Dell 2007WFP 20-inch LCD reviewed

If you're looking for the perfect 20-inch monitor, look no further than Dell's 2007WFP 1,680 x 1,050 widescreen display, say NewsFactor, who give the LCD five out of five stars. Clearly testing a unit not afflicted with the gradient banding issues some users are reporting on forums, NF finds the 2007WFP to be a solid performer for video, gaming, and office uses alike (although the 16ms response time probably won't cut it with hardcore fraggers in a world of 1ms options), offering good picture quality, plenty of connectivity options, and an intuitive GUI in an attractive package. Especially noteworthy are the variety of ports, with four USB 2.0, DVI, VGA, composite, and S-Video inputs ensuring that only component-equipped devices will feel left out. Best of all, this $530 display -- with its HDCP-support -- will work with an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player when you decide to take the plunge, making the Dell that much more of a bargain.

[Via Yahoo]

[diulei @ Apr 28th 2006 3:07PM]

I gotta say, props to dell for FINALLY designing something that's good to look at.

This coming from an owner of a 2005FPW. Love the monitor, but it's not that aesthetically pleasing. I got it for about $380 (including), which is pretty good though.

[gnome @ Apr 28th 2006 3:09PM]

Good looking and well priced. Nice. Let's use a Wii on it :)

[paris @ Apr 28th 2006 3:14PM]

Next, they should remove their logo from the front. Maybe place it on the side or the back where it can't be seen. The name DELL just reminds me of something that should be placed in an office and not my home.

[Brad @ Apr 28th 2006 3:25PM]

Agreed. I expect the sales of black electrical tape to skyrocket!

[Jon @ Apr 28th 2006 3:29PM]

Man, i really wanted to buy this monitor, but with all this gradient banding hub bub id rather wait it out and see if Dell issues some sort of fix. this review doesn't make it any easier...

[bob @ Apr 28th 2006 3:29PM]

i like the wallpaper / screensaver lol, its soo, erm.....DESPERATE

[a @ Apr 28th 2006 3:37PM]

Or, you could just get it free with a computer and pay less:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=04&kc=66831&oc=s50459p&x=0&y=0

??? That version isn't wide-screen, but still, their pricing is JACKED.

[MarxMarvelous37 @ Apr 28th 2006 4:02PM]

As an owner of a 19-inch 1280x1024 native monitor, it's hard to justify this upgrade. When the 24" Widescreen comes down to this range, then it'll be time!

[TheWeb20Dev @ Apr 28th 2006 4:08PM]

hmm, I wonder how much a monitor like this will be in 6 months.

[jimd @ Apr 28th 2006 4:11PM]

Now if only they would get rid of that silly "DELL" on the bottom center.

[Epsilon @ Apr 28th 2006 4:13PM]

So other than the different bezel / stand, what IS the difference between this one and the 2005FPW? I'm just not seeing it in the specs... is the HDCP support the difference?

[Neil @ Apr 28th 2006 4:21PM]

I'm waiting on the 2407....I'm happy Dell is doing HDCP in their new monitors.

[kibets @ Apr 28th 2006 4:21PM]

it is a really nice looking monitor... i have one and love it.

#7, dell's prices are so cheap they make me want to go out and upgrade even though i don't need to. $599 for that package is a steal.

http://www.WiiWon.com

[Raymond @ Apr 28th 2006 4:25PM]

Whats the deal with response time. No one is going to be able to humanly tell the difference between 16 ms, or 1 ms. thats just specifics. I think its silly.

[tek @ Apr 28th 2006 4:33PM]

Nice MacOS ripoff wallpaper, dell.

[A02 @ Apr 28th 2006 4:39PM]

This thing was reviewed over a month ago on CNET.

[not a tool @ Apr 28th 2006 4:56PM]

What kind of person worries about the logo on a computer monitor? A sad person, I would imagine.

[scott langford @ Apr 28th 2006 5:23PM]

does anyone know if this monitor could be used in a portrait arrangement, instead of the usual landscape arrangement? I use work software that might work better that way.

Maybe it's a windows function, or a setting that the monitor can be set to?

[James Stringer @ Apr 28th 2006 5:43PM]

I have this monitor, its great, i had it usualy retails for $1,199NZD and I got it for $750NZD, which is a bargain, considering the apple cinima display is $1600NZD and they use the same panel, thats crazy!
And yes it can be used in portrait, and its great, you cant view a hole bunch more songs on iTunes, and you have to scroll twice as less in IE(yeah, yeah i probibly 'Sould be' be using firefox but nah, IE 7 is much more sexy). And i was sad, that OSXy wallpaper doesnt come with the monitor :-(. And 16ms seems to be fine, i mean i haven't seen any ghosting, or anything of the like, and i haven't had any problems with colour banding, mindue im using VGA.

[tiuk @ Apr 28th 2006 5:44PM]

I know the 1907FP can be rotated into portrait mode, but it's hard to say since this one is so much wider (the stand would have to have a lot of vertical adjustment).

[lara @ Apr 28th 2006 6:37PM]

#17--yes, it can. CNET's review that #16 points out covers that info.

[Dan Gore @ Apr 28th 2006 6:44PM]

I've done some research on the 2007WFP, and it looks to be the ideal monitor for me. I want to get a new lcd to replace my current 17 inch Dell, but I really want it to be future-proof. The only thing I can see that makes me hesitant about this monitor is that it doesn't include an HDMI connector. Do any of you know if there are any monitors that include hdmi or should I just wait for the next generation of this monitor?

[Tim Adams @ Apr 28th 2006 6:57PM]

I had one of these 2007WFPs for about an hour. Tested the banding issues (which, by the way, were horrible), and promptly sold it.

Yes, it was bright, yes the screen was nice. But as soon as I started comparing it to my existing 19" Viewsonic, things just weren't up to my standard.

[Peter @ Apr 28th 2006 7:03PM]

That doesn't look like a review, looks like someone regurgitated the also useless CNET review.

So far user reports on the net indicate every single one of these has banding issues. How useless is a review if they don't even check for smooth color delivery.

I have seen people get 3 of them and everyone is faulty.

See this thread on Dells own support forums with a lot of pissed off owners. It is now 14 pages long:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_monitor&message.id=54714&view=by_date_ascending&page=14

[John C @ Apr 28th 2006 8:04PM]

#21: It doesn't have HDMI because it doesn't need sound input. The video signal on DVI is the same as HDMI, so you can just get a simple adapter and it'll work just fine.

[Andrew @ Apr 28th 2006 8:34PM]

I cannot believe that some people are more focused on a logo or wallpaper than the actual review.

[ChatRobot @ Apr 28th 2006 9:21PM]

I sure am glad that I didn�t buy one of these 2 years ago, when they cost twice as much.
-----------------
Padfiles.net: http://www.padfiles.net
Chatrobot.net: http://www.chatrobot.net
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[Moogle @ Apr 28th 2006 9:24PM]

#23. Go read -> http://www.washington.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=5136

Not saying there isn't a problem, but 14 pages of complaints isn't necessarily proof of a problem.

I'm amazed this never happened with the lines in trinitron monitors, althought it is nice to pick up refurbished 21" monitors at Fry's because of the people who notice them.

If anyone wants to sell off their 2007fp for cheap... :)

[strider_mt2k @ Apr 28th 2006 10:57PM]

I really want one of these monitors.

[Jason @ Apr 29th 2006 1:05AM]

"14. Whats the deal with response time. No one is going to be able to humanly tell the difference between 16 ms, or 1 ms. thats just specifics. I think its silly."

Uhm, no. Whoever says that hasn't experienced both. My Dell 2405FPW (16ms) looks absolutely atrocious with lots of movement in dark colors. Why do you think they made it so bright? It's a great monitor, but anything over 8ms doesn't cut for gaming. If you're really good at sniping in FPshooters, try doing it on a high-end CRT monitor, then on a 16ms LCD; prepare to be amazed at how much it affects your performance.

[Greg @ Apr 29th 2006 9:08AM]

I just hooked mine up to my lg3510a dvd/stb via vga because it was handy. It displayed 720p without a problem, but it won't do 1080i. Then I decided to pop in a dvd and it wouldn't play, it put up a warning, I guess saying that the vga port wasn't hdcp. When I switched it to dvi, it worked. Who'd have tought they'd bother on plain old dvds.

It looks really good as a small hdtv.

[kogun @ Apr 29th 2006 10:49AM]

Caveat emptor: Four people in our office recently got this exact monitor along with very nice Dell computers and top of the line graphics cards. The banding problem is real, and is on all four monitors. Comparisons with other monitors connected to the same computers confirms the problem is with the monitors and not the computers or cables. Banding is significant and will be unacceptable to anyone concerned with color fidelity such as doing graphics work like editing digital photos. The monitor does have three 'modes' and we found that using 'Desktop' mode (instead of gaming or multimedia) lessens the banding but unfortunately not enough to make the monitor acceptable for our work. Dell should recall these, frankly.

[Mark @ Apr 29th 2006 11:19AM]

Hi

The Dell 2407FPW is available in Australia now :)
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/20lcd_au?c=au&l=en&s=dhs

Au$1,599 or US$1,214 :p

The 2405FPW is going for US$873.80, in Australia there not selling it any more.

Now just need to wait till the price drops.

M.

[OMAC @ Apr 30th 2006 12:39AM]

"Nice MacOS ripoff wallpaper, dell."

Dude shut up. When Apple rips someone else off you guys sit back and convince yourselves that Apple was first simply because it has an Apple logo on it.

[iomatic @ Apr 30th 2006 2:09PM]

"Dude shut up wah wah wah. Apple logo wah wah".

Irony: look it up.

[James @ May 1st 2006 5:29PM]

"Irony: look it up."
blind apple fanboyism: look it up.

don't act like it's not true. you idiots would probably believe apple invented the wheel if they told you.

[Dunne @ May 2nd 2006 12:50AM]

"Irony: look it up."
blind apple fanboyism: look it up.

Windows User: 1. In denial frustration with futile hopes of rescue from a continually delayed new OS release.
2. Wishes that they had the knowledge that their software has built in comprimises from the start after booting up their homebaked set up within under an 1 hour of use without protection of a peice of software that should come as common curtesy and not a subscription based method, incomprehensible service packages, and bundles of patching with third party software that requires purchase to recieve actuall functionality.
3. Knows that a single virus can be capable of destroying their entire life just because they left the computer on and connected to the net.
4. Still rips music off the net, even after noting the bad quality of the file, (and is a closet ITMS user.)

Mac Zealot User: 1. Knows that there are things out there that harm a Mac, but take the most simple basic precautions most other users neglect.
2. Does not have to worry about viruses as often because like it or not, a Mac OS is Idiot Proof, unless you tell it not to be.
3. Has a right to feel supperior in its own facets of expertise in face of the millions of others that snob them down every day (Yet have to use software that is not integrated with same sort of app next to it.)
4. Does not have to deal with a contiual scavange on the net for patches and fixes that are after the fact.



"don't act like it's not true. you idiots would probably believe apple invented the wheel if they told you"

Well, Microsoft probably invented the brake since it can't update even its own system and continually stops itself short from satisfying the end user.

And copied the graphical interface, rearanging the icons up and down and left and right.
(And if they did invent the wheel, we could have had flying cars by now, and silvery and shiny like in all the comic books, to boot.)
And the software has the name that crackers like using to get to your system too. Especially when it is open

And grammar and punctuation would help, and be nice too.

[Sven @ May 25th 2006 8:08PM]

All I have to say is as a 2007WFP woner this banding issue is real on VGA DVI WinXP and MacOSX.
To all you mac fanboys....my powermacG5 , which cost a lot more than my "homebaked" PC and your G4 powerbook or iMac, gets a spanking by my PC all day long in all Adobe apps xcept Premiere. Oh and did I mention the $2000+ PowerCrapG5 freezes once a day and has kernel Panics like its at the fair?....too bad little to no info is to be found online about Macs, cause nobody owning one know what the hell they have inside that pretty box.
So...me gots to run to some crap apple-store 150 miles away.

PS I dont run Antivirus software on my Win machine. and have had 1 minor virus in 1.5 years.

BTW there is a supposed fix now for that banding on the 2007WFP (firmware update via DELL)

adio

[goodtime @ Dec 28th 2006 3:20PM]

I bought a Dell 20" E207 which does have some Color Banding issues. I don't really notice when playing DVDs or as much in Photoshop, but I do see it more when running a screen saver. Other than that the E207 is a bargain. I still like the display, but I am considering on getting a refurbished 2007WFP as my main display and have my current E207 as a 2nd side display. From what I have seen the 2007WFP does not have the Color Banding issues that the E207 has. Text on the E207 still looks much better than my 17" Dell CRT. Plus the E207 is similar in design as the 2007WFP, so they should look nice together.

Also, I wish I did know about the color banding issues. I bought it right when it come to market. Anyways, I would have opted for two 2007WFPs instead.

-gt

[Matt @ Jan 5th 2007 9:51AM]

I have this monitor and my only complaint is with the stand, it has very little vertical adjucement. It seems like a small thing but it is an annoyance. I 'm going to see if you can order other stands for the monitor.

[Luis Neng @ Jul 17th 2007 7:52AM]

Our portuguese design agency http://www.spirituc.com owns 3 of this monitor and I'm one of the lucky users.
I'm loving it and the quality is pretty good. Very versatile on changing positions upwards, downwards and rotating (pivot).
The connectiviy is good too with built-in usb hub and composite video in. Supports picture-in-picture.
We also bought a few Dell 2407WFT and they're awesome too :)

[Shanilka @ Jan 10th 2008 8:45AM]

I've had this screen for 1 and a half years and not a single dead pixel or problem. Great buy!
You're looking at a good quality LCD panel