# just got the 20 inch dell



## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

Well just got the 20 dell for 599 and i have to says its a really good quality screen.

I will check for dead pixels, What program is the best for this


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## jonmon (Feb 15, 2002)

cool
take pics of your setup


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## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

well i used pixel check v.1.2 
and no visable imperfections
And have no backlighting issues .

MY setup is just a modified mac mini and this screen, Thats it.


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## Ohenri (Nov 7, 2002)

no way?? You got urs delivered already?? nice... I had a ship date of 29th, but will x2 check online to see in case of any changes. 

Pls take pix. I can't wait. FInally, will be able to work on something more than this 12" screen. 

** edit/update **

Just checked online. Looks like I will be getting mine sometime nx week. Nice. A full week ahead of schedule... 

H!


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

Got home tonight and was pleasantly surprised to see it had arrived.

Damn this thing has huge screen realestate!


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## pent675 (Feb 5, 2005)

*Great*

Sounds great. I was looking at it and decided to wait. I would love to see a pic of this setup. I have a mini and would like to see how much space you have on either side of a window with Firefox running and have space for widgets on the sides.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

That's the deal of the year so far. Congratulations on your new monitor!

_(Eat your heart out, Lars. )_


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## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

I noticed there are some backlighting issues on the left top and bottom corners.
How do i get rid of this.

And how do you get widgets with OS X panther


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## pent675 (Feb 5, 2005)

konfabulator.com has them. I am runing them on my mini....very cool.


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## BeanBased (Mar 15, 2005)

I got the dell 2005FP as well. I was suprised when my old eMac (ati 7500) with the scanning hack recognized the Monitor and offered 1680x1050 as a resolution. 
I have found the image quality excellent.
I CRT I had plugged in was dull with the eMac output, but the 2005FP auto adjusted to the VGA signal and the display is not washed out at all!
--
Bean


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

That's pretty cool that your eMac's monitor spanning hack gives you native resolution and a heck of a lot of pixel real estate. Enjoy!


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## Chris Knight (Mar 12, 2005)

RawB8figure said:


> I noticed there are some backlighting issues on the left top and bottom corners.
> How do i get rid of this.


Return it to Dell and get them to send a new one.


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## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

what causes backlighting issues, is it the actual backlight placement or is it the lcd screen


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

I am so tempted to run the spanning hack on my G4 12" iBook just to use it with this amazing monitor but am a bit chicken.


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## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

Has anyone else got these screen s yet, If so any problems with it (backlight leakage or dead pixels)


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## BeanBased (Mar 15, 2005)

Hello RawB8figure,
No problems here. I was not able to find any dead/stuck pixels and I don't have any of the backlight leakage that I saw pictures of on other web sites.(mine was manufactured in March 2005 so perhaps the problem has been fixed)
If I had to be picky I would say that. At night when the screen is all black it is not totally black if you get my drift. I have seen this on most LCD screens. Also the coating on the screen makes it a little bit "sparkly".
--
Bean


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

RawB8figure said:


> Has anyone else got these screen s yet, If so any problems with it (backlight leakage or dead pixels)


No dead pixels that I can find and trust me I tried. The backlight leakage is very very negligible on mine and hardly noticable.


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## powerbooker (Mar 21, 2005)

*question about connecting monitors to powerbooks*

i just got my powerbook and i am a switcher...

i hear that if you connect a monitor to the powerbook, it dedicates half of it's ram to the monitor, and half to the powerbook lcd... is this true?
is there a way that i can have 100% go to the monitor for max quality?

also,
is there a way that i can close my powerbook and not have it go to sleep if i connect the s-video to a tv and output it that way?

ie - if i connect my powerbook through it's s-video out to the tv, and i play a dvd, is there a way i can i close the lid on the pb and not have it go to sleep; while still having it play the movie? AND also dedicate all it's memory to the tv screen output, as opposed to splitting it 50/50 with the powerbook lcd?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
powerbooker


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## boba fett (May 28, 2003)

Using your PowerBook G4 with the display closed

If you use an external display or projector with any PowerBook G4 or PowerBook (FireWire), you can close the display and still use the computer. Here's how.

(If you want to do the same thing with a Bluetooth USB mouse and keyboard, see this article.)
Make sure the computer is plugged in to an outlet using the AC power adapter.
Close the PowerBook's display. The PowerBook will go to sleep.
Connect the external monitor.
Turn on the external monitor.
Connect an external Apple USB keyboard and mouse. The PowerBook will wake from sleep. If you have an Apple display that also has a USB cable, connecting this cable will also wake up the PowerBook.


To use the internal display again, choose Sleep from the Apple menu, then wake the PowerBook by opening its display.


Tips
When you use your PowerBook with the display closed, you can't take advantage of Video Mirroring. If you have both a VGA and S-video source connected to the PowerBook, only the VGA device, usually an external display, will have an image.
Connecting an external monitor increases the power requirements of the PowerBook. Therefore, you must use the AC adapter whenever the PowerBook is connected to an external monitor. The PowerBook will not wake up if the power adapter is not connected, and if you disconnect the power adapter the computer will go to sleep.


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## DDKD726 (Feb 21, 2005)

boba fett said:


> Using your PowerBook G4 with the display closed
> 
> If you use an external display or projector with any PowerBook G4 or PowerBook (FireWire), you can close the display and still use the computer. Here's how.
> 
> ...



Does it work the same way for a G4 ibook?


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## vlade (Nov 29, 2004)

Mine just arrived today. No problems other than having to clean off my desk to make room for it. 

I have my PowerBook G4 (Titanium) set up right next to it, using an iCurve stand. I plugged it in, and it simply just worked. I love Macs.

Stephen


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

Still waiting for mine :Z mmmm... widescreen

Supposed to be here by wednesday. I hope so, I have to leave town thursday and I dont want it gathering dust at the post office. I sold my LCD and my TV to pay for this beastie so my PC is useless right now until it arrives. no worries though, my imac G5 is still kickin a$$. I just cant do any development.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Screen Spanning Doctor for iBooks... I am using it right now, but using the Clamshell mode on iBooks (closing the lid) is not the greatest. With Clamshell.. even though you are running 1 monitor, the second is still there while spanning, so if you drag something to the other window (even though you can't see it) you'll have a hard time getting it back. No problems running 2 screens, and yes, it does split the VRAM, but that isn't really all that bad. Watching a Movie on the other screen is as simple as dragging DVD player to the external Monitor. Dim your main screen with the keyboard buttons. Works great, I am a big movie buff.. and I was delighted to find out I could do it with my iBook. Now I can watch my movies from bed through my surround sound  YAY!


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Bajan said:


> I am so tempted to run the spanning hack on my G4 12" iBook just to use it with this amazing monitor but am a bit chicken.


 Don't be chicken  I've been running it solidly for 3 months now.. There haven't been any issues. A lot of people thought there would be heat issues. But in fact, the Video card isn't working any harder, since it's splitting the VRAM. I would tell anyone to use this hack. Especially if you need real estate. If I even need to check something with my 32MB Vid, just unplug the Apple VGA Connector and the Monitors go back to normal an Voila! Otherwise, my setup is constantly running both.


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## powerbooker (Mar 21, 2005)

boba fett said:


> Make sure the computer is plugged in to an outlet using the AC power adapter.
> Close the PowerBook's display. The PowerBook will go to sleep.
> Connect the external monitor.
> Turn on the external monitor.
> *Connect an external Apple USB keyboard and mouse. The PowerBook will wake from sleep. If you have an Apple display that also has a USB cable, connecting this cable will also wake up the PowerBook.*


Does this work though if i JUST use the s-video out to a tv? The tv obviously doesn't have a USB cable for it.

I'm looking to use my laptop as a dvd player (in a way), i just want to know if i can close the lid and play a dvd at the same time...it doesn't seem to work when i try it, as the dvd would just stop playing when i close the lid...


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

*XP woes*

I was so pleased to receive my 20" WS Dell. My older PIII, running XP (don't hate me!) cannot be set to the massive monitors native resolution.

Yeah, went looking for updated drivers (non-Windows users may wonder what the heck are drivers) - no luck - just wasted a whole bunch of time. May have to go back to the 17" CRT. Then I hooked it to my iBook G3- which also cannot drive the monitor at it's native resolution (1680x1050).

Now I'm suckered into buying a new computer......have to decide between 12" Powerbook or Mini...


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

TheBat said:


> Now I'm suckered into buying a new computer......have to decide between 12" Powerbook or Mini...


Sounds like Dell has a 'halo effect' to have Mac users upgrade. I was wondering, the pixels are so small, doesn't the non-native resolution look okay?


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## najibs (Feb 27, 2005)

Got mine today. Pics here:
http://www.pbase.com/jiber172r/gallery/dell_2005fpw


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

najibs said:


> Got mine today. Pics here:
> http://www.pbase.com/jiber172r/gallery/dell_2005fpw


Okay, why are you running an OS X theme for your Windows desktop? Mac-envy?


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## jonmon (Feb 15, 2002)

nice pics
looks like you want a mac


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

gmark2000 said:


> Sounds like Dell has a 'halo effect' to have Mac users upgrade. I was wondering, the pixels are so small, doesn't the non-native resolution look okay?


Yes, the non-native resolution is fine. I wanted the full resolution to have windows open side by side. The image is a bit stretched out, though. I've taken a cheap route for now - just ordered a video card from FutureShop for the Pentium III (will end up costing $100. I decided against the Mini, as I expect to get a G5 tower next year, and if I can sell this G3 iBook, will get a PowerBook.

As the Dell has DVI input, and a PB will drive it, the PB will become the main computer at home.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

*Mine arrived!*

http://homepage.mac.com/imcfly/Computer/PhotoAlbum57.html

What a fantastic monitor. Doom III looks outstanding on it and runs fine at full resolution. As does Colin Mcrae Rally 4. What I really noticed is how much better my iMac is at DVD output on it compared to my PC DVD software. But this monitor also has S-video and composite inputs as well and the svideo input from my dedicated dvd player looks great. I am blown away by the screen real estate. Also the monitor is very easy to adjust up/down, left/right, tilt up/tilt down with a single hand. Its very sturdy and solid. I should have bought two at that price ($599).

Plus there are tons of Picture in Picture modes... and Picture beside PIccture modes. And you can mix those modes between all 4 inputs VGA/DVI/Svideo/Composite video. 

Oh, and mine has zero dead/stuck pixels and I have yet to be able to detect any backlight bleeding issues. even with all black screens and all white screens with the brightness high and low. Im so impressed.

Plus you can turn this thing to portrait. Its a coders dream, I worked on a 10 page excel vba macro for an hour or so. I am now officially spoiled, you can see two pages of code top-to-bottom in portrait mode. It makes my job so much easier.

cheers to all who got in on this great deal


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## jonmon (Feb 15, 2002)

nice pics saxamaphone
looks like juggling those keyboards can be quite tricky


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## oryxbiker (Nov 29, 2001)

saxamaphone said:


> http://homepage.mac.com/imcfly/Computer/PhotoAlbum57.html
> 
> What a fantastic monitor. Doom III looks outstanding on it and runs fine at full resolution. As does Colin Mcrae Rally 4. What I really noticed is how much better my iMac is at DVD output on it compared to my PC DVD software. But this monitor also has S-video and composite inputs as well and the svideo input from my dedicated dvd player looks great. I am blown away by the screen real estate. Also the monitor is very easy to adjust up/down, left/right, tilt up/tilt down with a single hand. Its very sturdy and solid. I should have bought two at that price ($599).
> 
> ...


are you running the spanning hack on your iMac?


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## bob_james_bob (Mar 24, 2005)

How is it that you got the screen for 599? The dell site is telling me 899...


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## vlade (Nov 29, 2004)

One day sale.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

As Vlad said, the 10 days of dell had a series of 1 day sales. It was 2 saturdays ago these things were 999$ list + 10% off plus another ~200$ off + free shipping. In the end my total output was 641$ INCLUDING GST (599+7%)!

Its a very good monitor. After some more intense scruitiny the video inputs (svideo, composite) dont scale as well as I would like but they work well enough. And yes I have 'hacked' my iMac so I can span screens, iPhoto on this baby makes my 17" widescreen look pathetically small! I really like the 4 inputs that are all switchable. Ive changed my iMac so the dell is the main screen now (with dock, menus etc...) and I just switch back and forth between mac and pc. 

The DVD output from my Mac looks spectacular on the screen. from my PC (ASUS 5600FX dual DVI) the DVD output looks good, but not as good as the mac. And my iMac streams from a vga connection. But the games and desktop use through DVI connection from my PC looks outstanding. So bright and sharp I am caught just staring when I should be working or playing.

I had stopped playing games since I finished Doom III ages ago but now I am back with a vengence and working my way through www.widescreengaming.com to get everything pumping on widescreen.

Doom III looks outstanding. On my 1024x768 15" things look a little blocky, but with the larger screen you can actually appreciate the detail in the faces. I didnt think that increasing the resolution could make the game look so much better without pumping up the detail levels more or something. Anyways I might just muck my way through Doom III again to check out all the monsters in their full glory!

I have noticed some backlight bleeding after working with the monitor all last night but nothing that bothers me enough yet. If it becomes enough of an annoyance I will swap for another one. So far its a non-issue. Its about the same as my 17" imac and to tell the truth Ive never seen an lcd that didnt have a least some.

Based on the video inputs I think I will go with a computer based tv tuner since it should do a much better job scaling the output to fill the bulk of this screen. and based on my dvd experience it looks like a mac tv tuner. I might just sell my iMac and get a mini with a good tv tuner instead.

I'll keep you all posted.


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

What exactly is the "backlighting" issue? It has been mentioned a few times in this, and other threads, but I couldn't figure out what it means.

Thus far I'm very pleased with the quality of the monitor while using my PC. My iBook gives a totally horrible picture - blurry and wrong colours. The iBook correctly identifies the monitor, but only gives a choice of resolutions up to 1024 x 860. Any suggestions?

Thanks folks...


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

The "backlighting issue" is unevenness in the black areas of the screen. Set the desktop background to completely black and turn off the lights in the room. You will undoubtably notice some areas that are lighter than others. All LCD's have this issue, my ibook had it, my samsung had it (bare though), my dell has it, my nec at work has it. Some of the first runs of these dell monitors had it particularly bad i hear. 

As for you resolution it sounds like it is only trying to mirror it to the big display. Perhaps you need the screen spanning hack so you can have an independent resolution onthe second display. What iBook is it? if its an old clamshell maybe it cant support the high resolution... hard to say, need more details


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

saxamaphone said:


> What iBook is it? if its an old clamshell maybe it cant support the high resolution... hard to say, need more details


Thanks for the information. I'm using a 2,5 year old 12" iBook, dual USB, G3 700MHz, 256MB RAM.

Yes, at present the iBook just mirrors whatever is on it's screen. How do I get the "spanning" hack? Thanks.


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## mbaldwin (Jan 20, 2003)

Been away from here for a while, but I also got in on this deal. My display came on Wednesday and it is simply fantastic. No dead/stuck pixels and very even lighting.

I use two 17" Dell LCDs at work which are also very nice, so I decided to pick up a 20" as soon as the price was right. By some amazing coincidence I just stumbled across the $600 deal and ran straight for my credit card. 

I'd highly recommend Dell LCDs to anyone.

- Martin.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

*spanning hack*



TheBat said:


> Thanks for the information. I'm using a 2,5 year old 12" iBook, dual USB, G3 700MHz, 256MB RAM.
> 
> Yes, at present the iBook just mirrors whatever is on it's screen. How do I get the "spanning" hack? Thanks.


Look here...
http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/supportlist_e.html

Check to see if you iBook is indeed supported. This can be destructive if applied to a machine not explicitly supported. I certainly make no warranty claims other than to say it worked for my eMac 1GHz and my iMac G5...

do your homework


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## iNeedhelp (Oct 23, 2005)

Ew? Dell? I have heard some pretty bad things about Dell computers...there's even a site for people who hate dell. www.ihatedell.net


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## Bajan (Apr 11, 2004)

This thread is about the Dell 2005FPW LCD monitor. Not Dell computers.


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## mightyscoop1 (Sep 2, 2004)

iNeedhelp said:


> Ew? Dell? I have heard some pretty bad things about Dell computers...there's even a site for people who hate dell. www.ihatedell.net


Yeah, well everybody hates everything. Everything sucks, right? Look, here's a site for people who hate macs! http://www.jsmagic.com/spam/mac_bad.html


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## singingcrow (May 6, 2005)

mightyscoop1 said:


> Yeah, well everybody hates everything. Everything sucks, right? Look, here's a site for people who hate macs! http://www.jsmagic.com/spam/mac_bad.html


Poor souls.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

The 2005 FPW arrived this morning (Wed). I have a Radeon 9000 card which can do rotation; just for fun I'm running it in portrait mode, which is great.

It's very bright, even with brightness turned down to zero (which won't make it go black, it just lowers it a bit). I calibrated it with SuperCal and it appears to be quite colour-accurate so far.

No dead pixels, no issues with the backlight. I do have the "Mac won't shut down with DELL 2005FPW " issue, but that's easy to fix.

Cursor is OK but moving windows brings up obvious ghosting. No different than any other LCD I've seen or used.

Not living in Ontario, I didn't have to pay PST for a net of $ 625.86. Hard to beat.


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## iNeedhelp (Oct 23, 2005)

singingcrow said:


> Poor souls.


They've probably never even used a mac in their meaningless lives...


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