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SGI's
Cinema Display
10/28/01
A Beauty for the Computer addicted Gadgeteer
Lucky are the ones who got one while they were available.
Looks like SGI run out of them, finally.
Though it's still the best display out in the market - until
Apple reduces the price for the 24" Cinema Display....
Here is last year's review of the SGI SW 1600.
While its stock performance in the recent past is certainly
nothing to brag about, Silicon Graphics Inc. in Mountain View,
California can boast that it still holds claim to the very
best flat panel display manufactured anywhere in the world.
The SGI 1600SW is truly the desktop monitor (better change
that to display), which all others strive to emulate. Presenting
incredibly rich, fully digital graphics, the 1600SW active-matrix
LCD Flat Panel features a 1600 x 1024 pixel true resolution
- or about 25% more pixels than standard SXGA 1280 x 1024
monitors.
It also features the highest dot pitch (.23 mm size and 110
dpi) of any commercially available flat panel display, which
renders razor-sharp graphic images.
True, 24-bit color, coupled with a 17.3-inch diagonal SuperWide
screen format, provides the user with a visual experience
unmatched in image quality, color consistency, range of colors,
image stability, and, thanks to the LCD technology,
no flicker, no EMF, low power consumption. Here is another,
important great advantage: minimum space requirements on your
desktop compared to any CRT-based monitor.
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The
SGI SW1600 Flat Panel
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Specifications:
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SGI 1600SW LCD Panel
Screen Size: 17.3" diagonal
It is not equivalent to a 19"
CRT as SGI claims it. It's
the cinema format that makes
a comparision with a standard
aspect ratio (4:3) CRT unfair.
Important facts to know with
a display like this are:
- 14.6" x 9.3" (W x H)
- 1600 x 1024 pixels, 110 dpi
- refresh rate 60 Hz, so it's fast
enough to watch movies on it.
- NO Flicker (don't compare it
with an old CRT!)
- 16.7 million colors (24-bit)
Screen Type: TFT Active Matrix
- anti-glare surface
- Viewing Angle: 120° horizont.
45°/-55° vertical
Power:
110-240VAC, 50/60Hz
- less than 30 Watts!! in
operating mode
- 2.5 Watts in power
saving mode
PC Interface: comes with choice
of either PCI or AGP card.
Price:
was about $1,495 from SGI
Unit is no longer available
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more details about SGI's new flatpanel lineup visit SGI
on the Web. |
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The
SuperWide aspect ratio of the 1600SW allows for two full-size
pages to be displayed simultaneously, a real advantage for professional
content creators, graphic artists, and engineers. The 1600SW,
likewise, is the only flat panel monitor on the market today
with adjustable white balance, an important capability for those
involved in either desktop publishing or digital content creation.
SGI
has included as part of the 1600SW product bundle a Number
Nine Revolution IV-FP AGP or PCI digital graphic accelerator
card which eliminates any translation of images from digital
to analog in the PC, and incorporates 32MB of graphics memory
for super-fast, high resolution 3D imaging. The power behind
this video accelerator card comes from Number Nine's cutting
edge 128-bit "Ticket to Ride IV" graphics chip, which includes
such innovative features as trilinear filtered real-time texture
mapping, anti-aliasing, transparency, and Phong lighting.
A few months ago, SGI introduced a nice addition to the pack:
an adapter device that let's people connect analog signals to
this super digital panel. Sells for $395 and has a 5 week backlog!
Go
for it. It's a lot less than Apple's LCD Cinema Display that
has the same resolution, though is 22" big! And
goes for about $3,900. However, Apple is only sjipping it in
bundles. One must add a $2,000 G4 Mac to it.
Working
Experience
After working on one (1600SW, that is) for 4 months now, we
do not want to switch back to a 20-inch CRT! Resolution, features
and brightness are difficult to beat. What else can we say.
Are
you interested in this product to a point where you would actually
buy one? Tell us with an
E-Mail to GadgetCentral.
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Last
updated:
20-Nov-2001
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