Quantifying image quality of a
display, is a relatively difficult task. This is a
somewhat subjective area that in many cases can come down to
user preference, in some of the criteria. However,
especially with LCD displays, there are some very specific
points of reference that are easily judged and apparent to
any user. We'll try to cover what we feel is important
in our final testing and performance section.
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Testing and Performance |
High end imaging |
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At it's native
resolution, the 1600SW is a Professional Designer's dream.
The top end and native resolution for this display is
1600X1024, just shy of the 1600X1200 top end resolution for
most 19" CRTs. This is sort of a custom resolution but
it is supported by GeForce2 and GeForce3 cards, as well as
most current graphics adapters.
Click image for
full viewing
Frankly, this
camera shot doesn't do the 1600SW justice. The image
you see here is at 1600X1024 resolution and as a result, we
are able to fit two full pages on this display, which were
initially designed to fit for 800X600 desktops. This
is a ton of room to work on an LCD display and the image
quality at this resolution is as close to perfect as we have
seen on any LCD. However, for this Tech Writer's taste
the image, at this resolution, was just a little too
tight.
Resolution Scaling and Screen Fonts:
This is where the
rubber meets the road for LCD displays. When you scale
down to lower resolutions from the native resolution of any
LCD display, you are bound to get a certain amount of loss
in image quality. Usually this manifests itself as
text and image blurring. In addition to our own eyes, we
relied on DisplayMate from
DisplayMate Technologies Corp., to help us pinpoint any
issues.
Click image for full
viewing
The ideal desktop
resolution for our taste, seemed to be 1280X960.
Again, this is sort of an odd ball resolution but it
produced a happy medium in screen font size and overall
area. At this resolution and at a more standard
1280X1024, the SGI 1600SW scales VERY well. The 1600SW
is easily in the top 5% of all LCDs we have laid our eyes
on, in this regard. At these scaled resolutions, text
was sharp and overall image quality was excellent.
In addition, color
and brightness uniformity was excellent. However,
remember what we've said about the need for a good graphics
card driving this unit. We did struggle in this area a
little bit on a lower end GeForce2 card we have in the lab.
Finally, since the 1600SW is a tad wider than standard
display types, images at certain resolutions, sometimes look
stretched and geometry isn't perfect. This was a
slight shortcoming but our eyes did seem to get use to this
"wide" look, over time.
Motion Artifacts, Multimedia and Gaming:
Once again, this is
an area where many LCD displays fall down. Since pixel
response times for many flat panels cannot keep up with the
frame rates of 3D Gaming or DVD Video, often times the
result is annoying streaking and motion artifacts. It
seems as if only about 20% of the LCDs on the market today
can really handle fast moving action.
It is safe to say
that the SGI 1600SW had zero issues with motion artifacts.
As a matter of fact, we were hard pressed to see any
streaking or blurring at all while gaming or viewing DVD
titles. This LCD is an excellent choice for gamers and
movie buffs alike. In addition, we took the above in
game action shot at 1024X768 resolution (actual image is
800X600). The action was crisp and detailed here as
well, even though this setting was several notches down from
its native resolution.
All told, the SGI
1600SW is a very impressive LCD Flat Panel Display. It
has amazing sharpness and clarity at high resolutions and it
also scales very well down through the lower resolutions.
It has a lot to offer for many end users, from high end CAD
types to home users with gaming and multimedia requirements.
There are a few
caveats with this display however. For one, it is rather
pricey at around $1400 - $1600, through most on line
retailers and it is also somewhat hard to find. In
addition, at its native resolution, things can look a little
tight. However, this issue is easily offset by the
fact that the 1600SW scales so well across multiple
resolutions.
In general, we were
very impressed by the SGI 1600SW and we're giving it a
HotHardware Heat Meter rating of....
Are you talkin' to me?
Get into the HotHardware Conference Room!