A review by bagoproverbial on Dell E172FP March 14th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Picture quality
Excellent
Colour sensitivity
Excellent
Design
Excellent
Ease of use
Very easy
Value For Money
Good
Advantages:
Clear, no discernible flicker
Disadvantages:
Would prefer silver design ! ;)
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I am actually using the Dell E172FP monitor whilst writing this review of it, and looking at the screen it's very difficult to see anything wrong with it. This is a classic Dell design- a kind of stony black finish (it almost looks like granite) which does look good, although I personally would have preferred silver (can;t have evrything though).
SCREEN SIZE:
17 inch screen, and the viewable area is actually very good on this monitor. Remember the bad old days when monitors were built into a big clunky surround and the viewable area, i.e the screen itself, was a good deal less than what you might have expected? Thankfully with the new range of flat screens coming out the viewable area always seems to turn out quite generous, and this one is no exception.
RESOLUTION:
Supports up to 1280 x 1024 which is good. I am one of those people who hates clunky big resolutions (ever tried viewing your Start -> Programs menu in 640 x 480?!). Up to a point, therefore, the finer the resolution, the better.
BUTTONS:
The monitor has a simple system of three buttons for modifying settings, and a slightly larger one for turning it on and off. Simple. Have a play and a tinker.
POWER:
It takes a standard AC 240V power adapter, i.e the sort you see lying around everywhere. Which is good, and sets it apart from a few of its rivals, some of which use their own power cables. All well and good, but what happens when the power cable blows? That's right... you have to find another. And finding a standard power cable is of course hell of a lot easier.
SWIVEL:
The monitor has an adjustable swivel so you can tilt it back and forth if you need to. Useful if you're always tinkering with that sort of thing.
STABILITY:
The stand for the monitor is perfectly stable. I've got mine sitting perched on top of my Dell SX270, which as some of you may know isn't the largest desktop PC in the world. However, the monitor is perfectly stable and doesn't wobble. Good balance of weight and design.
PLUG AND PLAY?
Plug and play is pretty much taken for granted these days (unless you're running Windows NT or 95 in which case you're obviously determined to make life as difficult as possible for yourself). There was no need to even install this monitor. When I swapped out the old one for it, and powered the PC up, it simply flashed up an AutoUpdate in Progress screen and sorrted itself out in a matter of seconds. It was as simple as that.
COMPATIBILITY:
It works with all modern operating systems and probably with all most ancient ones as well. The connection to the PC video card is via your standard 9-pin adapter which has been the standard for many years now and is featured on older PCs as well as the more modern ones. For my Dell SX270 I have to use a special converter as it doesn't have a standard 9-pin socket, however this is a design feature of the PC, not a fault with the monitor.
OVERVIEW:
I think the cost was in the region of £199 which is very reasonable (this was bought through a corporate account however so the retail price may be somewhat higher). Still, although they can still be a bit pricey, flat screens in general are worth buying, and this one certainly is.
BENEFITS:
Looks stylish Plug it in, power it up, no configuration normally needed Good resolution Fairly light Adjustable tilt Good balance of weight Reasonable price Pristine screen quality Uses standard AC power adapter
Advantages: Nice design and Reliable Disadvantages: Slight dullness and Picture Quality compaired to newer monitors
...Great little monitor for your old pc or even a new one but only a low spec
I had one of these and i also have a 19" model
They are very reliable and stand a awful lot of work with it being on alot.
I must say lo that if your looking to get one of these i would only use one for basic office use i have looked at other monitors and the brightness and quality of the picture is not as good but i would say this is a couple of years old and technology has come on since then.
Dell do the new monitors and i would say each of their monitors are really good.
However if your looking to get one of these monitors just to get a pc working or to use it for basic office use then i would say its a very good choice.
You can pick these up on ebay for around £50 - £60.00
Nice design...
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