NEC MultiSync WGX2 20" TFT Review Page: 1

Introduction

The LCD market seems to have blown up recently with the advent of high-definition consoles and HDTV. With more and more monitors flooding the market it's hard to pick out one from the bunch.

NEC are well known for their excellent professional monitors, especially for graphic design. Will the 20" Multisynch WGX² match up?

Packaging

I received a non-retail boxed sample from NEC so there's not much to say on that front. The inside packaging was excellent and the panel was protected very well with a lot of foam-style packaging. Assuming this is what NEC use in their retail units there's not much chance of a miss-hap by the couriers.

NEC multisynch 20


Package

The package for the monitor provides you with everything you will need with the monitor:

* EMI Shielded DVI>DVI cable
* EMI Shielded VGA>VGA Cable
* USB Hub Cable
* UK Power Cable
* Manual


My loan version seems to be missing the Data CD and some marketing blurb that comes with the retail

NEC Multisynch

This is a pretty complete bundle and includes everything you would need to get the monitor up and running.

Specification

Panel Technology S-IPS TFT
Screen Size [inch/cm] 20.1/51.1

Pixel Pitch [mm] 0.258
Viewing Angle [°] 178 horizontal / 178 vertical (typ. at contrast ratio 10:1)
Contrast Ratio (typ.) 700:1; (1600:1 with Advanced DV Mode)
Brightness (typ.) [cd/m²] 470
Response Time (typ.) [ms] 6 (grey-to-grey); 12 (tr - tf)
Colours [Mio.] 16.77
Horizontal Frequency [kHz] 31.5 - 81.1 (analog and digital)
Vertical Frequency [Hz] 56 - 75

Optimum Resolution 1680 x 1050 at 60 Hz
Other Resolutions 1440 x 900; 1400 x 1050; 1360 x 768; 1280 x 1024; 1280 x 960; 1152 x 870; 1152 x 864; 1024 x
768; 832 x 624; 800 x 600; 720 x 400; 640 x 480

Connectors Digital: 1 x DVI-D; Analog: 1 x mini D-sub 15 pin
Plug & Play VESA DDC/CI; EDID Standard; VESA DDC2Bi

Adjust Functions Auto Adjust; Brightness; Colour Temperature Control; Contrast; Fine Adjust (analog); Intelligent
Power Management; Language Select; Monitor Information; NTAA (Non-Touch-Auto-Adjustment);
On-Screen-Manager (OSM), lock-out; sRGB
Safety and Ergonomics CE; TCO03; TÜV ergonomic approved; TÜV GS; GEEA Energy Label; Energy Star; FCC Class B; PCT/
Gost; UL/C-UL or CSA; ISO 13406-2 (pixel failure class II); MPR II/ MPR III; RoHS
Power Requirements on Mode [W] 71 (typ.)
Power Requirements Power-saving Mode [W] < 2
Power Supply 100-120 V/220-240 V; 1.2 A/0.6 A; integrated power supply
Ambient Temperature (operating) [°C] 5 to 35
Ambient Humidity (operating) [%] 30 to 80 (non-condensing)
VESA Mounting [mm] 100 x 100
Dimensions (W x H x D) [mm] 471.4 x 391.5 x 203
Screen Tilt [°] -5 to +30
Swivel [°] -170 to +170

Bezel Width [mm] 18.1
Cable Management yes
Kensington Lock yes
OptiClear DVM yes
Weight [kg] 6.3
Specials 16:10 Wide Format; Analog/Digital Interface; Dynamic Visual Mode (DVM); NaviKey; NaViSet® and
NaViSet® Administrator compatible; OptiClear DVM; Power-Off Timer; Rapid Response Technology;
sRGB; USB ver. 2.0 (4 down / 1 up)
Audio Functions None
Colour Versions Silver Front Bezel, Black Back Cabinet
Shipping Content Monitor; Power Cable; Signal Cable VGA - VGA; DVI-D - DVI-D; USB Cable; CD-ROM; Sales Office List;
User Manual
Warranty 3 years warranty including backlight


The Specs look pretty good but how does the monitor look?



NEC MultiSync WGX2 20" TFT Review Page: 2
Review <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ufo1.com/ad/c.js"></script> Posted 30/01/07
Author: Matt Kemp
Source: NEC

NEC Multisync 20WGX² Close Up

The 20WGX² is a very attractive monitor close up. With a stylish silver bezel and keys set below the display it would look good on your desk.

nec 20wgx2 monitor

nec 20" 20wgx2


As you can see it's a bit of a chunky monitor as regards the profile. Not as elegant and slim as some of the competition. However this doesn't massively affect the area it takes up too much.

nec multisync 20" 20gx2

The monitor has a screen that is almost glass-like. It is very reflective and when off with a light shining on it it is almost a mirrored surface. This could put off some people, although the only time it bothered me was when I let some sun shine on it by mistake, and not many monitors stand up to that.

nec 20" 20wgx2

nec multisync 20" 20wgx2

The stand is a little low for my liking and lacks height adjustment which is a bit of a minus point. Many will find this is ok though as they have a monitor stand integrated into their desk or perhaps like their screen lower than I do.

There is good tilt on the screen and 360° swivel adjustment which is excellent - great for a LAN perhaps when you want to show your friend how dead they were after you fragged them.

Inputs/Connectivity

Let's take a look at the inputs and connectivity on the monitor.

nec multisync 20" 20wgx2  nec 20" 20wgx2

The DVI and VGA connections are situated on the bottom of the screen below the buttons. This makes for easy access. The USB hub has two connectors on the bottom of the monitor and an additional two on the side. This is excellent for those of you who like your USB devices and webcams, headphones, microphone's etc would be easy to plug in.
 
NEC 20" 20wgx2  nec 20" wgx2

The monitor has a power switch on the rear in addition to the main power switch on the front. I assume this is to make sure that the monitor is power off totally, rather than in standby mode.

Controls
 
The controls on the 20WGX² are in a neat little attached part of the monitor below the display. This is a "love it or loathe it" solution and personally I think it adds to the stylish look of the monitor.

nec 20" 20wgx2 controls

The On Screen Display is made easier to move around with the small dial-like button on the panel here. There is also a button that quickly adjusts the Dynamic Visual Mode (DVM). This mode makes a huge difference as we will see later on.

All in all this is an attractive and stylish monitor that would look great sitting on your desk.

The controls are great and the adjustment is pretty good although no height adjustment gives it a "must do better" in my book.





NEC MultiSync WGX2 20" TFT Review Page: 3
Review <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ufo1.com/ad/c.js"></script> Posted 30/01/07
Author: Matt Kemp
Source: NEC

How we tested

To really make sure that we could see what this monitor could do I used the following hardware:

Conroe Core2Duo E6600 @ 3.3Ghz
DFI ICFX3200
2GB Mushkin HP2 6400
MSI 8800GTX
Pioneer BDR101A - Blu-Ray Player
Pioneer DVR111BK - DVD writer

Xbox 360 via VGA Output
Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player

DisplayMate

I used the DisplayMate professional monitor testing application to put it through it's paces as well as various other tests:

Viewing angle

Watching a HD format movie from various viewing angles to see how good the screen really is.

Gaming

I played through part of F.E.A.R. Counter Strike Source and Oblivion on the PC to see how the monitor lived up to gaming. I also had a quick game on Gears of War and Viva Pinata on the Xbox 360.

High-Def film Viewing

Using both the Pioneer BDR101A Blu-Ray player and the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player we took a look at high definition movies - S.W.A.T. on Blu-Ray and MI II on HD DVD.

General Browsing and use

I had a good browse of OC3D whilst performing some normal office tasks using Office 2007 beta.

NEC MultiSync WGX2 20" TFT Review Page: 4
Review <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ufo1.com/ad/c.js"></script> Posted 30/01/07
Author: Matt Kemp
Source: NEC

Test results

DisplayMate

nec multisync 20

The monitor performed very well in DisplayMate. The only slight thing I would say about the monitor was a very slight green tint on some of the tougher testings. This is negligable and you would never ever notice this in real-life situations.

Unfortunately the monitor had a dead green pixel in the middle-left of the screen. This is slightly disappointing but easy to ignore thankfully.

Viewing angle

The viewing angle of the screen is excellent. However it has a major downfall which is unfortunately the NEC Opticlear Technology. This is a great technology that adds vibrance to the screen, but it also adds that shiny layer that I was talking about earlier. This means that unless the room is darkened, the display shows up reflections at various angles as it easily reflects light.

This wasn't a major stumbling block in the tests, but something to take note of if you have a bright room.

Gaming

nec multisync 20

PC Gaming

The digital vibrance feature that NEC add to this monitor just makes the colours really come alive in gaming. The default screen setup was pretty poor but with a small amount of tweaking in the monitor's excellent OSD I got a great picture for gaming and it was thoroughly enjoyable to use.

Xbox 360 Gaming

Gaming via VGA on the 360 looks great as well. The screen seems to respond really well in games and no tearing was noticed at any points. The whites could have been better, giving a little too much bloom effect but the colours were once again excellent.

nec multisynch 20

To try and give you an idea of what you will see whilst gaming above is a picture of the screen in action. Ignoring the blurring from game movement, you can see that the details are well picked out and Gears looked it's awe-inspiring best at 720p.

High-Def film Viewing

High-Def film viewing on the monitor was via VGA as the screen does not have HDCP for Blu-Ray and the 360 only outputs on VGA.

Blu-Ray

nec multisync 20

Blu-Ray looked awesome on the 20WGX2. Crystal clear and sharp with vibrant colours and sharp clear details. Very impressive.

HD-DVD

nec multisync 20

The colours on HD-DVD looked clear and sharp but I felt that there was a slight grainy aspect to the picture. With a bit of fiddling in the OSD menu this went away to an extent but it seemed to be still there. To check this I got my Dell 2405FPW and hooked it up at "Aspect Ratio". There was definitely a difference between the two screens, with the NEC coming off a bit grainer.

Still motion blurring aside, you can see in the above picture that the display still did a decent job of portraying Tom's mug.

General Browsing and use

nec multisync 20

For those of you that haven't used a widescreen monitor, the desktop real estate really is a treat to have. Not only can you browse in one portion of the screen and have other apps running by the side, but the 16:10 ratio makes DVD viewing great.

The screen performed very well on the desktop, but only once tweaked from the preset settings.



NEC MultiSync WGX2 20" TFT Review Page: 5
Review <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ufo1.com/ad/c.js"></script> Posted 30/01/07
Author: Matt Kemp
Source: NEC

Conclusion

The NEC Multisynch is a very good quality monitor. With excellent response, picture quality and colour it's hard to fault the output itself. The monitor is also well put together with a great control panel, although the stand is lacking height adjustment. The Opticlear layer on the screen could mean reflections so beware if you like a lot of light.

The price is the major stumbling block for me in giving the monitor some top awards. At £360.72 @ Dabs there are a lot of monitors out there that perform almost as well, if not better for less money. Certainly gaming on the monitor is very good, but I think the price is too high for what it is.

The NEC 20" 20WGX² get's an OC3D recommended award, but beware of the high price.

Pro's

+ Great looking screen
+ Awesome responce and colour output
+ Ergonmic controls
+ Good viewing angle
+ Easy to adjust
+ Well built

Con's

- Very expensive
- No height adjustment
- Highly Reflective Screen

Recommended Award



Thanks to NEC for the Review Sample

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