Vivek’s Blog

As some you might know, I recently bought a new LCD monitor because the backlighting on my laptop’s display gave up. After a frantic research session, I settled on the ViewSonic VX1940w. It’s a 19″ monitor with a resolution of 1680×1050 with a static contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a dynamic ratio of 3000:1. The result is a sharp, clear, and bright picture.

Yes, I like this monitor. It won’t score high marks for its plain looks but it is a solid performer. The 2ms response time means that you won’t notice any ghosting while playing video games. I tried out UT2004, which is arguably one of the fastest-paced games for the PC, and it ran smooth. The colors were vivid and the picture was bright. Talking about brightness, this sucker is bright. At 100%, it burns your eyes. With static contrast, I use 65%-70% brightness. Currently, I’m using a dynamic contrast ratio which auto-adjusts the brightness depending on the picture being displayed. Thus, for a picture that has a lot of white, the display goes bright and it goes dark for dark scenarios.

There are a bunch of reasons I chose this monitor. Firstly, it’s a 19″ panel with the standard resolution found on 20 and 22″ monitors. Hence, the pixel size is small and the picture is sharp. Secondly, you get a high contrast ratio and the response time is amazing. It comes in at a reasonable price ($229 on newegg.com) compared to 22″ monitors and it takes up less space. The height was a concern for me because I have a bookshelf sitting on top of my desk so I have limited room. This monitor fits comfortably! It also comes with DVI and VGA cables so you don’t need to spend on any cables after you buy this. It works out-of-the-box although it does include a driver CD.

All in all, I’m pleased with this purchase.

ViewSonic Product Page