P1230

CADalyst, Sept, 2004

Dell

www.dell.com

Star rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Price: $679

The Dell P1230 is a 22" monitor with a 20.3" viewing area and a rated dot pitch of 0.24mm. The P1230 offers a maximum resolution of 1600X1200 at 106.3Hz (UXGA) and has a 98% color gamut for vivid, accurate colors. The unit received for evaluation features an attractive dark gray case that measures 19.7" X 19.7" X 18.5" (wXhXd) and weighs a hefty 77.1lb, the heaviest monitor in this review by a significant margin.

Pricing for the Dell P1230 is a bit on the high side at $679 when compared with most of the other monitors in this review. The P1230 incorporates two standard D-sub connectors, with no DVI connectors or USB.

On the test bench, the Dell P1230 showed some very slight softness on two edges, but because detail was high, I gave no deduction. Similarly, some very slight misalignment appeared at the edges of the screen on the convergence test, but again it wasn't significant enough to warrant a point deduction. On the color purity tests, however, the reds were too orange and the magenta was overly bright, resulting in a quarter-point deduction. All other scores were generally excellent. Some very slight banding occurred in horizontal gradations that should've been a smooth progression.

The Dell P1230 has five highly visible small buttons to the left of the Dell logo on the bottom bezel of the monitor and a larger power toggle and LED power indicator to the right of the logo. One button is for selecting the input source and the next one is for navigating the menu system. The on-screen menu is easy to navigate and use. There is a 5[degrees] tilt option.

The Dell P1230 is covered by a standard three-year warranty. If you use a Dell monitor with a Dell system, it's also supported by Dell Technical Support.

The slight deduction for color purity and the relatively high price for the P1230 resulted in a star rating of 4.5 once I tallied the weighted factors. This is an excellent monitor, but because the general quality of all the tested displays is very high, slight deductions pushed some CRTs away from a 5-star rating.