Dell 2005FPW - A01

[JohnJr]

This forum displays a hunger for LCD's, in particular Dell. I found all this while trying to research the Dell 2005FPW before ordering one. After having trouble calibrating an old (but beautiful) 19" Sony CRT, I decided to replace it with an LCD after finding coupons and specials ($471) for the 2005FPW shipped and tax for $535 - I couldn't resist.

Anyway I ordered the Dell 2005FPW regular shipping on a Friday, it was at my door the next Tuesday. It was "assembled in Mexico" in March 2005, and looks like REV A01. All the talk about dead pixels, it took me a week to find the only one on the thing - and I haven't seen it since. It looks to me like the pixels are so small you can't really see them (dead ones) from a normal viewing distance.

Like it has been stated here before, the thing sure is bright. The hardware buttons don't really dim it much and I found by going to my ATI Radeon Catalyst settings I was able to completely turn it down. This may be becuase I have it connected using the DVI connector, I have noticed some menu controls are unavailable because of this.

A couple of surprises, I didn't realize these things (LCD's) really only operate correctly in one resolution (native mode). Also, this wide screen format is nice but this one seems to be not much larger than my 19" CRT was. The actual screen size measures 10-5/8 x 17-1/16 inches.

The unit sure is nice looking, even in power save. It takes up a lot less real estate on my desk. I plan on using it mostly for digital photography and Photoshop work.

I'll report back here after I get everything calibrated and some prints back from my labs. I also plan to hook it up with the VGA cable and see what is different or changes.

[stupot42]

Welcome John. I'm glad that you like your monitor, at least I think you like it. It sounds like it will be ideal for your purposes, and I think you'll find once you've used it for a while that there's no way it can be compared to a CRT. I swapped from a 19" LCD, and this is far superior. I couldn't possibly ask for more. Superb for photoshop and video editing. I love mine. :D Sad to say, but it's my pride and joy!

Edit: Just a thought, but perhaps this thread should be merged with the other 2005fpw thead.

[JohnJr]

Thanks stupot42 - the more I fiddle with it the more I like it.

I now have the Dell 2005FPW hooked up using dual connections, DVI and VGA. How sweet this thing works. There are many more options after making this arrangement.

The Dell unit is so sweet, the single button on front lets you pop back and forth from DVI to VGA, and remembers the settings. Once in VGA and a non supported resolution is detected (w/ auto fix on) it will adjust itself.

Thanks for the tip about combining the thread but the reason I started a new one is it just became so hard to comb through all those pages of messages, I think it got up to 70+ pages last time I looked.

JohnJr

[JohnJr]

oh yes,
I have this thing hooked up to an old ATI Radeon 7500 - works GREAT!

[JohnJr]

update:

The Dell provided (2005FPW) ICC profile and Photoshop do not get along. Photoshop displays a warning everytime it starts up claiming the file is corrupt. Re-installing does not fix the problem. I could not find any information on Dell or Adobe's website regarding the issue - still researching.
jlc

[stupot42]

I had the same thing, just go throught the adaption process in control panel... it's fine for me now. I can't remember the details, but if you want me to tell you I'll find out when at home tonight.

I think it's adobe gamma... can anyone remember?

[JohnJr]

Please do if it's not to much trouble, this is driving me crazy. I still have not got my 2005FPW LCD calibrated properly. Do you use any third party tools such as Spyder or MacBeth?

Thanks.

[stupot42]

Nope, I'm not running any third party tools.

I just went into Control Panel and ran Adobe Gamma, followed all the usual routine, and after that Photoshop was much happier, and so was I. :D Simple as that.

[JohnJr]

Wow! That worked.

All I did was run it, save something a profile with a different name, close Adobe Gamma. After that opening PSCS came right up with no warning errors.

Here's the kicker, after all that I went back and closed PSCS, went to Windows Display Properties and re-selected the original 2005FPW icm file. Fired up PSCS once again and now it works. Before when selecting use corrupt profile anyway my screen took on a dull yellowish cast.

Everything is looking good - Thanks.

[stupot42]

Glad that helped... Mine did the same. Fortunately I'd had a similar problem before with a monitor, and had stumbled across that as the fix. It worked again this time, so it seems that photoshop needs to be calibrated for TFT monitors, as I've never seen it with a CRT.

[JohnJr]

Anyone know if this panel is "DDC-enabled"?
Thanks.

[Mazaev]

Well, I got my 2005FPW yesterday. Chased down the UPS guy on the street and got it off the truck :-). Mine is A01, made in May 2005. This is my first LCD.

(Hi, BTW.. great board. Managed to read all the 2005 threads while waiting on this thing)

Anyway, at first, the monitor seemed a bit smaller then expected. About the same screen height as my 19" Viewsonic G790, though obviously wider.

Found one (might be 2 next to each other) dead pixel's in the bottom right corner, but it's in such a spot that it is far from bothersome. Some weirdness in the upper left corner as well, but a little massaging took care of that. The backlight, while a little too bright, is uniform. Certainly not worth the trouble of sending this thing back.

Gaming is really great on this. So far tried Battlefield 1942 (stretched, but looking great nontheless). Pariah in 1680x1050 looked really great as well. Too bad the game itself sucks. No ghosting issues whatsoever which is a relief.

In terms of watching movies, videos and DVD's, it's a bit of a 2 edged sword. Everything looks great in widescreen, but because of the resolution and monitor quality, the inevitable artifacts of highly compressed video stand out more then usual. I also connected my analog cable box to the composite input. The PIP is quite useful and going stretched fullscreen with CNN on instanly made me feel like I'm standing online at the bank. I see less cable reception problems on the LCD then are visible on my old 25 inch TV.

There is the brightness issue though. With brightness set at 0, I went to sleep with a headache last night. Lowered the gamma in RadLinker today and things are much more usable. Will see how the eyes react over time.

The only other thing I don't like is the stand. The position in which it "clicks" in the horizontal position is crooked and takes a bit of straightening out. The vertical position is just a tiny bit crooked as weel as it just stops short of being completely vertical. Overall though, I'm quite the happy camper.

BTW, does anyone know where I can get that fishtank screensaver that all the monitor displays in stores use?

[JohnJr]

I'm still liking mine however a real fix for the brightness thing is not resolvable.

[lowrads]

I can sympathize with the excessive brightness problem. The real source of the problem, I find, is almost complete lack of control over the backlighting in LCD monitors. Scouring google, I find plenty of complaints on the issue, but little technical discussion.

For my purposes, it would be just as well if I could simply turn the backlight on and off manually. I can't imagine that engineers could overlook something so basic for peripheral monitor users.

At the present moment, my computer collection boasts a unit which I inherited. It's one of those Gateway deals which is a very compact desk unit. The monitor and computer are all one piece. It makes a Compaq look generous in terms of refitting and upgrading. However, it is a decent and stable computer.

One continual obstacle I encounter over and over is the backlighting issue. I like to leave my machines on 23/7 pretty much. This is because I constantly have programs running or downloading. Unfortunately, the only time the backlighting shuts down is when the computer is off, hibernating, or in standby. In none of those states, however, is the computer able to complete any useful task.

With my grey boxes selected on the basis of anything but aesthetic principles, it is simply a matter of the heroic task of leaning over and turning the monitor off. I can even leave the machine to play an excerpt from the Rise of the Nibelungen for confidence in this travail.

The second problem is heat. Right now I've got a closed box with a lightbulb in it. There's not even any vents. Has the practice of planned obsolescence really seeped over so swiftly from the automotive industry over to that of LCD monitors in general?

Hopefully someone, somewhere with supersimian intelligence will eventually have this same problem, and be narcissistic enough to post a detailed guide on how he solved the problem with minimal requirements for competence or of funds. Either by hack or by hardware would be fine, in lieu of designers using a little common sense.