Hardware Dell S2209W 22" Full HD LCD Monitor

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/mon...l-hd-monitor/1

Dell has joined the ever-increasing number of monitor manufacturers selling 22-inch full HD monitors. We have a look at the S2209W, which is priced ideally for gamers and discerning home users on a budget.

[p3n]

Whats up with the cup holder in the stand Oo .. Doesn't look very good, or rather it looks like my 3yr old samsung...

[azrael-]

I'd buy the vastly superior Dell 2209WA for £205 at OcUK any day. OK, it isn't a full HD monitor, but that's about the only "drawback" it has compared to all other 22" full HD monitors, including but not limited to the S2209W.

[Delphium]

FYI, you can pick them up for £149.99 inc VAT & free delivery @ Dixon's, unlike PC World

I recently purchased 3 of these from Dixon's last month of which I am very pleased with.

[taliban_raider]

I took delivery of two of these today, Dell had a realy good deal on them and I couldn't resist.

[Veles]

Originally Posted by azrael-

I'd buy the vastly superior Dell 2209WA for £205 at OcUK any day. OK, it isn't a full HD monitor, but that's about the only "drawback" it has compared to all other 22" full HD monitors, including but not limited to the S2209W.

Another one is it's a 16:10 and I would be willing to bet it lacks any dohickory to put black bars around a 16:9 source such as an xbox so you'll end up with stretching.

I also don't think an extra £1/3 is worth 1.5 inches of extra screen TBH. Might get me one of these, would be perfect for the xbox. Though I might see if I can get a normal 720p TV of a similar/slightly bigger size for cheaper.

[azrael-]

It might cost an extra £50, but the additional image quality is at least worth the higher price. Actually, I find £205 ludicrously cheap for a 22" e-IPS-based monitor. Sadly, here in Denmark it's only available from DELL ...at twice the price!

To be honest, I'm not really sure how image quality has managed to become such a low priority these days. People happily buy these TN-based monitors and seem to to completely ignore the lousy images quality.

Lastly, I believe the 2209WA has 1:1 scaling so it'll put black bars where appropriate.

[Kode]

apparently the 2209WA doesnt do 1:1 scaling http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hard...9294431,00.htm

[¦Cold¦]

Originally Posted by Veles

Another one is it's a 16:10 and I would be willing to bet it lacks any dohickory to put black bars around a 16:9 source such as an xbox so you'll end up with stretching.

I also don't think an extra £1/3 is worth 1.5 inches of extra screen TBH. Might get me one of these, would be perfect for the xbox. Though I might see if I can get a normal 720p TV of a similar/slightly bigger size for cheaper.

But if you're using it as a computer monitor (which it is) you'll appreciate the greater vertical resolution 16:10 provides. Besides, if you're using it for an Xbox you might as well get a larger HDTV for the same price as you don't seem to care much about picture quality and most Xbox games are rendered in 720p anyway so you would be wasting those extra pixels.

Originally Posted by azrael-

To be honest, I'm not really sure how image quality has managed to become such a low priority these days. People happily buy these TN-based monitors and seem to to completely ignore the lousy images quality.

For gaming TN displays are actually preferable as they have lower response times and the fact you are usually right in front of the screen means viewing angles aren't that important. For photo/video editing or any other productivity related work where accurate colour representation is important then IPS monitors are definitely superior and in this case would justify the extra price over a TN display.

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by ¦Cold¦

But if you're using it as a computer monitor (which it is) you'll appreciate the greater vertical resolution 16:10 provides. Besides, if you're using it for an Xbox you might as well get a larger HDTV for the same price as you don't seem to care much about picture quality and most Xbox games are rendered in 720p anyway so you would be wasting those extra pixels.

The argument doesn't really come in at 22-inches, because the vertical resolution on a 16:9 panel is actually 30 pix higher than the 16:10 equivalent (1,680 x 1,050). Add that to the increased width and you've got quite a bit more screen real estate. I do agree with you on the 24-inch 16:9 panels though - I want my 1,200 pix tall desktop.

Welcome to bit-tech!

[Grimloon]

It's a shame that they all seem to be TN panels. I know it's the cheaper option but surely there's a market for MVA panels? I still use the 20" P-MVA panel I bought several years ago, cost me £350 at the time but worth every penny. I have two 22" TN panels hooked up to the same rig and they just can't touch it for clarity.

[¦Cold¦]

Originally Posted by Tim S

The argument doesn't really come in at 22-inches, because the vertical resolution on a 16:9 panel is actually 30 pix higher than the 16:10 equivalent (1,680 x 1,050). Add that to the increased width and you've got quite a bit more screen real estate. I do agree with you on the 24-inch 16:9 panels though - I want my 1,200 pix tall desktop.

Welcome to bit-tech!

Thanks,

Yep, my mistake, I was thinking of 1920x1080 vs 1920x1200.

[WhiskeyAlpha]

The thing I don't about all this arguing over it's use as a screen for your 360 is it's limited connectivity.

Ultimately, it has a single (HDCP enabled) DVI port. Presumably, I you were connecting a PC and an Xbox360 to this unit, you would have to play a serious amount of 'plug swapping'. I'm aware that HDCP enabled, DVI splitters are available but the last time I checked, they were pretty damn pricey.

People aren't suggesting using the grossly inferior VGA port are they? I didn't think that it even supported 1080p, does it?

My brother is looking for a monitor for his PC and Xbox360 and wants at least a 1080p (ideally 1920x1200) screen but needs 2 HDCP enabled digital inputs. He also doesn't want to have to re-mortgage the house to buy it. What's his best option?

[Delphium]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyAlpha

People aren't suggesting using the grossly inferior VGA port are they? I didn't think that it even supported 1080p, does it?

VGA supports resolutions up to 2048x1536, and that is generally only a limitation of the gfx cards
However at such resolutions heavily shielded short cables are a must to avoid a further drops in image quality.

[azrael-]

Originally Posted by Kode

apparently the 2209WA doesnt do 1:1 scaling http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hard...9294431,00.htm

I stand corrected (on the 1:1 scaling part)...

[Veles]

Originally Posted by ¦Cold¦

Besides, if you're using it for an Xbox you might as well get a larger HDTV for the same price

Done a quick hunt round the tubes and it seems you'd be very hard pushed to find a 720p 22" LCD TV for £150, about the cheapest you can get is £200.

[Diomedes]

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-0943.aspx

21.6" LCD 1080 £170 from tesco and you can get it off the shelves in some of the bigger shops

[Blademrk]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyAlpha

The thing I don't about all this arguing over it's use as a screen for your 360 is it's limited connectivity.

Ultimately, it has a single (HDCP enabled) DVI port. Presumably, I you were connecting a PC and an Xbox360 to this unit, you would have to play a serious amount of 'plug swapping'. I'm aware that HDCP enabled, DVI splitters are available but the last time I checked, they were pretty damn pricey.

I used my 20" Dell as my PC/360 monitor for quite a while (PC through DVI and 360 through VGA) and it worked quite well, no plug swapping neccesary (the fact my 360 doesn't have a HDMI port is neither here nor there).

[Xir]

Well, why are cheap-TN full-HD panels okay for an 22" but not for cheap 24"?
I'm still hoping for a 24" review that doesn't conclude anything under 300 pounds isn't worth a damn.

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by Xir

Well, why are cheap-TN full-HD panels okay for an 22" but not for cheap 24"?
I'm still hoping for a 24" review that doesn't conclude anything under 300 pounds isn't worth a damn.

We should have a review of the BenQ 24" 16:9 in the next week or three.