Dell 2709W thoughts

[b1lk1]

OK, it was on sale for $599 and free shipping a few days ago. My credit card was feeling lonely so I decided to have some fun for me and pick this thing up, especially since I can Ebay it easily for more than I paid for it. To me, the 1920X1200 resolution with this screen size sounds excellent since I have crappy eyesight to begin with and I always had trouble reading things on any other 24" LCD I had. Anyone hear anything about this thing I should know about?

 

[Rob Williams]

I've never even heard of this monitor, but it looks stellar, and you really did get a steal of a deal on it. If you want to make a profit, I'd sell it and go for the 2408WFP, unless you need something as big as a 27". I personally don't care much for the increased pixel-width, so 24" to me is the perfect monitor size currently.

 

[Kougar]

Well, it sounded like B1lk1 wanted it specifically for the larger pixels verses the 24" display?

It's a decent monitor as far as I know, but I don't know anything specific about it. While I own the 24" I wasn't interested in the 27" since the resolution is the same.

It's just my preference but I don't like being able to discern individual pixels, so it was the 24" or the 30", and the latter is certainly outside my price range currently.

That's a rather sweet deal, I checked fatwallet but didn't see anything on that monitor. Looks like they are back to full price.

 

[b1lk1]

It was one of Dell's "Day of deals" sale. It was for only one day and I just could not resist for the price. I want to actually see how it looks before I pass judgment so I will keep you guys updated when it gets here (it shipped on the 6th too!).

 

[Rob Williams]

I can't believe they offer deals like that... that's over $300 off. Incredible.

 

[Kougar]

Hmm, I think I am more surprised one of these sales promotions actually was a real sale.

They didn't happen to have the 30" model on sale did they, out of curiosity?

 

[b1lk1]

Right now the 2408WFP is on sale for $479 and the 2409W is on sale for $279. The 3008 is on sale for $1749 and the 3007 WAS on sale for $1299. Check their page daily and you should find one for the price you are willing to sacrifice for like I did.

 

[Kougar]

Ah, the S2409W is the brand new 16:9 aspect ratio display, 1900x1080. From what I read it uses a "cheaper TN" panel and isn't nearly as good as the 16:10 2408WFP.

Those are only $200 off the standard price for the 3007 according to the magazine ad that came in yesterday's WSJ. Guessing off the top of my head, same goes for the 3008. Thanks for the info though b1lk1.

I'll wait for some more 30" displayport monitors to come out, thankfully they should only continue to get cheaper. For the price of the 3008 I can apparently have a 14.1" Latitude that does 19 hours battery life... time to look into that claim.

 

[Rob Williams]

Is it just me, or does 1920x1080 seem a bit odd for a computer resolution? It is a legit resolution, but I think the scaling would be far different than what we are used to. I wonder why they've decided to go that route?

As for the 19 hour battery-life... that one I have got to see.

 

[Kougar]

It does seem odd, but unfortunately there is a reason for it.

For better or worse the LCD monitor industry has finally shifted stance and decided that they will adhere to proper specifications... hence 16:9 aspect ratios that fall in line with TV and DVD media, etc. From here on out future monitors will most likely be 16:9 displays.

The notebook in question was the ~5lb 14.1" Latitude E6400. Apparently it can handle a 9-cell main battery + a 12-cell battery that fits in the bay. What I wouldn't give to run my OWN battery tests on that!

Edit: Going off topic, but link to the laptop I foundLink Doing the math, it looks like it CAN offer a full 10 hours battery life during video playback. Unit weighs 4.3lb with a 4-cell battery, so it'd probably be around 8 with all that extra battery capacity in the very least... LED display and LED backlit keyboard though are nice.

I see CNET tested with a NVIDIA GPU. Battery life will be even better with the integrated Intel X4500HD option. And better still with XP instead of Vista, yuck. And that is before I would start undervolting that CPU...

 

[b1lk1]

LOL! Back on topic, this monitor is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I forgot how much difference a good panel makes. I was always happy with my LG 22" LCD, but I already ruined 3 pairs of pants playing with this new beauty. For me, the pixel size is perfect since I always had to squint a bit with a regular 24". If you can get it on sale like I did, I say it is amazing to look at and use.