I can see clearly now

Following sesquipedality's eBay bid on and subsequent purchase of a Dell 2405FPW TFT monitor, it is time for my confession.

I too looked at the ad. I too drooled, because I've been saying for a couple of years that I wanted a bigger monitor, but that it had to meet certain criteria.

It had it provide a bigger viewable area. It had to provide a better pixel count. I had to be able to get it on a desk pushed back against a wall. It had to be affordable.

Since it would be replacing a 19" CRT running at 1280 x 1024, that probably meant a 1600 x 1200 flatscreen, either LCD or plasma, and at some distant time in the future when the prices had dropped well below the grand mark.

And then this offer turned up. £600. Erk.

Oh, and bofhcam had also raved about the one that he got a few months back.

Almost simultaneously, my half-yearly bonus appeared in my pay packet. Well, what else could I do?

And it truly is gorgeous. I now have something that is as high a resolution as I can sensibly want (about 100 dpi), fills most of my field of view, and eats much less power that the humongous Iiyama CRT did. If I'm looking for any flaw, then the blacks aren't solidly black in the titles to the third Lord of the Rings DVD, but the level of detail is much more than we can see on the TV downstairs. (And I suspect that the problem with the blacks is the digitisation process - I'll try with a Pixar film next.)

As for games - well, World of Warcraft is quite impressive. I'm seeing more detail in the distance, while being able to get more near-range sense of what's going on.

All in all, I'm very happy with it. And I can't see any pixels stuck either on or off, so quality control at the Dell plant is working correctly.

Aha, it looks like they're offering more, another 25 on offer.

I can see clearly now

Following sesquipedality's eBay bid on and subsequent purchase of a Dell 2405FPW TFT monitor, it is time for my confession.

I too looked at the ad. I too drooled, because I've been saying for a couple of years that I wanted a bigger monitor, but that it had to meet certain criteria.

It had it provide a bigger viewable area. It had to provide a better pixel count. I had to be able to get it on a desk pushed back against a wall. It had to be affordable.

Since it would be replacing a 19" CRT running at 1280 x 1024, that probably meant a 1600 x 1200 flatscreen, either LCD or plasma, and at some distant time in the future when the prices had dropped well below the grand mark.

And then this offer turned up. £600. Erk.

Oh, and bofhcam had also raved about the one that he got a few months back.

Almost simultaneously, my half-yearly bonus appeared in my pay packet. Well, what else could I do?

And it truly is gorgeous. I now have something that is as high a resolution as I can sensibly want (about 100 dpi), fills most of my field of view, and eats much less power that the humongous Iiyama CRT did. If I'm looking for any flaw, then the blacks aren't solidly black in the titles to the third Lord of the Rings DVD, but the level of detail is much more than we can see on the TV downstairs. (And I suspect that the problem with the blacks is the digitisation process - I'll try with a Pixar film next.)

As for games - well, World of Warcraft is quite impressive. I'm seeing more detail in the distance, while being able to get more near-range sense of what's going on.

All in all, I'm very happy with it. And I can't see any pixels stuck either on or off, so quality control at the Dell plant is working correctly.

Aha, it looks like they're offering more, another 25 on offer.