A brief but practical introduction to the Viewsonic VX2235wm (Mum, ... Dad. This is VX2235wm. We met a few weeks ago at a concert. She and I like each other very much. Our wedding is next week)

Some of you may have already been introduced to the LCD in question here.

Now, ignoring what PCA has already said about them, we shall continue on our quest.

As we will see in the following picture ... [CUE PICTURE STAGE LEFT]
http://squid.talkhost.info/storage/photos/desk6.jpg (nb: my host fails. Some people's ISP don't resolve the domain correctly. That's what you get for free hosting, it seems)
.. they are visually appealing when paired together. Any pair of 22" LCDs will look good together, but these are black and shiny, and are symetrical (if you ignore the fact the top left corner has a small viewsonic logo, and the top right has the Energy Star logo, but that's not a big detail).

Now, I am up for a bit of a debate about the specs of this screen.
See here, ( http://www.viewsonic.com.au/products/productspecs.php?id=264 ), it says that it's a 700:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time and a 280cd/m^2 brightness. When I purchased it, the facts I found said it was 1000:1 contrast ratio (2000:1 dynamic). However, the box says 4000:1 dynamic and the website says 700:1. Personally, I have no idea. I don't have a monitor to compare it to. It's most certianly contrasty enough for my needs. It doesn't support 1080p, so it's instantly ruled out for hi def movie watchers. Gaming, I haven't had any trouble. Desktop usage, not a single bit of trouble at all. The only thing that annoys me about the contrast ratio is there doesn't seem to be a way to disable dynamic contrast ratio, so you find the screen going dark all of a sudden when a level is loading. And there's a distinct difference between them when I log on, after one screen sitting at black for a while, and the other at the log on screen. But that's not really important!
Brightness, again, I was of the understanding they were 300cd/m^2. But I have the brightness turned down to about 70%, and even that is probably too bright.
The models I have a definitely 2ms. The box says so. It's probably the same panel as the 5ms brothers of these, the ever popular ... erm. Other 22" viewsonic model that's ~$50 cheaper... Do excuse my laziness ^_^

Now, after that epic wall of text and so much talking as if I'm mumbling to myself, I stumble across nothing other than... this!
http://www.viewsonic.com.au/products/productspecs.php?id=322&s=specs

It appears that I do, in fact, have the Viewsonic VX2235W-5. Yes. That's right. I have the -5 model. Nothing on the box about it. It just is. Apparently. And the facts about the -5 model agree with what I believed this beast to be, so I consider it settled.

So, fellow citizens of PCA, I come forth to thee with an announcement! This review is now about the Viewsonic VX2235WM-5!

Conintuing on from where we left off...

The picture is quite crisp, and easy to read off when running off DVI. (At full res, d-sub can start to have noticable loss of image quality) Running at 1680*1050 in 16:10 aspect ratio, old games look fat, new games need their FOV setting changed and movies are fine. However, this paragraph is pretty much a given for any LCD of similar size.

Moving to LANability, the box comes with a carry handle, which makes carrying quite easy, but the box opens on the big side, which means you need that side against your legs as you carry, lest ye treasures fall to the dogs below. The base of the screens comes off very easliy and sits in it's own little compartment in the box, too. They cannot, however, be adjusted height wise, so you'd better bring your own height adjustable chair to compensate. Or lots of pillows! ^_^ Granted, you generally don't care about things like posture, healthy eating and exercise at LANs, but it's something to consider.

So, in conclusion, my ratings!
4.5/5 for pairability. If they had of removed the silly logos in the topo corners, it would have been perfect looking for nice dual screen rigs
3.5/5 for LANability. Not too big to carry. Boxes have handles, but will still fall open if not handled in the correct manner. Base comes off to fit back in box easily. Only adjustable positioning system is verticle angle.
0/5 for annoying LED. The power on LED is a medium brightness blue LED. It's not overpowering, but could do to be not as powerful. It is quite visible no matter where you are looking on the screen. The sleep mode colour is a soft orange, which is quite bareable.
4/5 for value. At least, when I got them earlier this year. They were $40 more than their 5ms slightly darker counterparts. At $340 a piece, I was happy. One of the cheaper 22" screens around town, and decent quality too.

Overall: 4/5 friend chickens.

Edited by sirsquidness: 26/11/2008 10:41:53 PM