Graphics card advice requested

[Mike Arst]

After reading sundry reports -- always glowing (in a nice way :-) -- about NEC's SpectraView monitors, I have decided to get the LCD2190Uxi-SV to replace a CRT that provides accurate enough color, but whose brightness cannot be adjusted satisfactorily. The GM software I use for profiling always goes into a loop during the brightness-adjustment phase, and it never completes. Sigh.

(Finding the NEC monitor is going to be the hard part; nobody who carries them ever seems to have them in stock.)

I keep hearing that I'll need digital signal output for the most accurate color possible with the LCD monitor. I don't yet have a card with digital signal output and would appreciate advice about graphics cards. I know little about this kind of hardware, but I have heard that certain products -- some NVidia cards, for instance -- try to be "helpful" with color management in a way that makes them a serious pain in the neck when it comes time to calibrate and profile an LCD monitor. That kind of help, nobody needs. Any advice about good -- but "un-helpful" :-) -- graphics cards would be much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

[Samotano]

After reading sundry reports -- always glowing (in a nice way :-) -- about NEC's SpectraView monitors, I have decided to get the LCD2190Uxi-SV to replace a CRT that provides accurate enough color, but whose brightness cannot be adjusted satisfactorily. The GM software I use for profiling always goes into a loop during the brightness-adjustment phase, and it never completes. Sigh.

(Finding the NEC monitor is going to be the hard part; nobody who carries them ever seems to have them in stock.)

I keep hearing that I'll need digital signal output for the most accurate color possible with the LCD monitor. I don't yet have a card with digital signal output and would appreciate advice about graphics cards. I know little about this kind of hardware, but I have heard that certain products -- some NVidia cards, for instance -- try to be "helpful" with color management in a way that makes them a serious pain in the neck when it comes time to calibrate and profile an LCD monitor. That kind of help, nobody needs. Any advice about good -- but "un-helpful" :-) -- graphics cards would be much appreciated, and thanks in advance.
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While u wait for a more qualified answer, here is what I know.  Digital signal output is pretty standard these days.  I would say 90% of the cards out there have at least one DVI exit, many have both DVI and VGA, some have more.  For the monitor u mention, I believe it has built-in LUT which removes the need to rely on your video card for calibration purposes.  Perhaps u should look for a card based on your overall needs, rather than application specific needs.  As for finding the actual monitor, you may find it in stock at specialized merchants.  However, if u order it from the bigger guys you will probably save some money.  It usually doesn't take them that long to get it if they don't have it in stock.  I had to wait 3 weeks from when I ordered my Eizo till I actually received it.  Not too bad for a product that just came out ad wasn't in stock.

[cn15]

Hi Mike,
I got the NEC2190uxi over a month ago and am extremely happy with it.  The 2190uxi has 1600 x 1200 native resolution and most graphics card can handle 1600 x 1200, but do check your graphics card's specs though.  If you decide to buy a new graphics card with DVI output, consider the age of your computer too.  It may not be worthwhile to spend a few hundred dollars on a new graphics card and put it in an old platform.  Also make sure the new graphics card it is compatible with your current system, and choose the memory size appropriate for your overall needs (128MB, 256, 512 ...) as Samotano stated earlier.

I bought SpectraView software from NEC for $99 and calibrated with my Spyder2 puck.  It calibrated easily and SV calibrates the monitor's LUT directly, not the graphics card.  If you already have a GM puck, you can save a few bucks buying only the SV software rather than the SV kit which I believe contains the Eye-One puck.  I don't know if the puck in the SV kit is truly better but NEC tech support told me there should be no difference in the quality of calibration among the 4-5 different pucks supported by SV.

Chuong

[fpoole]

Hi Mike,
I got the NEC2190uxi over a month ago and am extremely happy with it.  The 2190uxi has 1600 x 1200 native resolution and most graphics card can handle 1600 x 1200, but do check your graphics card's specs though.  If you decide to buy a new graphics card with DVI output, consider the age of your computer too.  It may not be worthwhile to spend a few hundred dollars on a new graphics card and put it in an old platform.  Also make sure the new graphics card it is compatible with your current system, and choose the memory size appropriate for your overall needs (128MB, 256, 512 ...) as Samotano stated earlier.

I bought SpectraView software from NEC for $99 and calibrated with my Spyder2 puck.  It calibrated easily and SV calibrates the monitor's LUT directly, not the graphics card.  If you already have a GM puck, you can save a few bucks buying only the SV software rather than the SV kit which I believe contains the Eye-One puck.  I don't know if the puck in the SV kit is truly better but NEC tech support told me there should be no difference in the quality of calibration among the 4-5 different pucks supported by SV.

Chuong
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I agree with Choung.  The nec is a very good value.  I was about to drop 2600$ on an Eizo but went with the 2190 after some research.  very happy with it at less than half the cost of the Eizo.  Sv software is excellent and worth the $.  works very well with my existing eye-one puck.  i may be completely wrong but i'm not sure how important the graphic card is.  I think any current computer will have an adequate card.  I use the monitor on a G5 with the stock card.  At this price I don't think you can be unhappy with this monitor and certainly would not be compromising image quality.
Spend the extra $ on the hood - very well designed and it looks cool to clients.
Best,
Frank Poole
www.frankpoole.com

[Mike Arst]

Frank -- thanks to you (and to Chuong) for your replies.

I agree with Choung.  The nec is a very good value.

This seems to be the consistent response from people who use it.

I got an EyeOne "Display(2)" colorimeter about a year and a half ago, and I assume that in combination with NEC's software, this would be good enough for profiling and/or calibration -- that is, without the need to spend the extra $$$ for the "SV" version of this monitor. (It would be downright nice if the NEC software were a bit better-behaved than the GM software I was using before with my CRT.)

Regarding the card -- the card that came with this (Dell Optiplex) computer does not have digital signal output. It would probably work but as I understand these things (not terribly well yet), the best image quality would be obtained via digital signal rather than analogue. I hear that digital output tends to limit the adjustments that can be made via the on-screen display, but presumably it doesn't limit the ability of the 'puck' + software to profile the monitor well enough.

You mentioned the hood . . . I hadn't thought about that. I do nearly all photo editing in a darkened room. With the lights on, there's just too much 'white' (well, off-white) bouncing into the area where the monitor sits. Or I keep a small compact-flourescent light on behind the monitor if I need to see things on my desk.

Thanks again.

[ThePhotoDude]

Really depends how much you want to spend, but also how often you want to upgrade your card.
You can pick up and nVidia 8 series card (8600, 8800) which will be perfect for what you need.

Outputs ..
They will generally come in two flavours, VGA+DVI outputs or Dual DVI. Think about what you need, a VGA output is only required if you have an older monitor, but you can easily get DVI to VGA adaptors so that's not really an issue.
Dual DVI, or DUAL LINK DVI is a better option and when you upgrade one day to a 30" you'll be thankful you went for that option because a 30" TFT running at 2560 x 1600 needs TWO DVI inputs!

Connection ..
Older computers use an AGP connection which the card slots into. Check your PC! Most newer cards come with a PCI-e (PCI express) slot, the two are not compatible. You CAN get an AGP card still, but they are becoming more rare as the technology is phased out. It won't be any good if you buy a PCI-e card only to find out your PC mainboard is only AGP.

Calibration ..
I use an nVidia 8800 GTX card with my Eizo ColorEdge CG241W - The nVidia drivers are fantastic and my Eye-One display 2 calibrates perfectly. The drivers help with this as the digital connection may affect the amount of adjustment (i.e. zero) you can do on contrast. Use nVidias software adjustment and you won't have any problems.

Good luck

[ARD]

I agree with Choung.  The nec is a very good value.  I was about to drop 2600$ on an Eizo but went with the 2190 after some research.  very happy with it at less than half the cost of the Eizo.  Sv software is excellent and worth the $.  works very well with my existing eye-one puck.  i may be completely wrong but i'm not sure how important the graphic card is.  I think any current computer will have an adequate card.  I use the monitor on a G5 with the stock card.  At this price I don't think you can be unhappy with this monitor and certainly would not be compromising image quality.
Spend the extra $ on the hood - very well designed and it looks cool to clients.
Best,
Frank Poole
www.frankpoole.com
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How does the NEC perform with only a 500:1 contrast ratio?

[Mike Arst]

Older computers use an AGP connection which the card slots into. Check your PC! Most newer cards come with a PCI-e (PCI express) slot, the two are not compatible. You CAN get an AGP card still, but they are becoming more rare as the technology is phased out. It won't be any good if you buy a PCI-e card only to find out your PC mainboard is only AGP.

The advice about whether the motherboard can handle the newer type of card is especially good to have. It's a ~3-year-old Dell Optiplex, and I don't know offhand what it will support card-wise. It probably won't be hard to find out, though. Thanks a lot for the info.