I am trying to choose between getting two of these or one of these. Both options are about the same price.

I am not going to be playing games on my PC mostly just browsing the internet, reading documents, viewing pictures, and viewing movies off the internet like game previews.

I used to have two with windows 98 and it was nice but windows 98 didn't support it too well. I have heard that XP supports multiple displays better but haven't tried it.

My setup at home is a Dell laptop that I use with it's built-in LCD and a Dell 18" LCD monitor that I have on a KVM switch between a secondary PC and a Linux box. I like having multiple displays because of the real estate. When you get to sit close to the LCD screen (not as bad on your eyes as a CRT) I find the need for a super-large display lessens. I'd buy the two just because you get more screen space for your buck, and also you may want to use one of the displays on another machine sometime in the future.

Also does anyone know of dual dvi cards that aren't really expensive. The cheapest I can find are the matrox parhelia for 400.00 USD.

I looked at the 191t on dvi and analog and the dvi is a huge improvment.

Dell sold a version of our RADEON 9700 with dual DVI. Great card if you can find one.

Bruno

Gainward also sells dual DVI cards. They're not cheap though and nVidia only.

I have a Radeon VE which has dual displays but one of them is RGB and the other is DVI.

I used the dual displays in XP and it is great. It allows you to basically have multiple desktops... I can have a word document open while browsing the web or have 2 web pages open for increased browsing power on the internet (especially the Empeg Forum!!).

I also use 2 monitors to do my web page editing so that I can view updates on one monitor while editing it on the second.

I have a similar card here, plus the extra cable for a *third* monitor connection (also RGB). Dunno if all three could be used at once for separate monitors, though -- I've only ever tried two at once (worked fine).

Cheers

I am not going to be playing games on my PC mostly just browsing the internet, reading documents, viewing pictures, and viewing movies off the internet like game previews.

Can you get DVI-enabled PCI video cards?

I'm just wondering is there might be a cheaper option than a $$$ dual DVI card, ie one AGP DVI card and a PCI DVI card.

I actually found several from asus that have dual dvi for about 200.00 USD. There were all based on various nvidia chipsets. I wish they were passively cooled though I just got my shuttle to be silent and I am guessing that the fans they use are loud.


Maybe I should just get two of the 213t's

I just noticed that www.newegg.com have a useful search/filter utility that allows you to specify multiple DVI outputs. There are a few around.

That's where I found the asus ones. I wish they were passively cooled though.

I'm also trying to find a 18 or 19 inch LCD. The Samsung looks like the "one to get" although the screen resolution isn't as high as I'd like. Not a lot of that size LCDs have > 1280 x 1024...

- Jon

I am concerned about that too that's why I am torn between the 213t and two 191t

I guess I only set my 19 inch crt to 1024X768 so I don't think it would be a problem for me.

Have you looked at the 191t ? Do you know if it really does rotate like the samsung website says it does ? I looked at the 213t and it rotates but when I looked at a 191t I don't see how it could. I called samsung and they told me there is a locking pin that was probably not removed so I am going to go look again tonight.

No, I haven't seen one live yet. Can't confirm that the 191T rotates... Where are you going to look at it? I wish there were a place in SF that showed these displays properly... (with DVI in a place that's not all flourescent)...

The 213T looks nice, and it's cheaper than 2 191Ts, but you end up with less real estate than 2 191Ts... Newegg has it for 1282 delivered...

- Jon

I saw them at compusa, circuit city, and bestbuy. I went to several of each store (yes I am crazy). All of the bestbuy stores but one had a 191t connected to an alienware demo system via the dvi. One of the had a 213t with dvi. One compusa had the same setup as bestbuy. At both places they try to keep to out of the system with some stupid demo running I was able to get out of it.

The other problem I had with the stores is that they either had the resoulution set wrong and or had a picture for the wallpaper that was too small and used stretch so it looked crappy.

I'm glad I know how to change all this stuff so I can actually demo the monitor. I don't know how they expect to sell these things when they are set up wrong and look like crap.


edit:
I guess they all have flourescent lighting but I have compact flourescent bulbs in my lights too.

Oh yeah best buy has the 213t for 1300.00 USD. Many online stores have it listed but out of stock (like newegg)

I am tempted to just go for the two 213t's. Gotta measure the desk first. I would be cool to have two of those and just leave them rotated. I was originally planning on getting a 240t for about the same price.

I'm glad I know how to change all this stuff so I can actually demo the monitor. I don't know how they expect to sell these things when they are set up wrong and look like crap.

Hehe, I know what you mean. I haven't found a store yet with them on DVI. Trying to buy an inkjet printer leads to the same frustration - half of them are out of ink, and the others have clogged nozzles. And they never have the good paper. Why do they bother?

Ok the 191t does rotate I just wasn't pushing hard enough. It takes alot more force to turn than the 213t.

So what are your thoughts now? Is the 191t the "one to get"?

- Jon

I think the 191t is the sweet spot right now as far as best value but I like the 213t better.

I decided to go for broke and just get two 213t's. I figured if I got the 191t I would always regret it. The problem now is no one online has them until next week. (except for the places charging way too much)

So where did you order the 213ts from? I'm nervous about ordering it on line as they have these policies that are restrictive about returning them. For instance, newegg says that you have to have at least 8 bad pixels to return a monitor. Screw that, if I had 1 I'd want to return it...!

- Jon

You see this?

http://marketingsamsung.com/epp/

Check out the prices on both the 191t and the 213t...

Anyone work for a company that can get these prices?

Wonder if I just order it from this site...

- Jon

I didn't order yet because I can't find a store that has them in stock. I was planning on getting it from newegg but I'll see when they get them in stock.

I was worried about the bad pixel thing I had never had a lcd before but I just got a Sony U101 it has one bad pixel and the only way I noticed it is from searching for it. Eight would probably stand out though.

I don't have much choice because the only store that sells them here is bestbuy and I really don't want to buy anything from them. Plus they don't have a dual dvi card anyway.

I don't play pc games so most of the stuff I am doing has a white background so bad pixels (white ones at least) don't stand out as much for me.

I didn't see that too bad I don't work at compusa part time anymore.

"ATI Powered" cards are available from PowerColor, Hercules and Sapphire with DVI-I and VGA in a PCI configuration. Current models are likely RADEON 9000 based with the probability of RADEON 9200 coming out being very good (might already be available as I haven't been checking AIB offerings recently).

Our FireGL Z1 is also available as Dual-DVI-I (2x digital, 2x analog or 1x digital + 1x analog).

Bruno

18" screens use a 1280x1024 (5:4) LCD on average. So do nearly all 19" models. That's what would hold me back from Samsung's 191. The dot pitch would be larger than their 18" model. Once you've used a 20" at 1600x1200 you won't want to go back. About the only thing possibly sweeter is a 16:10 version of a similar display. Apple's 23" Cinema HD at 1920x1200. Great price too. Just a shame about the none-too-fast pixel response time and the attrocious enclosures.

Samsung, Eizo and LG have the best bezels right now.

Bruno

You mean I'm not the only one that thinks the cinema displays are awful looking.

Yeah, I'm still drooling over the Samsung 24" 1920xwhatever LCD..

For now, though, the BenQ 20" 1600x1200 is more than good enough.

Cheers

I'm not fond of them either. The 'crystal' surround looks great from a distance, but just looks like cheap plastic close up.

I went for 2x Sony SDM-X72 17" diaplays, which I'm very pleased with.

I wanted to get one of those they have two models the 240t and the 241mp. The 240t has dvi but according to the manual you can only get the 1920X1200 with the analog there are conflicting reports on the internet about it having been updated to do 1920X1200 via dvi but I don't want to chance if for 2500 USD. The 241mp has NO DVI.

I also like the idea of being able to get a different stand if I choose and that is not an option with the apple display. They should have made the base removeable.

I ordered two of the 213t's from www.bcd2000.com . I ordered 2 day ups and they sent them ground ( morons)

Now I suppose I will have to fight with them to get the shipping back.

Matt,

Please let me know how this turns out. I'm eager to learn about your experience with the quality (dead pixels) and their customer service.

What did you end up getting them for? What card are you going to drive them with?

- Thanx
- Jon

I paid 2659.00 for two of them.

Here is the video card I got http://usa.asus.com/products/vga/v9520vs/overview.htm
It's not high end but it has dual dvi and supports a high enough resolution.

I'm not happy with BCD2000 after they screwed up the shipping. Then today I called them about it and they said they would refund the difference between ground and 2nd day. Well on their website ground is 29.00 they told me that is wrong and charged me 40.00. Not a big difference but I think they should have refunded the entire cost of shipping since they screwed it up.

I am supposed to have the lcd's on monday.
I got the videocard from newegg and that will be here wensday since they didn't screw up.

Matt,

Did you get the monitors yet? Did you also look at the Samsung 211-MP?

On Pricewatch.com, they show a dealer selling the 191t for $605 now...

Hm.

- Jon

I just got them hooked up about 5 minutes ago. I am going to try and run a LCD test program to see jo many bad pixels there are. I don't see any yet but it's allot of area to cover.

here is a picture

Very nice.

I ran an lcd test which cycles through black, red, blue, green, and white screens. I have one dead red pixel out of two monitors.

Observations so far they look alot bigger than they did in the store

They are very bright I have the brightness set a 25%.

I have the resolution set to 1600 X 1200 and I haven't changed the font size so the text is much smaller but is it still easy to read.

I need to make / find some 1600 X 1200 wall papers.

Quite a few 1600x1200 wallpaper images here

Wow, they look great! So one dead red pixel is nothin'. You aren't worried about that, right?

What's the deal on that 211-MP monitor? Did you look at that one as well?

- Jon

No i'm not worried about one pixel I am amazed ! I would have never found it if I didn't use the lcd test program. How often do you have an all red screen. (now blue and I'd worry )

The 211 has no DVI so I didn't consider that one. From what I have seen these things look awful when using VGA but didn't get to see a 211.

Now I need some new speakers the old ones won't fit on the desk anymore

I would like to find a mount that would hang the screens from the shelf above them.

I get my wallpaper from http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/cgi-bin/pod/PhotoOfTheDay.cgi these days -- it only comes at 1024x768 but they usually scale well. Today's is a bit so-so but they have some real corkers from time to time.

Peter

Woohoo! National Geographic! My mom is an editor and researcher there, and sometimes writes a bit of the web content

Ok Matt,

So I finally saw both the 213t side by side with the 191t. The 213 kicked it's ass. Gotta get one (at least one for now).

Before I drop the cash, do you have any other feedback about the monitor? Any regret? Anyone have any strong reasons for why I shouldn't get it? (Samsung coming out with a replacement or somethin?)

- Jon

I'm glad you got to check them both out side by side. I know I would have been disappointed if I got the 191t then saw the 213t.

I haven't had any problems yet. No regrets. I was overwhelmed at first by the size (looks smaller in the store syndrome) and I probably didn't need two but that hasn't stopped me from buying stuff I don't need yet

I couldn't find any info about new models comming out but I thing the 213t was released recently. The world of LCD's doesn't appear to be as hyped as other PC hardware.

I haven't read anything good or bad about the warranty.

Since I got two I can do this though

Ok. My eyes have just turned green. Or they would have if they hadn't already been green. I need those monitors.

Those are gorgeous. I went to Best Buy to check them out the other day, but they annoyingly had it hooked up to the same video source feeding all their other displays, which made it impossible to test it out under its real resolution.

Does anyone know of a program that will let you test out different "resolutions" at different "screen sizes" through software? I only ask because the thing keeping me back from LCDs is that I can't shift resolutions easily, and if I want to test a website for sizes I like to change the screen rez.

I haven't read anything good or bad about the warranty.

Bought a Samsung 181T a while back, and had it fail hours after being used. Called Samsung, and they had a new in box unit shipped next day air. Though, they forgot the RMA tag, and no longer have the replacement in their system, so I now have a dead 181T sitting in a box. Anyone know a place that does LCD monitor repairs? I think it might just be a bad backlight, and if it's not too expensive, a second LCD on this desk might be nice.

To test it you could try getting a strong torch/flashlight and shining it onto the LCD itself. If it's the backlight then you should be able to make out something.

Matt,

Man, those are beautiful. I'm trying to order one now. I decided that one is enough for now...

I think I'll be able to get one for 999.95...

- Jon

Hmmm... may we perhaps be permitted to know how you wrangled that deal?

My company is a strong partner with a company from this list: http://marketingsamsung.com/epp/

I'm still working on it, but I think I'll get that price...

- Jon

Ok, this employee purchase thing didn't work out. I just ordered it from www.upgradesource.com for 1192.00 plus shipping (28.95 for ground).

What tool did you use to check for dead pixels?

- Thanx
- Jon

I didn't see that store the price sounds good.

I will try and find it again I deleted it already.

Here it is.

I found it in this thread on the [H]ardOCP forums.

Thanks Matt!

- Jon

Anyone know a place that does LCD monitor repairs?

Well, never mind. Got brave, tore open the panal, and found a loose connector between the power module and the signal input board. Plugged it back in nice and tight, and now I have 2 Samsung 181Ts on my Shuttle.

Not really sure if I want a dual DVI card right away though. I'll be getting a 15 inch Powerbook soon, and until I can afford a DVI KVM, having one free DVI port between the two monitors is nice.

There are DVI KVM's ?

Yep. The base price of $449 for a 2x1 KVM has kept me away though for now.

So did you get the monitor ? How is it ?

Ohhh they have a dual dvi one for $800 I'm glad I am down to one computer so I'm not tempted.

Haha. Yep, I finally got it, and totally love it. It's all I thought it'd be and more!

I attached a picture.

- Jon