X-bit labs

20" LCD Monitors Roundup. Part IV (page 5)

Category: Other

by Oleg Artamonov

[ 09/07/2007 | 10:38 AM ]

The monitor’s got 90% brightness and 80% contrast by default (in the Standard Mode). To achieve a 100nit brightness of white I reduced the brightness and contrast settings to 50% and 53%, respectively. The brightness is regulated by means of backlight modulation at a frequency of 220Hz.

Color gradients are reproduced without problems in the Standard Mode but become striped as soon as you switch into any other mode or change the contrast setting.

The gamma curves are not ideal, but acceptable. They don’t deflect much from the theoretical curve. The monitor doesn’t lose dark halftones if you reduce the contrast setting.

The color temperature is set up rather sloppily. There is a 2000K difference between the different levels of gray in the Normal mode. The image shows an overall tendency towards bluish hues even in the Warm mode.

The response time average is 9.5 milliseconds. This value is only exceeded greatly on two transitions between black and darkest grays (which is typical of VA matrixes). It means that although the PW201 cannot really match the speed of monitors on fast TN matrixes, its response is quick enough for games and more than enough for movies.

The Response Time Compensation mechanism is implemented with errors, as usual. The error average is 2.7%. The maximum error is 13.6%. VA matrixes can do better, yet these are acceptable numbers. You can also compare the PW201 with the above-described MW201u, for example, to see that the latter has a four times higher error average. You can notice the characteristic light shadows behind moving objects on the screen of the PW201 under certain conditions, yet most users won’t perceive them unless they are deliberately looking for RTC artifacts.

The contrast ratio is low, not reaching 300:1 even. I had expected better numbers from the monitor’s VA matrix.

Thus, the single distinctive feature of the ASUS PW201 is its appearance – if you prefer matrixes with a glossy exterior coating. As for its other parameters, the high speed of the matrix is the single good thing about them. The rest of the parameters are no good. The menu is not easy to use, and the user-defined settings are reset to their defaults when you choose a Splendid mode. The monitor’s color reproduction setup is poor (I mean the large dispersion of color temperature as well as striped gradients) and its contrast ratio is low.