APRIL 2006 MA XIMUMPC 73
ENVISION EN2028
It’s not surprising that the EN2028 falls on the
lower end of the pricing scale in this roundup,
because it offers less. Its cabinet is certainly
no-frills. A hinged neck allows you to lower
the screen by as much as three inches, mak-
ing the bottom bezel flush with your desktop,
but it’s not possible to swivel the screen from
side to side or flip it into a portrait orientation.
However, if portability is an issue, the EN2028
folds back upon its base for easy transport.
Inputs consist of a VGA and DVI port.
The OSD provides control over the separate
red, green, and blue color sliders, in addi-
tion to brightness and contrast controls. But
the EN2028’s picture had weaknesses we
couldn’t fix by these means. In DisplayMate ,
the monitor was able to produce very dark
grays against a decent black background,
as well as light grays against white. But
compared with the other monitors here,
the EN2028’s white looked muddy, tending
toward gray. And no tweaking could change
that. Furthermore, the EN2028 showed
slight color-tracking errors in DM’s grayscale
screens, and was unable to produce a per-
fectly continuous grayscale of more than 85
steps. Combined, these flaws manifest in a
picture that’s comparatively dull and flat.
What’s more, we observed significant
ghosting in our game tests. (Interestingly,
all of the LCDs in this roundup are spec’d
with an 8ms response time.) If you’re looking
to save money, there are plenty of 19-inch
LCDs that cost the same, or less, and offer
much better image quality: Samsung’s 940BF
comes to mind.
GATEWAY FPD2185W
Besides having the most unwieldy moniker,
Gateway’s LCD bears the distinction of not
including a DVI cable—it must be purchased
separately—a minus in our book. It’s also one
of only two monitors here to boast a wide-
screen aspect ratio, with a native resolution of
1680x1050, and elongated proportions that
nicely accommodate side-by-side windows.
If you’re more interested in headroom, the
FPD2185W flips into portrait mode for viewing
lengthy web pages or Word documents.
The handsome black cabinet with carbon-
fiber trim offers the full complement of ergo
options (and the most effortless telescoping
neck we’ve ever experienced). The onscreen
display buttons are on the bezel’s outer right
edge, which is a nuisance, but a bundled app
makes it possible to perform many OSD func-
tions via a software GUI. The FPD2185W has
you covered for inputs, offering several video
options and two built-in USB 2.0 ports. Yes,
there’s a lot to like about this monitor.
Sadly, the FPD2185W’s performance in
DisplayMate was just average. It couldn’t pro-
duce more than 64 steps of grayscale without
showing signs of compression or expansion
in the various shades. While this might not
be readily apparent in a lot of real-world con-
tent, it does diminish subtle detail in images
and would be problematic in any work that
requires careful color matching. In games, the
FPD2185W’s performed without incident.
So while this LCD offers a lot of bang for
the buck in terms of features, it comes at the
expense of top-notch image quality.BENQ FP202W
Like Envision’s entry, BenQ’s
FP202W is bargain-priced at
$550, and it suffers some of the
same issues as that monitor. The
FP202W is hobbled by limited
ergonomic options (offering only
a forward and backward tilt)
and a bare-bones feature set.
Like the Gateway, the FP202W
sports a widescreen aspect ratio
and OSD buttons placed incon-
veniently along the outer right
edge. BenQ offers no software alternative
to the OSD, so if you want to make adjust-
ments to the picture, you’re forced to
muddle through the functionality of seven
tiny buttons whose labels you can’t see.
That’s just cruel.
Right away, we were struck by the
unevenness of FP202W’s backlight. On a
dark screen, light seeped through around
the screen’s edges, and large swaths of
solid color were marred by blotchiness. In
DisplayMate , grayscale reproduction was
unimpressive and color tracking errors
were evident. The monitor also has a very
narrow viewing angle. Straight-on, various
test content would appear acceptable,
only to lose all color and contrast integrity
once we stepped even slightly to the side.
The FP202W was decent in terms of game
response, but that hardly matters, given its
myriad shortcomings. No amount of sav-
ings is worth the sacrifices you’ll make with
this screen.$550, http://www.benq.usBENQ FP202WBIRD’S EYE VIEW
Inexpensive.BIRD’S EYE STEW 4
Splotchy screen; poor off-axis;
no ergo options.$550, http://www.envisiondisplay.comENVISION EN2028LOOKING GLASS
Inexpensive.LICKING GLASS 5
Lacks ergo options;
poor image quality.Gray is the new white, with Envision’s
EN2028.Flipped into portrait mode, Gateway’s widescreen
FPD2185W gives you room to view really long
documents without scrolling.BenQ’s FP202W takes all the fun out of
having a 20-inch screen.$600, http://www.gateway.comGATEWAY FPD2185WROSE-COLORED GLASSES
Handsome, versatile
cabinet; big screen; and
lots of inputs.
SEEING RED^8
Grayscale issues affect image
detail; inconvenient OSD
buttons.