Nice and Big...
Overall
Summary
A very big window to the world of cyberspace…
Pros
Big, bright, colorful, and reliable.
Cons
Heavy, and very big for the desk.
In my office, there are two computers, and the one my boss uses has this Gateway EV910 monitor. I have no idea how much the company paid for this but I can only guess it would have been anywhere from $150 to $200 back then. I checked the price right now and the cheapest is $75. My boss and I have been using this computer for almost a year now and this monitor has not failed to provide the best possible display it can. I was surprised that Gateway can produce such good quality and reliable products.
DESIGN
First of all the specifications say it is a 19-inch monitor, but actually, as most people know that the viewable size is always different. The viewable area for this monitor is about 17.5 inches, which is really good, and plus it has a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 at 70 Hz. This particular unit that my boss has on his desk is fully white. I personally think that this monitor does not match with the mouse, keyboard, phone, and the desk itself. But my boss wanted a bigger better monitor so there you have it.
There is only a button (power) and a jog dial button on the front panel. The jog dial button allows you to set the brightness, contrast, size, position, color, and other very useful settings. To get to these settings just press the jog dial button once and the settings menu appears right away. Turn the jog dial whichever way you want to select the setting you want to change and press it (jog dial button) once. To actually make changes to the selected setting, you also use the jog dial. I personally think it is an efficient design by Gateway; it saves space on the front panel, makes it look better, and provides faster navigation through the settings.
RESOLUTION
The maximum resolution this monitor can support is 1600 x 1200 at 70 Hz, but I would recommend 1280 x 1024 at 85 Hz for optimal performance. Our unit is set to 1152 x 864 at 100 Hz because my boss cannot see very small. I have an ATI GeCube RADEON 9250 video card to go with this monitor. I must say that the video card and this monitor work great together.
Minimum Resolution: 800 x 600 pixels
Minimum Refresh Rate: 56 Hz
DIMENSION & WEIGHT
This monitor weighs about 44 pounds by itself. It is 16.55 inches wide, 17.02 inches high, and 18.12 inches in dept without the packaging. If you were going to purchase a 19-inch monitor you would check if the whole package will fit in your vehicle. I suggest taking it out of its packaging before loading it in your vehicle if it does not fit with the packaging. Most stores do allow you to take it out of the package and leave the box behind for them to dispose of. Since this is a very big and heavy monitor, I would suggest that at least two people handle it for your own safety. I have come to know from experience that you can hurt seriously hurt your back if you lift something wrong.
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Samsung provides a three (3) year warranty for all parts, labor, and CRT of this monitor. You can visit Gateways website gateway.com for warranty repairs or call them on their toll-free phone number 1-800-369-1409.
QUALITY
The Dot Pitch for this monitor is 0.28 (mm) which is very good (in my opinion) for its type, size, and age. It is not that old, but it is huge and heavy. My boss has watched movies, edited some music and pictures, and browsed the internet with this monitor and he has never had a hard time seeing whatever was on the screen. The image quality is excellent and is never extra blurry or extra sharp; it is always just right.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is an old monitor (not too old though) but still is a very good quality product. One thing I have come to know is that even though brand names like Samsung, Viewsonic, and Sony will never disappoint you with their products, other brands (some not all) can also provide great quality and reliability. I have used all three of these brand names for a long time now and will recommend them to anyone who wants a reliable and long-lasting monitor for either their home or office. This Gateway has also made its name in my “to buy again” list.