Xpirate
02-06-2010, 05:30 PM
I recently upgraded my monitor to the Asus VW266H. I chose it because I felt the screen real estate per dollar was at good ratio. I also wanted the built in speakers. I needed speakers to replace the rattling speakers I had. I may still try to make those speakers live again by reinforcing the wire connections, but that is another story.
The Asus VW266H has a 1920x1200 resolution which is 16:10 ratio. I seriously considered getting one that uses 16:9 because I heard that the 16:10 has trouble running the full resolution through the HDMI cable. I believe that the video chip is what causes that problem. I run the monitor through DVI and use the included speaker extension wire, so I do not know if I have that problem with HDMI. I decided to get the 16:10 because the extra height is always nice to have.
It is a 25.5 inch monitor, so it does takes up some room on the desk. Asus had a rebate on the monitor last month and Newegg also had a sale with free shipping. So the final price was around $260, which is pretty good for the size. I have yet to receive the rebate, so we will see if I actually get it. I do not have a whole lot of faith in rebates.
So far I am happy with the purchase. The colors are exactly like I expect them to look. There is one weird thing about it though. When I stand up and look down at the screen the picture turns a shade of pink. It does not do this looking at it from side to side. That might be normal for these newer flat panel monitors. My old panel could not be seen at an angle. I am thankful that there were no dead or stuck pixels.
Most people reviewing this monitor (and other speaker included ones) usually say that the sound is pretty lame. I guess my ears are not as able to discern the difference between the sound this monitor produces and the old Boston Acoustics ones that I had, which are probably supposed to be much better.
I do miss being able to turn the sound down with a knob just because my wife and child have not mastered using the mouse to click the sound icon. There are also convenient keyboard buttons that manipulate the sound. What annoys me the most is the way the volume gets cranked up way too loud. I used to look at the knob, see that it is cranked up all the way, and be able to turn it the other way before I get blasted. Now I just use the mute button on the keyboard and get yelled at to fix the sound when they use the machine.
One thing that has prevented me from getting a wide screen is the incompatibility with old video games. So far I have tested it for playing some older video games that expect to have a 4:3 ratio. The games do look a bit too stretched, but they are not that bad. You can set the monitor’s mode to 1:1 display. When you do that and play a game that wants a 1024x768 resolution, the center 1024x768 pixels on the screen are only used. I usually run the "Full" display mode because I can tolerate the stretching more than I can the tiny screen in the center. When you use DVI you only get "Full" and "1:1"
I would recommend this monitor to someone in the market for a larger wide screen model.
The Asus VW266H has a 1920x1200 resolution which is 16:10 ratio. I seriously considered getting one that uses 16:9 because I heard that the 16:10 has trouble running the full resolution through the HDMI cable. I believe that the video chip is what causes that problem. I run the monitor through DVI and use the included speaker extension wire, so I do not know if I have that problem with HDMI. I decided to get the 16:10 because the extra height is always nice to have.
It is a 25.5 inch monitor, so it does takes up some room on the desk. Asus had a rebate on the monitor last month and Newegg also had a sale with free shipping. So the final price was around $260, which is pretty good for the size. I have yet to receive the rebate, so we will see if I actually get it. I do not have a whole lot of faith in rebates.
So far I am happy with the purchase. The colors are exactly like I expect them to look. There is one weird thing about it though. When I stand up and look down at the screen the picture turns a shade of pink. It does not do this looking at it from side to side. That might be normal for these newer flat panel monitors. My old panel could not be seen at an angle. I am thankful that there were no dead or stuck pixels.
Most people reviewing this monitor (and other speaker included ones) usually say that the sound is pretty lame. I guess my ears are not as able to discern the difference between the sound this monitor produces and the old Boston Acoustics ones that I had, which are probably supposed to be much better.
I do miss being able to turn the sound down with a knob just because my wife and child have not mastered using the mouse to click the sound icon. There are also convenient keyboard buttons that manipulate the sound. What annoys me the most is the way the volume gets cranked up way too loud. I used to look at the knob, see that it is cranked up all the way, and be able to turn it the other way before I get blasted. Now I just use the mute button on the keyboard and get yelled at to fix the sound when they use the machine.
One thing that has prevented me from getting a wide screen is the incompatibility with old video games. So far I have tested it for playing some older video games that expect to have a 4:3 ratio. The games do look a bit too stretched, but they are not that bad. You can set the monitor’s mode to 1:1 display. When you do that and play a game that wants a 1024x768 resolution, the center 1024x768 pixels on the screen are only used. I usually run the "Full" display mode because I can tolerate the stretching more than I can the tiny screen in the center. When you use DVI you only get "Full" and "1:1"
I would recommend this monitor to someone in the market for a larger wide screen model.