I know this has been discussed many times here but I've got a slightly different angle. I have a 24" Dell that I've had for about 5 years now and although it is working fine I'm noticing it puts out an incredible amount of heat, much more than my 10 year old Eizo or my husbands monitors and so much heat that I can't work for more than an hour at a time despite air conditioning. So does anyone have any suggestions for a good monitor 24 or even a 30" that won't cook me while I'm working on it?
To the best of my knowledge I do not believe your monitor should be giving off any heat, no less enough that you cannot sit by it for more then an hour. Hopefully if I am wrong about this, someone on the sight will correct me. I have a Dell 21" that I am sitting in front of right now at work (on lunch break) and it is not giving off any heat. I have a 24" monitor at home and that does not give off any heat.
I would strongly suggest that you contact Dell and inquire about this. Also you can check the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov and check for a recall on it. If it is giving off that much heat I would also suggest unplugging it until you find out more about it, but that is the Fire Marshal part of my talking. Good luck with it.
Hali: I disagree with the comment from Rich. Your monitor will generate some heat, operating normally. There are vents on the top of the monitor to dissipate that heat. Your monitor sounds like it is generating much more heat than normal. Something could be wrong that is a concern. As a replacement, it all depends on how much you want to spend. Dell, NEC, Eizo are all viable options. More info on budget will help narrow the choices.
A 24" monitor may operate normally at anywhere from 15-100 W of power... that's enough to create some heat, but not so much that it should be uncomfortable to sit near, or too hot to touch or anything like that. I'd say there's a current problem if it's getting that hot, and I'd probably be looking for a new monitor.
My NEC 22" radiates a little heat, but it is not objectionable at all. I agree that if your screen radiating enough heat that it's uncomfortable, I'd certainly unlug it; it very well could be a fire hazard. (That's the twenty + year fire fighter part of me talking).
It would be worth a try to contact Dell about this, but don't know how much it would help.
I would certainly consider one of the NEC Multisync P or PA series monitors. I had to contact NEC tech support for an issue with their SpectraView calibration software. The tech and I exchanged a couple of e-mails, and then we spoke a few times on the phone trying to nail down the problem. I found them to be very reponsive and helpful; great customer service, imho. (The problem turned out to be Wacom mouse supplied with my Wacom tablet; it was having trouble communicating with the software. My MS mouse and Wacom pen worked just fine).
I would be very interested in whether or not your current monitor is truly overheating.
Well I called Dell and they said the monitor is definitely over heating it shouldn't be putting out noticeable heat while I"m sitting in front of it, and only a little from the back. And as of this morning the case is almost too hot to touch. Of course they did try to sell me a new one while they had me on the phone So now I'm in the market for a new monitor. 24 or 30 inch, I'm not sure I want to go wide gamut, I've heard such mixed reviews about them. I'd like to keep it under $1200 if it's at all possible. Preston I'm going to look into the NEC, my husband has one and he likes it. Thank you all again for your responses.
I don't know what you're using for calibration, but if you go with the NEC I mentioned above, check out SpectraView II. It's a calibration program for NEC monitors, and is compatible with Mac and PC.
I use it with the NEC-branded colorimeter, and it works like a champ. Take a look Here for more info. There is an added cost for the software and special colorimeter, but, in my opinion, it's money well spent. Note, if you already have a colorimeter, be sure to check its compatibility with SpectraView.
A follow up question - are you all using wide gamut monitors? And how do they work with programs that you can't set the color space for? I'm worried about getting a wide gamut monitor and having to use it with programs that aren't "smart".
My NEC is a wide gamut screen that is set to display its full native gamut, which is wider than Adobe RGB and sRGB, therefore, I can view all the colors within either of those color spaces without having to worry about clipping. I think that if the primary purpose of a monitor is for imaging, a wide gamut monitor with accurate color is essential.
Most programs that are not color-smart, default to sRGB, or something close to it, these days. Therefore the best way to get around programs that aren't color-smart is to embed the color profile in the image.
Discussion
11 repliesThank you for any advice!
Hali
To the best of my knowledge I do not believe your monitor should be giving off any heat, no less enough that you cannot sit by it for more then an hour. Hopefully if I am wrong about this, someone on the sight will correct me. I have a Dell 21" that I am sitting in front of right now at work (on lunch break) and it is not giving off any heat. I have a 24" monitor at home and that does not give off any heat.
I would strongly suggest that you contact Dell and inquire about this. Also you can check the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov and check for a recall on it. If it is giving off that much heat I would also suggest unplugging it until you find out more about it, but that is the Fire Marshal part of my talking. Good luck with it.
Rich Hahn
My NEC 22" radiates a little heat, but it is not objectionable at all. I agree that if your screen radiating enough heat that it's uncomfortable, I'd certainly unlug it; it very well could be a fire hazard. (That's the twenty + year fire fighter part of me talking).
It would be worth a try to contact Dell about this, but don't know how much it would help.
I would certainly consider one of the NEC Multisync P or PA series monitors. I had to contact NEC tech support for an issue with their SpectraView calibration software. The tech and I exchanged a couple of e-mails, and then we spoke a few times on the phone trying to nail down the problem. I found them to be very reponsive and helpful; great customer service, imho. (The problem turned out to be Wacom mouse supplied with my Wacom tablet; it was having trouble communicating with the software. My MS mouse and Wacom pen worked just fine).
I would be very interested in whether or not your current monitor is truly overheating.
--P
Take a look at this NEC pa241w 24" monitor. It's within your budget.
--P
I don't know what you're using for calibration, but if you go with the NEC I mentioned above, check out SpectraView II. It's a calibration program for NEC monitors, and is compatible with Mac and PC.
I use it with the NEC-branded colorimeter, and it works like a champ. Take a look Here for more info. There is an added cost for the software and special colorimeter, but, in my opinion, it's money well spent. Note, if you already have a colorimeter, be sure to check its compatibility with SpectraView.
--P
My NEC is a wide gamut screen that is set to display its full native gamut, which is wider than Adobe RGB and sRGB, therefore, I can view all the colors within either of those color spaces without having to worry about clipping. I think that if the primary purpose of a monitor is for imaging, a wide gamut monitor with accurate color is essential.
Most programs that are not color-smart, default to sRGB, or something close to it, these days. Therefore the best way to get around programs that aren't color-smart is to embed the color profile in the image.
--P