Dell E171FPb 17 inch LCD Monitor
- Aspect Ratio: 5:4
- Response Time: Slow (More than 17 ms)
- Contrast Ratio: 350:1
- Screen Size: 17 inch
- Monitor Type: Flat Panel LCD TFT (Active Matrix)
- Native (Recommended) Resolution: 1280 x 1024
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Dell E171FP LCD Monitor: A Good Low-Priced Monitor
Pros
Low price, bright screen, good color reproduction
Cons
No DVI, dark colors not rendered correctly
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you need an entry level LCD on the cheap, this is for you.
After I picked up my laptop from Dell, I decided to purchase a monitor that I could use to connect to my laptop for those times when I would be at home, where it would be more appropriate to the laptop as a desktop replacement. At first, I was looking at some of the LCD monitors on the Dell website, but the prices seemed to be a little out of reach, but I remembered that Dell sold refurbished LCD monitors for much lower prices. After taking a look at the monitors and checking out the reviews on Epinions, I settled on the Dell E171FP.
What You Get
In the box, you get the monitor, assorted connection cables, a start-up guide, and a CD which I originally thought contained the drivers for the monitor, but turned out to be supplementary information about the monitor. It comes securely packed as well, so there isn't much of a risk of it being damaged during transit.
Connectivity
I have not touched the CD that contains supplementary information. The hookup for this monitor merely required me to plug the connector into the video card, plug in the monitor, and then readjust my resolution. That's it.
Shipping
For $353, I received the monitor and also free shipping on my product [that was the ongoing promotion at the time]. I received the monitor a week after I ordered it, which was a reasonable wait for the shipment of the monitor.
Specs
This monitor was designed to run at a 1280x1024 resolution, so make sure your video card can handle that resolution. If run at lower resolutions, the monitor does scale the image so that it fills the entire monitor, but this is not recommended, as it distorts and produces such a lower image quality.
Also to note, this monitor does not come with a DVI connector. For the tecnologically illiterate, a DVI connector is a newer connection to monitors and provides a pure digital signal to your monitor, giving you a better picture quality. Older connectors convert the video signal from digital to analog, which degrades quality.
However, having used this monitor, I find that the image quality is just fine, even without the DVI connector.
The viewing angle is also good with this monitor. While I am not sure of the exact number of the viewing angle, you can sit a decent sized amount of people around the monitor without having anyone complain about not being able to see anything.
Performance
This LCD monitor is amazing for the cost. There is a complete range of color when I use Photoshop and this monitor together. Text comes out sharp and easy to read, and the brightness is better than any LCD that I have used. However, one thing to note is that with very deep and dark colors, the monitor tends to render everything as black, while on my old CRT, you could pick out each individual color. However, I do not consider this to be a major issue.
Design
Compared to a bulky CRT monitor, the Dell E171FP monitor is everything an LCD monitor is supposed to be: lighter and smaller than a CRT. The amount of desk space that I have saved using this monitor is amazing -- I did not imagine I would be able to recapture more than half of my working space.
Having seen more sleek designed monitors, I must say that this particular LCD monitor is not the most eye-catching. For example, instead of gentle curves and rounded edges for the monitor's shell, this model instead sports a more blocky appearance. Thus, this monitor does not rank high in aesthetic aspects.
Furthermore, adjustability of the monitor is very limited. For example, you can't pivot the monitor left or right -- you can only tilt it up and down, and even the degree of tilt isn't that great.
Bottom Line
There are some sticking points about this monitor that bother me, such as the fact that it doesn't render deep colors well. However, for the price, I'm willing to accept that. This is a good entry level monitor for those who will be working on spreadsheets or typing reports all the time, and might be good for the casual gamer as well. Obviously, if you're a design firm, I'd recommend going with a top-of-the-line LCD, but for my purposes (typing reports and digital imaging with Photoshop), this monitor suits me well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good monitor on the cheap.
What You Get
In the box, you get the monitor, assorted connection cables, a start-up guide, and a CD which I originally thought contained the drivers for the monitor, but turned out to be supplementary information about the monitor. It comes securely packed as well, so there isn't much of a risk of it being damaged during transit.
Connectivity
I have not touched the CD that contains supplementary information. The hookup for this monitor merely required me to plug the connector into the video card, plug in the monitor, and then readjust my resolution. That's it.
Shipping
For $353, I received the monitor and also free shipping on my product [that was the ongoing promotion at the time]. I received the monitor a week after I ordered it, which was a reasonable wait for the shipment of the monitor.
Specs
This monitor was designed to run at a 1280x1024 resolution, so make sure your video card can handle that resolution. If run at lower resolutions, the monitor does scale the image so that it fills the entire monitor, but this is not recommended, as it distorts and produces such a lower image quality.
Also to note, this monitor does not come with a DVI connector. For the tecnologically illiterate, a DVI connector is a newer connection to monitors and provides a pure digital signal to your monitor, giving you a better picture quality. Older connectors convert the video signal from digital to analog, which degrades quality.
However, having used this monitor, I find that the image quality is just fine, even without the DVI connector.
The viewing angle is also good with this monitor. While I am not sure of the exact number of the viewing angle, you can sit a decent sized amount of people around the monitor without having anyone complain about not being able to see anything.
Performance
This LCD monitor is amazing for the cost. There is a complete range of color when I use Photoshop and this monitor together. Text comes out sharp and easy to read, and the brightness is better than any LCD that I have used. However, one thing to note is that with very deep and dark colors, the monitor tends to render everything as black, while on my old CRT, you could pick out each individual color. However, I do not consider this to be a major issue.
Design
Compared to a bulky CRT monitor, the Dell E171FP monitor is everything an LCD monitor is supposed to be: lighter and smaller than a CRT. The amount of desk space that I have saved using this monitor is amazing -- I did not imagine I would be able to recapture more than half of my working space.
Having seen more sleek designed monitors, I must say that this particular LCD monitor is not the most eye-catching. For example, instead of gentle curves and rounded edges for the monitor's shell, this model instead sports a more blocky appearance. Thus, this monitor does not rank high in aesthetic aspects.
Furthermore, adjustability of the monitor is very limited. For example, you can't pivot the monitor left or right -- you can only tilt it up and down, and even the degree of tilt isn't that great.
Bottom Line
There are some sticking points about this monitor that bother me, such as the fact that it doesn't render deep colors well. However, for the price, I'm willing to accept that. This is a good entry level monitor for those who will be working on spreadsheets or typing reports all the time, and might be good for the casual gamer as well. Obviously, if you're a design firm, I'd recommend going with a top-of-the-line LCD, but for my purposes (typing reports and digital imaging with Photoshop), this monitor suits me well. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good monitor on the cheap.
