Widescreen Gaming Forum

OK I got my Dell 2007WFP about 3 days ago and was so happy. I'm coming from a 19inch Viewsonic G90f-2 CRT monitor. I bought my LG L204WT yesterday at Circuit City. I also returned my Dell yesterday as well and here's why. Everything on the Dell, I would rate an A save one thing that to me, makes or breaks a monitor and this in this case, it broke it for me...Gaming!

I'm not sure if you'd call it ghosting or blurring, but it was really annoying. I have many of the current FPS game released since 2004 til present, like HL2 with CSS, COD2, UT2004, BF2, BF2142 and Rainbow Six Vegas to list a few. OK, the Dell was actually satisfactory in most games except HL2 games like CSS and HL2DM and worst of all and this is bad because I love these games the most and that's BF2 and BF2142. The blurring was horrendous! If I was still in BF2142 or BF2, it was fine, but as soon as I move (which is a problem in FPS games...lol) there was pretty bad blurring. Everything else about the Dell was just perfect though.

Now the LG L204WT is an excellent monitor too, but I might be taking this back tomorrow (for the same one) because I've got some backlight bleeding on the top and the bottom part of the screen. If for some reason the other LG's are like this too, I'll probably just keep this. It's not horrible, but it bugs me because I can definitely see it in black or really dark areas. I haven't tested DVD's with this monitor or the Dell so I can't say either way with either monitor regarding that.

Like I said, aside from not testing the DVD, the 2007WFP was perfect all except for gaming which I'd give a D- or an F+...heh. Here's a summary of the two monitors.

Dell 2007WFP Summary:

Pro's:
-Almost everything this monitor did was perfect. I really hated to give it up. Had I not been a gamer, I would have kept it for sure!
-Build quality.....excellent. Felt sturdy to touch and the stand is highly adjustable.
-Picture and text quality was excellent. No screen door effect at all!
-No backlight bleeding whatsoever and blacks were very black.
-Colors were spot on and didn't need any adjusting whatsoever...I mean nothing needed adjusting! Even my CRT needed some adjusting.

Con's:
-Only one con, but like I said, this con broke it for me. It has horrendous blurring and/or ghosting. It was very unpleasant to play FPS games with the Dell! Has 16ms response time

Overall opinion of Dell 2007WFP: Like I said before....if you're not a gamer, GET THIS LCD MONITOR!!!! It's by far the best (NON GAMING) monitor I've ever seen; albeit I don't have much experience with LCD monitors until lately, but I've done a fair amount of research. If you're a gamer, stand clear of this monitor. While some people may find the blurriness of FPS gaming satisfactory, I guarantee you that many will not!

LG L204WT Summary:
-Excellent color and picture reproduction, no screen door effect
-Good black level reproduction
-Best gaming LCD I've seen yet (much better than the Dell!)
-Excellent brightness and contrast
-Easy menu access and controls
-5ms response time.....that's why gaming is so good!
-DVD playback is excellent!

Con's:
-I don't think this is across the board from what I've read, but as I said earlier, I've got some backlight bleeding issues. I'm going to try to get another L204WT tomorrow because of it.
-Poor adjustable stand, virtually nonexistent

Overall opinion of LG L204WT....
I like it allot, but that said, you might be surprised to hear me say that almost everything detail between the two is is a step better in the Dell, save gaming. If I had to give an overall grade to the LG, I'd give it a B+. I'd also give the Dell a B+ plus too.

Bottom Line. If you game, the LG L204WT is the best LCD 20 inch monitor from what I've seen. If you don't game, you'd be a fool not to buy the Dell! It's actually pretty easy folks. If you're a casual gamer, but play any FPS games, I'd stay away from the Dell. If you don't game or don't play any FPS games, the Dell is the one to get!

*UPDATE* Tested DVD playback on LG L204W
Well I tested DVD playback on the L204W and I've got to say I'm impressed. I didn't notice any graininess except when I boosted the contrast all the way just to see how it looks. For those that say it's too grainy during DVD playback, I was suggest you turn down your contrast and that is what is causing it. Also, if you turn down the sharpness a bit if you like but I didn't have to. It's worth mentioning that I have a Sony 27 inch Flatscreen (non-LCD or Plasma) TV and the same thing happens if I have the contrast or sharpness turned up to much as well.

I can't say for sure, but I'd guess that DVD playback with the Dell probably does poorly with this since it does poor with FPS gameplay. Anything that is action oriented and/or anything that's fast moving most likely would be similar to gaming on the Dell. Again, I can't say for certain, but it's reasonable assumption that this is how it would look considering the other factors. I would welcome a response if anyone owns a Dell 2007WFP and has tested DVD playback with it. I could be completely wrong and maybe it plays DVD's beautifully but I don't think.

I also ran the Perpixran test on my LG and it did excellent. I didn't run this on the Dell, but it would probably fall into the same category as gaming since this is what it test mainly and that is response time and picture reproduction with fast moving scenes.

I have the 204WT and have to say i notice very minimal backlight bleeding. It's only noticeable if viewing from the wrong angle, otherwise even on a completely black screen, my attention has never been drawn towards it, even when watching films.

Try tilting your monitor up a bit more maybe.

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Formerly eZ`

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Good review! Thorough and well though out.

I also have a 204, the backlight bleeding is only noticeable if you are looking for it. I have to stand with my head above the monior and look down through the vents to see any.

Well guys I'm not sure if this is set in stone but it appears my backlight bleed has disappeared! Does this sort of thing ever happen? Get a monitor with a bleed and then 10 hours later it completely disappears? WEIRD! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad, but I'm wary that it might come back or something. Then again, maybe it needed to break itself in a bit. At least currently, it's completely gone. The only thing I did was turn the monitor off and I was plugging in my old CRT to compare and when I turned my LG back on, boom, it's suddenly gone. BTW, it had the bleed from the moment I plugged in it, so it wasn't as if I'd had it running all day and then it appeared. It was there from the beginning and now it's gone.

I hope it stays gone because it will save me a trip to CC and gas and about an hour or so timewise. I'll give it a few hours or so and then I'll amend my review with the backlight bleed problem if it stays gone which I hope it will.

Thanx, it could have been more indepth but I tried to be thorough with the short time I've had it, save DVD's, which I'll try to do today and amend that as well.

It's funny.....when I buy something (especially computer related) I go back and forth sometimes like with these monitors. I'm thinking oh man, I miss my CRT and I wonder if this LCD is as good and then I plug in the old CRT and I immediately see how blurry it is and how much clearer this LG LCD is. If only that Dell panel had a 5 or 6ms response time....oh man....oh well though. There probably isn't a "perfect" monitor under $1000 though!

*UPDATE*
Bleed is back....it's that darn auto black level thing that hid it.....sigh...well looks like I'm gonna have to go to CC after all.....sigh....

Good review! Thorough and well though out.

I also have a 204, the backlight bleeding is only noticeable if you are looking for it. I have to stand with my head above the monior and look down through the vents to see any.

I have both monitors and I would agree with everything you have said.

However I have not tried Gaming on my Dell (work computer).

My LG has bleeding as well, I don't like it, but most of the time I don't notice it.


I plan to buy another widescreen in the summer. I won't be buying another LG204.

I might get the 2407, but will wait to see what else there is by then.

Well I went and got another one and thankfully this one doesn't have any backlight bleed and something else. It's strange, but I swear the text with this L204W is cleaner than the other one. The only thing I can think of is that the bleed from the other one was just a symptom of something else that was bad. Maybe it got banged around too much or something in shipping.

Anyway I love this one and I wish the Dell was good for gaming, but it's not....at least FPS gaming. I don't know how long you've had your LG, but I'd send it back and get another one if you can. This isn't typical I don't believe because look how many people here have stated that have bleeds.....very few, which makes me think this is fairly isolated with our monitors. I know some cheaply made monitors (other than LG) have this problem and it's standard just because they are so cheap.

Anyway after all is said and done, I don't regret sending the Dell back because there's no way I could "get use to that" on the Dell...it was too much distortion. Now, I see Dell has another 20 inch monitor, the E207WFP and it's rated at a 5ms response time but I have to wonder if it's using a TN panel like the LG or an IPS. I suspect because of the price, that it's using a TN and between the Dell and the LG, the LG would be the better of the two. If Dell could lower than IPS panel down to 5ms, that would be amazing, but then that's what everyone wants, the perfect LCD and I don't see that for at last another year or two!

I have both monitors and I would agree with everything you have said.

However I have not tried Gaming on my Dell (work computer).

My LG has bleeding as well, I don't like it, but most of the time I don't notice it.


I plan to buy another widescreen in the summer. I won't be buying another LG204.

I might get the 2407, but will wait to see what else there is by then.

I updated my review regarding DVD playback and it's very favorable! While I really don't play DVD's on my computer, this alone now puts the score from a B+ that I give the LG L204WT to an A-!