Acer AL1715smd review
Date: Mar 19th, 2005 6:40:08 am - Subscribe
Mood: helpful
Acer AL1715smd
I. Introduction
I have been using my new monitor for about a week now. In general I like it. I will try to get detailed since there are not any reviews out there. It is a Acer AL1715smd. I choose the acer over the samsung 710n-2 for four reasons. Apparently the samsung displays colors incorrectly (though not necessarily badly) and it sometimes has backlight problems. Also it did not have DVI. And most importantly, I hate rebates. Although I really knew nothing about the acer model, I noticed that acer in general got good user reviews and I saw a highly praised review of the AL1715b. According to the features, the smd model should be better. The price was right and my borrowed 15" CRT was dying. Before flames start, This is not a comparison to the samsung. I have only examined that model in Fry's. I am sure it is a very good monitor. I am not a professional reviewer with the right tools, so do not expect a professional review.
II. Features: pulled from newegg
"
Panel Type: TFT Active Matrix LCD
Native Resolution: SXGA 1280x1024
Pixel Pitch: 0.264 mm
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 500:1
Response Time: 12 ms
View Angle: 150°(H) / 135°(V)
Integrated Speakers: 2 x 1 Watt Speakers
Input Connectors: 15-Pin D-sub, DVI-D
Dimensions & Weight: 14.8" x 15.5" x 6.3" (W x H x D), 11.0 lbs
Manufacturer Warranty: Three-year parts and labor limited warranty
"
I quote newegg because I purchased it from there.
III. Impression
My first impression is that it was packaged very well including the secondary covering of the screen. I was a little leery of the silver/black coloring, but I was pleasantly surprised. It looks good next to my black/blue case. Importantly, it does not look out of place. It fits right in next to my silver/black speakers, silver/black mouse and black keyboard. I was also worried about the speakers since I did not actually want them. The speakers are almost ignorable and add about an inch to the monitor height. I will not be reviewing the speakers. Most likely they sound tinny but adequate. None of the logos are obtrusive. Items included are:
* LCD Monitor
* User's Manual
* 1.8M Monitor-to-PC D-SUB Cable
* 1.8M Monitor-to-PC DVI Cable (Yes, it is really there)
* 1.8M Stereo Jack Audio Cable
* 1.8M Power Cord
* Base
IV. Set Up
Some assembly is required. I had to set the monitor in the base and push down. Very easy. It took about 30 seconds because I actually read the manual. Power connects via a regular power cord. Easy. Next I connected the D-Sub cable. This was a bit difficult because, the connector is right above the base extrusion. It fits, but the cable makes a tight turn. Without screwing it on, it would likely come off. This problem would not be had using DVI. Unfortunately I will not be testing DVI, as my DVI compatible video card does not work well.
After everything is connected, I powered it one. The text is very big through the boot up. Every time the video blanks out, it auto configs. The difference is amazing, but not as earth shattering as I expected. It was set to 1024x768. I quickly set it to native and looked for drivers. There are none and it appears to not need any. I open up the manual from the included cdrom and discover to my disappointment:
* Colors: 16.7M with FRC or Dithering
It also contained some good news:
* Response Time: Ta=25(degrees)C Tr+ Tf=12ms
It does not come with any software, but both ati and nvidia drivers come with all the software needed including a 90 degree rotate option.
V. Performance
a.)Image
I fired up sea monkey, and went to my favorite websites. The text was fairly clear, but in some places was fuzzy. It is all over the screen and in consistent areas. For example there would be a word like: "Trouble". "Tro" would be sharp but "uble" would look like it was smudged by a finger print on a CRT. I was highly disappointed because of the return policy. However, after using it for a week, it no longer does this. I can not explain it, but I am happy it is gone. The small text gets getting used to but it looks very sharp. The thing that really blew me away was images. Images look stunning compared to the CRT I was using. It is hard to explain, but they are sharp and detailed. Plus I went from 800x600, so I can see more. I sometimes just like to sit and admire pictures.
b.)Gaming
I tried out Quake III because I have it and it does not seem to make me sick while playing. I am not really a gamer anymore due to dizziness. Well it looks good. I have not viewed ghosting before so I do not know exactly what it is, but I did not see any thing that would distract me or what I would guess ghosting looks like. So basically, I did not see ghosting. I also just bought Unreal II in the hopes I would not get dizzy. Unfortunately I do. I tried it out anyway and did not see ghosting. It was a little jerky due to the incapable video card.
c.)Videos
I watched a lot of mpeg music videos in winamp and quicktime and they look good but small. After 2x, it is to pixilated. I also check out some anime and DVD's. At fullscreen, the anime looked better than the music videos. With DVD's I tried Strange Days, Blade Runner and the Matrix. They look good without any noticeable ghosting. However I noticed that running them in their windowed resolution cause them to look better. When fullscreen viewing, there is a graininess to them. The picture is still sharper than on a tv and clearer, but the graininess is there. My brother told me the same thing happened when he bought a HDTV, so it might be a similar phenomenon. It does not bother me too much, but it bothered him enough to return the tv. Turning down the brightness and contrast helps, but then it makes text viewing harder.
d.)scrolling
Not normally a review, but I notice that when scrolling or dragging something, it causes the text or dragged thing to get distorted. It is like lines are going through it. Upon stopping, they go away. This also seems to improve with time.
e.)Angles
The first thing I noticed is that the screen is so big, that from my viewing angle directly in front, the color change could be noticed at the bottom. I had to put a phone book underneath (3 inches) to correct this. Directly in front, everything looks fine. As expected going to different angles will cause the distortion. Looking from below is the worst. Viewing movies, I would estimate falls into the parameters given by acer.
f.) resolutions
800x600 is unusable. The largeness just makes me dizzy. 1024x768 looks ok. It actually looks too big as well and text is a little fuzzy. I would say it is usable. If 1280x1024 is too small, than it would be alright. The resolutions in between look bad and I will not use them.
g.) sound
As a special surprise, I changed my mind today and decided to test the audio. As expected it is tinny and not very loud, though sharp. I played the lossless file: Brooks and Dunn - Neon Moon. There is absolutely no bass. The sound is comparable to that of an old pocket mono radio or inexpensive alarm clock. I wouldn't want to depend on it. On the other hand, even at max volume, you probably will not wake up anyone in the next room.
VI. Miscellaneousness
The monitor does not swivel and it is not height adjustable. It has a small forward and backwards tilt. It does have mounting holes on the back and the manual has detailed measurements and also follows the "VESA Flat Panel Monitor Physical Mounting Interface Standard (paragraphs 2.1 and 2.1.3, version 1, dated 13 November 1997)."
Also this monitor is very bright. Normally I don't like to look at bright white things, so that is a problem for me. I usually have to set the default color to an off-blue or similar, and this monitor is not an exception. I have also set the brightness and contrast to about 50%. Depending on what I am doing, I may increase it, such as for games.
I have been unable to find any dead or stuck pixels.
For those of us that can see the refresh rate and are bothered by it on CRTs, the switch to lcd will be a nice change. I am not really sure if that was a trigger of migraines, but it is relief not to see the refreshing.
VII. Conclusion
The smallness took some getting used to, but I really like this monitor. It is sharp and clear. I like the way the fuzziness cleared up and I glad it does not noticeably ghost. My next video card will have DVI so I like that it has a DVI connection and comes with a cable. I like how the response time is really 12ms.
I do not like the graininess in videos. I wish it did not use dithering.
Testing:
Windows 2000 SP4
Mozilla 1.8a6
Openoffice.org 1.1.4
Winamp5.08
Quicktime 6.5.2
CyberLink PowerDVD
Quake III
Unreal II
Asus Radeon 9200 SE 128MB
If you think anything else is relevant, make a response and I will post it. I am a little tired now, so I may have left things out. Go ahead and ask any questions. I have enabled anonymous replies. Reprinting is not allowed without my permission. No profits can be made from reprinting.
Product link: acer al1715smd
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