Subscores
In forums and all over the net, the Nec EA231wmi has been a pretty hot topic. In fact, it's at our readers' request that we've decided to test this LCD monitor. Read on to find out how it performed.
Handling: it's got everything you need (well, almost)
This 23-inch Full HD monitor has a smart, professional design that's simple and yet stylish with its matte black casing and clean, crisp edges. Moving onto a subject that's slightly less subjective, let's take a look at the connections and accessories. This monitor has a good selection of connections with VGA, DVI and DisplayPort sockets. An HDMI port would have made a nice touch though, as the DisplayPort is having trouble taking off on consumer graphics cards.
As for the accessories, we were pleasantly surprised to find a four-port USB hub and a pair of 2 x 1-watt speakers, as well as a height-adjustable stand mounted on a rotating base and a handy portrait mode. With features like this, the EA231wmi easily earns its five-star rating!
Colours: decent, but not perfect
The default colours have a slight blue tinge. Our sensor also detected poor homogeneity in the brightness of the grey shades. For those of you who like to get technical, the gamma value is at 2 instead of 2.2. Both of these problems are minor though, as the average difference between the ideal colours and those displayed on the screen, or deltaE, is just 2.4, bearing in mind that with a deltaE of less than 3, most mere mortals won't notice anything afoot. In other words, its score is good but not perfect - hence the four-star rating.
But if that's not good enough, you can always have a go at calibrating it yourself.
On top of its decent colour fidelity, the EA231wmi has all the advantages of an IPS display, notably the wide viewing angles and good colour homogeneity. This makes it a good choice for graphic designers or for anyone who's into editing and retouching photos.
Responsiveness: IPS 14 ms = TN 5 ms = for office computing
This is one of the Nec's few downfalls. Even though we could have guessed that this display wouldn't be breaking any of the records set by 120 Hz monitors, we were still hoping for a minimum amount of smoothness in fast picture sequences. As a result, this monitor is not recommended for gamers and is more suitable for office computing.
The response time is this monitor's only real downside as the input lag is small enough to go virtually unnoticed in multi-player games.
Handling: it's got everything you need (well, almost)
This 23-inch Full HD monitor has a smart, professional design that's simple and yet stylish with its matte black casing and clean, crisp edges. Moving onto a subject that's slightly less subjective, let's take a look at the connections and accessories. This monitor has a good selection of connections with VGA, DVI and DisplayPort sockets. An HDMI port would have made a nice touch though, as the DisplayPort is having trouble taking off on consumer graphics cards. As for the accessories, we were pleasantly surprised to find a four-port USB hub and a pair of 2 x 1-watt speakers, as well as a height-adjustable stand mounted on a rotating base and a handy portrait mode. With features like this, the EA231wmi easily earns its five-star rating!
Colours: decent, but not perfect
| Default colours |
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| Ideal colours Compare the EA231wmi to other LCD monitors in our Product Face-Off |
The default colours have a slight blue tinge. Our sensor also detected poor homogeneity in the brightness of the grey shades. For those of you who like to get technical, the gamma value is at 2 instead of 2.2. Both of these problems are minor though, as the average difference between the ideal colours and those displayed on the screen, or deltaE, is just 2.4, bearing in mind that with a deltaE of less than 3, most mere mortals won't notice anything afoot. In other words, its score is good but not perfect - hence the four-star rating. But if that's not good enough, you can always have a go at calibrating it yourself.
On top of its decent colour fidelity, the EA231wmi has all the advantages of an IPS display, notably the wide viewing angles and good colour homogeneity. This makes it a good choice for graphic designers or for anyone who's into editing and retouching photos.
Responsiveness: IPS 14 ms = TN 5 ms = for office computing
 Coloured  Transparent |
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| Average ghosting over ten frames |
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This is one of the Nec's few downfalls. Even though we could have guessed that this display wouldn't be breaking any of the records set by 120 Hz monitors, we were still hoping for a minimum amount of smoothness in fast picture sequences. As a result, this monitor is not recommended for gamers and is more suitable for office computing.The response time is this monitor's only real downside as the input lag is small enough to go virtually unnoticed in multi-player games.
Pros
- Decent colours straight out of the box
- Higher than average contrast ratio
- Low input lag
- Good design & handling
Cons
- Response time too slow for smooth gaming
- No HDMI port
Conclusion
A good all-round monitor, but the response times won't be sufficient for gamers.
OUR SCORE
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