Want a Cheap, but Good Quality LCD Monitor?
Written: Dec 01 '02
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Pros: Excellent quality & price for a 15” LCD monitor.
Cons: None really, except for those inherent with all LCDs.
The Bottom Line: If 15” is fine for you, well worth the price.
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| grimjack2's Full Review: KDS Radius RAD-5 15 inch LCD Monitor |
At my old job, a temporary desk was set up at the edge of a drafting table for a new trial employee. (Feel for the suffering of those just out of college seeking experience wherever they can.). I set up an old computer, with old peripherals for his use. One problem however, was with the monitor. It was an old 17” CRT monitor that came with an ancient Macintosh. It now seemed to have developed a peculiar image blurring problem. I can’t believe he could use it for even a few days without complaining loudly at the wall, since he probably couldn’t focus his permanently damaged eyes on one of his employers.
We decided to not to be so cheap as to permanently impair his vision and purchase a new monitor for him. This company primarily works with large spreadsheets and CAD programs, so most everyone has at least a 19” monitor at their desks. The workstation area assigned to the new guy seemed to small for even the 17”, so I suggested we get another LCD panel. Everyone liked the idea, but we didn’t want to buy another $800 Viewsonic VA 700, and instead thought we would go with the smaller cheaper 15” variety of LCD.
We chose the KDS Rad 5 specifically because we wanted a cheap LCD monitor, but of the highest quality of the lowest price range. Reading through reviews on Epinions, this looked like the best choice. Reading reviews from the magazines seemed to confirm this, although some of the more expensive 15” monitors (like the NEC 1550) were reviewed more favorably than the KDS Rad-5.
The Rad-5 is a true 15” diagonal LCD monitor. It is 14” x 14” for height and width, and 6.2” deep. (This actually seems fairly deep to me for an LCD, but not by much). It is of average weight for this type of monitor at 8.8 lbs. It has a maximum resolution of 1024x768 @75Hz at 16 million colors. It operates between 55-75 Hz regularly.
Like all LCD panels, the advantages are many. It saves a lot of room, looks noticeably brighter, uses far less power, doesn’t generate as much heat, emits almost no emissions and far easier to move around or ship. It only uses 32 watts maximum when in use, and a mere 3 watts when asleep. Everyone always makes a big deal about the viewing angle, even though they are almost always looked at solely from the front. The KDS Rad 5’s is 75 degrees from either side, and 70 degrees from above.
One other nice touch is that it comes with a mouse and a mouse pad. No big deal since the mouse isn’t optical, but it does have a wheel, which actually makes it better than the bare bones mouse that even Dell provides with its computers. The mouse pad is of course an advertisement for the KDS company
The disadvantages are the same for most LCD panels. It really wants to stay in one resolution, so games and DVD movies may not look their best. There is a noticeably more limited range with the resolutions. It has relatively low refresh rates which can make games seem worse, but in truth the lower refresh may make the game play faster so it isn’t really a valid complaint.
The monitor is gunmetal grey, with an attractive blue rubber edge on the top bottom & sides. This almost feels like it is for safety, like the rubber no-dent strips on the outside of car doors. There are no speakers built in, or dual inputs for two computers. And there is no DVI digital input, which may matter to some, but is fairly pointless these days. I don’t know anyone who has used one of these yet, but there is a wall mount available on the back. It also has a sticker along the top edge. I found it a little garish with KDS Rad-5, in green & blue. It doesn’t seem very easy to take off.
There is a big power button on the bottom, four buttons on the lower edge with semi-hidden labels above it. It is not clear what they all do from the pictures, but easy to figure out through trial and error. The exit button doubles as an auto adjust button if you hold it for 2 seconds. This is in the instructions but would probably never be figured out on its own.
The On screen controls are fairly standard: Auto tune, contrast/brightness, H/V position, Phase, Color Control, Auto Level, OSD Position, OSD Time-out, Power Save Delay, Language, and Info.
The monitor is covered by a three year warranty. However a note in the box humorously says that any included mouse and/or keyboards are only covered by a one year warranty.
I don’t think this is a bad choice, and is probably the best all around choice for its price range and size. The only complaints I can really give it are that it isn’t too much more for a larger LCD, which does make a difference in my opinion. And that for less money you can get a much larger CRT which do have some advantages.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 349
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh
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Epinions.com ID:
grimjack2
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: San Rafael, CA, Marin County
Reviews written: 181
Trusted by: 124 members
About Me:
Film is my favorite art form. I live a life of constant amelioration.
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