panels instead of displaying them in the service menu. RT803 is the S-IPS based on "overwhelming evidence."

Here is a large thread that discusses this and give you details on how to find the info. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1111100

It really it luck of the draw and as of later most of the new ones have been pva. I got lucky on my refurb. I am pleased with it thus far though.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

To be honest, I don't really mind PVA. I've got a Gateway 24'' LCD thats PVA and it looks fantastic to me. No worse then my S-IPS Dell 20''.

edit:

The viewing angles are a *little* worse, but who is really going that far to the side on a 20'' monitor?

 

[Aaon]

To be honest, I don't really mind PVA. I've got a Gateway 24'' LCD thats PVA and it looks fantastic to me. No worse then my S-IPS Dell 20''.

I'm torn actually between the Dell 2007, the Dell 2407, and the Gateway 2485. What do you think of your 2485? Why that over the Dell? Thanks!

 

[xfiftyfour]

We have two of the 2007wfp monitors in our house and we both love 'em.

Also, they're both PVA, but I've never noticed any problems before - I only just became aware of the implications of S-IPS vs. PVA. I wouldn't buy too much into the hype of the "Dell lottery", to be honest.

I say go for it.

 

[daneoni]

What's the difference between PVA and S-IPS and how do you tell which has which and what does Apple use?

 

[rogersmj]

PVA panels have the advantage of being faster and somewhat cheaper to produce. IPS panels are more color-accurate. Apple uses all IPS panels. That said, as someone mentioned modern PVA panels are very good.

I have a Dell 2007WFP with an IPS panel, I bought it because I wanted a display that matched my iMac's internal display as closely as possible. I am very happy with it, as I notice no color differentiation between the two. The 2007WFP is a great monitor.

 

[Abstract]

The ADCs are definitely S-IPS displays. Are the displays in iMacs, even in the 24" model, also S-IPS? I thought they may have been PVA so that the price of an iMac wouldn't be sky-high. In fact, a 24" S-IPS panel may be 50-60% of the cost of a new iMac. That's why the Dell 24" monitors are all S-PVA. If they were S-IPS, they'd cost even more than they do now.


Anyway, I didn't even know that Dell 20" widescreens were available. Now I really want one, but only if it's S-IPS. I read about this "lottery" crap and since I do photography and photo editing (and I have these photos printed), the monitor I buy needs to be S-IPS. I'm not sure of buying a Dell is worth the risk of getting a PVA model. I don't have much money, so getting a PVA model would make an LCD not worth the money for me, while an S-IPS model would be well worth it.

 

[gauchogolfer]

What's the difference between PVA and S-IPS and how do you tell which has which and what does Apple use?

Here's a good summary of the technology: link.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

I'm torn actually between the Dell 2007, the Dell 2407, and the Gateway 2485. What do you think of your 2485? Why that over the Dell? Thanks!

The Gateway is gorgeous and I'd say its a much better buy then the Dell.

Some pro's for me were:

Not only are there two sets of component inputs (just 1 on the Dell), they actually work. On the Dell, they're basically a writeoff because the image they produce is horrible and they can't do 1080p.

HDCP - Dell theoretically supports it, but nobody can get the PS3 to work on the Dell in 1080p. Not that thats a problem for me, I've got a larger LCD that I use with the PS3, I just thought it was worth mentioning.

However, I think the Dell is aesthetically better looking. I love me a Dell monitor, and the lines on the Gateway aren't as sharp or "high tech" looking. It still looks great mounted, though.

 

[Moshiiii]

Very interesting, i was not aware of the s-ips vs pva panel lottery.
From what I can tell you actually have a better chance of getting a better 2007WFP (s-ips) when you buy a refurbished one, because the chances are its an older model?

 

[Shadowplay74]

Very interesting, i was not aware of the s-ips vs pva panel lottery.
From what I can tell you actually have a better chance of getting a better 2007WFP (s-ips) when you buy a refurbished one, because the chances are its an older model?

Can somebody explain to me what this s-ips vs pva stuff is all about? I've been thinking about getting the 2407WFP and am concerned that it won't have the 'glossy' display. Is this what that's about?

 

[Moshiiii]

Can somebody explain to me what this s-ips vs pva stuff is all about? I've been thinking about getting the 2407WFP and am concerned that it won't have the 'glossy' display. Is this what that's about?

From what I can gather when Dell first released the 2007WFP and other monitors they had a S-IPS pannel. When the reviews of the monitors were published they then switched over to the PVA pannels, which are cheaper and have a inferior color range than the S-IPS.

 

[xfiftyfour]

I've been thinking about getting the 2407WFP and am concerned that it won't have the 'glossy' display. Is this what that's about?

Er.. None of the dell displays have glossy displays, as far as I know. Most external monitors are matte.

 

[rogersmj]

Can somebody explain to me what this s-ips vs pva stuff is all about? I've been thinking about getting the 2407WFP and am concerned that it won't have the 'glossy' display. Is this what that's about?

Read what we already wrote in this thread, or read one of the dozens of threads on the forum already covering this. It has nothing to do with glossy vs. matte, nothing at all. All external monitors currently produced are matte anyway, so if you're concerned about not getting a glossy display then I guarantee you'll be disappointed -- none of them are.

 

[ChrisA]

Yes, its a gorgeous monitor and a steal of you get an S-IPS panel. Its still nice if you get a PVA panel. I'd go for it.

Yes, it's a gamble which you will get. I've read about people returnning the PVS pannels and re-ordering untill they get a S-IPS panel inside.

 

[ChrisA]

Can somebody explain to me what this s-ips vs pva stuff is all about? I've been thinking about getting the 2407WFP and am concerned that it won't have the 'glossy' display. Is this what that's about?

"glossy" is right up there with "lite" beer. Som really smart exec thought "We can add water to our beer and sell it it the same price if we market it right." and he did. Same with glossy pannels "we can skip that really expensive anti-glare coating process if we market it right" and Apple did.

All of the Dell monitors have the anti-glare surface. The difference is how the pixels are made and the range of colors that can be displayed.

Here is the info you need: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD#Types