Does a Sony CPD-G520 have a better picture quality than a Compaq P1100?

Caxus

Or are they both about the same? I recently upgraded from a Sony E400 which was my most prized possession in the whole world to a Compaq P1100. I thought since the P1100 was based on the trinitron tubes it should be identical to a sony made monitor but the picture quality isn't as good or as sharp as my old E400.

I have a friend that would gladly buy the Compaq off me so i'm wondering if i should just try for a Sony CPD-G520 for a true upgrade to my E400. Is the P1100 just not quite as good as the sony made ones or could the fact that its refurbished likely have something to do with it? (i.e. would i likely be in the same boat had i bought a refurb G530?)

Thanks.

Thrax

I've dealt with the P1100 and the G520 for over a year each, and I found the G520 to be inferior.

Even after numerous calibrations, text and colours just weren't as sharp or clear on the G520 as they are on my P1100. If you bought the P1100 from merkortech, it's unlikely that the monitor is suffering from anything more than a lack of proper calibration.

Caxus

One other thing. All the documentation i read about the P1100 said that it could reach a refresh rate of 95hz when at 1600 x 1200 but mine only seems to do 85hz. When i use reforce to try to set it at 95 the 1600 x 1200 resolution no longer appears as an option on my desktop.

TheSmJ

I just go into the "Monitor" tab in the advanced display settings, uncheck the "show supported" box, and select the rate I want.

Caxus

When i do that the list goes from 85 to 100. When i set it to 95 in reforce it just comes up as 85 when i use that resolution. Is the documentation wrong?

TheSmJ

Possibly, but it might be your video card's inability to run a funky refresh rate like 95.

Try 90 or 100. If that doesn't work, than I'd say you're SOL.

Caxus

A 9800 pro should be able to do 1600 x 1200 at 95hz, dont you think?

TheSmJ

Not if it's a non-standard refresh rate.