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Dell TN Panels...Are they really that bad?

gazfocus

gazfocus

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 3, 2008
1,650
0
Liverpool, UK
Ok, I know I'm likely to get shot down here but here goes...

I currently use a 23" Apple Cinema Display but I want 2 displays and can't afford another ACD. So...I've been looking at cheaper options and I've come across the Dell TrueColor E248WFP and the Dell S2309W.

While the E248WFP specs openly state that the panel type is TN, the S2309W is cheaper so I'm assuming that too is TN? Also, does anyone know why the 23" is almost £100 cheaper than the 24"?

I don't do any mega colour critical work but I do tend to be very picky about quality and I'm worried that being use to an ACD, I will have problems using the TN panels.

Do any of you use the cheaper Dell screens? What do you think about them? I know I can google for plenty of reviews but I want peoples 'real life' experiences.
 
I had the Dell 22" and hated it. The text looked horrible. Pictures and video looked great though.
 
The Dell Ultrasharp LCDs are pretty good. Any of the lower end (non-Ultrasharp) LCDs are typically garbage.
 
rhyx said:
The Dell Ultrasharp LCDs are pretty good. Any of the lower end (non-Ultrasharp) LCDs are typically garbage.
Click to expand...

Problem is, the Ultrasharp LCDs are ridiculously expensive (£550 for a 24" and £573 for a 27"), so it wouldn't be worth me going from an ACD for one of those.
 
Yes, the Dell TNs are rotten. Agree on the Ultrasharp/Non-ultrasharp... I had the Dell 22" briefly at work and it was abysmal. I couldn't get anywhere close to color accuracy, the color reproduction and banding made me want to vomit. I gave it to one of the developers and "acquired" a 20" ACD from someone else. But for myself I personally always buy Dell Ultrasharps -- I think I've owned 6 of them now over the years -- and I like them a lot. They're a little bit less than the ACDs, and you get a lot more features. I've got a 2407wfp and 2007wfp at home right now, both are great.
 
Umbongo said:
If I were in your situation I'd probably try and get a used 23" ACD from eBay for around £350.
Click to expand...

They seem to be going for more than that though now that they are not available from Apple anymore, especially since I'd only buy one thats less than a year old. I really can't afford £350+ for a 2nd display. I was hoping to sell mine then put the money from my ACD and spend a total of £600 (inclusive) absolute max on the 2 screens.
 
gazfocus said:
They seem to be going for more than that though now that they are not available from Apple anymore, especially since I'd only buy one thats less than a year old. I really can't afford £350+ for a 2nd display. I was hoping to sell mine then put the money from my ACD and spend a total of £600 (inclusive) absolute max on the 2 screens.
Click to expand...

Take a look here: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=17&catid=510

Not always the cheapest price (try scan.co.uk and ebuyer too) but it gives you an idea of your options.
 
Just wondering if anyone has any real world experience using these displays or any other displays priced around £250 - £300 ($350 - $500)
 
I have a Dell UltraSharp 1908w and I really like it, I believe (based on the 1909 specs) that this is a TN panel too, and I really think it's fine. I don't know what pricing is like [not in the USA] but here in the USA you can almost get two of Dell's UltraSharps for the same price as an Apple Cinema Display of the same size.

To my knowledge, you can plop a calibration device like an i1Display or a Spyder on top of any LCD, so if color accuracy is the big question, any of Dell's displays should work just fine.
 
Cory5412 said:
I have a Dell UltraSharp 1908w and I really like it, I believe (based on the 1909 specs) that this is a TN panel too, and I really think it's fine. I don't know what pricing is like [not in the USA] but here in the USA you can almost get two of Dell's UltraSharps for the same price as an Apple Cinema Display of the same size.

To my knowledge, you can plop a calibration device like an i1Display or a Spyder on top of any LCD, so if color accuracy is the big question, any of Dell's displays should work just fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah the pricing is a bit naff here to be honest. The 24" Ultrasharp is £550, the 27" Ultrasharp is £573 but the 23" ACD's were £699 but can be bought now for about £550 so about the same price as the 24" Ultrasharp.

However, the ultrasharps now have superior panels to the lower end. I'm not sure what panels they are but they're not TN anymore.
 
I'd rather use one 23" ACD than two 23" TN displays.

The trouble with TN is the lousy viewing angle. Color is totally inconsistent if you move your head even a few inches, either horizontally or vertically. If you don't care about color, then maybe you won't mind the TN.

I have one S-IPS (Dell 2007FP) and one TN (1907FP) display next to each other at work and the TN drives me bonkers. Unfortunately, it belongs to work, I can't change it, and I really, really need the screen real estate for what I do.

I second the idea to get a used 23" ACD or other *-IPS display instead if you really want two displays.
 
dal20402 said:
I'd rather use one 23" ACD than two 23" TN displays.

The trouble with TN is the lousy viewing angle. Color is totally inconsistent if you move your head even a few inches, either horizontally or vertically. If you don't care about color, then maybe you won't mind the TN.

I have one S-IPS (Dell 2007FP) and one TN (1907FP) display next to each other at work and the TN drives me bonkers. Unfortunately, it belongs to work, I can't change it, and I really, really need the screen real estate for what I do.

I second the idea to get a used 23" ACD or other *-IPS display instead if you really want two displays.
Click to expand...

Hi dal20402,
Thanks for your comments. Funnily enough, one thing I was contemplating this evening was keeping my 23" ACD and buying a TN display while I can't afford another ACD.

My only concern with this is when I originally got my ACD, I had it set up next to my old 19" Samsung TV/Monitor before I sold it and on the ACD, the colours were amazing but on the Samsung, the whites were pale yellow and the blacks were brown, etc. I don't understand why this happened because each display worked perfectly if it was the only one plugged in, but not when they were plugged in together.

Anyway, I digress...I know you said your TN panel at work drives you bonkers but may I ask why? For the time being, my 2nd display will be for running Windows in Parallels and/or having my email permanently open. However, eventually I would want to get 2 identical screens and maybe the 2nd ACD would become more difficult to buy in the future?
 
gazfocus said:
Hi dal20402,
Anyway, I digress...I know you said your TN panel at work drives you bonkers but may I ask why?
Click to expand...

Mostly because the narrow vertical viewing angle makes it impossible to sit in a position such that the colors are consistent between all parts of each screen.

If I sit so the top of the screens are consistent, the bottom of the TN screen is washed out. If I sit so the bottom of the screens are consistent, the top of the TN screen is dark. The difference is only a few inches of vertical head position.

Another problem is not strictly related to TN, but is likely to happen on cheap monitors; the color of the backlight in the 1907FP is horrendous, so that it's impossible to get a clean white from it. White looks great on the 2007FP but (depending on how I set the color) looks either brownish or bluish, never pure white, on the 1907FP.

If you're not as sensitive to color as I am, and you're just using it for text-based work (which it sounds like you are), then the 1 TN/1 IPS plan might work for you. At least when you're looking at pictures or movies you'd have one good display to do that on.

In the future, a perfect 23" ACD might be hard to find, but a 23" or 24" *-IPS panel that will look totally consistent with your ACD ought to be easy to find.
 
Is there a Dell UK Outlet store (on the website)? I know the US version the Ultrasharp (24" anyway) is about $100+ less than new. May be worth looking into. Also I believe there is a 22" Ultrasharp, but I don't know how much that differs from the 24". I seem to recall it was consierably less.
 
Superman07 said:
Is there a Dell UK Outlet store (on the website)? I know the US version the Ultrasharp (24" anyway) is about $100+ less than new. May be worth looking into.
Click to expand...

There is but they don't put monitors on it. You can get most Dell displays cheaper elsewhere in the UK anyway. Dell charge £550 (24"), £570 (27") and £1600 (30") and you can get those for £400, £470 and £1000 from other companies.
 
Dell don't make displays - they only make the plastic and metal that surrounds them.
 
Superman07 said:
Is there a Dell UK Outlet store (on the website)? I know the US version the Ultrasharp (24" anyway) is about $100+ less than new. May be worth looking into. Also I believe there is a 22" Ultrasharp, but I don't know how much that differs from the 24". I seem to recall it was consierably less.
Click to expand...

I just received the 22" Ultrasharp (2208WFP), and I was also looking at the 21.5" (S2209W) for the higher resolution but my fiancee picked up the 22". So far this thing is perfect, I don't do any photo or video work though so I cant speak for that aspect of its use.
 
gazfocus said:
Just wondering if anyone has any real world experience using these displays or any other displays priced around £250 - £300 ($350 - $500)
Click to expand...

Goto this link and do a search on the monitors your thinking about and find out the panel type and go from there, thats what I am doing right now.

As selling the current 23" ACD you have and buying 2 dells or others that are sub standard next to the ACD, I think you should save up and buy a used one or borrow. But to go from GREAT to So So for a monitor, up too you, its your ACD and your monitor.:D
 
itgoesbuzz said:
I just received the 22" Ultrasharp (2208WFP), and I was also looking at the 21.5" (S2209W) for the higher resolution but my fiancee picked up the 22". So far this thing is perfect, I don't do any photo or video work though so I cant speak for that aspect of its use.
Click to expand...

where did she get it? I have been looking for one of those :eek: Kidding it has a TN panel
 
I recently bought a dell ultrasharp 20" monitor, I needed a monitor for my mac pro and didn't have the money for anything else(from buying the MP).

I'm going to school for graphic design, and plan on getting a new monitor once I get the money
 
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