Dell E198WFP Review





Here's the much awaited review of Dell E198WFP monitor which I recently got via Raghu/Cappuccino. Though I had to wait for an astounding amount of time, due to various factors, the final result was very pleasing. The total investment (hate the term, damage) was Rs. 13,350.00 all inclusive and it comes with a sweet 5-year warranty. Currently, its going for around Rs. 10,500.00 ex-shipping, which is a steal. I'm not sure if I've enough of expertise to review a monitor, let alone an LCD-monitor. I'll go ahead anyway hoping that you guys will excuse me for the bloopers and noobish comments. Oh, did I mention - this one's my very first LCD.









[BREAK=Package Contents]Package Contents











The Dell E198WFP arrived in a single package which contained the following:



1. The Main Display Unit

2. The Display Stand

3. A Power Cable

4. A VGA Cable

5. A DVI-D Cable

6. The Driver CD

7. The Set-up Guide

8. Product Information Guide



[BREAK=First Things First]First Things First





This monitor is a brand new offering from Dell and its obvious they're here to make an impact with a correct price-performance ratio. In other words, the E198WFP really only serves the Value-For-Money (VFM) market. Its the younger sibling of E228WFP and twin sibling of SE198WFP, if I can put it that way. If you've seen or experienced the E228WFP or SE198WFP, you know it all. Just for the sake of completeness, here are the specs:





Viewable Image Size - 19" Wide

Optimal Resolution - 1440 x 900 @ 60 Hz

Response Time - 5ms

Brightness - 300 cd/m2

Contrast Ratio - 1000 : 1

Interface - Analog & DVI-D (Digital) with HDCP

Viewing Angles - 160° (Vertical) & 160° (Horizontal)





As clear from the specs, the monitor can have both VGA and DVI-D inputs. Obviously, you can connect to only one source at a time. If your graphics card supports DVI-D, its recommended that you use it instead of VGA. Reportedly, it makes the images sharper, crisper and more responsive. Personally, I couldn't figure out much of a difference between the two during normal usage. One apparent advantage is that you need to make less image adjustments while using DVI-D. Installation is pretty straight forward and doesn't need any explanations.



[BREAK=Quality & Performance]Quality & Performance





I was literally impressed from the word GO. The display looked so much better compared to my 8-year old 15" Samsung 55V CRT. Initially I had a confusion with DVI-I and DVI-D on my GeForce 6600GT but once thats settled, everything seemed fine. As you can imagine, a jump from 15" to 19" WS is quite a lot and I was enjoying every bit of it. It took a little while getting used to my new LCD and the WideScreen (WS) format. Wallpapers were never a problem as I usually have a large stock of wallies in all sizes. So, a shift from 1024x768 to 1440x900 was seamless in that regard. I was worried if my graphics card will be able to handle the games in 1440x900 resolution.



I was surprised to find out that all the games are running full screen, which I didn't expect. The images looked a bit weird at first but I thought its due to change in resolution. A 'Print-Screen' and I found out that the monitor was in-fact automatically stretching games to the 1440x900 screen resolution. It was time to change the in-game display settings but only a few games supported the WS resolution. Games from Electronic Arts and EA Sports hurt me the most. Lets hope all their upcoming games support WS resolutions. I must mention that I noticed no ghosting effect while gaming.



The overall image quality is superb. Its easily one of the best LCDs I've seen so far, not that I've seen many. The color reproduction is as good as a CRT and good enough for someone like me. I care little about whether its a TN Panel or S-IPS or MVA. Its another matter that being on a tight budget leaves me with no other choice. In case you are wondering, E198WFP is a TN panel and its relatively smaller viewing angles are the only issue. Apart from that, it has no other flaw in my book. The shades of blacks and whites are accurately represented and texts are sharp without any blurriness.



[BREAK=Conclusion]Conclusion





People on a sub-12k budget can get the E198WFP eyes closed. I can say that you won't regret it. The monitor is stylish, performs well and is a good VFM. Its all black design along with a classy base attracted me. If you like a bit of silver lining to go with the black and a silver rectangular base, go for the SE198WFP. Currently, its going for much cheaper than E198WFP due to reasons best known to Dell. People on a slightly higher budget can look for E228WFP. Many members here have got the 22-inch model and its exactly the same in looks and almost the same in specs.



I know this one is a really short review but I don't know what else to put in here. This is my first attempt at reviewing any computer hardware. I didn't want to do this review but had to write something due to repeated requests from Raghu and others. I know its not quarter as comprehensive as you'd have liked but I'm happy to have shared my opinion with you all. Don't hesitate to point out the mistakes and please leave your feedback.

@Chaos:

Thanks for the settings. It looks much better now. :hap2: Isn't the contrast a bit low though?



@sTALKEr:

Thanx. I haven't decided anything yet.