Dell 2005FPW or Gateway FPD2185W or 20" ACD?

[Mhaddy]

Currently, I own a 17" NEC LCD and a 19" Samsung CRT and while they are both great monitors and work well right now, I'd like to sell the lot of 'em and get one big LCD . The only which is... which one?

Every time I go to a Mac store, I just stare (while drooling) at the 20" Apple Cinema Display; however, it's $899 CDN (w/educational discount) is pretty steep for me. I've been reading a lot of great reviews about the Dell 2005FPW ($749 CDN), but I was in Best Buy tonight and absolutely fell in love with the Gateway 21" ($799 CDN). So I was wondering if I could get some input from those of you who have had first-hand experience with any of these displays. Here are my concerns / wishes / desired uses:

• High Definition: The Gateway monitor has "HD" in its name, but are the other two HD? And if so, what resolution do they support? 720p and / or 1080i? Which leads to my next question...
• I plan on getting an Xbox 360 "sometime" in the future. Will any of these monitors allow my to game on the 720p or 1080i supported HD resolutions?
• Monitor quality: I've played with the ACD so I know it's top notch (though I have heard some rumours that Apple has been having problems with them recently?). I briefly played with the Gateway monitor and it seemed pretty sturdy, and I haven't touched the Dell one.
• Picture quality: The ACD looks great, no doubt about that. I haven't seen the Dell in person and only briefly the Gateway. How do the three of them compare?
• Warranties: All three come with 1 yr warranties, IIRC. Has anyone ever had any trouble dealing with any company re: warranties / returns / product support?
• I heard Gateway was having some financial difficulties... can anyone back this up? Would it be wise not to go with Gateway because of the "who knows where they'll be in three years" notion?

At the moment, I'm banking on selling both of my monitors for ~$300-350 CDN (any takers? ), so that would substantially drop the price of my new one. I've also heard a lot about Dell coupons... are these valid in Canada?

And finally, taking price into consideration, which monitor would you recommend and why? Thanks a lot guys!

 

[zflauaus]

Currently, I own a 17" NEC LCD and a 19" Samsung CRT and while they are both great monitors and work well right now, I'd like to sell the lot of 'em and get one big LCD . The only which is... which one?

Every time I go to a Mac store, I just stare (while drooling) at the 20" Apple Cinema Display; however, it's $899 CDN (w/educational discount) is pretty steep for me. I've been reading a lot of great reviews about the Dell 2005FPW ($749 CDN), but I was in Best Buy tonight and absolutely fell in love with the Gateway 21" ($799 CDN). So I was wondering if I could get some input from those of you who have had first-hand experience with any of these displays. Here are my concerns / wishes / desired uses:

• High Definition: The Gateway monitor has "HD" in its name, but are the other two HD? And if so, what resolution do they support? 720p and / or 1080i? Which leads to my next question...

Wow. Lots of questions. Okay #1.
I believe all three monitors have a high enough resolution to be considered HD. But you would have to use an HD Tuner to get it. I don't know if they're either 720p or 1080i because I am not that big into HD.

I plan on getting an Xbox 360 "sometime" in the future. Will any of these monitors allow my to game on the 720p or 1080i supported HD resolutions?

The ACD does not have any video outputs so you can rule out the ACD. Sorry.
Again, I'm not a big HD guy, but I think the Dell and Gateway would support at least near-HD quality video. No definate answer from me.

Monitor quality: I've played with the ACD so I know it's top notch (though I have heard some rumours that Apple has been having problems with them recently?). I briefly played with the Gateway monitor and it seemed pretty sturdy, and I haven't touched the Dell one.

I have no knowledge of monitor quality but if it's like the Dell 15" we have, it's probably very sturdy.

Picture quality: The ACD looks great, no doubt about that. I haven't seen the Dell in person and only briefly the Gateway. How do the three of them compare?

I've also seen the ACD in person and looks great. I thought someone once said that the Dell and Apple are made by the same company. That could mean same pic quality. No info on the Gateway.

Warranties: All three come with 1 yr warranties, IIRC. Has anyone ever had any trouble dealing with any company re: warranties / returns / product support?
I heard Gateway was having some financial difficulties... can anyone back this up? Would it be wise not to go with Gateway because of the "who knows where they'll be in three years" notion?

Can't help you on the warranties. I've also heard Gateway was in trouble. I wouldn't worry about the "who knows" thing.

At the moment, I'm banking on selling both of my monitors for ~$300-350 CDN (any takers? ), so that would substantially drop the price of my new one. I've also heard a lot about Dell coupons... are these valid in Canada?

And finally, taking price into consideration, which monitor would you recommend and why? Thanks a lot guys!

You can look for Dell coupons at gotapex.com You might just want to look at some websites every day for coupons and see if you find one. My personal recommendation would be the Dell. I would love to have my monitor with inputs but I don't. I just think it's easier. Hope that helped! Didn't help me much.

 

[dmw007]

While I have none of your listed LCD choices, I must chip in and recommend that you go and purchase the ACD.

ACD= gorgeous, fully functional LCD that you will not regret buying.

 

[adk]

I'm pretty sure the ACD has a one year warranty unless it has applecare. not sure about the gateway, and the Dell has a 3 year warranty minimum, you can pay extra for a 4 or 5 year warranty too.

The Gateway says HD but it has the same resolution (1680x1050) as the Dell and ACD.

For video games go with the Dell or the Gateway, as they both have svideo and composite inputs.

The dell has the same LGphillips LCD display as the ACD, just a different backlight. The corners are a little bright but it's fine unless you reeeeeally care about that kinda stuff.


How do I know this? I'm looking at a 2005FPW right now. I also know that dell has great service. Only you can't call them because the monitors don't come with "service tags" or whatever they are call. But anyways, My first 2005FPW was defective so I emailed them and before they even asked any questions they had already Overnighted a new monitor to me. I was blown away. I may be a bit partial, but I say wait until the Dell goes on sale and buy it.

 

[generik]

While I have none of your listed LCD choices, I must chip in and recommend that you go and purchase the ACD.

ACD= gorgeous, fully functional LCD that you will not regret buying.

You own AAPL shares I see...

Nah, I'd advice the poster to get the Dell instead. ACD is quite overpriced.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Get the Dell. The ACD and Dell both use the same exact LCD's. I own the 2405 FPW. The screen rocks. One thing you might want to check out is if whatever monitor you get supports HDCP. You can bet your monthly paycheck that 10.5 is going to support HDCP and if it does any monitor that doesn't have high def content protection in it will downgrade the video to DVD quality.
Not many monitors support this yet but watch as the number shoot through the roof in 2006.

Edit: Looks like the Gateway has HDCP in it. The Dell still doesn't and the ACD doesn't either. So if you are looking to totally future proof yourself go Gateway.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Nah, I'd advice the poster to get the Dell instead. ACD is INSANELY overpriced.

Fixed that for you.

 

[generik]

Fixed that for you.

Yeah, it is quite a rip, and not really a good display too.

An Eizo will trump it anyday in terms of contrast.. brightness.. color.. You name it, it's got it.

 

[dr_lha]

I plan on getting an Xbox 360 "sometime" in the future. Will any of these monitors allow my to game on the 720p or 1080i supported HD resolutions?

I believe that Xbox360 has a VGA output cable, so any of those monitors should work with that. The 2005FPW doesn't support HD other than through VGA or DVI, it doesn't have component input for example, only S-Video and Composite (for that old-school experience).

I have a 2005FPW BTW and am very happy with it, very bright screen, no dead pixels, beautiful colours - one of the best screens I have ever used. I paid US$450 for mine including shipping with some nice Dell Coupon combinations. I advise looking on a website like dealmac.com to see what coupons are out there.

 

[Mhaddy]

Thanks for all of your replies, guys. So far, the consensus seems to go for the Dell. Is this because it's been a proven monitor, a lot of you have it, love it, and therefore have first-hand experience with it? Or is it just a better deal than the Gateway / ACD? Rather, what I'm asking is, is there anything about buying a Gateway piece of equipment, or any of the stats list on its site that make you say, "no way, don't get this!"?

I think I've ruled the ACD out because of its price and lack of inputs. And I'm kind of leaning towards the Gateway because I've seen it, it looks great, it's HD, and I might be able to get an employee discount on it if I pull the right strings . The Dell on the other hand, while $50 cheaper, I've never seen in person, I'd have to pay shipping, it doesn't have component inputs, and it isn't HD.

I suppose I could always get the Gateway, test it out and if I don't like it, return it within 14 days, and then go for the Dell later?