Thanks, I checked it out and found this, take a look.
http://www.pcmag.com/compare_products/0,1943,,00.asp?a=177396,177390,177483&pt=14&sid=26265
thought it was pretty interesting, NEC had a few things better, but overall it looks like Dell gets a better rating. I appreciate your responce.
Like going to a doctor, always get a second opinion. I was immediately suspicious when the reviewer said he couldn't get the NEC to display 4:3 correctly. It's not supposed to be 4:3 for the PC *only NON-gamers with lousy graphics cards (like that reviewer?) would try to use 1024x768. It's 5:4 for 1280x1024 and 16:10 for 1680x1050 (max res wide). And regardless, other reviews I found were able to set the res to 1024x768 without problem.
Searching for the 'full' review, I found it
here and read thru
all the user comments posted. In it you just might find there are actually some serious banding and tearing quality issues with the Dell.
I'm not trying to knock it, I just think your decision should be based on all the facts which that review heartily avoids.
some other links:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=1745344&enterthread=y
http://stores.tomshardware.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=16752678/id_type=masterid (nec)
http://stores.tomshardware.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=18864442/id_type=masterid (dell - this one has a user that says the 4:3 is difficult to get here too, go figure)
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php?title=Master_Games_List_-_A (not a review, but a great list of settings for ws games)
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2990 (dont forget to search revs for the 20WGX2 - euro version, same screen but no speakers/tv tuner, no HDCP)
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1043429&page=19&pp=20 (huge post about the NEC, read thru it - lots of info)
LOL, to make matters worse, I found this
webpage discussing the Dell banding issue and a possible fix. The users were arguing whether the official Dell response (a firmware fix was being made available) was true or not. Apparently, there are 2 diff screens being used for that Dell monitor (1 is the same as the NEC) and the poster that was in contact with Dell support, was told he would need to send his monitor back for exchange, no firmware update.
What it boils down to for me is:
NEC Pros: Fast gaming, high quality image, any-angle viewability, HDCP-ready.
NEC Cons: High price, glossy screen *needs darker room, not a problem for me.
Dell Pros: Low price, HDCP-ready *some places said it wasn't, but I'll say it is.
Dell Cons: Tearing in games, image banding issue, limited-angle viewing.
Both are nice monitors to be sure so if money is an issue, Dell is the way to go. But for me, gaming and image quality is key, so it's NEC for me. Keep in mind, I'm also getting a top-of-the-line Asus EN7900GTX 512MB DD3 nVidia graphics card so games at any res with full effects is no problem for me (as in 1280x1024 or 1680x1050). My current Samsung 17" CRT has wicked image quality with a very glossy screen so I'm pretty used to managing my background light already.
Good luck with it.
