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They just go dead. Don't make the same mistake I did. Read up on the web and you'll find that these monitors die after about one year. Expensive monitors should not be disposable. I'll never buy anything from Gateway again. Mine did, and Gateway isn't doing anything about it. After I started looking, I found that many people are having the same problem with this Gateway monitor and other Gateway flat panel monitors.
At present I have no use for it so I have not downloaded or installed it. The EZTune software (which I have no use for) simply gives you easier ways to calibrate the monitor attributes like color, brightness, contrast, etc. I contacted Gateway technical support about the possibility of just a driver download and within 12 hours I had an email response stating that there was no need for the drivers.
I was looking for an additional monitor to run along side my normal LCD; since this was a secondary monitor I was not looking for anything spectacular so limited my selection to used ones. It truly is a plug n' play monitor so as long as your video card supports the 1440x900 resolution then you are good to go. I bought this monitor recently used from a private seller.
Initially I searched for drivers for the monitor and could not find anything out there other than the Gateway supplied EZTune software. A little research on the software has shown that there may be some issues with it so I have not bothered pursuing it since the monitor is fine just the way it is. Thus far I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the display (even after 2 years of use by the prior owner).
The colors are much brighter than on my primary monitor and no dead/stuck pixels or distortion.
I strongly suggest you look for monitors with extended warranties. It made no sense for me to invest another $150 dollars in a 2-year old monitor, so i threw it out, and bought a Samsung 19" for $200 and it comes with a 3 YEAR WARRANTY. The independent people told me that Gateway had switched from japanese panel parts to non-japanese panel parts a few years ago so that they can drop their monitor prices, so you can get more "value." Well, i got screwed.
Gateway wouldn't let me talk to them about their monitor without paying them, because it was "out of warranty." Gateway monitors only hav e a 1-year warranty, they are pretty confident about their product aren't they. Both gave me estimates of $150 to replace the panel because the panel had been shot. I bought it just under 2 years ago, never gave me problems until one day, two weeks ago it just wouldn't turn on.
The panel is the part that takes in the power cord. These LCDs are NOTHING like the old CRTs that can last 100 years. Paying just to talk to them without any guarantees did not seem like a good use of my limited finances.
So i took it in to both a Best Buy and an independent monitor repair.
I don't have any complaints. I bought this monitor from Best Buy almost a year ago and we've never had any problems with it. The picture quality is great even for movies, the size makes it easy to use two programs at the same time, side-by-side and adjusting the picture or angle of the screen are very simple.
get yourself a good sound system with this and then its really like a theater. just another added benefit. It is most definitely worth every cent. This monitor is very good for gaming. resolution. I have been using this monitor for a year and a half and this monitor is SUPER.
in fact it even surpasses my standard. makes me feel like I'm in a theater instead of at home. I do a lot of video editing so I am picky about my monitor, I don't settle for anything. Widescreen. I just love it. This one lives up to the standard.
very nice High Def.
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