Preface
I’ve been stuck in graphics limbo for quite a while. Over 4 years ago, I got a brand spankin’ new 17″ MAG monitor, and an ATI Mach 64 video card with 2 megs of VRAM. Back then, 17″ was almost unheard of in a home system, and though I paid a pretty penny, I feel it was well worth it. After 3 years, my monitor blew out, but was cheerfully replaced by the extended warranty I had. At around the same time, I found my Mach 64 woefully inadequate for the new wave of 3D games, and so I dropped a chunk of change on a Voodoo 2. Up until recently, I was completely satisfied with my video performance, but recently, as I start to work with graphics, the 1024×768 @ 16 bit display that my card provided me with was just not working. So I dropped another chunk of change on the Matrox G400 Max, which is a truly sweet card. Well, my color quality shot through the roof, and I pumped my resolution up to 1280×1024 @ 32 bits, but I felt kind of cheated. I mean, here I have this monster of a video card, and I’m not even pushing it, so I decided a second monitor, one that could handle 1600×1200, was in order. At that resolution, 17″ would be unusable, so I decided it would be prudent to go the 19″ route. Here is what I ended up with.
Review
The thing that drew me to the KDS line of monitors was the comprehensive warranty, which covers 3 years and offers free shipping if needed in the first 90 days. Full details can be found on the KDS web site, www.kdsusa.com. Being stuck in a college dorm, and a little low on cash, the VS-19sn caught my eye because it is a “short-neck” monitor, i.e. the back of the monitor is shorter than on most. Since I was eyeing a two-monitor setup, I needed the smallest footprint possible, and this is where I found it. I also appreciated the price, which is under $400 (I got it for $365 at www.virtual-world.com), and so I dropped yet another load of cash.
I was not disappointed.
I got the box (a 56lb beast), and it conveniently had holes cut in the side so 2 people could carry it. Truly some nice foresight. Unfortunately, my friends were at dinner, so I had to carry it up 4 flights of stairs myself. The monitor itself was securely packed in the standard pre-formed Styrofoam molds, and wrapped in a plastic bag to minimize screen damage. The monitor was a little hard to remove due to the snug fit of the molding, but a little jimmying got it out without damage. The swivel base on the monitor was already attached, and seemed to have just the right amount of friction to allow you to angle the monitor with ease, but not worry about a gentle nudge twisting it away.
The front of the monitor is very uncluttered, with a power button it the lower left, and a 4 direction button in the middle that allows access to all of the adjustments anyone could care to make. The rest is taken by the enormous screen, which is slightly curved. Hooking up the monitor was quit a treat. The two traditional cords, power and VGA, were included, and plastic caps were placed over the ends of the VGA cord to prevent the pins from bending in shipping. Very Nice. There are 5 BNC connectors on the back of the monitor, but I have no way of testing their performance, so I won’t mention them again. After I plugged everything and booted up, the monitor was automatically detected, and we were on a roll.
The monitor looks great; colors are crisp and bold, and letters and lines look very sharp. Looking at a 1600×1200 image on this baby is quite a pleasure, but you might need to adjust some font sizes to get things to your liking. The refresh rate is only 75 HZ, but I can’t really tell the difference between that and 85 Hz. The picture is superb, and all the CAD apps I used had very crisp pictures and well-defined lines. I have seen better on displays using Trinitron and flat panels, but if you aren’t a pro, you won’t miss the difference. (on a side note, KDS also offers Trinitron monitors) This monitor is also wonderful for gaming. I quick run through Q3 arena had me drooling, and the dynamic lighting looked phenomenal, with great color saturation for a CRT. Editing photos in Adobe Photoshop was also much easier, because the real estate of a 19″ monitor allows a very nice 1600×1200. If you’ve ever used Photoshop, you know how much space the floating menus can take up, but this isn’t an issue at higher resolutions. Another plus is that the back of the monitor stayed fairly cool, even after extended periods of use, an important consideration if your room lacks good ventilation and you have a lot of devices on at once.
Overall, the 4 direction button works very well for adjusting the monitor settings: a press will bring up a graphical display of all of the settings, and you can scroll through them and adjust what you would like on the traditional 1-100 scale. My only gripe with this setup is that the degauss button is one of the 4 directions, which could lead to some accidental degaussing. I’m not a big fan of having to degauss my monitor unnecessarily, because it just can’t be good in the long run.
Verdict: 8.5/10
Pluses: Good picture quality and color saturation, great price, very small desktop footprint, good attention to detail, 3-Year warranty.
Minuses: Refresh rate tops out at 75 Hz, Picture not quite as good as a Trinitron monitor, a beast to carry.
Final Words: If you’re strapped for cash and space but long for 19″, this is the monitor for you.
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