My Review Of The Viewsonic VX912

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Ken

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Hello :)

Here it is - VX912 review!
Click for bigger pics. Sorry, no tripod and just couldn't get a decent pic. Better pics in this thread - VX910 though.

Specifications

The box and what's included

VX912
Manual + CD
UK and European power cables
VGA and DVI cable


The pic below shows the box, manual/drivers, european power cable and VGA cable. Rest of the stuff is setup on my desk. :p Box and packing was very strong so VX912 will have a very safe journey to your home.



The VX912

Front



Side

 
Back



Build quality is excellent and the two plastic covers on the back hides the cables very well. The stand is a lot sturdier than it looks and the VX912 is pretty heavy but a lot lighter than my 17 inch CRT. Stands very solid on my desk. The tilt angles are more than enough in my opinion. I'm 6 foot 2 and as it stands on the desk, I need it tilted by about 5 degrees up. The maximum 5 degrees down tilt should be enough if you have your current monitor placed on a stand of some sort or high desk.

In use

General

The following is when the DVI cable is used. I haven't tried VGA yet.



Firstly...no dead/lazy pixels! Second aspect I checked was the viewing angles. Before the VX912 arrived I thought viewing angles would be similar to those screens you get on the back of the seats on airlines. Any angle but dead on centre would turn the screen purple and give you a headache but thankfully this is not the case at all. If you're like me and find yourself sitting in all kinds of positions (I probably need a decent chair), then you'll love the viewing angles on the VX912. Horizontally, they're excellent. Vertically, the viewing angles are less in my opinion in reference to the specs. The brightness drops at the bottom of the screen if you look down on it and vice versa - but this was only the case when I was looking at it outside my normal viewing/seating position so it should not affect your decision at all if you're interested in buying this TFT. Anyway, you're more likely to change your viewing angle horizontally than vertically. There is also no height adjustment but I think the tilt angles are more than enough to compensate for that.

What really hit me was how relaxing it was on the eyes. My old CRT I used was a 6 year old CTX (1280x1024 @ 60Hz). Real pain on the eyes and I found myself squinting and rubbing my eyes often. I also have a Mitsubishi DiamondPro 750SB and that is an excellent CRT. I can use that a lot longer before feeling the old strain on the eyes. But looking at the VX912 is strange - in a very good way. It's like looking at a decent TV from a distance. Your eyes just feel so relaxed! The default setting seems a little too bright so dropping the "Color Adjust" setting from 6500K to 5400K makes it look like my Mitsubishi CRT. Black reproduction is good but there is a slight "glow" on blacks near the bezel which makes it look greyish but it's not too bad. In general use such as word processing and browsing the internet the text is very sharp. When scolling, there is a slight flicker and loss in brightness but it is nothing to worry about. Colours are vivid/rich and I can't fault it at all - it's just so in your face but in a good way. I didn't think any monitor could be better than my Mitsubishi be it CRT or TFT but this VX912 is 100% the dog's bits!

One thing I was worried about was the native resolution of 1280x1024. It's out of proportion with respect to resolutions such as 800x600, 1024x768 and 1600x1200. I'm not sure if the following is correct but I believed it and bought the VX912 anyway.

From the VX910 thread...
Originally posted by Corasik
The screens physical aspect ratio is 1.25:1 to match the 1280x1024 resolution. This is unusual, but it does mean you have true square pixels, and circles are circles. On 1.33:1 tft's 1280x1024 isnt really an accurate resolution (unless the screen has rectangular pixels).
DVDs

The only DVD I have with me right now is A Tale Of Two Sisters. Here is a pic...



There is no ghosting whatsoever. The film looks slightly more pixelated than on the Mitsubishi but you'll only notice if you're up close to the screen - say, about 50cm. I'm going to have to borrow something faster paced like The Matrix off a mate or something so I will report back on that. Judging from the positive comments on DVD playback in the huge VX910 thread here I think you'll be very happy and the VX912 is 4ms faster too.

Games

I have Doom 3 and UT2004 with me right now. The computer that the VX912 is connected to is not good enough to play Doom 3 unfortunately but I do have a better one but I'm waiting for a replacement CPU for that one. Here's a pic of UT2004...



No ghosting whatsoever. 1280x1024 @ 60Hz by the way. There didn't seem to be any tearing when VSYNC was off but I turned it on and I preferred it. Again colours look absolutely stunning!

Conclusion

Hmmm what else can I comment on?
Questions?

If you're in the market for a 19 inch TFT then this is it.
A definite 10/10 from me. :D

UPDATE
I'm changing the rating to 9/10. I'm not sure why this is but video in general looks more pixelated. When watching DVDs, this isn't noticeable as long as you are about 50cm away from the screen but the pixelation is more noticeable on video that is of less qualityFAQ Another problem that is common to all TFTs it seems, whether it be in games or movies, is dark areas are darker than they would be on a CRT.
 
As you saw in your other thread on this, I also received my VX912 today as well. My sentiments pretty much match your own in that I'm blown away the vividness of colours and general image quality.

I'm surprised you hadn't figured out sooner (upto 6yrs? OMG!) that it was the 60hz on your old CRT that was causing you all the eye strain and headaches. Had you switched to a lower resolution where the refresh rate might have been higher you would have save yourself a lot of strain... and potential eye damage.

In general, the best refresh rate to run on a CRT to avoid any kind of eye strain is anything from 75hz and up. Most people go for at least 85hz to be on the safe side.

Refresh rates on TFTs aren't so important due to their differing technology. This is why the 60hz on your VX912 appears to be so "relaxing" as you mention on your eyes :)


Anyway, with regards to your concerns about aspect ratio and differing resolutions. It is possible to run the VX912 at 1280x960 (which follows the same ratio as 800x600 and 1024x768) without it being stretched upwards resulting in very slight blurring.

I've got mine plugged into ATI gfx card and buried somewhere in the display options is something labeled "Scale image to panel size". I leave this unticked when I run 1280x960 and the only downside is that I now have 1cm border at the top and bottom of the screen, but at least the image is pin-sharp and isn't stretched... unlike when that option is ticked. 1280x1024 is just wrong in my book ;)
 
Hehe - For 6 years, I've been spending my money on components. I've been putting up with the CTX CRT and basic keyboard and mouse from my first ever computer. Only now do I realise how important the devices you actually use to interact with the computer are! :)

Yeah, I could have dropped the resolution but I prefer the desktop space of 1280x1024. I took regular breaks so hopefully my eyesight hasn't become any worse. Not much according to opticians. :)

Edit - thanks for the tip on resolution. :)
Think I'll stick with 1280x1024 - it's only 64 pixels out vertically and I don't do Photoshop so not a problem.
 
Didn't have to pay VAT so got mine for £325 ish! :D

Tempted to get another one for dual monitor setup! Or maybe to replace the Mitsubishi DiamondPro 730SB. But that is probably the best 17 inch CRT so guess my money is best spent on a new CPU, motherboard and graphics card as right now, my spec isn't very good at all. :(

(XP1700+, GA-7VTXE, Ti200, 1GB Geil Value, Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 etc.)

Damn, my camera can take better pics than that. What's gone wrong? :(

How about some pics [timko]? :)
 
(Finally got accepted by the moderators lol).

Ken top review man!

Just wanted to say, I got my VX912 on saturday from OCUK, but I have a few issues with it and was wondering if you could help!

1. (Primary Concern) - The Backlight. I cant help but notice the top left corner of the panel seems slightly darker. For example. If I were to dim the colour settings down to very low, I notice that the rest of the panel is *slightly* brighter than the top left corner.

When running normal colour settings, the top left corner does seem slightly darker... even when you maximise a window (assuming your running the windows classic theme where the title bar starts off dark blue and goes to light blue), the dark blue seems VERY dark... almost black... infact in your pic it looks black, but that could be cause you took the picture in the dark I presume?

2. (Secondary Concern) - Going back to the bar where the title of a window is displayed (eg. for this window its Overclockers UK Forums) The White text, seems to have a little colour leaking into the white. Whereas if I move the window to the centre.. the text looks crispy white.

3. (Not serious) - I have a dead sub pixel towards the bottom center, it is blue on a black background. I was told "massaging" it would help. Exactly how firm with my thumb should I be? I mean Im afraid to damage the panel! As when I press hard against the panel, it starts to ripple in colour. Also for how long for should I massage the dead subpixel for?

*Breath* So! I was wondering could you perhaps do your own little investigation and confirm or deny these issues for me? It would put my heart at east at least and I would be very appreciative!

Many thanks in advance. Look forward to your reply!

Oh btw, the panel is awesome in performance! Need for Speed Underground 2! CS:S! HL2! All fluid and smooth, I just hope these problems I have are a defect of some sort. Im looking into getting it replaced through warranty.
 
Originally posted by Cavallino
(Finally got accepted by the moderators lol).

Ken top review man!

Just wanted to say, I got my VX912 on saturday from OCUK, but I have a few issues with it and was wondering if you could help!

1. (Primary Concern) - The Backlight. I cant help but notice the top left corner of the panel seems slightly darker. For example. If I were to dim the colour settings down to very low, I notice that the rest of the panel is *slightly* brighter than the top left corner.

When running normal colour settings, the top left corner does seem slightly darker... even when you maximise a window (assuming your running the windows classic theme where the title bar starts off dark blue and goes to light blue), the dark blue seems VERY dark... almost black... infact in your pic it looks black, but that could be cause you took the picture in the dark I presume?
Thanks!
I noticed the brightness issue but how I forgot to mention it in the review - I don't know. But, yep, there is a small patch in the top left corner that seems to be darker. Size wise, the patch is about 4 icons in size (lined vertically) - the brightness then increases as you move out from the corner. The camera has exagerrated this darkness though and it doesn't really bother me but I've heard TFTs lose their brightness over time so maybe the brightness will be uniform after a while but how long, I have no idea. I certainly am not going to risk getting a replacement as I may get some lazy pixels in return! :)
Originally posted by Cavallino
2. (Secondary Concern) - Going back to the bar where the title of a window is displayed (eg. for this window its Overclockers UK Forums) The White text, seems to have a little colour leaking into the white. Whereas if I move the window to the centre.. the text looks crispy white.
Hmmm...I don't have that problem.
Originally posted by Cavallino
3. (Not serious) - I have a dead sub pixel towards the bottom center, it is blue on a black background. I was told "massaging" it would help. Exactly how firm with my thumb should I be? I mean Im afraid to damage the panel! As when I press hard against the panel, it starts to ripple in colour. Also for how long for should I massage the dead subpixel for?

*Breath* So! I was wondering could you perhaps do your own little investigation and confirm or deny these issues for me? It would put my heart at east at least and I would be very appreciative!

Many thanks in advance. Look forward to your reply!

Oh btw, the panel is awesome in performance! Need for Speed Underground 2! CS:S! HL2! All fluid and smooth, I just hope these problems I have are a defect of some sort. Im looking into getting it replaced through warranty.
Yep. Try massaging it with a cotton bud but I'm not sure how hard you should press I'm afraid. Try playing some more games and playing a DVD on repeat overnight. Hopefully the pixel will pop back into action. I guess the sub pixel being near the centre is enough to warrant a replacement but I think Viewsonic's policy is that you need 7 sub pixels before you can get a replacement. Might need to check on that.

:)
 
Ken, thanks for a very prompt reply bud!

Ok regarding the 1st issue, at least I know it isnt related to me specfically...

2nd item, can you give it a whirl? As in move a window so that you display the Title of the window (the white text where it says Microsoft Internet explorer) in the corner and then move the window the middle? And compare the whiteness? The whiteness should be "dirtier" and less crisp compared to when its in the middle.

And on the 3rd item, ill give the DVD option a go actually. And then try the cotton bud. I contacted Viewsonic, they said 3 or 4 subdead pixels before replacement. But mentioned my other problems and they offered to replace it. Well see.

But thanks again for your comprehensive answers :)
 
Btw you mentioned dual desktop. Can you run this from the same video card if it had 2 video outputs (i.e. dsub and dvi?)
Also could you have one monitor playing games and the other on your desktop?
 
No problem mate. :)

The white text is "dirtier" when the window is fully maximised. But this is only for the first few letters of the title. By dirtier, I mean darker but I have to have my eyes up close to notice this. This probably is due to the brightness not being uniform. The text seems to be of the same crispness in the top left as it is in the middle for me.

Well, good luck with your replacement. :)
 
Originally posted by Cavallino
Btw you mentioned dual desktop. Can you run this from the same video card if it had 2 video outputs (i.e. dsub and dvi?)
Also could you have one monitor playing games and the other on your desktop?

I've never set up dual monitors I'm afraid but I think the answers to both your questions is yes.
 
Yes I think thats what I get too.
Man I must be an utter nitpick lol.

Thanks for checking that up matey! Ill let you know how my replacement goes.

(If you could answer my question about the Dual Desktop that would be sweet *** :))
 
Any chance of giving your VX912 a try with the analogue connector. Unfortunately due to my use of a KVM I need to use analogue with the monitor. If you could just give us an idea of how sharp the picture is, especially text as I mainly use my PCs for programming and spend a lot of time looking at pages of small text.

TIA

Sean.
 
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