Reviews
SPECS
MODEL Dell P1230 Viewsonic P225f
VIEWABLE AREA 20.3-inch 20.0-inch
GRILLE PITCH 0.24mm 0.24mm
MAX REFRESH@MAX RES 85Hz@1600x1200 79Hz@2048x1536C
RT monitors may be hulking
space hogs and heavy as hell, but
when you feast your eyes on the
glorious image quality these beasts
afford, their massive girth seems a tri-
fling matter. The fine detail, superb
color contrast, high degree of adjust-
ability, and support for multiple reso-
lutions set CRTs apart from even top-
shelf consumer LCD monitors.
A face-off between the NEC
FE2111 SB and the Sony GDM-
C520 in our July issue found NEC
victorious (to the tune of a 9 verdict
and a Kick Ass award). Can Dell or
Viewsonic offer up a better CRT
monitor? We aim to find out.
—KATHERINE STEVENSONDell P1230
Both Dell and Viewsonic literally
one-up the competition with 22-
inch models, though the difference
in viewable screen
real estate is not only
negligible but also
virtually undetect-
able even when these
monitors abut their
21-inch brethren. The
two monitors also both
sport Diamondtron
CRT technology.
Developed by NEC,
Diamondtron is one
of two aperture grille
technologies avail-
able in consumer CRT
monitors—the other being
Sony’s Trinitron technology. What’s
more, the Dell and Viewsonic moni-
tors look practically identical, with
slightly beveled black cabinets and
perfectly flat, anti-reflective, anti-
glare glass surfaces. Nevertheless, we
were able to discern visual quality
differences between the two displays.
Evaluating such high-caliber
CRTs is no easy task. That’s why we
rely so heavily on DisplayMate ( http://www.
displaymate.com ). This application’svarious test screens isolate spe-
cific aspects of a monitor’s per-
formance and provide us with a
reliable means of comparison.
We ran the application on both
monitors, first at 1280x1024 resolu-
tion and again at 1600x1200. In both
instances, Dell’s P1230 displayed accu-
rate screen geometry, perfectly uni-
form screen color and brightness, and
all the subtle distinctions inherent in
DisplayMate’s gray-scale and color
ramps. Text was crisp and clear at both
resolution settings, even in a 9-point
serifed font. Still, when viewing high-
res color images, Dell’s P1230 couldn’t
match the sharpness of NEC’s Kick Ass
FE2111 SB reviewed in July. We
thought lowering the brightness
might help, but we had already low-
ered brightness all the way in order to
produce true black.Viewsonic P225f
Viewsonic’s P225f also fared well in
terms of screen uniformity, screen
geometry, and gray-scale grada-
tions. But unlike Dell’s P1230, the
P225f showed some flaws when
displaying content at the higher
1600x1200 resolution. For instance,
in DisplayMate’s Focus Matrix
text screens, fine lines around the
perimeter of the screen lost some of
their detail at the higher resolution.
Similarly, text became more blown-
out and harder to read, particularly
at smaller-than-10 point font sizes.
Sure, these kinds of problems can
emerge at high resolutions, but even
at 1280x1024, text on Viewsonic’s
monitor was not as sharp or easy to
read as it was on Dell’s CRT.
Viewsonic’s P225f also exhibited
some flaws in DisplayMate’s Color
Convergence test screens. These
screens measure how accurately the
monitor’s three primary color beams
come together to produce a single col-
ored image. It’s common for a CRT to
show some misregistration at the sides
of the screen, and such was the case
with the P225f. Fortunately, an
onscreen control allowed us to adjust
convergence so that all the lines
matched up as they should.
High-res digital images displayedon the P225f’s screen appeared
vibrant, but colors seemed slightly
over-saturated. Flesh tones, for
example, tended to look more ruddy
on the P225f. This remained the case
even after we attempted to correct
the color via the onscreen controls.
Viewsonic’s CRT does have the
advantage of reaching a maximum
resolution of 2048x1536, while
Dell’s P1230 tops out at 1600x1200,
but that’s a distinction that should
matter only to someone who uses
extremely demanding graphics apps,
like, say, a CAD program. Finally,
the Dell P1230 comes with two VGA
ports, while Viewsonic’s P225f offers
one VGA and one BNC connection.
We’re giving Dell’s P1230 high
marks based on its superior handling
of text. But we’re sticking with NEC’s
FE2111 SB when it comes to naming
our favorite CRT. Besides meeting all
of DisplayMate’s challenges with
aplomb, the FE2111 SB required the
least amount of manual adjustment.
And in side-by-side comparisons of
high-res images, NEC’s CRT quite
simply shines.CRT Slash-and-Burn
Our search continues for the best big CRT monitor
Dell’s P1230
looks a lot like
Viewsonic’s
CRT, but has
a better way
with words.Dell P1230Big, beautiful flat screen, good DisplayMate
performance.RGBCMYK
High-res digital images lacked contrast.
$610, http://www.dell.comMA XIMUMPCVERDICT 9
Viewsonic P225fBig, beautiful flat screen, good DisplayMate
performance.EYESIGHTEYESORE
Text lacked clarity at higher resolutions, colors
in high-res images seemed over-saturated.
$650, http://www.viewsonic.comMA XIMUMPCVERDICT 8
MA XIMUMPC SEPTEMBER 2004
in viewable screen
real estate is not only
negligible but also
virtually undetect-
able even when these
monitors abut their
21-inch brethren. The
two monitors also both
sport Diamondtron
CRT technology.
Developed by NEC,
Diamondtron is one
of two aperture grille
technologies avail-
able in consumer CRTViewsonic’s
P225f offers up
70-plus pounds
of flat-screen
CRT splendor.