gateway fpd2185w tft lcd monitor factory

This monitor is quite nice, not super high resolution but more than adequate for any task. It"s basically a 1600x1200 monitor with the bottom 200 pixels cut off to make it widescreen. The actual resolution is 1680x1050. I"m a programmer and the screen rotation helps when viewing long chunks of code. I still haven"t gotten the monitor to work at it"s native resolution on my laptop. It"s a driver issue, but it"s something to check into before getting this monitor. The only negative is that the monitor stopped detecting when the signal comes back from the vga input, I just have to hit the menu button to clear the dialog that shows which input is selected.

This monitor is quite nice, not super high resolution but more than adequate for any task. It"s basically a 1600x1200 monitor with the bottom 200 pixels cut off to make it widescreen. The actual resolution is 1680x1050. I"m a programmer and the screen rotation helps when viewing long chunks of code. I still haven"t gotten the monitor to work at it"s native resolution on my laptop. It"s a driver issue, but it"s something to check into before getting this monitor. The only negative is that the monitor stopped detecting when the signal comes back from the vga input, I just have to hit the menu button to clear the dialog that shows which input is selected.

Connecting the monitor Do not connect power to the Audio power in jack for any device but Caution the Gateway speaker bar accessory. Audio power in jack Connect the blue VGA video cable to the blue video connector under the back of the display.

Using Your Gateway Flat Panel Monitor Make sure that your computer is turned off, then connect the other end of the video cable to the matching video port on the back of your computer. Connect video inputs (such as from a DVD player, video camera, or receiver) to the appropriate video jacks on the back of the monitor.

To avoid injury, always lift the monitor so that the stand adjusts to its full height before moving the monitor or turning it around. www.gateway.com...

Connect any USB device to one of the available USB 2.0 ports on the side or back of the monitor. USB ports Use the USB 2.0 ports on the side of the monitor for connecting USB Tips & Tricks devices that are frequently disconnected, such as camera interface cables, flash drives, and USB hard drives. www.gateway.com...

Using Your Gateway Flat Panel Monitor Input ■ OSD active: Press to move to previous menu. OSD inactive: Press to select the video source. Auto ■ OSD active: Press to select a menu or setting. OSD inactive: Press to automatically optimize the monitor’s image position, clock, and phase.

Cross Color Reduction —Reduces cross-color artifacts, such as unintentional flashing colors or rainbow patterns, that result from composite video signals. MADI —Motion-Adaptive De-Interlacing ensures a more static (flicker-free) display image for image sections not containing moving elements, and ensures smoother edges for moving elements. www.gateway.com...

Using Your Gateway Flat Panel Monitor OSD Menu Description H-Position—Moves the display image left and right. Geometry menu V-Position—Moves the display image up and down. You can also press the Auto button to configure the vertical and horizontal position automatically.

Using Your Gateway Flat Panel Monitor To change the color depth: Right-click a blank area of your desktop, then click . The Display Properties Properties dialog box opens. Click the tab. Settings Click the arrow button to open the list, then click the color depth you Color quality want.

Clarifying screen fonts You can change the display fonts to ClearType for smoother screen fonts. To change the display fonts to ClearType: Right-click a blank area of your desktop, then click . The Display Properties Properties dialog box opens. www.gateway.com...

Using Your Gateway Flat Panel Monitor Click the tab. Appearance Click the button. The Effects dialog box opens. Effects Click to select the check Use the following method to smooth the edges of screen type box, click the arrow to open the list, then click...

19.47 × 13.74 × 2.77 inches (49.4 × 34.9 × 7.0 cm) VESA wall mount bracket: 3.94 × 3.94 inches (100 mm × 100 mm) Operating: 32~122°F (0~50°C) Temperature Storage: -13~140°F (-25~60°C) Operating: 20~90% RH Humidity Storage: 5~90% RH 10,000 feet (3,048 m) Altitude Kensington lock slot Security www.gateway.com...

Do not expose the monitor to rain or use near water. If the monitor does get exposed to moisture, unplug it and allow it to dry for 24 hours. Call Gateway Customer Care for advice on whether the monitor is safe to turn back on.

In the interest of continued product development, Gateway reserves the right to make improvements in this manual and the products it describes at any time, without notices or obligation.

The Gateway FPD2185W"s smooth rounded edges, sleek matte-black finish, and shiny charcoal-colored sides give it a classic look. The bezel runs 1 inch wide along the top, 0.75 inch along the sides, and 1.5 inches at the bottom. A strip of glossy black plastic encloses the screen.

The FDP2185W offers every adjustability option imaginable: 4.5 inches of height adjustment, as well as 35 degrees of swivel to the left and right and 20 degrees of tilt to the back and 5 degrees forward; the panel also pivots from landscape to horizontal. The monitor moves so smoothly that all adjustments can be made with one finger.

The control panel sits out of sight on the panel"s right side, so you have to turn the monitor to see which buttons you"re pressing. Using the onscreen menu, you can switch inputs; autoadjust the picture; and control brightness, contrast, and RGB settings, as well as what input you view in the picture-in-picture windows. Though the menu controls take some getting used to, the Gateway FPD2185W comes with a first-rate printed user guide that explains the menu settings in detail and describes the initial setup procedure clearly.

The FPD2185W accepts analog and digital signals (though it ships with only an analog cable) and is HDTV ready. The back of the monitor accommodates signal ports for composite, component, and S-Video connections, plus a USB 2.0 hub that contains one upstream and two downstream ports. Two more downstream USB ports are located along the FPD2185W"s right side, just underneath the control panel, making the FPD2185W one of the most well-connected LCDs we"ve seen.

The Gateway FPD2185W performed excellently in CNET Labs DisplayMate-based tests. Tested at its native 1,680x1,050 resolution, the FPD2185W showed off its contrast ratio with text that popped off the screen with exceptional clarity. Even small-size serif fonts looked dark and clear, their legibility unimpaired by digital noise. The FPD2185W"s grayscales were a cut above the usual as well, featuring solid blacks, crisp whites, and a smooth range of in-between tones, with only a smattering of faint off-color tints. Colors also looked bold and vivid, though we did notice that color scales showed a lack of tonal differentiation at the dark end of the spectrum, and at the light end, blue tended to slip into violet. Overall, the FPD2185W"s uniform screen showed no notable shadows or other irregularities.

The Gateway FPD2185W"s one-year limited warranty is two years shy of the industry-standard three years. However, you can purchase a three-year extended warranty for $30--a reasonable upgrade fee considering the monitor"s low price. Gateway conveniently places a tag listing Gateway"s customer-service URL and the tech support phone numbers and hours on the back of each FPD2185W. Tech support via phone is available from 5 a.m. to midnight PT, seven days a week.

quote:

Rodbac,
what res are you running? I just hooked mine up via vga, and it looked awesome, ran dead pixel buddy and no dead ones Smile
1680 x 1050 is native for this monitor, just wondering what you were using.
thx

I"m running it native. Looked great initially over VGA, and now outstanding over DVI as expected.

quote:

That is the case however you still have to tell windows what to run at(and games). And setting vsync with a 60hz refresh is going to impact performance than with a 75hz refresh.

I guess my issue with it is that it told me that 60hz was the cap on the initial install but 75hz is the actual cap, ive got it set up now but it still just irks me.

I"m still trying to figure out a lot of this stuff- do I want Vsync now that I"m using an LCD?

Maybe I"ll grab the monitor.inf off the CD (haven"t taken it out of the pkg yet).

quote:

No buzzing here, I havent turned on just the monitor though and I have a little ambient fan noise from the pc.

When you get the chance to take a listen without the PC running, I"d be interested to hear whether this is how yours behaves, too.

I purchased this monitor 11/2007. In 2/2008, the monitor completely died. I called Gateway and they refused to send me a new monitor. they would only send a refurb. (customer service reps were nasty, arrogant, and rude, when you do not agree with them they hang up on you).

The second monitor did not work right out of the box, none of the touch control buttons lit up and they did not work, I had no way to turn the monitor on or off.

They sent a third refurb unit, and again, right out of the box, the backlight kept turning off, I would have to cycle the power several times to get it to come back on and then it would only stay on for a few seconds. Tech support said they would take back the monitor and the speaker bar add-on (since the speaker only worked on this one monitor) and refund my money for both. He transferred me to customer service to process the refund and returns and they changed there mind and said they will not give a refund. When I asked how long this was going to go on, there reply was "until I get a unit the works"

In all fairness, this is a nice monitor, but three bad ones in a row, and there lack of proper customer service, is enough to make anyone think twice!

Thanks, Jarred, for the informed review. A selfish request--could you review the current Dell, Apple, and Samsung 23/24" LCDs? A friend is in the market in the next couple months and I am buying before the end of the year. From what little looking I"ve done, these seem to be the best candidates so far for hobbyist photo work (and movie viewing, game playing, web browsing...).

I purchased this monitor over the weekend at a local Best Buy. Here are my results from calibrating with the Pantone/greatagmacbeth Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter using the Eye-One Match 3.6.1 software.

Not sure what more could be done to fine tune the display. If you go to the user settings you can adjust RGB colors, but being an LCD it doesn"t really make a difference whether you do that on the LCD or in the Windows drivers. They both end up accomplishing the same thing. I have never looked into "hidden service menus" on any of the LCDs I"ve used, I"m sorry to say.

Thank you for the review. I"m very pleased that you will be reviewing monitors again. In your future LCD display reviews, I suggest that you identify the manufacturer and model of LCD panel in the monitor, and continue to identify the manufacturer and model of the signal processing chipset (you did in this review), as in Kristopher"s November, 2003 "Dell UltraSharp 2001FP Preview: Gaming LCDs for the Masses" review. Finding information about an LCD monitor"s panel and chipset is difficult at best. I suspect that many enthusiasts would often consider the panel type, brand and model when choosing monitors, if that information was readily available. In fact, I frequently read discussions about the merits of S-IPS panels over S-PVA panels. Additionally, would you also alert readers when a monitor manufacturer uses different types of panels in the same monitor, i.e., model. This practice is disconcerting; Consumers simply can"t be certain that the specific model that they purchase will have a specific panel. I believe that a vocal outcry would eliminate or substantially reduce this practice.

Currently, the FPD2485W is listed for $680 on the Gateway web site, while the regular price of the Dell 2407WFP is $750. Dell routinely runs sales, however, and the 2407WFP is available for $675 right now. You basically end up with two very similar monitors that cost about the same amount, although the Dell comes with a three-year warranty included making it a slightly better deal.

The Dell is currently (or was last week) $675 with the three year warranty. The Gateway is $680 + $30 for a 3-year warranty. So right now, the Dell is clearly less expensive. If the price of the Dell goes back up (which is almost certainly will at some point), things change a bit.

The problem is, darker blacks are good but brighter whites are only good up to a certain point. Anything above 400 cd/m 2 is far too bright in our opinion. As you can see, the black levels of both the Gateway and Dell LCD are equal, /quote:

Aren"t you supposed to compliment gateway for its excellent white brigthness while bash dell"s inferior test result? or are you saying gateway"s performance is nothing to sneeze at because it went over mere 5.21cd/m2 of your recommendation of 400cd/m2