Customer Reviews

Viewsonic G220F 21" CRT Monitor

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

My 21" EIZO monitor finally failed. So I went in search of a replacement. My intention was to buy two 20" LCDs to replace it. Allowing them to run 1600X1200 with less eye strain because a 20" LCD is substantially larger than a 21" CRT. Unfortunately while researching the LCD's it became obvious that at this time ALL LCDs are inadequate for very fast First Person Shooter games (i.e. SOF2) leaving blurry stomach twisting smears whenever moving. Since LCDs are not yet ready for F.P.S. prime time yet I went back to CRTs. My two 19" ViewSonic LCDs at my office are very nice so I thought I would give ViewSonic CRTs a look. I purchased two G220f monitors and an ATI 9800XT video card,(with two video outputs), to run them.

These ViewSonics...are lousy. Several times a day I have to "make adjustments" as the pictures shrink and wander all over the screen, sometimes to the extent that Desktop Icons start getting clipped off. This occurs on both monitors sitting on the same desk hooked to the same computer. I now have them set with large borders so I don't have to herd them back on the screen so often. This brings up another annoyance. ViewSonic's on screen menu system is one of the poorest I've seen. They have a confusing menu system requiring loads of button pushing for simple adjustments. For example If you want to adjust the Horizontal Position you must press the "1" button, (clever huh?) then using the up/down arrows proceed to the Horizontal Size/Position menu selection. Next press "2", (obvious huh?), then press "2" again to get to "Position Adjust" because it's a sub menu of "Horizontal Size". This I have to do at least twice a day! Oh and don't ponder any of this too long or it will all disappear. If you select "Viewmeter" to see what refresh rate your video card is dishing out it doesn't stay on long enough to get thru the usual blanking while the monitor figures out a new video setting, requiring reselecting.

All this is bad enough but the worse thing about these two G220f monitors is that they are just not very sharp.. They do not even come close to the Eizo that I replaced. I do lots of CAD work on my computer and it was immediately obvious that more zooming and less of my CAD image was going to be required. This is very annoying as it is the same as running a lower resolution. Since I cannot read the drawing text at 1600x1200 that was easy to read on my previous monitor I must zoom in, say, 10% this means I can not see a lot of the drawing that I'm working on which in turn means I have to pan in the middle of drawing a line to place it's end point. This slows things down. Costs me time. Time is money...

In summary; they work, not well. It isn't just one monitor it's two identical monitors that are new so this isn't a fluke. I would never purchase another ViewSonic CRT unless someone I trusted could demonstrate a model that avoided these problems. I would have bought another Eizo for twice the money if they still bothered to sell CRTs. Do yourself a favor look elsewhere.

March 14,2005:

OKAY: Update. After 8 months here's where we are.

The warm up wandering has diminished to a point where I notice it rarely. This is good. The two monitors have not gotten any clearer though they are both merely adequate and still no where near the EIZO league. Now the bad news. One of them failed today. I turned it on. The light went on but no picture. Then after about 10 seconds there was a large "PACCK!" and then the screen lit up. The image is so blurry that nothing can be read. The image is oscillating right and left about 1/2" at a high rate, perhaps 60Hz. The entire screen pulses randomly brighter and dimmer at about 1-3Hz. Dang! I just love sending 60 pound items through UPS! Cripes.

My sisters' monitor was old, tiny (14in. vis) and blurry so i figured i'd get a new one and give her my 3 year old 17in. Viewsonic. This thing is great. My friend also uses a Veiwsonic and she's a grapic astist. I've been using this everyday for the last 4 months. I've heard nothing but good things about Veiwsonic and I like the picture. I WOULD RECOMEND THIS PRODUCT.

Our company purchased two years ago thirty two (32) Viewsonic 220 and 225 monitors. As of July 2004, eighteen (18) have literally gone up in smoke. These monitors are miserable pieces of junk and pose a safety hazard.

Once again Viewsonic did not disappoint. I have to have a clear true color monitor for my graphic work. Try to find a review of monitors and they are all 2 years old or more at the typical computer sites like CNET PCMAG etc because everyone wants an LCD screen today. So I took a chance on a trusted name and I am very happy with this product.

Ive had this Monitor for 8months now...and its still working perfectly.....no missing pixels....simply perfect....ive used and been around 100's of Monitors of various brands....and this is the best..bar none... and with the same viewable area as a 22' monitor...this is a great buy

Received this monitor last week and it is fantastic. This is my second ViewSonic monitor, purchased the first one in 1994 and never a problem, I hope this one gives me the same service.