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> ViewSonic OptiSync VX924 Xtreme Gaming 19" LCD Monitor (Black/Silver) Review
Welcome
to the ViewSonic OptiSync VX924 Xtreme Gaming 19" LCD Monitor (Black/Silver) Review
page:
I have been reading all about the LCD vs. CRT battles - that is, what
are the pros and cons for each type. Which is better? Well, that depends on your
uses. I have used CRTs all my life, and I am accustomed to how they represent
colors. At work, we use CRTs for everything - color correction, desktop publishing,
video editing, etc. At home, I type papers, browse the internet, and most importantly,
play games. For the average consumer who does not need to worry about colors,
brightness/contrast and performance, a LCD is an attractive option, but I still
think the CRT monitors are better for everything else.
That is, until I read
about Viewsonic's VX924 and it abilities. I needed a new monitor at home, so I
started to read several hardware reviews of this monitor online. It sounded promising.
I walked through a few stores (this monitor is not available in stores according
to Viewsonic - you can only buy it online) and I noticed how vivid and dynamic
the new LCD screen looked. They looked fantastic! So if the VX924 was supposed
to be better than these, then surely it would be good enough to meet my criteria
as a monitor for color correction and game playing.
The Viewsonic VX924 is
better than I imagined. It is easy to set up and my computer found the DVI connection
to the monitor in less than a second. The colors on the screen are indeed vivid
and strong. At a setting of 1280x1024, everything was clear and still easy to
read. Instantly, everything look better than my older CRT monitor . Setup was
easy and I was on my way to testing some games. I played the following: Half-Life
2, Psychonauts, GTR Racing, Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas, Knights of the Old
Republic, and a few others. Each game looked fantastic...better than before. Except
Half-Life 2. The game looked great, but you can tell that when you are moving
fast there is some blurring to the surroundings. Even a monitor at 4ms still has
to keep up with the speed of the game. The other games, non first person games,
played great. But some of the fast first person shooters will push the limits
of the monitor. Again, this is the main difference between a CRT and LCD.
I
also opened images in Photoshop (images I knew to be color corrected) - photos
of people, places and things. I was very impressed how faithful the monitor showed
these colors. Because LCDs are normally more rich in color settings, it is hard
to tell if what you are looking at is exact. The Viewsonic does a good job at
keeping them close without going overboard in saturation. For the average consumer,
this monitor is perfect for looking at photos and making minor adjustments for
their printer.
There is a mode on the monitor called sRGB (which I recommend
you use) which simulates a true CRT work environment. It is close to accurate.
However, by using this mode, the monitor's brightness/contrast modes is disabled.
Keep this in mind - if you want to change the brightness or the contrast, you
will have to do it through the operating system and your graphics card and make
sure it is applied at startup. This is a bit frustrating at times because some
games use their own color setting and the monitor is forced to change back and
forth. You can change the mode in the monitor to a different setting which returns
the brightness controls, but I don't think it looks as good as sRGB.
Overall,
this is a great monitor for the price. For a 19" it is compact, lightweight, and
easy to operate. By far, it is the best LCD monitor on the market. At 4ms, most
games will play and look better than your old CRT. It has good color representation
and displays the grey scale accurately (including a real black!). Viewsonic is
a reliable company, so you should be confident in your choice. I am happy with
my purchase and recommend this monitor to anyone who is looking to upgrade at
home from a CRT (or an old LCD) to the latest and best technology. In this case,
the winner in the battle is this LCD by Viewsonic.
Buy the ViewSonic
OptiSync VX924 Xtreme Gaming 19" LCD Monitor (Black/Silver)
