Looking for a good 24 inch monitor and do not want to pay Dell 2407 prices? Then check out the
Acer P241. I was using a Olevia 27" HDTV LCD as my main display for the last near 3 years. The display featured VGA and DVI (with HDCP), Component, Composite, RF Tuner and S-Video. It supported 720p and 1080i but for PC use you could ONLY run 1280 x720, the native res of the panel (because it is a TV first and monitor second). With the Crysis Single Player Demo released the Full Game coming very soon, I wanted to play in 1920 x 1200 therefore I started my great search to find a panel that is not 700 bones like the might Dell 2407 but has the features I need such as 1920 x 1200 resolution, VGA Connectivity and DVI Connectivity with HDCP. I really needed Component as well for the 2nd 360 I have at my desk but decided I could go with the XBOX 360 VGA Cable as no panel under 600.00 has it all. After checking all the panels from Dell, HP and Westinghouse, I settled on the ACER P241 24 Inch LCD with DVI (HDCP, HDMI (HDCP) and VGA which Circuit City carries for 399.99 (440 bones out the door). The resolution is 1920 x 1200 and the contrast ratio is 3000:1. Overall the panel is very sharp and has very good color (not great but good), solid refresh times at 2ms and excellent contrast. HDCP is supported 100% and I had no issues using my Comcast HD DVR via HDMI to DVI cable and HDMI to HDMI cable. HDCP enabled HD-DVD/Blu-Ray playback in the Windows XP and Vista worked as expected with no issues found using my EVGA 8800 Ultra 768MB. HD-DVD Playback for Transformers via 1920 x 1200 is very good with excellent Hues and "very clean and sharp" picture. Playing Crysis on the display is an outstanding experience. This years best looking game looks stunning running in 1920 x 1200 with all details set to "Very High".
One thing I dislike about the P41 is that you cannot use the DVI and HDMI at the same time. If you are using DVI and switch over to a device on HDMI, you will not be able to use the HDMI device. The DVI is always default if devices are plugged into both. To use HDMI, you must not have anything connected to the DVI. On a positive note, you can use VGA and DVI at the same time. Unfortunately no remote is included but hey, beggers cannot be choosers. One last thing, when using the VGA Cable with XBOX 360 you need to change the Reference Levels (under Resolution) to Expanded to achieve decent black levels. The picture via VGA could be a little sharper but it is MORE than good enough for everyday use.
10-30-2007, 04:26 AM
Linear Mode
